51058 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 159 / Wednesday, August 18, 2010 / Notices 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9190–9; Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–ORD– 

2009–0934] 

The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and 

Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of 

the Central Appalachian Coalfields and 

a Field-Based Aquatic Life Benchmark 

for Conductivity in Central 

Appalachian Streams 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Extension of public comment 

period to September 3, 2010. 

SUMMARY: EPA is announcing an 

extension of the public comment period 

for two related draft documents: (1) 

‘‘The Effects of Mountaintop Mines and 

Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of 

the Central Appalachian Coalfields’’ 

(EPA/600/R–09/138A) and (2) ‘‘A Fieldbased Aquatic Life Benchmark for 

Conductivity in Central Appalachian 

Streams’’ (EPA/600/R–10/023A). We are 

specifically extending the comment 

period on these two documents to give 

the public additional time to evaluate 

the data used to derive a benchmark for 

conductivity. The original Federal 

Register notice announcing the public 

comment period was published on April 

12, 2010 (75 FR 18499). By following 

the link below, reviewers may 

download the initial data and EPA’s 

derivative data sets that were used to 

calculate the conductivity benchmark. 

These reports were developed by the 

National Center for Environmental 

Assessment (NCEA) within EPA’s Office 

of Research and Development as part of 

a set of actions taken by EPA to further 

clarify and strengthen environmental 

permitting requirements for 

Appalachian mountaintop removal and 

other surface coal mining projects, in 

coordination with Federal and State 

regulatory agencies (http:// 

www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/guidance/ 

mining.html). 

Both documents were reviewed by an 

independent Mountaintop Mining 

Advisory Panel convened by EPA’s 

Science Advisory Board (SAB) on July 

21—23, 2010. The public comment 

period for the SAB meeting follows a 

separate process and provides separate 

opportunities for all interested parties to 

comment on the document. EPA intends 

to forward to the SAB those comments 

received as of September 3, 2010, for 

consideration by the SAB Panel as they 

finalize their report. When finalizing the 

draft documents, EPA will consider the 

comments from the SAB review as well 

as any significant public comments that 

it receives in accordance with this 

notice. 

EPA released these draft documents 

for the purpose of pre-dissemination 

peer review under applicable 

information quality guidelines. The 

documents have not been formally 

disseminated by EPA. They do not 

represent and should not be construed 

to represent a final Agency policy or 

determination; however, the documents 

reflect EPA’s best interpretation of the 

available science. The draft documents 

are available via the Internet on NCEA’s 

home page under the Recent Additions 

and Publications menus at http:// 

www.epa.gov/ncea. 

DATES: The public comment period 

began on April 12, 2010, and ends on 

September 3, 2010. Technical comments 

should be in writing and must be 

received by EPA by September 3, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: The draft reports, ‘‘The 

Effects of Mountaintop Mines and 

Valley Fills on Aquatic Ecosystems of 

the Central Appalachian Coalfields’’ and 

‘‘A Field-based Aquatic Life Benchmark 

for Conductivity in Central Appalachian 

Streams’’ are available primarily via the 

Internet on NCEA’s home page under 

the Recent Additions and Publications 

menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A 

limited number of paper copies are 

available; contact the EPA by telephone 

(703–347–8629) or facsimile (703–347– 

8691). If you are requesting a paper 

copy, please provide your name, 

mailing address, and the document 

titles (1) ‘‘The Effects of Mountaintop 

Mines and Valley Fills on Aquatic 

Ecosystems of the Central Appalachian 

Coalfields’’ and (2) ‘‘A Field-based 

Aquatic Life Benchmark for 

Conductivity in Central Appalachian 

Streams.’’ 

Comments may be submitted 

electronically via http:// 

www.regulations.gov, by mail, by 

facsimile, or by hand delivery/courier. 

Please follow the detailed instructions 

provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of Federal Register 

Notice (75 FR 30393). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on submitting comments to 

the docket, please contact the Office of 

Environmental Information Docket; 

telephone: 202–566–1752; facsimile: 

202–566–1753; or e-mail: 

ORD.Docket@epa.gov. For technical 

information, please leave a message at 

703–347–8629 or send e-mail to MTM– 

Cond@epa.gov. 

Dated: August 12, 2010. 

David A. Bussard, 

Acting Director, National Center for 

Environmental Assessment. 

[FR Doc. 2010–20466 Filed 8–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPP–2010–0632; FRL–8840–1] 

Web-Distributed Labeling User 

Acceptance Pilot 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA’s Office of Pesticide 

Programs (OPP) is exploring a new 

initiative called ‘‘web-distributed 

labeling’’ (web-distributed labeling) that 

would make the most current version of 

some pesticide labeling available to 

users via the Internet. Through this 

Federal Register Notice, OPP is 

announcing its intention to conduct a 

web-distributed labeling ‘‘User 

Acceptance Pilot’’ and is soliciting 

interest from entities potentially willing 

to participate in this pilot program. 

Through the User Acceptance Pilot, EPA 

intends to demonstrate how users could 

access labeling information using the 

Internet, thereby helping EPA determine 

whether the benefits of web-distributed 

labeling would be sufficiently appealing 

to users that they would be willing to 

visit a website to download and use 

labeling. This notice provides a brief 

description of a pilot website and 

invites participation in developing a 

pilot web-distributed labeling website 

by interested parties. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 17, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments 

identified by the docket identification 

(ID) number by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs 

(OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20460–0001. 

• Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public 

Docket (7502P), Environmental 

Protection Agency, Rm. S–4400, One 

Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. 

Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries 

are only accepted during the Docket 

Facility’s normal hours of operation 

(8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, excluding legal holidays). 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 159 / Wednesday, August 18, 2010 / Notices 51059 

Special arrangements should be made 

for deliveries of boxed information. The 

Docket Facility telephone number is 

(703) 305–5805. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle DeVaux, Field and External 

Affairs Division, Office of Pesticide 

Programs, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., 

Washington, DC 20460–0001; telephone 

number: 703-308-5891; fax number:703- 

308-2962; e-mail address: 

devaux.michelle@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information 

A. Does this Action Apply to Me? 

You may be potentially affected by 

this action if you provide pesticide 

labeling in an electronic format or are 

interested in developing a website to 

deliver pesticide labeling electronically. 

Potentially affected entities may 

include, but are not limited to: 

• Data processing, hosting, and related 

services (NAICS code 518210), i.e., 

establishments primarily engaged in 

providing infrastructure for hosting or 

data processing services. 

• Web search portals (NAICS code 

518112), e.g. companies or individuals 

that develop or maintain web search 

portals. 

• Internet publishing and broadcasting 

and Web search portals (NAICS code 

519130), e.g., internet search portals, 

Web search portals, and internet search 

Web sites. 

• Persons who manufacture, 

distribute, sell, apply, or regulate 

pesticide products, including 

agricultural, commercial, and 

residential products (NAICS codes 

32532 and 32561). 

This listing is not intended to be 

exhaustive, but rather provides a guide 

for readers regarding entities likely to be 

affected by this action. Other types of 

entities not listed in this unit could also 

be affected. The North American 

Industrial Classification System 

(NAICS) codes have been provided to 

assist you and others in determining 

whether this action might apply to 

certain entities. If you have any 

questions regarding the applicability of 

this action to a particular entity, consult 

the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

B. How Can I Get Copies of this 

Document and Other Related 

Information? 

EPA has established a docket for this 

action under docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPP–2010–0632. 

Publicly available docket materials are 

available either in the electronic docket 

at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only 

available in hard copy, at the Office of 

Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory 

Public Docket in Rm. S–4400, One 

Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. 

Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of 

operation of this Docket Facility are 

from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The Docket Facility telephone 

number is (703) 305–5805. 

II. Background 

A. What Action is the Agency Taking? 

Through this Federal Register Notice, 

OPP intends to identify parties 

potentially interested in participating in 

a web-distributed labeling User 

Acceptance Pilot. 

1. Overview. EPA regulates pesticide 

products under the authority of the 

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). FIFRA 

establishes a pre-market review and 

approval system called ‘‘registration.’’ 

With limited exceptions, no pesticide 

may be sold or distributed in the United 

States unless EPA has first issued a 

registration for the product. As part of 

the registration process, EPA reviews 

and approves the labeling affixed to or 

accompanying the pesticide product. 

Labeling describes how a pesticide may 

be used safely and effectively. Federal 

law prohibits the use of a pesticide in 

a manner inconsistent with its approved 

labeling. Many pesticide products are 

registered for multiple uses, and as a 

result, the labeling of the product is 

often very lengthy. 

Since 2007, EPA has been exploring 

the possibility of making some pesticide 

product labeling available via the 

Internet. EPA envisions a system that 

would make the most current version of 

pesticide labeling available to 

purchasers and users electronically 

through web-distribution. For certain 

segments of pesticide products, portions 

of the labeling would no longer 

physically accompany the pesticide 

container. To obtain the pesticide 

product’s full labeling, the container 

label would require a user to go to an 

Internet website. Users would be able to 

retrieve crop-specific labeling by 

entering the product registration 

number, the state where the pesticide 

would be applied, and use site (e.g., a 

crop) on which the pesticide would be 

applied. In response to this information, 

the website would provide streamlined 

labeling for the user to download that 

would include only the information 

necessary for the particular use 

requested. When fully operational, a 

web-distributed labeling system would 

also offer alternate delivery mechanisms 

for users who cannot access the Internet. 

Web-distributed labeling is being 

proposed initially as a voluntary option 

for registrants and would not be 

appropriate for all pesticide products. 

The goal of the web-distributed labeling 

initiative is to provide streamlined 

labeling that contains only the pertinent 

label information specific to the state 

where the pesticide is to be used and for 

the particular intended use, thus 

reducing unrelated directions by a 

significant amount. EPA expects this 

will improve label comprehension, 

readability, and compliance. 

EPA is interested in conducting a 

‘‘User Acceptance Pilot’’ to research the 

extent to which users would accept a 

system requiring them to obtain labeling 

via the Internet. The specific goal of the 

pilot is to determine whether the 

benefits of web-distributed labeling 

would be sufficiently appealing to users 

that they would be willing to visit a 

website to obtain labeling for a pesticide 

product. The pilot would demonstrate 

how users could access labeling 

information using the website and 

would not involve the actual 

distribution to users of actual pesticide 

product labeling that would rely on the 

web-distributed labeling approach. 

2. Background. After receiving a 

request to consider web-distributed 

labeling from State officials responsible 

for regulation of pesticide products, 

EPA formed an internal workgroup to 

discuss the possible mechanics of webdistributed labeling and how it would 

complement ongoing label improvement 

programs. The workgroup conducted 

extensive stakeholder outreach to 

individuals and associations to describe 

the concept of web-distributed labeling 

and to solicit stakeholder feedback. 

Using the stakeholders’ input, the EPA 

internal workgroup developed 

discussion papers to describe some of 

the details around specific elements of 

web-distributed labeling. 

In May 2008, EPA requested formal 

feedback on web-distributed labeling 

from the Pesticide Program Dialogue 

Committee (PPDC), a Federal Advisory 

Committee to the Office of Pesticide 

Programs. In response, a PPDC 

workgroup was formed to review and 

respond to the discussion papers 

developed by EPA. The workgroup 

includes representatives from user and 

grower groups; public interest groups; 

trade associations; industry; State, local, 

and tribal governments; educational 

organizations; Federal agencies; and 

others. From October 2008 through 

October 2009 the PPDC web-distributed 

labeling workgroup met to discuss and 

provide comment on the papers. A full 

listing of the meetings and papers 


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51060 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 159 / Wednesday, August 18, 2010 / Notices 

considered is available at: http:// 

epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/distr-labeling/ 

index.html. 

In October 2009, the PPDC workgroup 

recommended a pilot for webdistributed labeling that would allow 

users to test the functionality of one or 

several web-distributed labeling 

websites. The proposed pilot would be 

conducted with mock pesticide labeling 

and would not require any changes to 

actual pesticide labeling and any mock 

pesticide labeling would not be used to 

make an actual pesticide application. 

Based on the feedback received from the 

PPDC workgroup, EPA decided to focus 

the pilot on soliciting user feedback on 

the concept of web-distributed labeling. 

The pilot is discussed further in Unit 

II.A.3 and 4. 

3. Pilot specifications. The EPA is 

looking for entities outside of EPA to 

participate in the User Acceptance Pilot. 

An entity which volunteers to 

participate would develop a website 

from which potential pesticide users 

and others can retrieve pesticide 

product labeling information 

appropriate to a specific state and use 

site. The website(s) developed for the 

User Acceptance Pilot will allow users 

to do the following: 

• Log onto an Internet-accessible 

website. 

• Enter a product registration number 

or other product identifier for one of 

several pre-determined products. 

• Select the relevant state/county in 

which the mock pesticide application 

would take place. 

• Select the relevant use pattern(s) for 

the mock pesticide application to filter 

the labeling according to use pattern(s). 

• View and download from the 

website the labeling appropriate for the 

identified product, use pattern, and 

state provided. 

In addition, the pilot websites would: 

• Provide web-distributed labeling for 

at least three different products. 

Participants may use product labels of 

their choosing and/or, upon request, use 

mock labels provided by EPA. 

• Place a prominent statement on each 

page of the downloaded labeling making 

it clear that the labeling downloaded 

from the website(s) was not legally valid 

for purposes of making a pesticide 

application. 

• Offer users a mechanism for 

providing feedback on the webdistributed labeling experience. 

Participants are not limited to creating 

a website that meets only the minimum 

specifications identified above, and EPA 

encourages participants to incorporate 

other tools and functionality as 

appropriate. Possible enhancements for 

a web-distributed labeling website are 

discussed in the Website Functionality 

discussion paper available at: http:// 

www.epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/distrlabeling/jan09/functionality.pdf. 

4. Pilot evaluation. As noted above, 

the purpose of the pilot is to obtain 

information about users’ reactions to a 

system which requires them to obtain 

labeling from the Internet. The results of 

this research are important for EPA in 

deciding to move ahead with further 

efforts to develop such a system. 

Consequently, EPA not only expects 

participants in the Pilot to offer users a 

mechanism for providing feedback on 

the web-distributed labeling experience, 

but also encourages participants to 

summarize and submit to EPA the 

feedback obtained through the pilot. 

The following types of information 

would be useful to EPA in assessing the 

User Acceptance pilot. 

i. Paper labels – what users like and 

dislike about the current paper labeling 

on or accompanying pesticide 

containers. 

ii. Web-distributed labeling pilot 

website – the experience of using the 

website 

• How users would access a webdistributed labeling website, e.g., 

whether high speed, dial-up, no online 

access; 

• Ease of navigation (finding webdistributed labeling the user was 

looking for); and 

• The user’s overall experience using 

the website 

iii. Web-distributed labeling – The 

reaction to web-distributed labeling 

• Ease in understanding webdistributed labeling 

• Ease in following labeling that is 

partially on container and partially on 

web-distributed labeling 

• Paper-based format or in the 

streamlined web-distributed labeling 

format preference 

• User’s impressions of the benefits of 

web-distributed labeling 

• Potential impact on the user’s 

compliance with labeling 

iv. Other potential features of Webdistributed labeling 

• What other information, if any, the 

user would like to have that was not 

offered in the pilot, e.g., calibration 

instructions, pest identification guides. 

5. How to participate. Parties 

(including but not limited to those listed 

under Unit I.A.) interested in 

participating in the User Acceptance 

Pilot must respond in writing by 

September 17, 2010 to the person 

identified in the section titled FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT with an 

expression of interest to participate. 

EPA will schedule a meeting with all 

interested parties after EPA has 

reviewed the responses to discuss the 

User Acceptance Pilot and to answer 

any questions from potential 

participants. EPA’s goal is to have all 

User Acceptance Pilot websites ready 

for users to test by October 15, 2010. 

Participation in the User Acceptance 

Pilot is voluntary; however, those 

entities who ultimately participate must 

agree to certain terms and conditions in 

order for EPA to evaluate the success of 

the website, including the following: 

• The website(s) developed for the 

User Acceptance Pilot must be 

accessible to all potential users and at 

no charge to any potential user. 

• EPA would post information 

gathered as part of the User Acceptance 

Pilot and provided to EPA to the public 

docket or made available to EPA to post 

to the public docket. 

• Participation in the User Acceptance 

Pilot does not guarantee future 

involvement or participation in any 

web-distributed labeling activity, such 

as developing a structured labeling 

interface. 

Parties interested in learning more 

about participating in the pilot can find 

information at http://www.epa.gov/

pesticides/regulating/labels/

distribution/index.htm. Discussion 

papers related to web-distributed 

labeling are available at http://epa.gov/ 

pesticides/ppdc/distr-labeling/

index.html. Participants are encouraged 

to review Web-Distributed Labeling of 

Pesticides: Website Functionality (http:/ 

www./epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/distrlabeling/jan09/functionality.pdf). 

B. What is the Agency’s Authority for 

Taking this Action? 

EPA is taking this action under the 

authority of FIFRA, section 20(a). This 

section provides that ‘‘The 

Administrator shall undertake research . 

. . with . . . others as may be necessary 

to carry out the purposes of [FIFRA].’’ 

Here EPA is seeking to work with 

parties in the private sector to obtain 

information that will help EPA assess 

whether pesticides users would accept a 

web-distributed labeling program. This 

information is essential to 

understanding whether a webdistributed labeling system would 

improve users’ compliance with 

pesticide labeling, thereby reducing 

risks to human health and the 

environment. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental protection, Internet, 

labeling, pesticides. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 159 / Wednesday, August 18, 2010 / Notices 51061 

1The Funding Corporation is the fiscal agent of 

the System established under section 4.9 of the 

Farm Credit Act of 1971, as amended (12 U.S.C. 

2160). The Farm Credit Act is set forth in 12 U.S.C. 

2001–2279cc. 

2Section 4.2 of the Act is codified at 12 U.S.C. 

2153. 

Dated: August 6, 2010. 

Steven Bradbury, 

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs. 

[FR Doc. 2010–20449 Filed 8–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–S 

EXPORT–IMPORT BANK 

[Public Notice 2010–0035] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Final Collection; Comment 

Request 

AGENCY: Export-Import Bank of the U.S. 

ACTION: Submission for OMB Review 

and Comments Request. 

Form Title: EIB 10–01A Long Term 

Transaction Questionnaire, EIB 10–01B 

Oil and Gas Company Questionnaire. 

SUMMARY: The Export-Import Bank of 

the United States (‘‘Ex-Im Bank’’) is the 

official export credit agency of the 

United States. Its mission is to create 

and sustain U.S. jobs by financing U.S. 

exports through direct loans, guarantees, 

insurance and working capital credit. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 

2010 (Pub. L. 111–117) (‘‘the Act’’), 

enacted December 16, 2009, provides for 

Ex-Im Bank’s FY2010 budget 

authorization. As part of the U.S. 

government’s efforts to strengthen 

sanctions against Iran, the Act contains 

language prohibiting Ex-Im Bank from: 

Authoriz[ing] any new guarantee, 

insurance, or extension of credit for any 

project controlled by an energy producer or 

refiner that continues to: (A) provide Iran 

with significant refined petroleum resources; 

(B) materially contribute to Iran’s capability 

to import refined petroleum resources; or (C) 

allow Iran to maintain or expand, in any 

material respect, its domestic production of 

refined petroleum resources, including any 

assistance in refinery construction, 

modernization, or repair. 

See Sec. 7043 of the Act. 

The Act is effectively immediately 

and applies to all authorizations Ex-Im 

Bank may make with FY2010 funds. 

DATES: Comments should be received on 

or before October 18, 2010 to be assured 

of consideration. 

ADRESSES: Comments maybe submitted 

electronically on http:// 

www.regulations.gov or by mail to Faisal 

Siddiqui, Export-Import Bank of the 

United States, 811 Vermont Ave., NW. 

Washington, DC 20571. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Titles and Form Number: EIB 10–01A 

Long Term Transaction Questionnaire, 

EIB 10–01B Oil and Gas Company 

Questionnaire. 

OMB Number: 3048–0030. 

Type of Review: Regular. 

Need and Use: This is a new 

collection to ensure compliance with 

the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 

2010 (Pub. L. 111–117), enacted 

December 16, 2009. 

Sharon A. Whitt, 

Agency Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–20389 Filed 8–17–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6690–01–P 

FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION 

RIN 3052–AC64 

Joint and Several Liability Reallocation 

Agreement 

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration. 

ACTION: Notice of joint and several 

liability reallocation agreement; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Farm Credit 

Administration (FCA or we) is 

publishing for comment a Joint and 

Several Liability Reallocation 

Agreement (Agreement) to be entered 

into by all of the banks of the Farm 

Credit System (Farm Credit or System) 

and the Federal Farm Credit Banks 

Funding Corporation (Funding 

Corporation). The Agreement is 

designed to establish a procedure for 

nondefaulting banks to pay maturing 

System-wide debt on behalf of 

defaulting banks prior to a statutory 

joint and several call by the FCA. 

DATES: You may send comments on or 

before September 17, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: There are several methods 

for you to submit your comments. For 

accuracy and efficiency reasons, 

commenters are encouraged to submit 

comments by e-mail or through the 

FCA’s Web site. As facsimiles (faxes) are 

difficult for us to process and achieve 

compliance with section 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), we 

are no longer accepting comments 

submitted by fax. Please do not submit 

your comment multiple times via 

different methods. You may submit 

comments by any of the following 

methods: 

• E-mail: Send us an e-mail at regcomm@fca.gov. 

• FCA Web site: http://www.fca.gov. 

Select ‘‘Public Commenters,’’ then 

‘‘Public Comments,’’ and follow the 

directions for ‘‘Submitting a Comment.’’ 

• Federal E-Rulemaking Web site: 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Send mail to Gary K. Van 

Meter, Deputy Director, Office of 

Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit 

Administration, 1501 Farm Credit Drive, 

McLean, VA 22102–5090. 

You may review copies of comments 

we receive at our office in McLean, 

Virginia, or on our Web site at http:// 

www.fca.gov. Once you are in the Web 

site, select ‘‘Public Commenters,’’ then 

‘‘Public Comments,’’ and follow the 

directions for ‘‘Reading Submitted 

Public Comments.’’ We will show your 

comments as submitted, but for 

technical reasons we may omit items 

such as logos and special characters. 

Identifying information that you 

provide, such as phone numbers and 

addresses, will be publicly available. 

We will attempt to remove e-mail 

addresses from comments (other than 

those submitted in a ‘‘.pdf’’ format) to 

help reduce Internet spam. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Chris Wilson, Financial Analyst, Office 

of Regulatory Policy, Farm Credit 

Administration, McLean, VA 22102– 

5090, (703) 883–4204, TTY (703) 883– 

4434, or Rebecca S. Orlich, Senior 

Counsel, Office of General Counsel, 

Farm Credit Administration, McLean, 

VA 22102–5090, (703) 883–4020, TTY 

(703) 883–4020. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Objective 

Our objective in publishing the 

Agreement is to seek public comment 

on the Agreement before the FCA Board 

determines whether or not to approve it. 

II. Background 

System associations obtain funding by 

means of direct loans from their 

affiliated Farm Credit Banks or 

Agricultural Credit Bank (collectively, 

System Banks or Banks). The Banks in 

turn obtain their funding primarily by 

issuing System-wide obligations to 

investors through the Funding 

Corporation.1 The Banks’ authority to 

issue System-wide obligations is 

provided in section 4.2(d) of the Farm 

Credit Act of 1971, as amended (Act).2

Section 4.2(c) of the Act also authorizes 

the Banks to obtain funding by issuing 

consolidated obligations with other 

Banks operating under the same title of 

the Act, but all of the System’s joint 

funding at the present time is through 

System-wide obligations. Consolidated 

and System-wide obligations (also 

referred to as insured obligations) are 

insured by the Farm Credit System 

Insurance Corporation (FCSIC) using 


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