This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section. 

# Notices Federal Register 

### 63377

Vol. 79, No. 205

Thursday, October 23, 2014

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Agricultural Marketing Service**

**[Doc. # AMS–14–0073; TM–14–03]**

**Transportation and Marketing Program: Notice of Guidance**  **Regarding the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Multi-State Project**  **Competition**

**AGENCY :**  Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice of availability of guidance with, request for comments.

**SUMMARY :**  The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing the availability of a guidance document intended for use by State departments of agriculture in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The guidance document is entitled: Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Multi-State Project Competition. This guidance document is intended to inform the public of the Transportation Marketing Program’s (TM) current thinking on this topic and will be used to develop a Request for Applications (RFA). Comments are requested on the guidance.

**DATES :**  To ensure that TM considers your comment on this guidance before it begins work on a RFA, submit written comments on the guidance by November 24, 2014.

**ADDRESSES :**  Interested persons may submit comments on these guidance documents using the following procedures:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

• Mail: Comments may be submitted by mail to: Arthur L. Neal, Jr., Deputy Administrator, Transportation and Marketing Program, USDA–AMS–TM, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Room 4543 So., Ag Stop 0264, Washington, DC

20250–0264.

Written comments responding to this request should be identified with the document number AMS–14–0073; TM– 14–03. You should clearly indicate your position and the reasons for your position. If you are suggesting changes to the guidance document, you should include recommended language changes, as appropriate, along with any relevant supporting documentation.

USDA intends to make available all comments, including names and addresses when provided, regardless of submission procedure used, on www.regulations.gov and at USDA, AMS, TM, Room 4543-South building, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday (except official Federal holidays). Persons wanting to visit the USDA South Building to view comments from the public to this notice are requested to make an appointment by calling (202)

690–1300.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Arthur L. Neal, Jr., Deputy Administrator, Director, Transportation and Marketing Program, USDA–AMS– TM, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Room 4543 So., Ag Stop 0264, Washington, DC 20250–0264; Telephone: (202) 690–1300; Fax: (202)

205–0338.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  I. Background

The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) proposes a new multi-state project set-aside for projects that solely enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops under the amended Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C 1621 note) USDA may use no-year funding of $1 million in 2014, increasing $1 million per fiscal year to$5 million in 2018 to support multistate projects. Under subsection (j) of section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (the Act), USDA has been instructed to provide guidance on how grants will be made to multistate projects involving (1) food safety; (2) plant pests and disease; (3) research; (4) crop-specific projects addressing common issues; and (5) any other area that furthers the purposes of the section, as determined by the Secretary. This guidance describes the Transportation and Marketing Program’s (TM) current thinking on the administration of the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Multi-State Project Competition (SCBG–MSPC), specifically, the framework for implementing the competitive grant program. The guidance describes parameters of the program including objectives and eligibility criteria for projects and applicants. AMS will use the guidance and comments received to develop a Request for Applications that meets the requirements of section 10010 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill), which amends Section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competiveness Act of 2004 to add grants for multistate projects (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Pub. L. 108–465).

This guidance provides information to all State departments of agriculture in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. This guidance also informs organizations that desire to partner with States on multi-state specialty crop projects. It shares the definition of a multi-state project, the priority areas, indicators of successful applications, material regarding proposal development, award information, grant period duration, award size, eligibility information, and application review information. The guidance is available from AMS on its Specialty Crop Block Grant Program Web site at http://www. ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/scbgp.
II. Significance of Guidance

This guidance document is being issued in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin on Agency Good Guidance Practices (GGPs) (January 25, 2007, 72 FR 3432–3440).

The purpose of GGPs is to ensure that program guidance documents are developed with adequate public participation, are readily available to the public, and are not applied as binding requirements. This guidance represents TM’s current thinking on the topic. It does not create or confer any rights for, or on, any person and does not operate to bind the TM or the public. Guidance documents are intended to provide a uniform method for operations to


### 63378 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 205 / Thursday, October 23, 2014 / Notices

comply that can reduce the burden of developing their own methods and simplify audits and inspections. Alternative approaches that can demonstrate compliance with the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act, as amended, (7 U.S.C. 1621 note) will be considered. As with any alternative approach, TM strongly encourages States and industry to discuss alternative approaches with TM before implementing them to avoid unnecessary or wasteful expenditures of resources and to ensure the proposed alternative approach complies with the
Act.

III. Electronic Access

Persons with access to Internet may obtain the guidance at either AMS’ Specialty Crop Block Grant Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ scbgp or http://www.regulations.gov. Requests for hard copies of the guidance documents can be obtained by submitting a written request to the person listed in the **ADDRESSES** section of this Notice.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621 note.
Dated: October 20, 2014. Rex A. Barnes, Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.

[FR Doc. 2014–25270 Filed 10–22–14; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Agricultural Marketing Service**

**[Doc. # AMS–FV–13–0018]**

**United States Standards for Grades of Creole Onions** 

**AGENCY :**  Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Final notice.

**SUMMARY :**  This Notice revises the U.S. Standards for Grades of Creole Onions, which are issued under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the similar varietal characteristic requirement to allow mixed colors of onions, when designated as a mixed or specialty pack, to be certified to a U.S. grade. In addition, AMS will correct language and remove the ‘‘Unclassified’’ category from the standards. These revisions will align the standards with today’s marketing practices and provide the industry with greater flexibility.

**DATES :**  Effective Date: November 24,

2014.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Dave Horner, Standardization Branch, Specialty Crops Inspection (SCI) Division, (540) 361–1128 or 1150. The current U.S. Standards for Grades of Creole Onions are available on the SCI Division Web site at http://www.ams. usda.gov/scihome.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Section 203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621–1627), as amended, directs and authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture ‘‘to develop and improve standards of quality, condition, quantity, grade and packaging, and recommend and demonstrate such standards in order to encourage uniformity and consistency in commercial practices.’’ AMS is committed to carrying out this authority in a manner that facilitates the marketing of agricultural commodities and makes copies of official standards available upon request. The U.S. standards for grades of fruits and vegetables that are not connected with marketing orders or U.S. import requirements no longer appear in the Code of Federal Regulations, but are maintained by USDA, AMS, Fruit and Vegetable Program, and are available on the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/ scihome.

AMS is revising the voluntary U.S. Standards for Grades of Creole Onions using the procedures that appear in Part 36, Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR part 36). Background and Comments

The industry, particularly in Idaho, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, are packing mixed colors of onions. Currently, the Creole onion standards do not permit certifying a U.S. grade to a pack that comingles colors, such as white onions with yellow to brownish red onions.

On August 22, 2013, AMS published a notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 52131) proposing to revise the U.S. Standards for Grades of Creole Onions to allow mixed color packs of onions to be certified to a U.S. grade. We apprised the onion industry of this notice to foster widespread participation in the Part 36 process. The comment period closed on October 21, 2013. No comments were received. Based on the information gathered, AMS will amend the similar varietal characteristic requirement in the U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 sections of the standards by adding ‘‘except color when designated as a specialty or mixed pack.’’ The U.S. Combination grade section also will be amended to reflect this change.

In addition, AMS will eliminate the ‘‘Unclassified’’ section. AMS is removing this section from standards for all commodities as they are revised. This category, which is not a grade and only serves to show that no grade has been applied to the lot, is no longer

necessary.

Furthermore, AMS will replace the capital ‘‘S’’ with a small ‘‘s’’ on the word ‘‘Seedstems’’ in the U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 sections of the standards to correct a formatting error.

These revisions will facilitate onion marketing in the competitive U.S. market.

The official grade of a lot of Creole onions covered by these standards will be determined by the procedures set forth in the Regulations Governing Inspection, Certification, and Standards of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables and Other Products (Sec. 51.1 to 51.61).

The U.S. Standards for Grades of Creole Onions will be effective 30 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register

.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.
Dated: October 17, 2014.
Rex A. Barnes, Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.

[FR Doc. 2014–25195 Filed 10–22–14; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Forest Service**

**Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board** 

**AGENCY :**  Forest Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice of meeting.

**SUMMARY :**  The Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board (Board) will meet in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Board is established consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. App. II), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et. seq.), the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. sec. 1612), and the Federal Public Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (Pub. L. 108–447). Additional information concerning the Board, including the meeting summary/ minutes, can be found by visiting the Board’s Web site at: http://www.fs.usda. gov/main/blackhills/workingtogether/ advisorycommittees.

**DATES :**  The meeting will be held Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 1

p.m.

All meetings are subject to cancellation. For updated status of meeting prior to attendance, please contact the person listed under **FOR**
**FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT**

.