10908 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation 

7 CFR Part 457 

RIN 0563–AC08 

Common Crop Insurance Regulations; 

Walnut Crop Insurance Provisions; 

Almond Crop Insurance Provisions 

AGENCY: Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation (FCIC) finalizes the 

Common Crop Insurance Regulations; 

Walnut Crop Insurance Provisions and 

Almond Crop Insurance Provisions. The 

intended effect of this action is to 

change the insurable age requirements 

for almonds and walnuts. 

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 11, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

McDonald, Risk Management Specialist, 

Deputy Administrator for Product 

Management, Product Administrator 

and Standards Division, Risk 

Management Agency, at the Kansas City, 

MO, address listed above; telephone 

(816) 926–7730. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has determined that this rule is 

non-significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, it 

has not been reviewed by OMB. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

Pursuant to the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35), the collections of 

information in this rule have been 

approved by OMB under control 

number 0563–0053 through November 

30, 2007. 

Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act (GPEA) Compliance 

FCIC is committed to compliance 

with the GPEA, which requires 

Government agencies, in general, to 

provide the public with the option of 

submitting information or transacting 

business electronically to the maximum 

extent possible. FCIC requires that all 

reinsured companies be in compliance 

with the Freedom to E-File Act and 

section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates 

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) establishes 

requirements for Federal agencies to 

assess the effects of their regulatory 

actions on State, local, and tribal 

governments and the private sector. 

This rule contains no Federal mandates 

(under the regulatory provisions of title 

II of the UMRA) for State, local, and 

tribal governments or the private sector. 

Therefore, this rule is not subject to the 

requirements of sections 202 and 205 of 

UMRA. 

Executive Order 13132 

It has been determined under section 

1(a) of Executive Order 13132, 

Federalism, that this rule does not have 

sufficient implications to warrant 

consultation with the States. The 

provisions contained in this rule will 

not have a substantial direct effect on 

States, or on the relationship between 

the national government and the States, 

or on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

FCIC certifies that this regulation will 

not have a significant economic impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. Written agreement 

requirements for the Federal crop 

insurance program are the same for all 

producers regardless of the size of their 

operations. For instance, all producers 

requesting this type of written 

agreement must submit actual yields for 

at least the most recent three crop years 

in which the crop was planted during 

the base period. Any producer who did 

not produce the crop for at least three 

years, for which the written agreement 

is requested, must submit actual yields 

for a similar crop, or a combination of 

actual yields for the crop and a similar 

crop in the county for which the written 

agreement is being requested. Whether a 

producer has 10 acres or 100 acres there 

is no difference in the kind of 

information required for requesting a 

written agreement. To ensure crop 

insurance is available to small entities, 

the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

authorizes FCIC to waive collection of 

administrative fees from limited 

resource farmers. FCIC believes this 

change helps ensure that small entities 

are given the same opportunities as 

large entities to manage their risks 

through the use of crop insurance. A 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis has not 

been prepared since this regulation does 

not have an impact on small entities, 

and, therefore, this regulation is exempt 

from the provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605). 

Federal Assistance Program 

This program is listed in the Catalog 

of Federal Domestic Assistance under 

No. 10.450. 

Executive Order 12372 

This program is not subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

which require intergovernmental 

consultation with State and local 

officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR 

part 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR 

29115, June 24, 1983. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

in accordance with Executive Order 

12988 on civil justice reform. The 

provisions of this rule will not have a 

retroactive effect. The provisions of this 

rule will preempt State and local laws 

to the extent such State and local laws 

are inconsistent herewith. With respect 

to any direct action taken by FCIC or to 

require the insurance provider to take 

specific action under the terms of the 

crop insurance policy, the 

administrative appeal provisions 

published at 7 CFR part 11 must be 

exhausted before any action against 

FCIC for judicial review may be brought. 

Environmental Evaluation 

This action is not expected to have a 

significant economic impact on the 

quality of the human environment, 

health, or safety. Therefore, neither an 

Environmental Assessment nor an 

Environmental Impact Statement is 

needed. 

Background 

On Tuesday, March 21, 2006, FCIC 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking in the Federal Register at 71 

FR 6016–6021 to amend 7 CFR 457.122 

Walnut crop insurance provisions and 7 

CFR 457.123 Almond crop insurance 

provisions effective for the 2008 and 

succeeding crop years. 

The public was afforded 60 days to 

submit written comments and opinions. 

The commenters were an insurance 

services organization and an insurance 

provider. The comments received and 

FCIC’s response is as follows: 

Comment: Two commenters 

recommended changing the language in 

section 6(d) of the Walnut Crop 

Provisions and section 6(e) of the 

Almond Crop Provisions from ‘‘unless 

otherwise provided in the Special 

Provisions or by written agreement’’ to 

read; ‘‘unless otherwise provided in the 

Special Provisions or we agree in 

writing’’. 

The commenters concerns with 

issuing written agreements to insure 

production from underage trees would 

require approved insurance providers to 

submit all policies to the Regional 

Office for written agreement 

consideration. Currently, insureds have 

the ability to insure production from 


hsrobinson on PROD1PC76 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 47 / Monday, March 12, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 10909 

underage almond and walnut trees at all 

coverage levels by ‘‘we agree in writing’’

under the current Crop Provisions. 

The commenters state that approved 

insurance providers would be faced 

with a difficult and costly task to abide 

by all documentation requirements for 

written agreement submissions within 

the standard 15 business days after the 

sales closing date and thus result in the 

insured potentially not getting 

insurance coverage timely. As a result, 

the use of the written agreements as a 

means to provide coverage for 

production from underage almond and 

walnut trees would be burdensome to 

the producer. 

The commenters also state that 

producers now have the ability to insure 

production from underage almond and 

walnut trees at the catastrophic risk 

protection (CAT) level. They claim the 

current proposal would make CAT 

policies ineligible for this insurance 

coverage under the written agreement 

criteria, since written agreements are 

not available under CAT coverage. 

The commenters state that the use of 

‘‘we agree in writing’’ language allows 

the approved insurance providers and 

RO’s to efficiently process the request to 

insure production from underage 

almond and walnut trees. Any deviation 

from this process would be resisted by 

the AIPs, Regional Office, agents and 

insureds. 

Response: FCIC realized that the 

proposed language would have 

needlessly imposed a heavy burden on 

producers, agents, AIPs and ROs. 

However, the preamble of the policy 

only allows deviation from the policy 

terms if allowed by written agreement. 

Therefore, use of the term ‘‘agree in 

writing’’ is not a viable solution. 

Instead, FCIC has amended the language 

to state coverage on production from 

under-aged trees is allowed if provided 

for in the Special Provisions. This 

change will provide insurance coverage 

for production from under-aged trees 

without the need to have a written 

agreement. This will also allow coverage 

to be available at all buy-up coverage 

levels and at the CAT level of coverage. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 457 

Crop insurance, Walnut and Almond, 

Reporting and record keeping 

requirements. 

■ Accordingly, as set forth in the 

preamble, the Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation amends 7 CFR part 457, 

Common Crop Insurance Regulations, 

for the 2008 and succeeding crop years 

as follows: 

PART 457—COMMON CROP 

INSURANCE REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 457 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1506(l), 1506(p). 

■ 2. Amend § 457.122 as follows: 

■ A. Revise the first sentence of the 

introductory text. 

■ B. Revise paragraph 6(d). 

The revisions to § 457.122 read as 

follows: 

§ 457.122 Walnut crop insurance 

provisions. 

The Walnut Crop Insurance 

Provisions for the 2008 and succeeding 

crop years are as follows: 

* * * * * 

6. Insured Crop 

* * * * * 

(d) On acreage where at least 90 

percent of the trees have reached at least 

the seventh growing season after being 

set out, unless otherwise provided in 

the Special Provisions. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 457.123 as follows: 

■ A. Revise the first sentence of the 

introductory text. 

■ B. Revise paragraph 6(e). 

The revisions to § 457.123 read as 

follows: 

§ 457.123 Almond crop insurance 

provisions. 

The Almond Crop Insurance 

Provisions for the 2008 and succeeding 

crop years are as follows: 

* * * * * 

6. Insured Crop 

* * * * * 

(e) On acreage where at least 90 

percent of the trees have reached at least 

the sixth growing season after being set 

out, unless otherwise provided in the 

Special Provisions. 

* * * * * 

Signed in Washington, DC, on March 6, 

2007. 

Eldon Gould, 

Manager, Federal Crop Insurance 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. E7–4333 Filed 3–9–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2006–25105; Directorate 

Identifier 2006–CE–33–AD; Amendment 39–

14982; AD 2007–06–01] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Raytheon 

Aircraft Company Beech Models 45 

(YT–34), A45 (T–34A, B–45), and D45 

(T–34B) Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) that 

supersedes AD 62–24–01, which applies 

to all Raytheon Aircraft Company (RAC) 

Beech Models 45 (YT–34), A45 (T–34A, 

B45), and D45 (T–34B) airplanes. AD 

62–24–01 currently requires you to 

repetitively inspect, using the dye 

penetrant method, the front and rear 

horizontal stabilizer spars for cracks and 

replace any cracked stabilizer. Since we 

issued AD 62–24–01, we determined 

that using the dye penetrant inspection 

method may not detect cracks before the 

crack grows to a critical length and 

causes failure of the horizontal stabilizer 

spars. Therefore, we are requiring the 

surface eddy current inspection method 

to detect cracks in the horizontal 

stabilizer spars. Consequently, this AD 

retains the actions required in AD 62–

24–01 and changes the required 

inspection method from dye penetrant 

to surface eddy current. We are issuing 

this AD to prevent failure of the front 

and/or rear horizontal stabilizer spars 

caused by fatigue cracks. This failure 

could result in stabilizer separation and 

loss of control of the airplane. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective on 

April 16, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: To view the AD docket, go 

to the Docket Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, 400 

Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, 

Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–

001 or on the Internet at http:// 

dms.dot.gov. The docket number is 

FAA–2006–25105; Directorate Identifier 

2006–CE–33–AD. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: T.N. 

Baktha, Aerospace Engineer, FAA, 

Wichita Aircraft Certification Office, 

1801 Airport Road, Mid-Continent 

Airport, Wichita, Kansas 67209; 

telephone: (316) 946–4155; fax: (316) 

946–4107. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


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