Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 179 / Tuesday, September 16, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 48475

therein. It includes a schedule of

conservation treatment and management

required to protect and to maintain the

wetland and adjacent land as a

functional wetland unit for the life of

the agreement.

(c) Conservation treatment and

management of the vegetation for

wetland protection, wildlife habitat, or

other authorized objectives are

consistent with the program objectives

and priorities.

§ 633.10 Modifications.

The NRCS may approve modifications

to the agreement or associated

conservation plan after consultation

with the Conservation District. Any

modification must meet WBP program

objectives, and must be in compliance

with this part.

§ 633.11 Transfer of interest in an

agreement.

(a) If the ownership or operation of a

farm changes in such a manner that the

agreement no longer contains the

signatures of the persons required by

§ 633.6(a) to sign the agreement, the

agreement shall be modified to reflect

the new interested persons and new

divisions of payments.

(b) If such persons are not willing to

become parties to the modified

agreement or for any other reason a

modified agreement is not executed, the

agreement shall be terminated and all

unearned payments shall be forfeited or

refunded.

(c) The annual payment for the year

in which the change of ownership or

operation occurs shall not be considered

to have been earned unless the

designated acreage is continued in the

program and there is compliance with

the agreement for the full agreement

year.

(d) The signatories to the agreement

prior to the change of ownership or

operation shall be jointly and severally

responsible for refunding the unearned

payments previously made.

§ 633.12 Termination of agreements.

(a) The State Conservationist may, by

mutual agreement with the parties to the

agreement, consent to the termination of

the agreement where:

(1) The parties to the agreement are

unable to comply with the terms of the

agreement as the result of conditions

beyond their control;

(2) Compliance with the terms of the

agreement would work a severe

hardship on the parties to the

agreement; or

(3) Termination of the agreement

would be in the public interest.

(b) If an agreement is terminated in

accordance with the provisions of this

section, the annual payment for the year

in which the agreement is terminated

shall not be considered to have been

earned unless there is compliance with

the terms and conditions of the

agreement for the entire calendar year.

§ 633.13 Violations and remedies.

(a) In the event of a violation of an

agreement or any associated

conservation plan, the parties to the

agreement shall be given reasonable

notice and an opportunity to voluntarily

correct the violation within 30 days of

the date of the notice, or such additional

time as the State Conservationist may

allow.

(b) In addition to any and all legal and

equitable remedies as may be available

to the NRCS under applicable law, the

NRCS may withhold any annual or costshare payments owing to the parties of

the agreement at any time there is a

material breach of the agreement or any

conservation plan. Such withheld funds

may be used to offset costs incurred by

the NRCS in any remedial actions or

retained as damages pursuant to court

order or settlement agreement.

(c) The NRCS shall be entitled to

recover any and all administrative and

legal costs, including attorney’s fees or

expenses, associated with any

enforcement or remedial action.

§ 633.14 Debt collection.

Any debts arising under this program

are governed with respect to their

collection by the Federal Claims

Collection Act of 1966 (31 U.S.C. 3701)

and the regulations found in 4 CFR

chapter II.

§ 633.15 Payments not subject to claims.

(a) Any payments due any person

shall be determined and allowed

without regard to State land and

without regard to any claim or lien

against any crop, or proceeds thereof,

which may be asserted by any creditor,

except as provided in paragraph (b) of

this section.

(b) The regulations governing setoffs

and withholdings, in part 13 of this title,

as amended, shall be applicable to this

program.

§ 633.16 Assignments.

Any person entitled to any cash

payment under this program may assign

the right to receive such cash payments,

in whole or in part.

§ 633.17 Appeals.

(a) Any person may obtain

reconsideration and review of

determinations affecting participation in

this program in accordance with part

614 of this chapter.

(b) Before a person may seek judicial

review of any action taken under this

part, the person must exhaust all

administrative appeal procedures set

forth in paragraph (a) of this section,

and for purposes of judicial review, no

decision shall be a final agency action

except a decision of the Chief of NRCS

under these procedures.

§ 633.18 Scheme and device.

(a) If it is determined by the NRCS

that a person has employed a scheme or

device to defeat the purposes of this

part, any part of any program payment

otherwise due or paid such person

during the applicable period may be

withheld or be required to be refunded

with interest thereon, as determined

appropriate by the NRCS.

(b) A scheme or device includes, but

is not limited to, coercion, fraud,

misrepresentation, depriving any other

person of an annual payment or

payments for cost-share practices for the

purpose of obtaining a payment to

which a person would otherwise not be

entitled.

(c) A program participant who

succeeds to the responsibilities under

this part shall report in writing to the

NRCS any interest of any kind in

enrolled land that is held by a

predecessor or any lender. A failure of

full disclosure will be considered a

scheme or device under this section.

Signed at Washington, D.C. on September

4, 1997.

Gary R. Nordstrom,

Acting Chief, Natural Resources Conservation

Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24486 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 78

[Docket No. 97–077–1]

Brucellosis in Cattle; State and Area

Classifications; Kentucky

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: We are amending the

brucellosis regulations concerning the

interstate movement of cattle by

changing the classification of Kentucky

from Class A to Class Free. We have

determined that Kentucky meets the

standards for Class Free status. This

action relieves certain restrictions on
48476 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 179 / Tuesday, September 16, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

the interstate movement of cattle from

Kentucky.

DATES: Interim rule effective September

16, 1997. Consideration will be given

only to comments received on or before

November 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 97–077–1, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 97–077–1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA,

room 1141, South Building, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

R.T. Rollo, Jr., Staff Veterinarian,

National Animal Health Programs, VS,

APHIS, Suite 3B08, 4700 River Road

Unit 36, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231,

(301) 734–7709; or e-mail:

rrollo@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Brucellosis is a contagious disease

affecting animals and humans, caused

by bacteria of the genus Brucella.

The brucellosis regulations, contained

in 9 CFR part 78 (referred to below as

the regulations), provide a system for

classifying States or portions of States

according to the rate of Brucella

infection present, and the general

effectiveness of a brucellosis control and

eradication program. The classifications

are Class Free, Class A, Class B, and

Class C. States or areas that do not meet

the minimum standards for Class C are

required to be placed under Federal

quarantine.

The brucellosis Class Free

classification is based on a finding of no

known brucellosis in cattle for the 12

months preceding classification as Class

Free. The Class C classification is for

States or areas with the highest rate of

brucellosis. Class B and Class A fall

between these two extremes.

Restrictions on moving cattle interstate

become less stringent as a State

approaches or achieves Class Free

status.

The standards for the different

classifications of States or areas entail

(1) maintaining a cattle herd infection

rate not to exceed a stated level during

12 consecutive months; (2) tracing back

to the farm of origin and successfully

closing a stated percent of all brucellosis

reactors found in the course of Market

Cattle Identification (MCI) testing; (3)

maintaining a surveillance system that

includes testing of dairy herds,

participation of all recognized

slaughtering establishments in the MCI

program, identification and monitoring

of herds at high risk of infection

(including herds adjacent to infected

herds and herds from which infected

animals have been sold or received),

and having an individual herd plan in

effect within a stated number of days

after the herd owner is notified of the

finding of brucellosis in a herd he or she

owns; and (4) maintaining minimum

procedural standards for administering

the program.

Before the effective date of this

interim rule, Kentucky was classified as

a Class A State.

To attain and maintain Class Free

status, a State or area must (1) remain

free from field strain Brucella abortus

infection for 12 consecutive months or

longer; (2) trace back at least 90 percent

of all brucellosis reactors found in the

course of MCI testing to the farm of

origin; (3) successfully close at least 95

percent of the MCI reactor cases traced

to the farm of origin during the 12

consecutive month period immediately

prior to the most recent anniversary of

the date the State or area was classified

Class Free; and (4) have a specified

surveillance system, as described above,

including an approved individual herd

plan in effect within 15 days of locating

the source herd or recipient herd.

After reviewing the brucellosis

program records for Kentucky, we have

concluded that this State meets the

standards for Class Free status.

Therefore, we are removing Kentucky

from the list of Class A States in

§ 78.41(b) and adding it to the list of

Class Free States in § 78.41(a). This

action relieves certain restrictions on

moving cattle interstate from Kentucky.

Immediate Action

The Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has

determined that there is good cause for

publishing this interim rule without

prior opportunity for public comment.

Immediate action is warranted to

remove unnecessary restrictions on the

interstate movement of cattle from

Kentucky.

Because prior notice and other public

procedures with respect to this action

are impracticable and contrary to the

public interest under these conditions,

we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553

to make it effective upon publication.

We will consider comments that are

received within 60 days of publication

of this rule in the Federal Register.

After the comment period closes, we

will publish another document in the

Federal Register. It will include a

discussion of any comments we receive

and any amendments we are making to

the rule as a result of the comments.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. For this action,

the Office of Management and Budget

has waived its review process required

by Executive Order 12866.

Cattle moved interstate are moved for

slaughter, for use as breeding stock, or

for feeding. Changing the brucellosis

status of Kentucky from Class A to Class

Free will promote economic growth by

reducing certain testing and other

requirements governing the interstate

movement of cattle from this State.

Testing requirements for cattle moved

interstate for immediate slaughter or to

quarantined feedlots are not affected by

this change. Cattle from certified

brucellosis-free herds moving interstate

are not affected by this change.

The groups affected by this action will

be herd owners in Kentucky, as well as

buyers and importers of cattle from this

State.

There are an estimated 52,000 cattle

herds in Kentucky that would be

affected by this rule. All of these are

owned by small entities. Test-eligible

cattle offered for sale interstate from

other than certified-free herds must

have a negative test under present Class

A status regulations, but not under

regulations concerning Class Free status.

If such testing were distributed equally

among all animals affected by this rule,

Class Free status would save

approximately $3 per head.

Therefore, we believe that changing

the brucellosis status of Kentucky will

not have a significant economic impact

on the small entities affected by this

interim rule.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12372

This program/activity is listed in the

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

under No. 10.025 and is subject to

Executive Order 12372, which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part

3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 179 / Tuesday, September 16, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 48477

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State

and local laws and regulations that are

in conflict with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) does not

require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court

challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This document contains no

information collection or recordkeeping

requirements under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.).

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 78

Animal diseases, Bison, Cattle, Hogs,

Quarantine, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements,

Transportation.

Accordingly, 9 CFR part 78 is

amended as follows:

PART 78—BRUCELLOSIS

1. The authority citation for part 78

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 111–114a–1, 114g,

115, 117, 120, 121, 123–126, 134b, and 134f;

7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

§ 78.41 [Amended]

2. In § 78.41, paragraph (a) is

amended by adding ‘‘Kentucky,’’

immediately after ‘‘Iowa,’’.

3. In § 78.41, paragraph (b) is

amended by removing ‘‘Kentucky,’’.

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of

September 1997.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97–24435 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Part 105

Standards of Conduct and Employee

Restrictions and Responsibilities

AGENCY: Small Business Administration

(SBA).

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Small Business

Administration (SBA) regulations

currently designate the Deputy General

Counsel as the Designated Agency

Ethics Official (DAEO). The Agency has

now appointed a different official as the

DAEO and has determined that a

regulation is not required to implement

this appointment. This amendment

eliminates the paragraph that formerly

designated the Deputy General Counsel

as the DAEO, and amends a paragraph

which identified the Deputy General

Counsel as also serving as the Agency

Standards of Conduct Counselor to now

identify the DAEO as serving that role.

DATES: This rule becomes effective

September 16, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robinson S. Nunn, Chief Counsel for

Ethics, (202) 205–6867.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following amendments will be made to

13 CFR Part 105:

Section 105.402 Standards of Conduct

Counselors

(a) Replaces ‘‘Deputy General

Counsel’’ with ‘‘Designated Agency

Ethics Official, as appointed by the

Administrator,’’ and eliminates

reference to the Associate General

Counsel for General Law (AGC) as an

Assistant Standards of Conduct

Counselor.

Section 105.403 Designated Agency

Ethics Officials

Strikes (a) in full, and makes the

existing text of (b) the only text under

Section 105.403.

This final rule reflects an internal

policy change resulting from a March

1997 reorganization in the Office of

General Counsel and must be effective

immediately. Therefore, SBA is

publishing the rule without opportunity

for prior public comment.

Compliance with Executive Order

12612, 12778, and 12866, the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. And

the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C.

Ch. 35.

SBA certifies the following:

For purposes of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., this

final rule does not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

This final rule does not constitute a

significant regulatory action for

purposes of Executive Order 12866,

since the change is not likely to result

in an annual effect on the economy of

$100 million or more.

This final rule does not impose

additional reporting or record keeping

requirements which would be subject to

the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35.

This final rule does not have

federalism implications warranting the

preparation of a Federalism Assessment

in accordance with Executive Order

12612.

This final rule is drafted, to the extent

practicable, in accordance with the

standards set forth in section 1 of

Executive Order 12778.

List of Subjects in 13 CFR Part 105

Employee restrictions and

responsibilities, Small Business

Administration, Standards of conduct.

Accordingly, SBA is amending Part

105, Title 13 of the Code of Federal

Regulations as follows:

PART 105—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 105

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 7301; 15 U.S.C. 634,

637(a)(18) and (a)(19), 642 and 645(a).

§ 105.402 [Amended]

2. Section 105.402(a) is amended by

removing ‘‘Deputy General Counsel’’

and adding in its place, ‘‘Designated

Agency Ethics Official, as appointed by

the Administrator,’’ in the first sentence,

and by changing the second sentence to

read as follows: ‘‘Assistant Standards of

Conduct Counselors may be designated

by the Standards of Conduct

Counselor.’’

§ 105.403 [Amended]

3. Section 105.403(a) is removed in

full. Existing § 105.403(b) is

redesignated as § 105.403.

Aida Alvarez,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–24507 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8025–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 97–NM–48–AD; Amendment

39–10132; AD 97–19–11]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier

Model CL–600–2B19 (Regional Jet

Series 100) Series Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This amendment supersedes

an existing airworthiness directive (AD),

applicable to certain Bombardier Model

CL–600–2B19 series airplanes, that

currently requires revising the

Limitations Section of the Airplane

Flight Manual (AFM) to provide the

flight crew with procedures to check the

travel range of the aileron. That AD also

requires inspection for damage of the

shear pins of the aileron flutter damper

and aileron hinge fittings, and various

follow-on actions. This amendment

adds a requirement for accomplishment