64596 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 210 / Monday, October 30, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

with this part. Such reduction may be

made before the penalty is assessed or

may be made during the course of an

appeal.

(2) By the Executive Vice President,

CCC. To the extent permitted by the

provisions of paragraph (d) of this

section, the Executive Vice President,

CCC, or the Executive Vice President’s

designee, may reduce the amount of

penalty that has been assessed in

accordance with this part.

(c) Reduction criteria. A penalty that

is determined or assessed in accordance

with this part may be reduced by the

CCC Contracting Officer or the

Executive Vice President, CCC, or the

Executive Vice President’s designee, if

such person determines that:

(1) The violation for which the

penalty was assessed was minor or

inadvertent;

(2) A reduction in the amount of the

penalty would not impair the effective

operation of the peanut program; and

(3) The assessment of penalty was not

made for failure to export contract

additional peanuts.

(d) Reduction limits.

(1) If the reduction criteria in

paragraph (c) of this section has been

met, the CCC Contracting Officer or the

Executive Vice President, CCC, or the

Executive Vice President’s designee, as

applicable, may reduce the penalty by

such amount as such person considers

appropriate (including a full reduction

of the entire penalty) after taking into

account the severity of the violation and

the violation history of the handler.

(2) If one of the criteria in paragraphs

(c) (1) and (2) of this section has not

been satisfied and the remaining criteria

has been satisfied, the penalty shall not

be reduced to less than an amount

which is equal to 40 percent of the

national average quota support rate for

the applicable crop year times the

quantity of peanuts involved in the

violation.

(3) There shall not be a limit on the

amount by which an assessment of

liquidated damages may be reduced by

the CCC Contracting Officer or the

Executive Vice President, CCC, or the

Executive Vice President’s designee.

§ 1446.705 and 1446.706 [Redesignated as

sections 1446.706 and 1446.707]

4. Sections 1446.705 and 1446.706 are

redesignated as 1446.706 and 1446.707

and § 1446.705 is added to read as

follows:

§ 1446.705 Appeals.

A handler may obtain reconsideration

and review of any adverse

determination made under this part in

accordance with the appeal regulations

found at 7 CFR parts 11 and 780 of this

title.

Signed at Washington, D.C., on October 23,

2000.

Keith Kelly,

Administrator, Farm Service Agency and

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 00–27715 Filed 10–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Rural Utilities Service

7 CFR Part 4279

RIN 0570–AA31

Business and Industry Guaranteed

Loan Program—Domestic Lamb

Industry Adjustment Assistance

Program Set Aside

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request

for comments.

SUMMARY: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RBS) is amending

its regulation for Business and Industry

Loans, as part of a U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) initiative to assist

the ailing domestic lamb industry, to

establish a 3-year set aside of a portion

of its Business and Industry (B&I)

Guaranteed Loan Program funds to

finance real estate purchases and

improvements, working capital, debt

refinancing, and equipment in domestic

lamb packing and processing plants.

The intended effect of this rule is to

enhance the lamb industry’s ability to

compete in the marketplace.

DATES: The effective date of this interim

rule is October 30, 2000. Written or email comments must be received on or

before December 29, 2000 to be assured

of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments

via U.S. Postal Service, in duplicate, to

the Regulations and Paperwork

Management Branch, Attention: Cheryl

Thompson, Rural Development, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, STOP 0742,

1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–0742. Submit

written comments via Federal Express

Mail, in duplicate, to the Regulations

and Paperwork Management Branch,

Attention: Cheryl Thompson, USDARural Development, 3rd Floor, 300 E

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20546.

Also, comments may be submitted via

the Internet by addressing them to

‘‘comments@rus.usda.gov.’’ The

comment must contain the word

‘‘Lamb’’ in the subject line. All

comments will be available for public

inspection during regular work hours at

the 300 E Street, SW., address listed

above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Roland Woodfolk, Commercial Loan

Specialist, Business Programs

Processing Division, Rural BusinessCooperative Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, STOP 3221, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, D.C. 20250–3221,

telephone (202) 690–3805, or by sending

an e-mail message to

‘‘roland.woodfolk@usda.gov’’.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Classification

This interim final rule has been

determined not significant and,

therefore, has not been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) under Executive Order 12866.

Programs Affected

The Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance number for this program

impacted by this action is 10.768,

Business and Industry Loans.

Intergovernmental Review

Business and Industry Guaranteed

loans are subject to the provisions of

Executive Order 12372, which require

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. RBS has

conducted or will conduct

intergovernmental consultation in the

manner delineated in 7 CFR part 3015,

subpart V, ‘‘Intergovernmental Review

of Department of Agriculture Programs

and Activities.’’

Civil Justice Reform

This interim rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil

Justice Reform.’’ In accordance with this

rule: (1) All state and local laws and

regulations that are in conflict with this

rule will be preempted, (2) no

retroactive effect will be given this rule,

and (3) administrative proceedings of

the National Appeals Division (7 CFR

part 11) must be exhausted before

bringing suit in court challenging action

taken under this rule.

Environmental Impact Statement

This document has been reviewed in

accordance with 7 CFR part 1940,

subpart G, ‘‘Environmental Program.’’

RBS has determined that this action

does not constitute a major Federal

action significantly affecting the quality

of the human environment, and, in

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 210 / Monday, October 30, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 64597

accordance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42

U.S.C. 4321 et seq., an Environmental

Impact Statement is not required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

There is no reporting and

recordkeeping requirements associated

with this interim rule.

Unfunded Mandates

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), 2 U.S.C

chapters 17A and 25, establishes

requirements for Federal agencies to

assess the effects of their regulatory

actions on state, local, and tribal

governments and the private sector.

Under section 202 of the UMRA, RBS

generally must prepare a written

statement, including a cost-benefit

analysis, for proposed and final rules

with ‘‘Federal mandates,’’ that may

result in expenditures to state, local, or

tribal governments, in the aggregate, or

to the private sector, of $100 million or

more in any 1 year. When such a

statement is needed for a rule, section

205 of UMRA generally requires RBS to

identify and consider a reasonable

number of regulatory alternatives and

adopt the least costly, more costeffective, or least burdensome

alternative that achieves the objectives

of the rule. 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. Thus, this rule is not

subject to the requirements of sections

202 and 205 of UMRA.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

In compliance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act, RBS has determined that

this action would not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities, because the

action will not affect a significant

number of small entities, as defined by

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601). RBS made this determination

based on the fact that this regulation

only impacts those who choose to

participate in the program. Small entity

applicants will not be impacted to a

greater extent than large entity

applicants.

Executive Order 13132

It has been determined under

Executive Order 13132, ‘‘Federalism,’’

that this rule does not have sufficient

federalism implications to warrant the

preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

The provisions contained in this rule

will not have a substantial direct effect

on states or their political subdivisions

or on the distribution of power and

responsibilities among the various

levels of Government.

Immediate Effectiveness of This Rule

It has been determined that this rule

should be issued as an interim rule,

effective immediately (October 30,

2000), but subject to the modification on

the consideration of comments that are

timely received. As a result of the

United States International Trade

Commission findings in Investigation

Number TA–201–68 on July 7, 1999, the

President issued a declaration

concerning the lamb meat industry. In

response to that declaration, the

Secretary of Agriculture is

implementing import relief and

adjustment assistance measures using,

among other things, USDA loan

programs to facilitate efforts of the

domestic lamb industry to compete with

foreign lamb industries.

Market conditions have deteriorated

since 1997. Lamb producers have been

some of the hardest hit, suffering major

losses during 1997 and 1998, due to

record high imports of low-price lamb

meat; so there is a critical need for

immediate action. Furthermore, while

the need for immediate assistance is

critical, potential harm to other parties,

resulting from the issuance of this rule

as an interim rule, is expected to be

minimal. Therefore, RBS has

determined that the notice and public

procedure thereon are impracticable,

unnecessary, and contrary to public

interest.

Discussion of the Interim Rule

The purpose of the B&I Guaranteed

Loan Program is to improve, develop, or

finance business, industry, and

employment and improve the economic

and environmental climate in rural

communities. This purpose is achieved

by bolstering the existing private credit

structure through the guaranteeing of

quality loans that will provide lasting

community benefits.

The U.S. sheep industry lacks

competitive domestic lamb products at

the wholesale and retail levels to

effectively compete with imported

products. Upgrading processing systems

to produce a consumer-ready product at

the retail level, that include attributes

such as modified atmosphere packaging,

portion control, and pre-cooked items,

will greatly enhance the domestic lamb

industry’s ability to compete in the

marketplace. B&I loans to upgrade,

replace, and install new processing and

packaging equipment are eligible under

existing program regulations. As part of

a USDA initiative to target assistance to

the domestic lamb industry, the Agency

is setting aside a portion of the B&I

Guaranteed Loan Program funds to

finance real estate purchases and

improvements, working capital, debt

refinancing, and equipment in domestic

lamb processing and packaging plants.

This rule is intended to recognize the

set aside of $15 million in fiscal year

(FY) 2001, $5 million in FY 2002, and

$5 million in FY 2003.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 4279

Loan programs—Business, Rural

areas.

Therefore, chapter XLII, title 7, Code

of Federal Regulations, is amended as

follows:

PART 4279—GUARANTEED

LOANMAKING

1. The authority citation for part 4279

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 7 U.S.C 1989.

Subpart B—Business and Industry

Loans

2. Section 4279.175 is added to read

as follows:

§ 4279.175 Domestic lamb industry

adjustment assistance program set aside.

A 3-year set aside of B&I Guaranteed

Loan Program funds has been

established in the National Office to

fund loans to lamb processors for real

estate purchases and improvements;

working capital; debt refinancing; and

upgrading, replacing, and installing new

processing and packaging equipment for

domestic lamb packing and processing

plants. The set aside is $15 million for

FY 2001, $5 million for FY 2002, and $5

million for FY 2003. These funds will be

available through the third quarter of

each respective year and, if not used,

will revert for use in the general

program.

Dated: September 29, 2000.

Jill Long Thompson,

Under Secretary, Rural Development.

[FR Doc. 00–27788 Filed 10–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 99–NE–29–AD; Amendment 39–

11952; AD 2000–22–06]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Pratt &

Whitney JT8D Series Turbofan Engines

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.