Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 79733 

1https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/. 

2 Information Services and Manuals Unit, 4700 

River Road, Riverdale, MD 20737. 

employee retires or terminates 

employment are allowable in the year of 

payment and should be allocated as a 

general administrative expense to all 

activities or included in the fringe 

benefit rate. 

* * * * * 

Deidre A. Harrison, 

Deputy Controller, performing the delegated 

duties of the Controller Office of Federal 

Financial Management. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22520 Filed 9–26–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3110–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Parts 305 and 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2024–0034] 

Web Links for Plant Commodity Import 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are revising the 

phytosanitary treatment and quarantine 

import regulations to reflect our 

relocation of import and treatment 

requirements for agricultural 

commodities to the Agricultural 

Commodity Import Requirements online 

database. This change will ensure that 

the regulations provide the latest web 

links for accessing current import and 

treatment requirements for all 

agricultural commodities. 

DATES: Effective October 1, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Jenna Edwards, Assistant Director, 

Information Services and Manuals Unit, 

PPQ–PEIP–IRM, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (970) 

305–2501; jennifer.m.edwards@

usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 7 CFR part 305, 

‘‘Phytosanitary Treatments,’’ set out 

phytosanitary treatment requirements 

for certain plants, fruits, vegetables, and 

other articles before they may be 

imported or moved interstate to prevent 

the spread of agricultural pests into or 

within the United States. In 7 CFR part 

319, subpart H, §§ 319.37–1 through 

319.37–23, sets out requirements for 

importation of live plants intended to be 

planted or replanted. Subpart L, 

§§ 319.56–1 through 319.56–12, 

provides requirements for importation 

of fruits and vegetables into the United 

States. 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) maintains a 

publicly searchable database, 

‘‘Agricultural Commodity Import 

Requirements,’’ or ACIR,1 that allows 

users to find import and treatment 

requirements for all agricultural 

commodities. APHIS intends ACIR 

eventually to be the official location for 

import and treatment requirements for 

all agricultural commodities. 

Prior to development of the ACIR 

database, APHIS’ Plant Protection and 

Quarantine (PPQ) import and treatment 

requirements were maintained across 

several manuals and the Fruits and 

Vegetables Import Requirements 

(FAVIR) database. In September 2022, 

FAVIR was retired and all information 

about specific fruit and vegetable import 

requirements were relocated to ACIR. 

PPQ import requirements for cut flowers 

and greenery, seeds not for planting, 

miscellaneous and processed products, 

and later in 2022, plants for planting, 

were also relocated from their respective 

manuals to ACIR. In early 2023, 

treatment schedules and other 

information from the PPQ Treatment 

Manual were relocated to ACIR. 

Parts 305 and 319 of the current 

regulations contain web links to FAVIR, 

PPQ’s Plants for Planting Manual, and 

the PPQ Treatment Manual. These links 

either redirect persons to the ACIR 

database or to manuals that are no 

longer to be updated, as the information 

in these sources has been moved to 

ACIR. In order to provide updated web 

links to direct readers to the ACIR 

database, it is necessary to amend the 

regulations through rulemaking. 

In § 305.1, the definition of PPQ 

Treatment Manual contains a link that 

currently directs readers to the manual. 

We are removing that web link and 

replacing it with one that links directly 

to the treatments section within ACIR. 

We are also amending the definition by 

removing the current mailing address 

for requesting a hard copy of the PPQ 

Treatment Manual and adding an 

updated mailing address.2 In 

accordance with our legal obligations, 

we maintain this service for persons 

who may not have access to the internet. 

We are also amending § 319.5(c) by 

removing ‘‘Commodity Import Analysis 

and Operations’’ from the address to 

which information about export 

commodities is to be sent. This 

amendment reflects an internal 

administrative change. 

In § 319.37–2, we are revising the 

definition of Plants for Planting Manual 

by replacing the web link currently in 

the definition with one that links 

directly to the plants for planting 

section of the ACIR database. We are 

also updating the mailing address in the 

definition for persons requesting a hard 

copy of the manual. 

As noted above, the import 

requirements for fruits and vegetables 

have been moved from FAVIR to ACIR. 

Accordingly, we are updating § 319.56– 

4(c)(1) by replacing the current web link 

with a link directly to the ACIR 

database. 

Effective Date 

This rule updates APHIS’ regulations 

in order to ensure that references to 

manuals, web addresses, postal 

addresses, and nomenclature are 

accurate. Therefore, APHIS considers 

there to be good cause pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553 to find that an opportunity 

for public comment is unnecessary and 

contrary to the public interest, and this 

rule may be made effective less than 30 

days after publication in the Federal 

Register. Further, since this rule ensures 

that regulations will refer to the correct 

web addresses and postal addresses 

used by the Agency, APHIS considers 

the rule to relate to internal agency 

management within the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, and it is, 

accordingly, exempt from the provisions 

of Executive Orders 12866 and 12988. 

Finally, this action is not a rule as 

defined by the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (5 U.S.C. 501), and as such is 

exempt from the provisions of that Act. 

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 2 CFR 

chapter IV.) 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This rule contains no reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

Lists of Subjects 

7 CFR Part 305 

Agricultural commodities, Imports, 

Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

7 CFR Part 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, 

Imports, Nursery stock, Plant diseases 

and pests, Plants, Quarantine, Reporting 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
79734 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 1, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Sugar, Vegetables. 

Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

parts 305 and 319 as follows: 

PART 305—PHYTOSANITARY 

TREATMENTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 305 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781– 

7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 

2.80, and 371.3. 

■ 2. In § 305.1, revise the definition of 

‘‘PPQ Treatment Manual’’ to read as 

follows: 

§ 305.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

PPQ Treatment Manual. A document 

that contains treatment schedules that 

are approved by the Administrator for 

use under this part. The Treatment 

Manual is available on the internet at 

https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/treatmenthub, or by contacting the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant 

Protection and Quarantine, Information 

Services and Manuals Unit, 4700 River 

Road, Riverdale, MD 20737. 

* * * * * 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701–7772, and 

7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

§ 319.5 [Amended] 

■ 4. In § 319.5(c), remove the text 

‘‘Commodity Import Analysis and 

Operations,’’. 

■ 5. In § 319.37–2, revise the definition 

of ‘‘Plants for Planting Manual’’ to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.37–2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Plants for Planting Manual. The 

document that contains restrictions on 

the importation of specific types of 

plants for planting, as provided in 

§ 319.37–20, and other information 

about the importation of plants for 

planting as provided in this subpart. 

The Plants for Planting Manual is 

available on the internet at https://acir.

aphis.usda.gov/s/plants-for-plantinghub, or by contacting the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant 

Protection and Quarantine, Information 

Services and Manuals Unit, 4700 River 

Road, Riverdale, MD 20737. 

* * * * * 

§ 319.56–4 [Amended] 

■ 6. In § 319.56–4(c)(1), remove the web 

address ‘‘https://epermits.aphis.

usda.gov/manual’’ and add the web 

address ‘‘https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/’’ 

in its place. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of 

September 2024. 

Michael Watson, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–21619 Filed 9–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

13 CFR Part 120 

RIN 3245–AI15 

504 Debt Refinancing 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Direct final rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA or Agency) is 

amending regulations governing SBA’s 

504 Loan Program for debt refinancing 

with expansion and debt refinancing 

without expansion with this direct final 

rule. The changes will streamline the 

loan application process, expand 

eligibility criteria for small businesses 

borrowers, and make minor corrections. 

The amendments include: removing the 

50% cap on debt refinance without 

expansion to conform with current 

legislation; raising the loan to value 

requirement on debt refinancing 

without expansion projects that include 

other business expenses to 90% and 

eliminating the cap on Eligible Business 

Expenses; aligning the ‘‘substantially 

all’’ standard for 504 debt refinancing 

with expansion so it is consistent with 

the debt refinancing without expansion 

standard of 75%; eliminating the 10% 

substantial benefit test on 504 debt 

refinancing with expansion and 504 

debt refinancing without expansion on 

refinancing other government debt; and 

allowing certain ‘‘other secured debt’’ to 

be included as an Eligible Business 

Expense. 

DATES: The direct final rule is effective 

November 15, 2024. SBA must receive 

comments on this direct final rule on or 

before October 31, 2024. If adverse 

comment is received, SBA will publish 

a timely withdrawal of the rule in the 

Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 3245–AI15, through 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal: https:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

SBA will post all comments on 

https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish 

to submit confidential business 

information (CBI) as defined in the User 

Notice at https://www.regulations.gov, 

please submit the information via email 

to Gregorius.Suryadi@sba.gov. Highlight 

the information that you consider to be 

CBI and explain why you believe SBA 

should hold this information as 

confidential. SBA will review the 

information and make the final 

determination whether it will publish 

the information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gregorius Suryadi, Senior Financial and 

Loan Specialist, 504 Program Branch, 

Office of Financial Assistance, Small 

Business Administration, 409 3rd Street 

SW, Washington, DC 20416; telephone: 

(202) 205–6806; email: 

gregorius.suryadi@sba.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information 

The 504 Loan Program is an SBA 

financing program authorized under 

title V of the Small Business Investment 

Act of 1958, 15 U.S.C. 695 et seq. The 

core mission of the 504 Loan Program is 

to provide long-term financing to small 

businesses for the purchase or 

improvement of land, buildings, and 

major equipment, in an effort to 

facilitate the creation or retention of jobs 

and local economic development. Under 

the 504 Loan Program, loans are made 

to small business applicants by Certified 

Development Companies (‘‘CDCs’’), 

which are certified and regulated by 

SBA to promote economic development 

within their community. In general, a 

project in the 504 Loan Program (a ‘‘504 

Project’’) includes: A loan obtained from 

a private sector lender with a senior lien 

covering at least 50 percent of the 

project cost; a loan obtained from a CDC 

(a ‘‘504 Loan’’) with a junior lien 

covering up to 40 percent of the total 

cost (backed by a 100 percent SBAguaranteed debenture); and a 

contribution from the Borrower of at 

least 10 percent equity. 

In addition, the 504 Loan Program 

may be used to refinance debt under 

two options authorized under section 

502(7)(B) and (C) of the Small Business 

Investment Act of 1958. First, if a 504 

Project involves the expansion of the 

small business, any amount of existing 

indebtedness that does not exceed 100 

percent of the project cost of the 

expansion may be refinanced and added 

to the project’s cost (Debt Refinancing 

with Expansion) under the conditions 

set forth in section 502(7)(B) and the 

implementing regulations. See 13 CFR 

120.882(e) and (f). Second, debt 


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