31102 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

Except for wheat (Triticum spp.) plants,

which are prohibited importation under

§ 319.37–2(a) (see Poaceae) of this part,

any articles described in paragraph

(b)(1) of this section that are from that

designated area may be imported into

the United States subject to the

following conditions:

(i) The articles are offered for entry at

the port of Calexico, CA; and

(ii) The articles offered for entry are

made available for examination by an

inspector and remain at the port until

released, or authorized further

movement pending release, by an

inspector; and

(iii) The articles are accompanied by

a phytosanitary certificate issued by the

Mexican national plant protection

organization that certifies that the

articles are from the area of the Mexicali

Valley described in this paragraph and

remained within that area prior to and

during their movement to the United

States.

* * * * *

8. In Subpart—Packing Materials,

§ 319.69(b)(1) is revised to read as

follows:

319.69 Notice of quarantine.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) Cereal straw, hulls, and chaff (such

as oats, barley, and rye) from all

countries, except rice straw, hulls, and

chaff, which are prohibited importation

from all countries by paragraph (a)(1) of

this section, and except wheat straw,

hulls, and chaff, which are restricted

importation by § 319.59 of this part from

any country or locality listed in

§ 319.59–2 of this part.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of

June, 1998.

Charles P. Schwalbe,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98–15337 Filed 6–4–98; 3:22 pm]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

7 CFR Part 1412

Amendment to the Production

Flexibility Contract Regulations

RIN 0560–AF25

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit

Corporation (CCC) is issuing its final

rule with respect to the amendments to

the production flexibility contract

regulations published as an interim final

rule in the Federal Register on October

23, 1997. After considering the

comments received from the public, this

rule adopts the interim rule as final with

changes as indicated. The rule also

incorporates a specific change required

by the Agriculture, Rural Development,

Food and Drug Administration, and

Related Agencies Appropriations Act,

1998, which provides that if wild rice is

planted on contract acreage, the contract

payment shall be reduced in an amount

reflecting each contract acre planted to

wild rice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 8, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lynn H. Tjeerdsma, Farm Service

Agency, United States Department of

Agriculture, STOP 0517, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–0517, telephone

202–720–6602, Internet address:

ltjeerds@wdc.fsa.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule has been determined to be

not significant and was not reviewed by

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB).

Regulatory Flexibility Act

It has been determined that the

Regulatory Flexibility Act is not

applicable because CCC is not required

by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other provision

of law to publish a notice of proposed

rulemaking with respect to the subject

matter of this rule.

Environmental Evaluation

An Environmental Evaluation with

respect to the proposed rule has been

completed. It has been determined that

this action will not have significant

adverse effects on environmental factors

such as wildlife habitat, water quality,

air quality, land use, or appearance.

Therefore, neither an Environmental

Assessment nor an Environmental

Impact Statement is needed.

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed in

accordance with Executive Order 12988.

The provisions of this proposed rule

preempt State laws to the extent such

laws are inconsistent with the

provisions of this rule. The provisions

of this rule are not retroactive. Before

any judicial action may be brought

concerning the provisions of this rule,

the administrative remedies must be

exhausted.

Executive Order 12372

This program/activity is not subject to

the provisions of Executive Order

12372, which requires

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).

Paperwork Reduction Act

The amendments to 7 CFR part 1412

set forth in this rule were previously

approved under OMB Control Number

0560–0092. An information collection

notice was published in the Federal

Register (62 FR 27216) on May 19, 1997.

No comments were received regarding

this notice. A revised information

collection package has been submitted

to OMB.

Executive Order 12612

It has been determined 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.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of

1995

This rule contains no Federal

mandates under the regulatory

provisions of Title II of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMBRA)

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 the UMBRA.

Background

On October 23, 1997, CCC published

an interim rule in the Federal Register

(62 FR 55150) to add a final date for

producers to designate payment shares

and provide supporting documentation

to be eligible to earn contract payments

in a fiscal year when payment shares

have not been designated in such fiscal

year; change the dates by which a

producer or owner must inform county

committee of changes in interest; add a

final date for producers to request

advance payments; clarify cash lease

provisions; change the provisions for

determining whether a lease is a cash

lease or a share lease with respect to

combination leases; and change the date

by which all landowners, tenants, and

sharecroppers failing to reach an

agreement regarding the division of

contract payments for a fiscal year must

execute a contract to be eligible to

receive the contract payment for that
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 31103

fiscal year. Following publication of the

interim rule, the public was afforded 30

days to submit comments. CCC

extended the comment period to

December 1, 1997 (62 FR 63441). There

were 101 comments received in

response to the notice during the

comment period that ended on

December 1, 1997. The comments were

received from 74 producers, 19

commodity groups and eight Members

of Congress. Five respondents were

opposed to the amendment to

§ 1412.302(b). One hundred respondents

were opposed to, and one respondent

was in favor of, the amendment to

§ 1412.303(a)(4). The comments

received and CCC responses are as

follows:

Comment: Section 1412.302(b)

Respondents were concerned that the

timing of the announcement allowed

landlords and tenants a minimal

amount of time to negotiate leases to be

eligible for the December advance

payment, and that the deadlines for

requesting advance payments were

provided in legislation that did not

envision USDA eliminating the options

through administrative changes.

Respondents urged the Department to

suspend implementation of the new

deadlines relating to advance payments

to ensure that the Department’s

implementation of the Federal

Agriculture Improvement and Reform

Act of 1996 (1996 Act) is consistent

with the intent of Congress.

Response: The 1996 Act specifies that

at the option of the owner or producer

for fiscal year 1997 and each subsequent

year, 50 percent of the annual contract

payment shall be made on December 15

or January 15 of the fiscal year. Section

1412.302(b) does not change the

statutory deadline for issuing advance

payments. This amendment to the

regulation was made to ensure that

requests for advance payments are

received in a timely manner to enable

CCC to issue the payments by the

statutory deadlines. The provision will

not be changed from the interim rule.

Comment: Section 1412.303(a)(4)

Respondents were concerned that this

provision was announced at an

inappropriate time. Respondents were

also concerned that the provision would

result in higher fixed cash rents,

reduced contract payments for tenants,

limited crop financing for tenants,

increased financial exposure of tenants,

renegotiation of rental arrangements,

minimal or no savings to the

Government, elimination of cash rent

flexibility provisions under combination

leases, decreased land values because of

limited improvements being made to the

land resulting in job losses and reduced

tax bases in rural communities, and

elimination of the planting flexibility

provisions in the 1996 Act. Respondents

were also concerned that the

Department did not explain the basis for

the change.

Response: The amendment to

§ 1412.303(a)(4) relates to combination

leases that are partially paid in cash and

partially paid in the crop. Prior to the

amendment to this section, most

combination leases result in a

determination that the lease is a share

lease unless there is a disaster. Changing

this provision provides uniformity in

determining whether a lease is a cash or

share lease. The substance of

§ 1412.303(a)(4) will not be changed, but

the timing of the implementation of this

section has been modified as indicated

below so that producers who had made

long-term commitments prior to the

publication of the interim rule will be

unaffected. In addition, § 1412.303(a)(6)

has been amended to comport with

these changes.

Changes from the interim rule

include:

Section 1412.206 Planting Flexibility

This rule incorporates the change

required by the Agriculture, Rural

Development, Food and Drug

Administration, and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act, 1998, which

provides that if wild rice is planted on

contract acreage, the contract payment

shall be reduced by an acre for each

contract acre planted to wild rice.

Section 1412.303 Sharing of Contract

Payments

Combination leases are leases that

contain provisions for both a guaranteed

amount such as a fixed dollar amount,

or quantity and a share of a crop or crop

proceeds. Combination leases include

those leases that provide for the greater

of a guaranteed amount, or share of the

crop or crop proceeds. The amendment

provides that all combination leases

shall be considered share leases for

fiscal years 1999 and later fiscal years

except for those producers who had

made leasing and share-designation

decisions prior to the interim rule.

This rule amends § 1412.303:

(1) by adding language that for fiscal

year 1999 and subsequent fiscal years,

except as provided in (2) where

producers had already made leasing and

share-designation decisions prior to the

interim rule, that a ‘‘combination’’ lease

shall be considered a share lease if the

lease provides for both a guaranteed

amount, such as a fixed dollar amount

or quantity, and a share of a crop or crop

proceeds, including leases which

provide for the greater of a guaranteed

amount or share of the crop or crop

proceeds; and

(2) by adding language that for

producers who had already made

leasing and share-designation decisions

prior to the interim rule that for the

years which had been designated and a

lease executed, those leases will

continue to be considered cash leases.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1412

Contract acreage, Contract payments,

Planting flexibility, Price support

programs.

Accordingly, the interim rule

amending 7 CFR part 1412, which was

published at 62 FR 55150 on October

23, 1997, is adopted as a final rule with

the following changes:

PART 1412—PRODUCTION

FLEXIBILITY CONTRACTS FOR

WHEAT, FEED GRAINS, RICE, AND

UPLAND COTTON

1. The authority citation for part 1412

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.; 15 U.S.C.

714b and 714c; and Sec. 734 of Pub. L. 105–

86.

2. Section 1412.201 is amended by

revising paragraph (c) to read as follows:

§ 1412.201 Production flexibility contract.

* * * * *

(c) All producers sharing in the

contract payments on a farm whose

payment shares have not been

designated for a fiscal year must sign the

contract designating payment shares

and provide supporting documentation

as specified in parts 12, 1400, and 1405

of this title no later than August 1 of the

fiscal year to be eligible to earn a

contract payment in that fiscal year. If

all producers have not signed the

contract by this deadline, no producers

on the contract will be eligible for a

payment for that farm for that fiscal

year.

3. Section 1412.206 is amended by

revising paragraph (a) to read as follows:

§ 1412.206 Planting flexibility.

(a) For the 1996 through 2002 crop

years, any crop may be planted on

contract acreage on a farm, except as

limited elsewhere in this section. For

fiscal year 1998, for each acre a

producer plants wild rice on contract

acreage, 1 acre will not be used in

determining the contract payment. Any

crop may be planted on cropland in

excess of the contract acreage.

* * * * *

4. Section 1412.207 paragraphs (d)(1)

and (d)(2) are revised to read as follows:
31104 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 109 / Monday, June 8, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

§ 1412.207 Succession-in-interest to a

production flexibility contract.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(1) August 1 of the fiscal year in

which the change occurs if producers on

the contract acreage remain the same,

but payment shares change; or

(2) August 1 of the fiscal year in

which the change occurs, if a new

producer is being added to the contract.

* * * * *

5. Section 1412.302 paragraph (b) is

revised to read as follows:

* * * * *

§ 1412.302 Contract payment provisions.

* * * * *

(b) At the option of the producer, for

fiscal year 1997 and each subsequent

fiscal year, 50 percent of the annual

contract payment shall be paid on

December 15 or January 15, as requested

by the producer. To receive the advance

payment the producers on the farm

must be in compliance with all

requirements of the contract at the time

of the advance payment. For fiscal year

1998 and each subsequent fiscal year,

all producers sharing in the contract

payment on the farm must no later than

15 days prior to the final date to issue

the advance payment, sign the contract

designating payment shares and provide

supporting documentation as specified

in parts 12, 1400, and 1405 of this title,

if applicable; and request the advance

payment. If all producers on the farm

have not signed the contract designating

payment shares according to this

paragraph, then no producers will be

eligible for a payment for that farm for

that fiscal year.

* * * * *

6. Section 1412.303 is amended by

adding paragraph (a)(6) and revising

paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(4) to read as

follows:

§ 1412.303 Sharing of contract payments.

(a) * * *

(2) A lease will be considered a cash

lease if the lease provides for only a

guaranteed sum certain cash payment,

or a fixed quantity of the crop (for

example, cash, pounds, or bushels per

acre).

* * * * *

(4) Beginning on October 1, 1998, for

years in which payment shares had not

been designated prior to October 23,

1997, a producer’s lease, including a

lease which provides for the greater of

a guaranteed amount or share of the

crop or crop proceeds, shall be

considered a share lease if the lease

provides for both:

(i) A guaranteed amount such as a

fixed dollar amount or quantity; and

(ii) A share of the crop proceeds.

* * * * *

(6) A lease that the county committee

determined to be a cash lease under

§ 1412.303 as contained in the 7 CFR,

parts 1200 to 1499, edition revised as of

January 1, 1997, will be considered a

cash lease for the years in which

payment shares were designated if, prior

to October 23, 1997:

(i) The designation of shares was

executed; and

(ii) The county committee was

provided a copy of the lease applicable

for the designated years.

* * * * *

7. Section 1412.304 paragraph (b) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 1412.304 Provisions relating to tenants

and sharecroppers.

* * * * *

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions set

forth at § 1412.302(c), if the landowners,

tenants and sharecroppers on a farm fail

to reach an agreement regarding the

division of contract payments for a

fiscal year, the county committee shall

make the payment at a later date if all

persons eligible to receive a share of the

contract payment have executed a

contract not later than August 1 of the

applicable fiscal year and subsequently

agree to the division of contract

payment.

Signed at Washington, DC, on June 1, 1998.

Keith Kelly,

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–15000 Filed 6–5–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 97–CE–126–AD; Amendment

39–10566; AD 98–12–10]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Avions

Mudry et Cie Model CAP 10B Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This amendment supersedes

Airworthiness Directive (AD) 93–10–11,

which currently requires installing an

inspection opening in the wing,

repetitively inspecting the upper wing

spar cap for cracks, and repairing any

cracks on all Avions Mudry et Cie

(Avions) Model CAP 10B airplanes. This

AD will retain the same actions already

required by AD 93–10–11, and will add

inspecting, and repairing if necessary,

the lower surface of the wing spar. This

AD is the result of mandatory

continuing airworthiness information

(MCAI) issued by the airworthiness

authority for France. The actions

specified by this AD are intended to

prevent structural cracks in the wing

spar, which could lead to loss of a wing

and loss of control of the airplane.

DATES: Effective July 17, 1998.

The incorporation by reference of

Avions Mudry & Cie Service Bulletin

CAP10B No. 16 (ATA 57–004), dated

April 27, 1992, as listed in the

regulations, was previously approved by

the Director of the Federal Register, as

of July 23, 1993 (58 FR 31342, June 2,

1993).

The incorporation by reference of

certain publications listed in the

regulations is approved by the Director

of the Federal Register as of July 17,

1998.

ADDRESSES: Service information that

applies to this AD may be obtained from

Avions Mudry & Cie, (c/o Akrotech), 9

route del’Aviation, Aerodrome, 21121

Darois, France; telephone: (33)

32.43.47.34; facsimile: (33) 32.43.47.90.

This information may also be examined

at the Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA), Central Region, Office of the

Regional Counsel, Attention: Rules

Docket No. 97–CE–126–AD, Room 1558,

601 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, Missouri

64106; or at the Office of the Federal

Register, 800 North Capitol Street, NW,

suite 700, Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Karl M. Schletzbaum, Aerospace

Engineer, FAA, Small Airplane

Directorate, Aircraft Certification

Service, 1201 Walnut, suite 900, Kansas

City, Missouri 64106; telephone: (816)

426–6934; facsimile: (816) 426–2169.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Events Leading to the Issuance of This

AD

A proposal to amend part 39 of the

Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR

part 39) to include an AD that would

apply to all Avions Model CAP 10B

airplanes was published in the Federal

Register as a notice of proposed

rulemaking (NPRM) on March 26, 1998

(63 FR 14660). The proposed AD would

supersede AD 93–10–11, Amendment

39–8592 (58 FR 31342, June 2, 1993)

with a new AD that would require

installing an inspection opening in the

wing, repetitively inspecting the upper

and lower wing spars for structural

cracking, and if any cracks are found,

repairing the cracks in accordance with

a repair method provided by the