Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Notices 3537

Faust; Agricultural Research Service;

U.S. Department of Agriculture; Room

338, Building 005, BARC-West;

Beltsville, MD 20705; Telephone: (301)

504–6918; e-mail: rmf@ars.usda.gov.

C. Additional Information

The Biotechnology Risk Assessment

Research Grants Program is listed in the

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

under No. 10.219. For reasons set forth

in the final rule-related Notice to 7 CFR

Part 3015, subpart V (48 FR 29115, June

24, 1983), this Program is excluded from

the scope of Executive Order No. 12372

which requires intergovernmental

consultation with State and local

officials.

Under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as

amended (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), the

collection of information requirements

contained in this Notice have been

approved under OMB Document No.

0524–0022.

Done at Washington, D.C., on this 4th day

of January, 2001.

Colien Hefferan,

Administrator, Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service.

Edward B. Knipling,

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Research

Service.

[FR Doc. 01–1018 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

Interim National Drought Council

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Interim National

Drought Council meeting.

SUMMARY: The Interim National Drought

Council (Interim Council) was

established through a Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU). It’s purpose is to

coordinate activities between and

among Federal Agencies, States, local

governments, tribes and others. The first

meeting of the Interim Council was held

November 9, 2000. All meetings are

open to the public; however, seating is

limited and available on a first-come

basis.

DATES: The Interim Council will meet

on January 25, 2001, in Room 233 of the

Hall of the States building located at 444

North Capitol Street, NW. in

Washington, DC from 10:00 a.m. to

11:30 a.m. and then from 12:30 p.m. to

3:00 p.m.. All times noted are Eastern

Standard Time. This meeting will be

devoted to revising the work plan and

other Interim Council business.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Leona Dittus, Executive Director,

Interim National Drought Council,

United States Department of Agriculture

(USDA), 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, Room 6701–S, STOP 0501,

Washington, D.C., 20250–0501 or

telephone (202) 720–3168; FAX (202)

720–9688; internet

leona.dittus@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

purpose of the MOU is to establish a

more comprehensive, integrated,

coordinated approach toward reducing

the impacts of drought through better

preparedness, monitoring and

prediction, risk management, and

response to drought emergencies in the

United States. The Interim Council will

encourage cooperation and coordination

between and among Federal, State,

local, and tribal governments and

others, relative to preparation for and

response to serious drought

emergencies. Activities of the Interim

Council include providing coordination

to: (a) Resolve drought related issues, (b)

exchange information about lessons

learned, and (c) improve public

awareness of the need for drought

planning and mitigation measures. The

Interim Council is co-chaired by the

Secretary of Agriculture or his designee,

and a non-federal co-chair, selected

from among the members who are not

Federal officers or employees. Ms. Ane

D. Deister, Executive Assistant to the

General Manager, Metropolitan Water

District of Southern California,

representing urban water interests, was

selected as the non-federal co-chair at

the Interim Council’s organizational

meeting. Administrative staff support

essential to the execution of the Interim

Council’s responsibilities shall be

provided by USDA. The Interim Council

will continue in effect for 5 years or

until Congress establishes a permanent

National Drought Council.

If special accommodations are

required, please contact Leona Dittus, at

the address specified above, by COB

January 22, 2001.

Signed at Washington, D.C., on January 10,

2001.

George Arredondo,

Administrator, Farm Service Agency.

[FR Doc. 01–1226 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

Meeting on the Implementation of the

United States Warehouse Act

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency,

Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: To solicit comments and

options for consideration in

implementing the United States

Warehouse Act of 2000 that was enacted

on November 9, 2000 (USWA 2000), the

Department of Agriculture (USDA) will

conduct a public meeting.

The meeting is open to the public

with attendance limited to space that

will be available on a first come basis.

All attendees are asked to be prepared

to share information concerning their

current and future e-commerce

activities. Individuals who plan to

attend and need special assistance, such

as sign language interpretation or other

reasonable accommodations should

notify the contact person listed below in

advance of the meeting. No registration

is required and there is no fee to attend

the public meeting.

DATES: The public meeting to present

implementation options and to solicit

oral comments will be held on January

23, 2001, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. E.S.T.,

in the Jefferson Auditorium of the U.S.

Department of Agriculture South

Building, 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC, near the

Smithsonian Metro Station.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Roger Hinkle, Chief, Licensing

Authority Branch, Warehouse and

Inventory Division, Farm Service

Agency, 1400 Independence Avenue

SW., STOP 0553, Washington DC 20250,

telephone (202) 720–7433; e-mail:

Roger_Hinkle@wdc.fsa.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

USWA 2000 was enacted on November

9, 2000, to replace the original United

States Warehouse Act (USWA) that was

enacted in 1916. USWA 2000 can be

found online at: www.fsa.usda.gov/

daco/uswamain/public-law-106–

472.pdf. This statute was enacted to

make Federal warehouse licensing and

operations more relevant to today’s

agricultural marketing and financial

systems. USWA 2000 authorizes the

Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate

regulations governing (1) The issuance

and transfer of electronic warehouse

receipts across State and international

boundaries; (2) the manner in which

electronic documents relating to the

shipment, payment, and financing of the

sale of agricultural products may be

3538 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 16, 2001 / Notices

issued or transferred, including transfers

across State and international

boundaries; and (3) the standardization

of such electronic documents. This new

paperless flow of agricultural

commodities from the farm to the enduser will provide significant savings and

efficiencies for producers, bankers,

warehouse operators, and other affected

parties across the nation and throughout

the world, and will make U.S.

agricultural more competitive in world

markets.

Included in USWA 2000 were

statutory deadlines for the issuance of

proposed and final regulations, and the

new statute provides that the current

USWA that was enacted in 1916 expires

no later than August 1, 2001.

Items that will be discussed in the

subject meeting include, but are not

limited to the following:

(1) What documents and transactions

should USDA make available for ecommerce?

(2) Should USDA standardize criteria

and formats for e-commerce concerning

commodity warehousing? Financial and

business records? Electronic data

interchanges? Recordkeeping?

Commodity merchandising?

(3) The regulations at 7 CFR 735.100

through 735.105 currently provide

specifically for cotton Electronic

Warehouse Receipts (EWR) and EWR

provider requirements and standards.

Should similar regulations and

processes be adopted or expanded when

including additional commodities? If

not, what criteria and requirements

should USDA establish for electronic

warehouse commerce providers?

(4) What industry and business-based

processes should USWA offer?

The agenda includes: (1) Presentation

on options currently under

consideration for implementing USWA

2000; (2) discussions on the

implementation of electronic commerce

authorized under USWA 2000, with

opportunity for comment; and (3)

discussions on warehouse issues, with

opportunity for comment.

From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., the discussion

will concentrate on electronic

commerce initiatives that are authorized

by USWA 2000, and from 1 p.m. to 4

p.m. the discussion will concentrate on

the statutory changes that will affect

warehousing issues. Each session will

(1) outline options that are under

consideration for implementing USWA

2000, and (2) provide attendees with an

opportunity to present oral comments

and submit written and oral questions.

An official transcript will be prepared

and will be available online at

www.fsa.usda.gov/daco/uswamain/

uswa2000-transcript.pdf. This official

transcript will also be available for

public inspection in Room 5968, South

Agriculture Building, U.S. Department

of Agriculture, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, between

8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except holidays. Persons with

disabilities who require alternative

means for communication of regulatory

information (braille, large print,

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s

TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600

(voice and TDD).

Comments: Written comments can be

submitted in hard copy by mail to Roger

Hinkle at the address shown above, or

by fax at (202) 690–3123, or by e-mail

to Roger_Hinkle@wdc.fsa.usda.gov. In

order to ensure comments will be

received before the meeting, submit

written comments no later than January

15, 2001.

Signed at Washington, DC on January 8,

2001.

Carolyn B. Cooksie,

Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.

[FR Doc. 01–1020 Filed 1–12–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00–053N]

Codex Alimentarius Commission:

Meeting of the Codex Committees on

Fats and Oils and Methods of Analysis

and Sampling

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary

for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and

request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of the Under

Secretary for Food Safety, U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA) and

the Food and Drug Administration

(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS) are sponsoring a

public meeting on Wednesday, January

17, 2001. The objective of the public

meeting is to provide information and

receive public comments on agenda

items and draft United States’ positions

that will be discussed at two upcoming

Codex Committee meetings. The Under

Secretary for Food Safety and FDA

recognize the importance of providing

interested parties the opportunity to

obtain background information on the

Sessions of the Codex Committee on

Fats and Oils (CCFO) and the Codex

Committee on Methods of Analysis and

Sampling (CCMAS) and to address

items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled

for Wednesday, January 17, 2001, from

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held in Room 1813, Federal Office

Building 8, Food and Drug

Administration, 200 C Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20204. To receive

copies of the documents referenced in

this notice, contact the FSIS Docket

Room, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Food Safety and Inspection Service,

Room 102 Cotton Annex, 300 12th

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250–

3700. The documents will also be

accessible via the world wide web at the

following address: http://www.fao.org/

waicent/faoinfo/economic/esn/codex.

Submit one original and two copies of

written comments to the FSIS Docket

Room at the address above and

reference docket number 00–053N. All

comments submitted in response to this

notice will be available for public

inspection in the FSIS Docket Room

between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,

Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick J. Clerkin, Assistant U.S.

Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office,

FSIS, Room 4861, South Agriculture

Building, 14th Street and Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250.

Telephone (202) 205–7760; Fax (202)

720–3157. Persons requiring a sign

language interpreter or other special

accommodations should notify Mr.

Clerkin at the above number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Codex Alimentarius Commission

(Codex) was established in 1962 by two

United Nations organizations, the Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and

the World Health Organization (WHO).

Codex is the major international

organization for encouraging fair

international trade in food and

protecting the health and economic

interests of consumers. Through

adoption of food standards, codes of

practice, and other guidelines

developed by its committees, and by

promoting their adoption and

implementation by governments, Codex

seeks to ensure that the world’s food

supply is sound, wholesome, free from

adulteration, and correctly labeled.

The public meeting announced in this

notice will provide information and an

opportunity for public comment on two

upcoming Codex Committee meetings:

• Seventeenth Session of the Codex

Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) that

will be held in London, United

Kingdom, February 19–23, 2001.