This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

57520 

Vol. 70, No. 190 

Monday, October 3, 2005 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

7 CFR Part 1437 

RIN 0560 AH19 

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance 

Program—Tropical Regions 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

change the handling of claims for 

specified ‘‘tropical’’ regions for the 

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance 

Program (NAP). The specified area 

includes Hawaii, Puerto Rico and 

specified additional areas. The proposed 

changes are intended to reduce the 

burden on program participants and 

ease program administration in the 

affected areas. 

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule, 

or alternatives to this proposal, must be 

received on or before November 2, 2005 

to be assured of consideration. 

Comments received after this date may 

be considered to the extent practicable. 

Comments on the information 

collections in this rule must be received 

on or before December 2, 2005 to be 

assured of consideration. Comments 

received after this date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

• Electronic Mail: Send comments to 

John.Newcomer@usda.gov. 

• Fax: Submit comments by facsimile 

transmission to (202) 690–3646. 

• Mail: Send comments to John 

Newcomer, Program Specialist, 

Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance 

Program, Farm Service Agency, United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), STOP 0517, Room 3638–S, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0517. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver 

comments to the above address. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Comments may be inspected in the 

Office of the Branch Chief, Noninsured 

Assistance Program Branch, Room 3638- 

S, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0517. All 

comments will become a matter of 

public record, including the name, 

mailing address, and e-mail address of 

the commenting party. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Newcomer, phone: (202) 720–6157. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact the USDA Target Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Current NAP regulation requires that 

when annual crops are planted multiple 

times in a crop year, individual planting 

periods must be used to determine 

planted acres, production and requisite 

loss. When multiple planting periods 

are used, producers pay multiple NAP 

service fees for that crop year. Because 

of the unique climate in tropical 

regions, planting periods there tend to 

be continuous. This proposed rule 

would make changes to reflect that 

difference and to provide special loss 

compensation provisions to address the 

special conditions in those areas. Also 

for tropical regions, as defined in the 

rule, the proposed rule provides for 

covered crops that ‘‘prevented planting’’ 

credit will not be allowed except in 

exceptional cases. Usually, plantings 

can still be made after the disaster 

condition has passed. Further, the rule 

provides that payable losses on covered 

crops will generally be limited to 

tropical storms and related types of 

events. This is because of general 

conditions in the region and the lack of 

resources in some tropical areas to 

assess other kinds of losses. 

The tropical region is identified in the 

rule to include Hawaii and Puerto Rico, 

Guam, the former Trust Territory of the 

Pacific Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

and American Samoa. Outside of 

Hawaii and Puerto Rico, the extension 

of NAP to these areas is discretionary 

under the authority of Title 48 of the 

United States Code, Chapter 10, Section 

1469d(c). The extension of the program 

to those areas is, under the statute, 

subject to such additional limits on 

eligibility as are determined to be 

appropriate. 

The proposed rules would apply 

beginning with 2006 crops in the 

tropical region, as that region as defined 

in the rule, except for ‘‘value-loss’’ crops 

as they are otherwise defined in subpart 

D of the existing program regulations. 

The ‘‘value-loss’’ crops are crops which 

do not lend themselves to calculations 

based on loss yields and include, as 

defined in subpart D, among others, 

crops like ornamental nursery crops and 

mushrooms. Essentially, under the 

proposed rule, for perennial crops all of 

the production for the crops in the 

ground at the time of the disaster event 

would be counted against the loss for 

that production so long as the 

production, whether before or after the 

disaster, takes place in the same 

calendar year. For other covered crops, 

all production for the plants which were 

in the ground at the time of the disaster, 

damaged or not, would be counted, 

whether that production was before or 

after the disaster, and irrespective of 

whether it was in the same crop year. 

That is, such production for those crops 

covers the full life of the plants that are 

in place when the disaster occurs (even 

if that production carries over into the 

next calendar year). For all covered 

crops, perennial and non-perennial, 

producers would be required to harvest 

all such countable production, report it 

accurately, and have it count in the 

calculation of whether there was, or was 

not, sufficient damage to allow for a 

payment. Irrespective of whether there 

is not a loss, producers with coverage 

would be required to keep records at all 

times of their acreage and production 

and file yearly reports. The rule 

provides that person failing to file 

proper reports may be ineligible for 

benefits and may be treated as having 

lower yields for future calculations of 

eligibility. For covered crops, the crop 

year would be the calendar year and 

coverage would be for all plants existing 

during the calendar year. Accordingly, 

since the rule proposes that the new 

provisions would begin with the ‘‘2006 

crops,’’ the coverage of the rule would 

begin with those covered crops in the 

ground on or after January 1, 2006. The 

rule would allow the agency to modify 

rules, to the extent otherwise permitted 

by law, if needed to provide for a 

reasonable transition to the new 

requirements. 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Proposed Rules 57521 

Public Comments 

A 30 day comment period is allowed. 

Because this rule is expected to reduce 

paperwork for farmers, it has been 

determined to delay the effective date of 

the rule to allow for a longer comment 

period is unnecessary and contrary to 

the public interest. At the end of the 

comment period it will be determined 

whether the provisions should be made 

final. 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule is issued in conformance 

with Executive Order 12866, was 

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 to this rule because CCC is 

not required to publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking for the subject 

matter of this rule. 

Environmental Assessment 

The environmental impacts of this 

rule have been considered consistent 

with the provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the 

regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 

1500–1508), and the FSA regulations for 

compliance with NEPA, 7 CFR part 799. 

FSA has initiated the completion of an 

environmental assessment (EA) to 

determine the potential impacts of this 

action upon the human and natural 

environments. A copy of the draft EA 

will be made available to the public 

upon its completion. 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed in 

accordance with Executive Order 12988. 

This rule preempts State and other local 

laws that are inconsistent with it. Before 

any legal action may be brought 

regarding a determination under this 

rule, the administrative appeal 

provisions set forth at 7 CFR parts 11 

and 780 must be exhausted. 

Executive Order 12372 

This program is not subject to the 

provisions of Executive Order 12372, 

which require intergovernmental 

consultation with State and local 

officials. ‘‘States’’ for this purpose 

included the 50 States and other areas 

addressed in the rule. See the notice 

related to 7 CFR part 3014, subpart V, 

published at 48 FR 29115 (June 24, 

1983). 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

The rule contains no Federal 

mandates under the regulatory 

provisions of Title II of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (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 the UMRA. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, FSA intends to 

request approval by OMB of a revision 

to the information collection made by 

this proposed rule. Copies of the 

information collection may be obtained 

from Linda Turner, the Agency 

Information Collection Coordinator, by 

calling (202) 690–1855. 

Title: Noninsured Crop Disaster 

Assistance Program. 

OMB Control Number: 0560–0175. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

Currently Approved Information 

Collection. 

Abstract: 7 U.S.C. 7333 specifies that 

the Secretary (of Agriculture) shall 

operate a noninsured crop disaster 

assistance program to provide coverage 

equivalent to the catastrophic risk 

protection otherwise available under 7 

U.S.C. 1508(b). Producers must submit 

an application, pay a service fee, and 

provide annual records of crop acreage, 

yields, and production for each crop by 

the designated acreage reporting date for 

the crop and location, to be eligible for 

assistance. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 55 minutes per 

response. 

Respondents: Producers of crops and 

agricultural commodities (except 

livestock). 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

291,500. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 6. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 2,140,000. 

Proposed topics for comment include: 

(a) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of burden including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information collected; or 

(d) ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of the information on those 

who are to respond, including through 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments should be sent to John 

Newcomer, Farm Service Agency, 

United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), STOP 0517, Room 3638–S, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0517. 

Executive Order 12612 

This rule does not have sufficient 

Federalism implications to warrant the 

preparation of a Federalism Assessment. 

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. ‘‘States’’

for this purpose included the 50 States 

and other areas addressed in the rule. 

Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act 

FSA is committed to compliance with 

the Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act (GPEA) and the Freedom To E-File 

Act, which require Government 

agencies in general and FSA in 

particular to provide the public the 

option of submitting information or 

transacting business electronically to 

the maximum extent possible. The 

forms and other information collection 

activities required for participation in 

the program are available electronically 

for downloading or electronic 

submission through the USDA eForms 

Web site at http:// 

forms.sc.egov.usda.gov/eforms. 

Federal Assistance Programs 

The title and number of the Federal 

assistance program found in the Catalog 

of Federal Domestic Assistance to which 

this final rule applies is Noninsured 

Assistance, 10–451. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1437 

Agricultural commodities, Disaster 

assistance, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Accordingly, for the reasons set forth 

in the preamble, it is proposed that 7 

CFR part 1437 be amended to read as 

follows: 

PART 1437—NONINSURED CROP 

DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 

1. The authority citation is revised to 

read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7333; 15 U.S.C. 714 et 

seq.; and 48 U.S.C. 1469. 

2. Add Subpart F to read as follows: 

Subpart F—Determining Coverage in the 

Tropical Region 

Sec. 

57522 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

1437.501 Applicability; definition of 

‘‘tropical region’’ and other additional 

definitions. 

1437.502 Coverage periods and fees for the 

tropical region. 

1437.503 Covered losses and recordkeeping 

requirements for the tropical region. 

1437.504 Notice of loss for covered tropical 

crops. 

1437.505 Application for payment for the 

tropical region. 

Subpart F—Determining Coverage in 

the Tropical Region 

§ 1437.501 Applicability; definition of 

‘‘tropical region’’ and additional definitions. 

(a) This subpart shall only apply to 

covered tropical crops in the tropical 

region for the 2006 and subsequent 

crops years, as those terms are defined 

in this subpart, and benefits under this 

part may be extended to those crops 

only to the extent that they are 

otherwise eligible for assistance under 

this part. Covered crops shall not apply 

to ‘‘value loss’’ crops, as defined 

elsewhere in this part. For those crops 

that are covered by this subpart, loss 

determinations for the program covered 

in this part shall be determined by the 

rules that otherwise apply to the 

program subject to the modifications 

provided by this subpart. 

(b) For purposes of this subpart: 

(1) Tropical region includes, as may 

be further limited by the Deputy 

Administrator: Hawaii, American 

Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

Puerto Rico, and the former Trust 

Territory of the Pacific Islands (the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, the Republic of the Marshall 

Islands, the Federated States of 

Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau). 

(2) 2006 and subsequent crops means 

those crops in the ground on or after 

January 1, 2006. 

(3) Covered tropical crops means 

those crops and commodities in the 

tropical region that are governed by this 

subpart those being all crops and 

commodities in the tropical region that 

are otherwise eligible for generating a 

benefit claim under this part, except for 

value-loss crops as defined elsewhere in 

this part. 

(c) To the extent determined 

necessary by the Deputy Administrator, 

the Deputy Administrator may adjust 

requirements for assistance so as to 

provide a fair transition from previous 

rules for crop covered by this subpart to 

those provisions which are provided for 

in this subpart. 

§ 1437.502 Coverage periods and fees for 

the covered tropical crops. 

(a) The crop year for all covered 

tropical crops is the calendar year 

(January 1 through December 31). 

(b) The application closing date for all 

covered tropical crops is December 1 of 

the calendar year before the applicable 

crop year. 

(c) For covered tropical crops, per 

crop year, a maximum service fee of 

$100.00 is required for coverage of: 

(1) For annual and biennial crops, all 

plantings of the same crop planted 

during the crop year, as determined by 

CCC. 

(2) For perennial crops, all acreage of 

the crop existing during the crop year, 

as determined by CCC. 

(d)(1) Multiple planting periods and 

final planting dates are not applicable 

for covered tropical crops. However, 

nothing in this section shall prohibit 

assigning different production 

expectations to different fields. 

(2) The coverage period for perennial 

and other crops covered by this subpart 

begins on January 1 of the relevant crop 

year and ends on December 31 of that 

year. 

§ 1437.503 Covered losses and 

recordkeeping requirements for covered 

tropical crops. 

(a) Prevented planting coverage is not 

available for covered tropical crops, 

other than in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, 

except as approved by the Deputy 

Administrator in special cases. 

(b) Except in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, 

or as otherwise approved by the Deputy 

Administrator in individual cases, 

eligible causes of loss for covered 

tropical crops will only include 

hurricanes, typhoons, and named 

tropical storms. 

(c) Producers who have applied for 

coverage for covered tropical crops must 

maintain for the full coverage period 

contemporaneous records. 

Contemporaneous records are those 

created at the time of planting and 

harvesting of the crop for which the 

application for coverage is filed and for 

such period of time as may follow the 

coverage period to the extent production 

during that additional period would 

count against a loss in the event that 

there was or could have been such a 

loss. 

(1) Producers may be selected on a 

random or targeted basis to check for 

compliance with this requirement and 

any other requirements that may apply 

to this program. 

(2) A failure to maintain acceptable 

contemporaneous records throughout 

the crop year may be treated by the 

Commodity Credit Corporation as 

grounds for ineligibility for benefits 

under this part. 

§ 1437.504 Notice of loss for covered 

tropical crops. 

(a) The provisions of § 1437.10(c) 

regarding late filed notice of loss do not 

apply to covered tropical crops. 

(b) Where a notice of loss for covered 

tropical crops is provided according to 

§ 1437.10, producers must provide 

records, as maintained according to 

§ 1437.503(c) required by this subpart, 

of the: 

(1) Number of acres or other basis of 

measurement, as applicable, of the crop 

from which production could be 

achieved existing on the day the eligible 

natural disaster occurred or, for 

prolonged natural disasters, such as a 

drought and similar damage where 

applicable, existing on the day the 

notice of loss is filed. 

(2) Amount, including zero, as 

applicable, of production harvested, 

before or after the disaster, from those 

crop plantings (damaged or undamaged) 

which were in existence on the farm at 

the time of the disaster including 

production from the covered plantings 

(in existence at the time of the loss 

event) that may occur after the loss 

event even when, to the extent provided 

for in paragraph (c) of this section, the 

harvest occurs after the end of the crop 

year. Crop acreage of the covered crop 

that is in existence at the time of the loss 

event that can be harvested after the 

eligible natural disaster must be 

harvested, or continue to be harvested, 

and the harvested acres and production 

reported to FSA according to this 

subpart, except that for perennial crops 

the requirement ends with the end of 

the crop year. For non-perennial crops 

the obligation to harvest ends with the 

end of the life-cycle for the plantings 

that were in existence at the time of the 

loss event. 

(i) Except as otherwise determined by 

the Farm Service Agency, such 

production, before or after the loss 

event, will be taken into account in 

computing eligibilities. 

(ii) Production that must be reported 

under paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section 

includes, except in the case of perennial 

plants, all production irrespective of 

whether the production occurs in the 

same crop year. 

(iii) For perennial plants, only 

production in the same crop year must 

be reported. 

(iv) All production that must be 

reported for covered tropical crops will, 

except as specified by the Deputy 

Administrator, be taken into account in 

the loss determinations made under this 

part. The producer is obligated to 

maximize that production. That is, 

harvesting and other production 

activities for the plants in the ground at 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Proposed Rules 57523 

the time of the disaster must be 

undertaken or continue to be 

undertaken, to the maximum extent 

possible, for the full reporting period, 

that being the period for which 

production could count against a loss as 

indicated in this subpart. 

(3) Failure to keep sufficient records 

to allow the computations provided for 

in this subpart is grounds for denial of 

the claim. 

(c) Producers with coverage of a 

covered tropical crop for a crop year 

must, by the earlier of 90 calendar days 

after the crop year ends or the date a 

notice of loss is filed, file a certified 

report setting out the: 

(1) Collective acres of the crop acreage 

planted or in the ground during the crop 

year. 

(2) Total production harvested from 

the crop acreage for the full crop year 

in the case of a perennial plant and for 

the full life of the plants for other crops. 

(d) With respect to the report required 

in paragraph (c) of this section: 

(1) If a report is filed before the end 

of the crop year, an updated crop report 

must be filed within 90 days of the end 

of the crop year to supplement the 

original report; 

(2) If the report is for any annual or 

biennial crops where production 

continued or could have continued 

beyond the period covered in the 

reports otherwise filed under this 

section, an additional report of 

production must be filed within 30 days 

of the end of the last countable 

production for the covered crop or 30 

days after the last date on which such 

production could have been obtained, 

whichever is later. 

(3) A failure to file an adequate report 

where a report is required by this 

section may result in the producer being 

treated as having a zero yield capability 

for the crop year involved for purposes 

of constructing a crop history. 

Alternatively, the Deputy Administrator 

may assign another sanction for that 

failure. In addition to other sanctions as 

may apply, a failure to file such reports 

may be grounds for denial of a claim. 

The Deputy Administrator may adjust 

crop histories as determined appropriate 

to create, to the extent practicable, a fair 

crop history for loss computation 

purposes. 

(4) Such reports as are provided for in 

this subsection must be filed for every 

crop year for which there is coverage, 

irrespective of whether a claim is filed 

for that year. 

(e) Unless otherwise specified by the 

Deputy Administrator, appraisals are 

not required of crop acreage for covered 

tropical crops on Guam, Virgin Islands, 

American Samoa, and the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, the Republic of the Marshall 

Islands, the Federated States of 

Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. 

(f) All crop acreage for covered 

tropical crops for which a notice of loss 

is filed must not be replanted or 

otherwise destroyed until authorized by 

CCC. 

§ 1437.505 Application for payment for the 

tropical region. 

(a) For producers of covered tropical 

crops in Guam, Virgin Islands, 

American Samoa, and the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, the Republic of the Marshall 

Islands, the Federated States of 

Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau, 

an application for payment must be 

filed at the same time as the filing of the 

notice of loss required under §§ 1437.10 

and 1437.504. 

(b) For producers in Puerto Rico and 

Hawaii, an application for payment for 

such crops must be filed by the later of: 

(1) The date on which the notice of 

loss is filed in accordance with 

§§ 1437.10 and 1437.502(i), and 

(2) The date of the completion of the 

countable harvest of the specific crop 

acreage that existed at the time of loss 

for which the notice of loss was filed. 

Signed in Washington, DC, September 14, 

2005. 

James R. Little, 

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 05–19671 Filed 9–30–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–U 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Internal Revenue Service 

26 CFR Parts 1 and 301 

[REG–108524–00] 

RIN 1545–BD80 

Section 1446 Regulations; Withholding 

on Effectively-Connected Taxable 

Income Allocable to Foreign Partners; 

Hearing 

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), 

Treasury. 

ACTION: Change of date of public 

hearing. 

SUMMARY: This document changes the 

date of a public hearing on proposed 

regulations relating to the circumstances 

under which a partnership may take 

partner-level deductions and losses into 

account in computing its withholding 

tax obligation with respect to a foreign 

partner’s allocable share of effectively 

connected taxable income. 

DATES: The public hearing originally 

scheduled for Monday, October 3, 2005, 

at 10 a.m. is rescheduled for 

Wednesday, November 16, 2005, at 10 

a.m. Outlines of topics to be discussed 

at the public hearing were due by 

September 12, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: The public hearing is being 

held in the IRS auditorium, 1111 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC. Due to building security 

procedures, visitors must enter at the 

Constitution Avenue entrance. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard A. Hurst, (202) 622–7180 (not a 

toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A notice 

of proposed rulemaking and notice of 

public hearing appearing in the Federal 

Register on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 

(70 FR 28743), announced that a public 

hearing on proposed regulations relating 

to circumstances under which a 

partnership may take partner-level 

deductions and losses into account in 

computing its withholding tax 

obligation with respect to a foreign 

partner’s allocable share of effectively 

connected taxable income would be 

held on Monday, October 3, 2005, 

beginning at 10 a.m. in the IRS 

auditorium, 1111 Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC. 

The date of the hearing has changed. 

The hearing is scheduled for 

Wednesday, November 16, 2005, 

beginning at 10 a.m. in the IRS 

auditorium, 1111 Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC. Because of the 

controlled access restrictions, attendants 

will not be admitted beyond the lobby 

area of the Internal Revenue Building 

until 9:30 a.m. The IRS will prepare an 

agenda showing the scheduling of the 

speakers after the outlines are received 

from the persons testifying and make 

copies available free of charge at the 

hearing. 

Cynthia Grigsby, 

Acting Chief, Publications and Regulations 

Branch, Legal Processing Division, Associate 

Chief Counsel (Procedures and 

Administration). 

[FR Doc. 05–19623 Filed 9–30–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P