This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

18233

Vol. 61, No. 81

Thursday, April 25, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 96–016–5]

Karnal Bunt

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: We are amending the Karnal

bunt regulations by adding Imperial

County, CA, and a portion of Riverside

County, CA, to the list of areas

quarantined because of infestations of

Karnal bunt. We are also adding Tilletia

indica (Mitra) Mundkur, the organism

that causes Karnal bunt, to the list of

restricted articles. This action is

necessary on an emergency basis to

prevent the artificial spread of Karnal

bunt, a serious fungal disease of wheat,

durum wheat, and triticale, into

noninfected areas of the United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective April 19,

1996. Consideration will be given only

to comments received on or before June

24, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 96–016–5, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 96–016–5. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA,

room 1141, South Building, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mr. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer,

Domestic and Emergency Operations,

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 134,

Riverdale, MD 20732, (301) 734–8247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Karnal bunt is a serious fungal disease

of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum

wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale

(Triticum aestivum X Seale cereals), a

hybrid of wheat and rye. The disease is

caused by the smut fungus Tilletia

indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread

by spores. Karnal bunt is a serious

disease that affects both yield and grain

quality. It adversely affects the color,

odor, and palatability of flour and other

foodstuffs made from affected grain.

Grain containing any amount of bunted

kernels is reduced in quality. Karnal

bunt does not present a risk to human

health.

On March 20, 1996, the Secretary of

Agriculture signed a ‘‘Declaration of

Extraordinary Emergency’’ authorizing

the Secretary to take emergency action

under 7 U.S.C. 150dd with regard to

Karnal bunt within the States of

Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. The

‘‘Declaration of Extraordinary

Emergency’’ was published in the

Federal Register on March 25, 1996 (61

FR 12058, Docket No. 96–016–1). On

March 26, 1996, the Secretary of

Agriculture signed a ‘‘Declaration of

Emergency’’ authorizing the transfer and

use of funds within the Department for

a program to control Karnal bunt

wherever it may be found in the United

States. The ‘‘Declaration of Emergency’’

was published in the Federal Register

on March 29, 1996 (61 FR 14046, Docket

No. 96–016–2).

In an interim rule effective March 25,

1996, and published in the Federal

Register March 28, 1996 (61 FR 13649–

13655, Docket No. 93–016–3), we

established the Karnal bunt regulations

(7 CFR 301.89–1 through 301.89–11)

and quarantined the State of Arizona

and a total of six counties in the States

of New Mexico and Texas. The

regulations impose restrictions on the

interstate movement of regulated

articles from quarantined areas in order

to prevent the artificial spread of Karnal

bunt to noninfested areas of the United

States.

Additions to Quarantined Areas

Recently, Karnal bunt was detected in

lots of seed that were either planted or

stored in California. On April 12, 1996,

the Secretary of Agriculture signed a

‘‘Declaration of Extraordinary

Emergency’’ authorizing the Secretary to

take emergency action under 7 U.S.C.

150dd with regard to Karnal bunt within

California.

The regulations in § 301.89–3 provide

that the Administrator of APHIS will

quarantine each State, or portion of a

State, that is infected with Karnal bunt

or that the Administrator considers

necessary to regulate due to its

proximity to an infestation or its

inseparability from an infected locality

for quarantine purposes.

In accordance with these criteria and

the recent detection of Karnal bunt in

California, we are amending § 301.89–

3(e) by adding all of Imperial County

and a portion of Riverside County, CA,

to the list of quarantined areas.

The quarantined area in Riverside

County, CA, is that portion of the

county in the Blythe and Ripley areas

bounded by a line drawn as follows:

Beginning at the intersection of State

Highway 62 and the Riverside-San

Bernardino County line, then east along

the Riverside-San Bernardino County

line to its intersection with the

California-Arizona State line; then south

along the California-Arizona State line

to its intersection with the RiversideImperial County line; then west along

the Riverside-Imperial County line to its

intersection with Graham Pass Road;

then northeast along Graham Pass Road

to its intersection with Chuckwalla

Valley Road; then west and northwest

along Chuckwalla Valley Road to its

intersection with Interstate Highway 10;

then west along Interstate Highway 10

to its intersection with State Highway

177; then northeast and north along

State Highway 177 to its intersection

with State Highway 62; then northeast

along State Highway 62 to the point of

beginning.

Addition of Regulated Article

Section 301.89–2 of the regulations

lists articles whose movement from

quarantined areas is restricted due to

the risk of spreading Karnal bunt. In this

interim rule, we are adding to the list of

regulated articles ‘‘Tilletia indica (Mitra)

Mundkur,’’ the organism that causes

Karnal bunt.
18234 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

Emergency Action

The Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has

determined that an emergency exists

that warrants publication of this interim

rule without prior opportunity for

public comment. Immediate action is

necessary to prevent the artificial spread

of Karnal bunt to noninfected areas of

the United States.

Because prior notice and other public

procedures with respect to this action

are impracticable and contrary to the

public interest under these conditions,

we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553

to make it effective upon signature. We

will consider comments that are

received within 60 days of publication

of this rule in the Federal Register.

After the comment period closes, we

will publish another document in the

Federal Register. It will include a

discussion of any comments we receive

and any amendments we are making to

the rule as a result of the comments.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. For this action,

the Office of Management and Budget

has waived its review process required

by Executive Order 12866.

This action quarantines one entire

county and a portion of another county

in California because of Karnal bunt and

restricts the interstate movement of

regulated articles from those

quarantined areas. This action also adds

Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur to the

list of regulated articles. This emergency

situation makes compliance with

section 603 and timely compliance with

section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (5 U.S.C. 603 and 604)

impracticable. This rule may have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities. If

we determine this is so, then we will

discuss the issues raised by section 604

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act in our

Final Regulatory Flexibility Act

Analysis.

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 required

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part

3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12778

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State

and local laws and regulations that are

inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) only requires

administrative proceedings before

parties may file suit in court challenging

this rule upon the cancellation of a

certificate, limited permit, or

compliance agreement.

National Environmental Policy Act

An environmental assessment and

finding of no significant impact have

been prepared for this rule. The

assessment provides a basis for the

conclusion that the treatment of

regulated articles, under the conditions

specified in this rule, will not have a

significant impact on the quality of the

human environment. Based on the

finding of no significant impact, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that an environmental

impact statement need not be prepared.

The environmental assessment and

finding of no significant impact were

prepared in accordance with: (1) The

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C 4321 et seq.), (2)

Regulations on the Council on

Environmental Quality for

implementing the procedural provisions

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3)

USDA regulations implementing NEPA

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part

372).

Copies of the environmental

assessment and finding of no significant

impact are available for public

inspection at USDA, room 1141, South

Building, 14th Street and Independence

Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between

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

Friday, except holidays. Persons

wishing to inspect copies are requested

to call ahead on (202) 690–2817 to

facilitate entry into the reading room. In

addition, copies may be obtained by

writing to the individual listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with section 3507(j) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information

collection and recordkeeping

requirements included in this interim

rule have been submitted for emergency

approval to the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB). OMB has assigned

control number 0579–0121 to the

information collection and

recordkeeping requirements.

Notwithstanding any other provision of

the law, no person is required to

respond to, nor shall any person be

subject to a penalty for failure to comply

with a collection of information, subject

to the requirements of the Paperwork

Reduction Act, unless that collection of

information displays a currently valid

OMB Control Number. Please send

written comments to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for

APHIS, Washington, DC 20503. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket

No. 96–016–5. Please send a copy of

your comments to: (1) Docket No. 96–

016–5, Regulatory Analysis and

Development, PPD, APHIS, suite 3C03,

4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale,

MD 20737–1238, and (2) Clearance

Officer, OIRM, USDA, room 404–W,

14th Street and Independence Avenue

SW., Washington, DC 20250.

The paperwork associated with the

Karnal bunt program will include the

completion of compliance agreements,

certificates, and limited permits. There

will also be requests for inspections. We

are soliciting comments from the public

(as well as affected agencies) concerning

our proposed information collection and

recordkeeping requirements. We need

this outside input to help us accomplish

the following:

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of our

agency’s functions, including whether

the information will have practical

utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our

estimate of the burden of the proposed

collection of information, including the

validity of the methodology and

assumptions used;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

(4) Minimize the burden of the

information collection on those who are

to respond (such as through the use of

appropriate automated, electronic,

mechanical, or other technological

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology, e.g., permitting

electronic submission responses).

Estimate of burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 20 minutes per

response.

Respondents: State plant regulatory

officials, shippers, growers, and

representatives of the plant industry.

Estimated number of respondents:

1,915.

Estimated number of responses per

respondent: 3.824.

Estimated total annual burden on

respondents: 2,410 hours.

Copies of this information collection

can be obtained from: Clearance Officer,

OIRM, USDA, room 404–W, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20250.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 18235

1Statement of Financial Accounting Standards

No. 114, ‘‘Accounting by Creditors for Impairment

of a Loan,’’ an amendment of SFAS Statement Nos.

5 and 15, dated May 1993, was subject to

mandatory implementation by institutions for fiscal

years beginning after December 15, 1994.

2Statement of Financial Accounting Standards

No. 118, ‘‘Accounting by Creditors for Impairment

of a Loan—Income Recognition and Disclosures,’’

an amendment of FASB Statement No. 114, dated

October 1994.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

Agricultural commodities, Plant

diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Transportation.

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE

NOTICES

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is

amended as follows:

1. The authority citation for part 301

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee,

150ff, 161, 162, and 164–167; 7 CFR 2.22,

2.80, and 371.2(c).

2. In § 301.89–2, paragraphs (e)

through (n) are redesignated as

paragraphs (f) through (o), respectively,

and a new paragraph (e) is added, as

follows:

§ 301.89–2 Regulated articles.

* * * * *

(e) Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur;

* * * * *

3. In § 301.89–3, paragraph (e), the

designation of quarantined areas is

amended by adding, in alphabetical

order, entries for Imperial County and

Riverside County in California, as

follows:

§ 301.89–3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

* * * * *

California

Imperial County. The entire county.

Riverside County. That portion of

Riverside County in the Blythe and Ripley

areas bounded by a line drawn as follows:

Beginning at the intersection of State

Highway 62 and the Riverside-San

Bernardino County line, then east along the

Riverside-San Bernardino County line to its

intersection with the California-Arizona State

line; then south along the California-Arizona

State line to its intersection with the

Riverside-Imperial County line; then west

along the Riverside-Imperial County line to

its intersection with Graham Pass Road; then

northeast along Graham Pass Road to its

intersection with Chuckwalla Valley Road;

then west and northwest along Chuckwalla

Valley Road to its intersection with Interstate

Highway 10; then west along Interstate

Highway 10 to its intersection with State

Highway 177; then northeast and north along

State Highway 177 to its intersection with

State Highway 62; then northeast along State

Highway 62 to the point of beginning.

Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of

April, 1996.

Terry L. Medley,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 96–10260 Filed 4–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION

12 CFR Part 621

RIN 3052–AB54

Accounting and Reporting

Requirements

AGENCY: Farm Credit Administration.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Farm Credit

Administration (FCA or Agency), by the

Farm Credit Administration Board

(Board), adopts as final without change

an interim rule amending its regulations

on high-risk assets. The interim rule was

adopted on November 17, 1994 (59 FR

60886, Nov. 29, 1994). The interim rule

reflected recent changes in generally

accepted accounting principles (GAAP)

that supported retention of existing

regulatory guidance for Farm Credit

System (System) institutions. Although

the need for immediate regulatory

action did not permit a public comment

period before the interim rule took

effect, the FCA requested postpromulgation public comment on the

interim rule. This final rule addresses

the comments received.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 15, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda C. Sherman, Policy Analyst,

Regulation Development, Office of

Examination, Farm Credit

Administration, McLean, VA 22102–

5090, (703) 883–4498, TDD (703) 883–

4444,

or

William L. Larsen, Senior Attorney,

Regulatory Operations Division,

Office of General Counsel, Farm

Credit Administration, McLean, VA

22102–5090, (703) 883–4020, TDD

(703) 883–4444.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Substantial amendments to the FCA’s

regulations on Accounting and

Reporting Requirements at 12 CFR part

621 became effective on December 31,

1993. See 58 FR 48780, September 20,

1993. These regulations include

requirements and standards for

institutions to use in accounting for

high-risk assets and disclosing loan

performance characteristics. The

amendments promoted consistency with

industry practices in accounting and

reporting and ensured that FCA

regulatory requirements and standards

remained consistent with GAAP.

Subpart C of part 621 provides System

institutions and FCA examiners with

clear guidance on how to categorize,

account for, report, and disclose the

performance of high-risk assets. In

particular, the regulations provide

specific criteria for placing loans in

nonaccrual status, for using cash basis

versus cost recovery accounting

practices, for upgrading loans from

nonaccrual to accrual status, and for

aggregating nonaccrual loans. The

amended regulations promote consistent

financial reporting among System

institutions and Systemwide financial

statements that are comparable to those

of other federally regulated financial

institutions.

Subpart C was subject to a ‘‘sunset’’

provision when originally adopted,

because the FCA expected that aspects

of subpart C guidance might conflict

with the provisions of Statement of

Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS)

No. 114 when they were later

implemented by System institutions.1

However, in October 1994, the Financial

Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

amended SFAS No. 114 by adopting

SFAS No. 118.2 SFAS No. 118 removed

those elements of SFAS No. 114 that

would have conflicted with subpart C.

As a result, the FCA decided to retain

subpart C. To ensure the elimination of

the sunset provision before it

automatically rescinded subpart C at

year-end 1994, the FCA issued an

interim rule with a request for public

comment (59 FR 60886, Nov. 29, 1994).

II. Analysis of Public Comments

The FCA received one comment letter

on the interim rule. The letter was

submitted by the Farm Credit Council

(FCC) on behalf of its membership,

together with the Farm Credit System’s

Accounting Standards Work Group

under the direction of the Federal Farm

Credit Banks Funding Corporation.

The FCC recognizes the FCA’s efforts

to promote accounting and financial

reporting requirements consistent with

the current practices of commercial

banks. However, reiterating arguments

from their July 14, 1993 comment letter

on the proposed rule, the FCC continues

to express concern about adopting

specific accounting and financial

reporting rules rather than general

guidelines. The FCC believes the

regulations should be broad enough to

allow for evolutionary changes in GAAP

and notes that other regulators do not