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

63841 

Vol. 79, No. 207 

Monday, October 27, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

7 CFR Part 3201 

RIN 0599–AA23 

Guidelines for Designating Biobased 

Products for Federal Procurement 

AGENCY: Office of Procurement and 

Property Management, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to 

amend its regulations concerning 

guidelines for designating biobased 

products for Federal procurement, to 

incorporate statutory changes to section 

9002 of the Farm Security and Rural 

Investment Act (the 2002 Farm Bill) that 

went into effect when the Agricultural 

Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill) was 

signed into law on February 7, 2014. 

DATES: USDA will accept public 

comments on these proposed rule 

amendments until December 26, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods. All 

submissions received must include the 

agency name and Regulatory 

Information Number (RIN). The RIN for 

this rulemaking is 0599–AA23. Also, 

please identify submittals as pertaining 

to the ‘‘Proposed Amendments to 

BioPreferred Program Guidelines.’’ 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: biopreferred@usda.gov. 

Include RIN number 0599–AA23 and 

‘‘Proposed Amendments to BioPreferred 

Program Guidelines’’ on the subject line. 

Please include your name and address 

in your message. 

• Mail/commercial/hand delivery: 

Mail or deliver your comments to: Ron 

Buckhalt, USDA, Office of Procurement 

and Property Management, Room 361, 

Reporters Building, 300 7th St. SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. 

• Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for 

communication for regulatory 

information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact the 

USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720– 

2600 (voice) and (202) 690–0942 (TTY). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron 

Buckhalt, USDA, Office of Procurement 

and Property Management, Room 361, 

Reporters Building, 300 7th St. SW., 

Washington, DC 20024; email: 

biopreferred@usda.gov; phone (202) 

205–4008. Information regarding the 

Federal biobased preferred procurement 

program (one part of the BioPreferred 

Program) is available on the Internet at 

http://www.biopreferred.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

information presented in this preamble 

is organized as follows: 

I. Authority 

II. Background 

III. Executive Summary 

IV. Discussion of This Proposed Rule 

V. Request for Comment 

VI. Regulatory Information 

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563: 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

C. Executive Order 12630: Governmental 

Actions and Interference With 

Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights 

D. Executive Order 12988: Civil Justice 

Reform 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

G. Executive Order 12372: 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs 

H. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

I. Paperwork Reduction Act 

J. E-Government Act Compliance 

I. Authority 

The Guidelines for Designating 

Biobased Products for Federal 

Procurement (the Guidelines) are 

established under the authority of 

section 9002 of the Farm Security and 

Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the 2002 

Farm Bill), as amended by the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

(the 2008 Farm Bill), and further 

amended by the Agricultural Act of 

2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill), 7 U.S.C. 

8102. (Section 9002 of the 2002 Farm 

Bill, as amended by the 2008 and the 

2014 Farm Bills, is referred to in this 

document as ‘‘section 9002’’). 

II. Background 

As originally enacted, section 9002 

provides for the preferred procurement 

of biobased products by Federal 

agencies. USDA proposed the 

Guidelines for implementing this 

preferred procurement program on 

December 19, 2003 (68 FR 70730– 

70746). The Guidelines were 

promulgated on January 11, 2005 (70 FR 

1792), and are contained in 7 CFR part 

3201, ‘‘Guidelines for Designating 

Biobased Products for Federal 

Procurement.’’ 

The Guidelines identify various 

procedures Federal agencies are 

required to follow in implementing the 

requirements of section 9002. They were 

modeled in part on the ‘‘Comprehensive 

Procurement Guidelines for Products 

Containing Recovered Materials’’ (40 

CFR part 247), which the Environmental 

Protection Agency (EPA) issued 

pursuant to the Resource Conservation 

Recovery Act (‘‘RCRA’’), 40 U.S.C. 6962. 

On June 18, 2008, the 2008 Farm Bill 

was signed into law. Section 9001 of the 

2008 Farm Bill included several 

provisions that amended the provisions 

of section 9002. USDA subsequently 

amended the Guidelines to incorporate 

those provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill 

(79 FR 44641). 

The purpose of these proposed rule 

amendments is to further revise the 

Guidelines to incorporate additional 

changes to section 9002 that were 

included in the 2014 Farm Bill. These 

proposed guidelines will not affect 

products that have already been 

designated for Federal procurement 

preference. Any changes necessary to 

the existing designation status of 

products will be established by future 

rule-makings. 

III. Executive Summary 

USDA is proposing to amend 7 CFR 

part 3201 to incorporate statutory 

changes to section 9002 of the Farm 

Security and Rural Investment Act made 

by enactment of the Agricultural Act of 

2014 on February 7, 2014. The 

remainder of this section presents a 

brief summary of the proposed 

amendments to the existing Guidelines 

and Section IV of this preamble presents 

more detailed discussions. 

A. Purpose of the Regulatory Action 

1. Need for the Regulatory Action 

The 2014 Farm Bill contains 

legislative requirements related to the 

Biobased Markets Program that cannot 

be implemented without the 

establishment of further guidance. For 


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63842 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 207 / Monday, October 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

aMature market products previously were 

defined as those that had a significant market share 

prior to 1972. USDA developed this exclusion based on the legislative history of the 2002 Farm 

Bill. 

example, the proposed amendments 

provide the framework for 

implementing the requirement that 

USDA promote biobased products 

regardless of the date of entry into the 

marketplace, thus overriding previous 

regulatory provisions excluding ‘‘mature 

market’’ a products. The proposed action 

also responds to Congressional direction 

that USDA promote biobased products, 

including forest products, that apply an 

innovative approach to growing, 

harvesting, sourcing, procuring, 

processing, manufacturing, or 

application of biobased products 

regardless of the date of entry into the 

marketplace. This proposed regulatory 

action revises the definition of 

‘‘biobased product’’ to state that the 

term includes forest products that meet 

biobased content requirements, 

notwithstanding the market share the 

product holds, the age of the product, or 

whether the market for the product is 

new or emerging. This proposed rule 

establishes procedures to carry out this 

and other provisions of the Agricultural 

Act of 2014. 

2. Legal Authority for the Regulatory 

Action 

Enactment of the Agricultural Act of 

2014 (Pub. L. 113–79) on February 7, 

2014 provides the legal authority for the 

proposed rule. 

B. Summary of Major Provisions of the 

Proposed Rule 

1. Revisions to the BioPreferred Program 

Definitions 

USDA is proposing to amend 7 CFR 

3201.2 by revising one definition and 

adding two new definitions for terms 

that are used in the Guidelines as a 

result of revisions to section 9002 made 

by the 2014 Farm Bill. USDA is 

proposing to revise the definition of 

‘‘biobased product’’ to state that the 

term includes forest products that meet 

biobased content requirements, 

notwithstanding the market share the 

product holds, the age of the product, or 

whether the market for the product is 

new or emerging. 

USDA is adding definitions for the 

terms ‘‘forest product’’ and ‘‘renewable 

chemical.’’ These terms were defined in 

the text of the 2014 Farm Bill and USDA 

is proposing to add them verbatim to the 

BioPreferred Program Guidelines. 

USDA is also proposing to delete the 

current definition of ‘‘forestry 

materials’’ from section 3201.2. USDA is 

proposing to delete the existing 

definition of the term ‘‘forestry 

materials’’ because the newly defined 

term ‘‘forest product’’ is more 

appropriate and, thus, will generally 

replace the existing term. 

2. Addition of Reporting Requirements 

USDA is also proposing to add a new 

paragraph (b)(1)(iv) to section 3201.4 to 

require Federal agencies to report the 

quantities and types of biobased 

products purchased. This proposed new 

paragraph responds to specific language 

included in the 2014 Farm Bill and is 

intended to provide a means by which 

the effectiveness of the BioPreferred 

program can be measured. 

3. Addition of Targeted, Biobased-Only 

Purchasing Requirement 

USDA is also proposing to add a new 

paragraph (b)(4) to section 3201.4 

‘‘Procurement programs.’’ This new 

paragraph would add the 2014 Farm Bill 

requirement that Federal procuring 

agencies establish a targeted biobasedonly procurement requirement under 

which the procuring agency must issue 

a certain number of biobased-only 

contracts when the agency is purchasing 

products, or purchasing services that 

include the use of products, that are 

included in a biobased product category 

designated by the Secretary. 

4. Addition of Criteria for Evaluating 

‘‘Innovative Approaches’’ 

USDA is also proposing to add 

paragraphs to section 3201.5 ‘‘Category 

designation’’ to expand the description 

of the procedures and considerations for 

designating product categories, 

including those product categories that 

were excluded from the BioPreferred 

program under the previous mature 

market products exclusion. The 

Conference Report on the 2014 Farm 

Bill states: ‘‘It is the Managers’ intention 

that all products in the program use 

innovative approaches in the growing, 

harvesting, sourcing, procuring, 

processing, manufacturing, or 

application of the biobased product.’’ 

USDA is, therefore, proposing criteria to 

be used when evaluating whether 

biobased products meet the requirement 

to use ‘‘innovative approaches.’’ 

C. Costs, Benefits, and Transfers 

Type Costs Benefits Transfers 

Quantitative ............. Unable to quantify at this time; USDA 

seeks comments that would help to 

inform a quantitative estimate of impacts.

Unable to quantify at this time; USDA 

seeks comments that would help to 

inform a quantitative estimate of impacts.

Unable to quantify at this time; USDA 

seeks comments that would help to 

inform a quantitative estimate of impacts. 

Qualitative ............... 1. Costs of developing biobased alternative products; 

2. Costs to gather and submit 

biobased product information for 

BioPreferred Web site; 

Advances the objectives of the BioPreferred program, as envisioned by 

Congress in developing the 2002, 

2008, and 2014 Farm Bills.

1. Opens new (Federal) market for 

biobased products that USDA newly 

designates. 

2. Opportunity for newly developed 

biobased products to be publicized 

via BioPreferred Web site. 

3. Loss of market share by manufacturers who choose not to offer 

biobased versions of products. 

IV. Discussion of This Proposed Rule 

USDA is proposing to amend four 

sections of 7 CFR part 3201, as 

described below. 

A. 7 CFR 3201.2—Definitions 

USDA is proposing to amend 7 CFR 

3201.2 by revising one existing 

definition and adding two new 

definitions for terms that are used in the 

Guidelines as a result of revisions to 

section 9002 made by the 2014 Farm 

Bill. 

USDA is proposing to revise the 

existing definition of the term ‘‘biobased 

product’’ to include a statement that the 

term includes forest products that meet 

biobased content requirements, 


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notwithstanding the market share the 

product holds, the age of the product, or 

whether the market for the product is 

new or emerging. The addition of this 

statement to the definition of ‘‘biobased 

product’’ is taken directly from the 

language in the 2014 Farm Bill and 

emphasizes Congress’ intention that the 

mature market exclusion be removed 

and that most forest products be 

accepted into the BioPreferred program. 

USDA is adding definitions for the 

terms ‘‘forest product’’ and ‘‘renewable 

chemicals.’’ These terms were defined 

in the text of the 2014 Farm Bill and 

USDA is proposing to add them 

verbatim to the BioPreferred Program 

Guidelines. The term ‘‘forest product’’ is 

used in language clarifying Congress’ 

intent that these products, regardless of 

the market share the product holds, the 

age of the product, or whether the 

product’s market is new or emerging, 

are eligible for the procurement and 

labeling program as long as the product 

meets biobased content requirements 

and use innovative approaches in the 

growing, harvesting, sourcing, 

procuring, processing, manufacturing, 

or application of the biobased product. 

The term ‘‘renewable chemical’’ is 

also defined in the 2014 Farm Bill and 

USDA is proposing to add this 

definition to the BioPreferred Program 

Guidelines. Both the 2008 and 2014 

Farm Bills emphasize Congress’ intent 

that USDA include intermediate 

ingredients and feedstock materials in 

the BioPreferred program and renewable 

chemicals make up a significant portion 

of these biobased materials. USDA 

believes that having a clear definition of 

the term ‘‘renewable chemicals’’ will be 

useful as intermediate ingredients and 

feedstock materials are incorporated 

into the BioPreferred program. 

USDA is proposing to delete the 

existing definition of the term ‘‘forestry 

materials’’ because it is no longer 

needed. The term ‘‘forest product’’ is 

more appropriate and, thus, will 

essentially replace the existing term. 

B. 7 CFR 3201.4—Procurement 

Programs 

USDA is proposing to add a new 

paragraph (b)(1)(iv) to section 3201.4 to 

address the language in the 2014 Farm 

Bill that requires Federal agencies to 

report the quantities and types of 

biobased products purchased. This 

proposed reporting requirement is 

intended to provide a means by which 

the effectiveness of the BioPreferred 

program can be measured. 

USDA is also proposing to add a new 

paragraph (b)(4) that specifies that 

Federal procuring agencies must 

establish a targeted biobased-only 

procurement requirement under which 

the procuring agency shall issue a 

certain number of biobased-only 

contracts when the procuring agency is 

purchasing products, or purchasing 

services that include the use of 

products, that are included in a 

biobased product category designated by 

the Secretary. This requirement is 

specified in the text of the 2014 Farm 

Bill and USDA is proposing to 

incorporate it into the Guidelines using 

the language as it appears there. The 

targeted biobased-only procurement 

requirement will result in increased 

opportunities for biobased product 

manufacturers to market their products. 

C. 7 CFR 3201.5—Category Designation 

The text of the 2014 Farm Bill 

includes a statement that the Guidelines 

for the BioPreferred program shall 

‘‘promote biobased products, including 

forest products, that apply an innovative 

approach to growing, harvesting, 

sourcing, procuring, processing, 

manufacturing, or application of 

biobased products regardless of the date 

of entry into the marketplace.’’ Product 

categories that were previously 

considered to be mature market 

products and, thus, ineligible for the 

BioPreferred program will now be 

included in the program if 

manufacturers demonstrate that they 

apply an ‘‘innovative approach’’ in the 

life cycle of their product. Working in 

conjunction with the USDA Forest 

Products Laboratory, as required by the 

2014 Farm Bill (Section 9002(h)), USDA 

has developed proposed criteria that 

would be used in evaluating whether 

the ‘‘innovative approach’’ requirement 

has been met for a product category 

under consideration for designation. 

USDA is proposing that reserved 

paragraph (b)(2) of section 3201.5 now 

be used to present the criteria for 

evaluating products that were excluded 

under the mature markets exclusion. 

USDA is proposing that any one or 

more of four possible criteria must be 

met to demonstrate that a biobased 

product uses ‘‘innovative approaches.’’ 

The first possible criterion would 

require that the product or material is 

either used or applied in applications 

that differ from historical applications 

or that the product or material is grown, 

harvested, manufactured, processed, 

sourced, or applied in other innovative 

ways. There is an unknown, ever 

changing, and potentially very large 

number of innovative approaches that 

may be used in the manufacturing and/ 

or application of biobased products. 

Therefore, USDA will review 

information supporting claims of 

meeting criterion number one and will 

approve the claims on a case-by-case 

basis. 

The second possible criterion would 

require that the product or material is 

manufactured or processed using 

renewable, biomass energy or using 

technology that is demonstrated to 

increase energy efficiency or reduce 

reliance on fossil fuel based energy 

sources or that the product or material 

is manufactured or processed with 

technologies that ensure high feedstock 

material recovery and use. 

The third possible criterion would 

require that the product or material has 

a current Environmental Product 

Declaration as defined by International 

Standard ISO 14025, Environmental 

Labels and Declarations—Type III 

Environmental Declarations—Principles 

and Procedures. 

The fourth possible criterion would 

require that the product or material is 

either: 

1. Sourced from a Legal Source (see 

Note below), a Responsible Source, or a 

Certified Source as designated by ASTM 

D7612–10, Standard Practice for 

Categorizing Wood and Wood-Based 

Products According to Their Fiber 

Sources, or 

2. 100% resourced or recycled (such 

as material obtained from building 

deconstruction), or 

3. from an urban environment and is 

acquired as a result of activities related 

to a natural disaster, land clearing, rightof-way maintenance, tree health 

improvement, or public safety. 

Note: In item 1 above, the term ‘‘legal 

source’’ (also referred to as a ‘‘noncontroversial source’’) means that the wood 

fibers are from jurisdictions with a low risk 

of illegal activity or from controlled wood 

standards, stair-step standards, legality 

assessments, or other proprietary standards. 

Products from non-controversial sources are 

traceable to the applicable jurisdiction, or 

chain of custody. 

‘‘Responsible source’’ means that the wood 

fibers are acquired from a legal source 

utilizing independently certified 

procurement standards or are from a 

proprietary forestry standard or from 

jurisdictions with regulatory or quasiregulatory programs to implement best 

management practices. 

‘‘Certified sources’’ means wood fiber 

acquired in accordance with, and 

independently certified to, an internationally 

recognized voluntary forest certification 

standard or equivalent. 

USDA believes that meeting any one 

or more of these four criteria would be 

an acceptable demonstration that a 

biobased product uses innovative 

approaches in either the growing, 

harvesting, sourcing, procuring, 

processing, manufacturing, or 

application of the product. 


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D. 7 CFR 3201.6—Providing Product 

Information to Federal Agencies 

USDA is proposing to revise 

paragraph (a)(1) to read ‘‘The Web site 

will, as determined to be necessary by 

the Secretary based on the availability of 

data, provide information as to the 

availability, price, biobased content, 

performance and environmental and 

public health benefits of the designated 

product categories and designated 

intermediate ingredient or feedstock 

categories. The 2014 Farm Bill added 

the phrase ‘‘as determined to be 

necessary by the Secretary based on the 

availability of data’’ to the description of 

the types of data to be provided by 

USDA. 

V. Request for Comment 

USDA is requesting comment on all 

aspects of these proposed amendments 

to the Guidelines. In particular, USDA 

requests that stakeholders provide 

comment on the following topics: 

1. Whether the proposed definitions 

are clear, complete, and appropriate. 

2. Whether the criteria that are being 

proposed for use in determining if 

biobased products meet the requirement 

to apply an ‘‘innovative approach’’ are 

appropriate and, if not, specific 

recommendations on alternative criteria. 

USDA is particularly interested in 

expanding the criteria to apply to 

products made from traditional 

materials such as cotton, wool, leather, 

or other biobased materials. 

3. Whether the requirement that 

Federal procuring agencies establish a 

targeted biobased-only procurement 

requirement under which the procuring 

agency must issue a certain number of 

biobased-only contracts when the 

agency is purchasing products, or 

purchasing services that include the use 

of products should be more specific 

(i.e., establish a minimum percentage to 

define the ‘‘certain number of biobasedonly contracts’’). 

VI. Regulatory Information 

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563: 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This rule 

has been designated a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, 

the rule has been reviewed by the Office 

of Management and Budget. 

1. Need for the Rule 

This proposed rule would amend the 

BioPreferred Program Guidelines to 

establish the regulatory framework for 

the designation of product categories 

that were previously excluded from the 

Federal procurement preference because 

they were mature market products. The 

designation of such products is 

specifically required under the 

Agricultural Act of 2014, which states 

that the Guidelines shall: ‘‘(vi) promote 

biobased products, including forest 

products, that apply an innovative 

approach to growing, harvesting, 

sourcing, procuring, processing, 

manufacturing, or application of 

biobased products regardless of the date 

of entry into the marketplace.’’ 

2. Transfers 

This rule advances the objectives of 

the BioPreferred program, as envisioned 

by Congress in the 2002, 2008 and 2014 

Farm Bills, by expanding the scope of 

products that may be considered for 

Federal procurement preference. The 

entry into the BioPreferred program of 

biobased products that were previously 

considered to be mature market 

products will open a new Federal 

market for biobased products that are 

designated by USDA and also provides 

newly developed biobased products to 

be publicized via the BioPreferred Web 

site. Thus, the rule is expected to 

increase demand for these products 

once designated, which, in turn, is 

expected to increase demand for those 

agricultural products that can serve as 

ingredients and feedstocks. This Federal 

procurement preference will thus yield 

private benefits for businesses 

producing these ingredients and 

feedstocks. 

Simultaneously, this action would 

reduce demand for products that do not 

receive Federal Procurement Preference 

designation. Producers of biobased 

products, including intermediate 

ingredients and feedstocks, that are not 

so designated or producers of nonbiobased products could face a loss of 

market share within Federal 

procurement. We request information 

that would help us quantify the shift in 

product sales resulting from this action. 

3. Costs 

Manufacturers of biobased products 

will incur the actual costs of developing 

the biobased products as well as the 

costs to gather and submit the biobased 

product information for the BioPreferred 

Web site. The costs of developing and 

marketing new products is, in this case, 

a voluntary expense if manufacturers 

choose to pursue a share of the biobased 

product market. 

Although this proposed rule would 

amend or establish procedures for 

designating qualifying biobased product 

categories, no product categories are 

proposed to be designated today. The 

actual designation of biobased product 

categories under this program will be 

accomplished through future 

rulemaking actions and the effect of 

those rulemakings on the economy will 

be addressed at that time. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601–602, generally 

requires an agency to prepare a 

regulatory flexibility analysis of any rule 

subject to notice and comment 

rulemaking requirements under the 

Administrative Procedure Act or any 

other statute unless the agency certifies 

that the rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. Small entities 

include small businesses, small 

organizations, and small governmental 

jurisdictions. 

Although the BioPreferred program 

ultimately may have a direct impact on 

a substantial number of small entities, 

USDA has determined that this 

proposed rule itself will not have a 

direct significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

This rule will directly affect Federal 

agencies, which will be required to 

consider designated products for 

purchase. In addition, private sector 

manufacturers and vendors of biobased 

products voluntarily may provide 

information to USDA through the means 

set forth in this rule. However, the rule 

imposes no requirement on 

manufacturers and vendors to do so, 

and does not differentiate between 

manufacturers and vendors based on 

size. USDA does not know how many 

small manufacturers and vendors may 

opt to participate at this stage of the 

program. 

As explained above, when USDA 

issues a proposed rulemaking to 

designate product categories for 

preferred procurement under this 

program, USDA will assess the 

anticipated impact of such designations, 

including the impact on small entities. 

USDA anticipates that this program will 

positively impact small entities that 

manufacture or sell biobased products. 

For example, once product categories 

are designated, this program will 

provide additional opportunities for 

small businesses to manufacture and 


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sell biobased products to Federal 

agencies. This program also will impact 

indirectly small entities that supply 

biobased materials to manufacturers. 

Additionally, this program may 

decrease opportunities for small 

businesses that manufacture or sell nonbiobased products or provide 

components for the manufacturing of 

such products. It is difficult for USDA 

to definitively assess these anticipated 

impacts on small entities until USDA 

proposes product categories for 

designation. This rule does not 

designate any product categories. 

C. Executive Order 12630: 

Governmental Actions and Interference 

With Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

in accordance with Executive Order 

12630, Governmental Actions and 

Interference with Constitutionally 

Protected Property Rights, and does not 

contain policies that would have 

implications for these rights. 

D. Executive Order 12988: Civil Justice 

Reform 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

in accordance with Executive Order 

12988, Civil Justice Reform. This rule 

would not preempt State or local laws, 

is not intended to have retroactive 

effect, and would not involve 

administrative appeals. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This proposed rule would not have 

sufficient federalism implications to 

warrant the preparation of a Federalism 

Assessment. Provisions of this rule 

would not have a substantial direct 

effect on States or their political 

subdivisions or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities among the 

various government levels. 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This proposed rule contains no 

Federal mandates under the regulatory 

provisions of Title II of the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), 

2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, for State, local, and 

tribal governments, or the private sector. 

Therefore, a statement under section 

202 of UMRA is not required. 

G. Executive Order 12372: 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs 

For the reasons set forth in the Final 

Rule Related Notice for 7 CFR part 3015, 

subpart V (48 FR 29115, June 24, 1983), 

this program is excluded from the scope 

of the Executive Order 12372, which 

requires intergovernmental consultation 

with State and local officials. This 

program does not directly affect State 

and local governments. 

H. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

in accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. The review reveals that 

this proposed regulation will not have 

substantial and direct effects on Tribal 

governments and will not have 

significant Tribal implications. 

I. Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

through 3520), the information 

collection under the Guidelines is 

currently approved under OMB control 

number 0503–0011. 

J. E-Government Act Compliance 

USDA is committed to compliance 

with the E-Government Act, which 

requires Government agencies, in 

general, to provide the public the option 

of submitting information or transacting 

business electronically to the maximum 

extent possible. USDA is implementing 

an electronic information system for 

posting information voluntarily 

submitted by manufacturers or vendors 

on the products they intend to offer for 

Federal preferred procurement under 

each designated item. For information 

pertinent to E-Government Act 

compliance related to this rule, please 

contact Ron Buckhalt at (202) 205–4008. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 3201 

Biobased products, Procurement. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Department of Agriculture 

is proposing to amend 7 CFR part 3201 

as follows: 

PART 3201—GUIDELINES FOR 

DESIGNATING BIOBASED PRODUCTS 

FOR FEDERAL PROCUREMENT 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 3201 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8102. 

■ 2. Section 3201.2 is amended by: 

■ a. Revising the definition of ‘‘Biobased 

product’’; 

■ b. Removing the definition of 

‘‘Forestry materials’’; and 

■ c. Adding, in alphabetical order, 

definitions for ‘‘Forest product’’ and 

‘‘Renewable chemical’’. 

The revision and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 3201.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Biobased product. (1) A product 

determined by USDA to be a 

commercial or industrial product (other 

than food or feed) that is: 

(i) Composed, in whole or in 

significant part, of biological products, 

including renewable domestic 

agricultural materials and forestry 

materials; or 

(ii) An intermediate ingredient or 

feedstock. 

(2) The term ‘‘biobased product’’ 

includes, with respect to forestry 

materials, forest products that meet 

biobased content requirements, 

notwithstanding the market share the 

product holds, the age of the product, or 

whether the market for the product is 

new or emerging. 

* * * * * 

Forest product. A product made from 

materials derived from the practice of 

forestry or the management of growing 

timber. The term ‘‘forest product’’ 

includes: 

(1) Pulp, paper, paperboard, pellets, 

lumber, and other wood products; and 

(2) Any recycled products derived 

from forest materials. 

* * * * * 

Renewable chemical. A monomer, 

polymer, plastic, formulated product, or 

chemical substance produced from 

renewable biomass. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Section 3201.4 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (b)(1)(i) through (iii) 

and adding paragraphs (b)(1)(iv) and 

(b)(4) to read as follows: 

§ 3201.4 Procurement programs. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) A preference program for 

purchasing qualified biobased products; 

(ii) A promotion program to promote 

the preference program; 

(iii) Provisions for the annual review 

and monitoring of the effectiveness of 

the procurement program; and 

(iv) Provisions for reporting quantities 

and types of biobased products 

purchased by the Federal agency. 

* * * * * 

(4) No later than [insert date 1 year 

after publication of final rule in the 

Federal Register], each Federal agency 

shall establish a targeted biobased-only 

procurement requirement under which 

the procuring agency shall issue a 

certain number of biobased-only 

contracts when the procuring agency is 

purchasing products, or purchasing 

services that include the use of 

products, that are included in a 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
63846 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 207 / Monday, October 27, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

biobased product category designated by 

the Secretary. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Section 3201.5 is amended by 

adding paragraph (b)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 3201.5 Category designation. 

(b) * * * 

(2) In designating product categories 

and intermediate ingredient or feedstock 

categories for the BioPreferred program, 

USDA will consider as eligible only 

those products that use innovative 

approaches in the growing, harvesting, 

sourcing, procuring, processing, 

manufacturing, or application of the 

biobased product. USDA will consider 

products that meet one or more of the 

criteria in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) through 

(iv) of this section to be eligible for the 

BioPreferred program. USDA may 

exclude from the BioPreferred program 

any products whose manufacturers are 

unable to provide USDA with the 

documentation necessary to verify 

claims that innovative approaches are 

used in the growing, harvesting, 

sourcing, procuring, processing, 

manufacturing, or application of their 

biobased products. 

(i) Product applications. (A) The 

product or material is used or applied 

in applications that differ from 

historical applications; or 

(B) The product or material is grown, 

harvested, manufactured, processed, 

sourced, or applied in other innovative 

ways. 

(ii) Manufacturing and processing. (A) 

The product or material is manufactured 

or processed using renewable, biomass 

energy or using technology that is 

demonstrated to increase energy 

efficiency or reduce reliance on fossilfuel based energy sources; or 

(B) The product or material is 

manufactured or processed with 

technologies that ensure high feedstock 

material recovery and use. 

(iii) Environmental Product 

Declaration. The product has a current 

Environmental Product Declaration as 

defined by International Standard ISO 

14025, Environmental Labels and 

Declarations—Type III Environmental 

Declarations—Principles and 

Procedures. 

(iv) Raw material sourcing. (A) The 

raw material used in the product is 

sourced from a Legal Source, a 

Responsible Source, or a Certified 

Source as designated by ASTM D7612– 

10, Standard Practice for Categorizing 

Wood and Wood-Based Products 

According to Their Fiber Sources, or: 

(B) The raw material used in the 

product is 100% resourced or recycled 

(such as material obtained from building 

deconstruction), or 

(C) The raw material used in the 

product is from an urban environment 

and is acquired as a result of activities 

related to a natural disaster, land 

clearing, right-of-way maintenance, tree 

health improvement, or public safety. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Section 3201.6 is amended by 

revising the first sentence of paragraph 

(a)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 3201.6 Providing product information to 

Federal agencies. 

(a) 

(1) * * * The Web site will, as 

determined to be necessary by the 

Secretary based on the availability of 

data, provide information as to the 

availability, price, biobased content, 

performance and environmental and 

public health benefits of the designated 

product categories and designated 

intermediate ingredient or feedstock 

categories. * * * 

* * * * * 

Dated: October 15, 2014. 

Gregory L. Parham, 

Assistant Secretary For Administration, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25418 Filed 10–24–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–93–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

7 CFR Part 3202 

RIN 0599–AA22 

Voluntary Labeling Program for 

Biobased Products 

AGENCY: Office of Procurement and 

Property Management, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to 

amend its regulations concerning the 

Voluntary Labeling Program for 

Biobased Products, to incorporate 

statutory changes to section 9002 of the 

Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 

(the 2002 Farm Bill) that went into 

effect when the Agricultural Act of 2014 

(the 2014 Farm Bill) was signed into law 

on February 7, 2014. 

DATES: USDA will accept public 

comments on these proposed rule 

amendments until December 26, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods. All 

submissions received must include the 

agency name and Regulatory 

Information Number (RIN). The RIN for 

this rulemaking is 0599–AA22. Also, 

please identify submittals as pertaining 

to the ‘‘Proposed Amendments to 

Voluntary Labeling Program for 

Biobased Products.’’ 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: biopreferred@usda.gov. 

Include RIN number 0599–AA22 and 

‘‘Proposed Amendments to the 

Voluntary Labeling Program for 

Biobased Products’’ on the subject line. 

Please include your name and address 

in your message. 

• Mail/commercial/hand delivery: 

Mail or deliver your comments to: Ron 

Buckhalt, USDA, Office of Procurement 

and Property Management, Room 361, 

Reporters Building, 300 7th St. SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. 

• Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for 

communication for regulatory 

information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact the 

USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720– 

2600 (voice) and (202) 690–0942 (TTY). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron 

Buckhalt, USDA, Office of Procurement 

and Property Management, Room 361, 

Reporters Building, 300 7th St. SW., 

Washington, DC 20024; email: 

biopreferred@usda.gov; phone (202) 

205–4008. Information regarding the 

Voluntary Labeling Program for 

Biobased Products (one part of the 

BioPreferred® program) is available on 

the Internet at http://

www.biopreferred.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

information presented in this preamble 

is organized as follows: 

I. Authority 

II. Background 

III. Executive Summary 

IV. Discussion of This Proposed Rule 

V. Request for Comment 

VI. Regulatory Information 

A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563: 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

C. Executive Order 12630: Governmental 

Actions and Interference With 

Constitutionally Protected Property 

Rights 

D. Executive Order 12988: Civil Justice 

Reform 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

F. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 

G. Executive Order 12372: 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs 

H. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

I. Paperwork Reduction Act 

J. E-Government Act Compliance 

I. Authority 

The Voluntary Labeling Program for 

Biobased Products was established 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS