Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 102 / Friday, May 29, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 25617 

■ 2. Amend § 1466.8 by revising 

paragraph (c)(2)(iii) to read as follows: 

§ 1466.8 Program requirements. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) The conservation practices to be 

implemented on the public land are 

necessary and will contribute to an 

improvement in the identified resource 

concern; or 

* * * * * 

Signed this 22 day of May 2009, in 

Washington, DC. 

Leonard Jordan, 

Acting Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation and Acting Chief, Natural 

Resources Conservation Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–12562 Filed 5–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Part 1779 

Rural Housing Service 

7 CFR Part 3575 

Rural Business—Cooperative Service 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Parts 4279 and 4280 

Rural Business—Cooperative Service 

Rural Housing Service 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Part 5001 

[FR Doc. E9–4839] 

RIN 0570–AA65 

Rural Development Guaranteed Loans 

AGENCIES: Rural Business—Cooperative 

Service, Rural Housing Service, Rural 

Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule; delay of the 

effective date. 

SUMMARY: Rural Development is 

delaying the effective date of the interim 

rule for Rural Development Guaranteed 

Loans, which was published on 

December 17, 2008, to October 1, 2009. 

The interim rule establishes a unified 

guaranteed loan platform for the 

enhanced delivery of four existing Rural 

Development guaranteed loan programs: 

Community Facilities; Water and Waste 

Disposal; Business and Industry; and 

Rural Energy for America Program, 

formerly known as Renewable Energy 

Systems and Energy Efficiency 

Improvement Program. 

DATES: The effective date of the interim 

rule, which published on December 17, 

2008 [73 FR 76698], delayed until 

February 17, 2009, [74 FR 2823], 

delayed until March 9, 2009 [74 FR 

7179], delayed until June 1, 2009 [74 FR 

9759], is further delayed until October 

1, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Rick Bonnet, Rural Development, 

Business and Cooperative Programs, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 3201, 

Washington, DC 20250–3201; e-mail: 

Rick.Bonnet@wdc.usda.gov; telephone 

(202) 720–1804. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 16, 2009 [74 FR 2823], Rural 

Development delayed the original 

effective date of the interim rule from 

January 16, 2009, to February 17, 2009, 

because there was insufficient time to 

correct a technical error in the interim 

rule before the interim rule became 

effective on January 16, 2009. 

Subsequently, Rural Development 

again delayed the effective date from 

February 17, 2009, to March 9, 2009 [74 

FR 7179, February 13, 2009] soliciting 

public comments to delay the effective 

date to June 1, 2009. The effective date 

was further delayed from March 9, 2009 

to June 1, 2009 [74 FR 9759, March 6, 

2009]. As stated in the February 13, 

2009, Federal Register, Rural 

Development had identified several 

administrative actions, including 

providing the best guidance to its field 

staff to ensure the successful 

implementation of the interim rule. 

As noted in the February 13, 2009, 

Federal Register, Rural Development 

changed the effective date, as is 

provided for under the Administrative 

Procedures Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B)), 

because: 

1. Implementing the interim rule on 

February 17, 2009, would have created 

substantial legal and operational risks to 

the affected programs because the rule 

contains certain flaws that must be 

corrected and would not have provided 

the Agency sufficient time to properly 

train field staff and make changes to 

information technology systems critical 

to the implementation of these 

programs. These actions could not have 

been completed by February 17, 2009. 

2. The two week extension would 

allow the public a reasonable 

opportunity to comment on this 

proposed extension of the effective date 

to June 1, 2009, and the Agency to 

consider such comments before making 

the decision to make such extension. 

3. Extending the effective date to June 

1, 2009, allowed the Agency to finish 

the 60-day review described in the 

January 20, 2009, memo from the 

Assistant to the President and Chief of 

Staff, entitled ‘‘Regulatory Review.’’ 

As noted in the March 6, 2009, 

Federal Register, the Agency received 

three comments on the extension of the 

effective date of the interim rule to June 

1, 2009. None of the commenters 

suggested that the interim rule become 

effective prior to June 1, 2009, with one 

of the commenters suggesting that ‘‘the 

regulation be delayed as long as 

possible,’’ noting that ‘‘implementation 

during the processing of the President’s 

stimulus package will impose burdens 

on both lenders and USDA staff.’’ The 

Agency, in a separate action, is 

implementing new provisions for the 

business and industry guaranteed loan 

program as a result of the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

Extending the effective date to October 

1, 2009, would coincide with the 

beginning of a new Federal Fiscal Year, 

thereby providing program continuity. 

Further, consideration of the comments 

the Agency received on the 

implementation of the interim rule has 

taken longer than anticipated. Finally, 

the Agency became aware during a 

January 2009 meeting with Agency field 

staff, which was followed by a meeting 

with several lenders, that additional 

time is required to both familiarize 

Agency staff with the new rule and to 

provide additional training to both 

Agency staff and lenders. For these 

reasons, the Agency is extending the 

effective date until October 1, 2009. 

Dated: May 22, 2009. 

William F. Hagy III, 

Acting Under Secretary, Rural Development. 

[FR Doc. E9–12560 Filed 5–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P 


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