28008 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 112 / Friday, June 12, 2009 / Notices 

restoration structures, and construct, 

bury new and/or existing pipeline. It 

provides for a range of alternate actions 

that may be selected from to achieve 

desired conditions in an acceptable 

timeframe. This approach is known as 

‘‘Adaptive Management.’’ Some grazing 

practices would be changed to resolve 

grazing related resource issues. 

Successful Adaptive Management 

requires timely monitoring of resource 

conditions and trends. The Proposed 

Action also includes a monitoring plan 

for each allotment designed to focus on 

specific areas with livestock related 

resource problems. If monitoring results 

indicate that resource problems persist, 

adaptive management options are 

identified that would be implemented 

in cooperation with each permittee to 

effect improvement in resource 

conditions. 

Possible Alternatives 

The Current Management Alternative 

would not change existing permitted 

livestock grazing. The No Grazing 

Alternative would eliminate any 

livestock grazing on the project area. 

Responsible Official 

Robert J. Thompson, District Ranger, 

Mystic Ranger District, Black Hills 

National Forest, 8221 South Highway 

16, Rapid City, SD 57702. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The decision to be made is whether to 

continue to permit livestock grazing on 

all, part, or none of these allotments 

and, if so, under what terms and 

conditions to ensure that desired 

condition objectives are met, or that 

movement occurs toward those 

objectives. 

Preliminary Issues 

Anticipated issues include: Support 

and opposition to livestock grazing; 

impacts of livestock grazing on wildlife 

habitat, riparian areas, and streambank 

stability. 

Scoping Process 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. Comments and input 

regarding the proposal will be received 

via direct mailing from the public, other 

groups, and agencies during the initial 

public comment period in June of 2009. 

Comments submitted based on this NOI 

will be most useful if received within 30 

days from the date of this notice. 

Response to the Draft EIS will be sought 

from the interested public beginning in 

August 2009. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such manner that they are useful to the 

agency’s preparation of the 

environmental impact statement. 

Therefore, comments should be 

provided prior to the close of the 

comment period and should clearly 

articulate the reviewer’s concerns and 

contentions. The submission of timely 

and specific comments can affect a 

reviewer’s ability to participate in 

subsequent administrative appeal or 

judicial review. 

Dated: June 4, 2009. 

Craig Bobzien, 

Forest Supervisor, Black Hills National Forest. 

[FR Doc. E9–13690 Filed 6–11–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0121] 

Notice of Availability of an Evaluation 

of the Highly Pathogenic Avian 

Influenza Subtype H5N1 Status of 

Saxony, Germany 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

evaluation of the animal health status of 

Saxony, Germany, relative to the H5N1 

subtype of highly pathogenic avian 

influenza (HPAI). The evaluation 

presents our assessment of the HPAI 

H5N1 detection, control, and 

eradication measures in place in 

Saxony, Germany, during an outbreak of 

HPAI in 2008, as well as our assessment 

of the present status of Saxony, 

Germany, with respect to HPAI subtype 

H5N1. We are making this evaluation 

available to the public for review and 

comment. If, after the close of the 

comment period, APHIS can identify no 

additional risk factors that would 

indicate that domestic poultry in 

Saxony, Germany, continue to be 

affected with HPAI H5N1, we would 

conclude that the importation of live 

birds, poultry carcasses, parts of 

carcasses, and eggs (other than hatching 

eggs) of poultry, game birds, or other 

birds from the affected region of Saxony, 

Germany, presents a low risk of 

introducing HPAI H5N1 into the United 

States. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before July 13, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2008-0121 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0121, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2008–0121. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the 

evaluation in our reading room. The 

reading room is located in room 1141 of 

the USDA South Building, 14th Street 

and Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690–2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Julia Punderson, Regionalization 

Evaluation Services Staff, National 

Center for Import and Export, VS, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 38, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 734– 

4356. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the Animal Health Protection 

Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) has the authority to prohibit or 

restrict the importation into the United 

States of animals, animal products, and 

other articles in order to prevent the 

introduction of diseases and pests into 

the U.S. livestock and poultry 

populations. 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza 

(HPAI) is a zoonotic disease of poultry. 

The H5N1 subtype of HPAI is an 

extremely infectious and fatal form of 

the disease. HPAI can strike poultry 

quickly without any warning signs of 

infection and, once established, can 

spread rapidly from flock to flock. HPAI 

viruses can also be spread by manure, 

equipment, vehicles, egg flats, crates, 

and people whose clothing or shoes 

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 112 / Friday, June 12, 2009 / Notices 28009 

have come in contact with the virus. 

HPAI viruses can remain viable at 

moderate temperatures for long periods 

in the environment and can survive 

indefinitely in frozen material. The 

H5N1 subtype of HPAI has been of 

particular concern because it has 

crossed the species barrier and caused 

disease in humans. 

On October 9, 2008, the German 

Federal Ministry of Consumer 

Protection, Food and Agriculture 

(BMVEL) reported an outbreak of HPAI 

H5N1 in a single mixed-species flock in 

Marfersdorf, located in the district of 

Go ̈rlitz in the Federal State of Saxony 

following the identification of HPAI 

H5N1 in a wild bird on a nearby lake. 

The restrictions put in place by the 

European Commission on October 9, 

2008, in response to that limited 

outbreak were lifted on November 13, 

2008, following extensive surveillance 

and epidemiologic investigations. In a 

document titled, ‘‘APHIS’ Evaluation of 

the Status of High Pathogenicity Avian 

Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) in 

Saxony, Germany’’ (February 2009), we 

present the results of our evaluation of 

the status of HPAI H5N1 in domestic 

poultry in Saxony, Germany, in light of 

the actions taken by German authorities 

since the 2008 outbreak, and document 

our analysis of the risk associated with 

allowing the importation of birds, 

poultry, and poultry products from the 

region of Saxony, Germany, into the 

United States in the aftermath of the 

2008 outbreak. 

Based on the evaluation, we have 

determined that the BMVEL was able to 

effectively control and eradicate HPAI 

H5N1 in their domestic poultry 

populations and that the German 

authorities have adequate control 

measures in place to rapidly identify, 

control, and eradicate the disease 

should it be reintroduced into the 

country in either wild birds or domestic 

poultry. 

We are making the evaluation 

available for public review and 

comment. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

the date listed under the heading DATES

at the beginning of this notice. The 

evaluation may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

a link to Regulations.gov and 

information on the location and hours of 

the reading room). You may request 

paper copies of the evaluation by calling 

or writing to the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please 

refer to the title of the evaluation when 

requesting copies. 

If, after the close of the comment 

period, APHIS can identify no 

additional risk factors that would 

indicate that domestic poultry in 

Saxony, Germany, continues to be 

affected with HPAI H5N1, we would 

conclude that the importation of live 

birds, poultry carcasses, parts of 

carcasses, and eggs (other than hatching 

eggs) of poultry, game birds, or other 

birds from Saxony, Germany, presents a 

low risk of introducing HPAI H5N1 into 

the United States. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, 7781– 

7786, and 8301–8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 

136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 

371.4. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of 

June 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–13840 Filed 6–11–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) 

for Repowering Assistance Payments 

to Eligible Biorefineries 

AGENCY: Rural Development-Energy 

Division, Program Branch, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This Notice announces the 

intention of the USDA (‘‘the Agency’’) to 

make payments to eligible biorefineries 

to encourage the use of renewable 

biomass as a replacement fuel source for 

fossil fuels used to provide process heat 

or power in the operation of these 

eligible biorefineries. This program is 

authorized under Title IX, Section 9001, 

of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110–246). 

DATES: Applications for participating in 

this program must be received between 

July 1, 2009 and November 1, 2009. 

The comment period for information 

collection under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 continues 

through August 11, 2009. Comments on 

the paperwork burden must be received 

by this date to be assured of 

consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Application materials may 

be obtained by contacting USDA, Rural 

Development-Energy Division, Program 

Branch, Attention: Repowering 

Assistance Program, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Stop 3225, Washington, 

DC 20250–3225. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information on this payment 

program, please contact USDA, Rural 

Development-Energy Division, Program 

Branch, Attention: Repowering 

Assistance Program, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Stop 3225, Washington, 

DC 20250–3225. Telephone: 202–720– 

1400. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

On May 5, 2009, the President issued 

a Presidential Directive to Secretary of 

Agriculture Thomas R. Vilsack to 

aggressively accelerate the investment 

in and production of biofuels (published 

in the Federal Register on May 7, 2009 

(74 FR 21531–21532)). Secretary Vilsack 

also announced that he will help lead 

an unprecedented interagency effort to 

increase America’s energy 

independence and spur rural economic 

development. 

The Presidential directive requests 

that Secretary Vilsack take steps to the 

extent permitted by law to expedite and 

increase production of and investment 

in biofuel development efforts by, 

among other things, making renewable 

energy financing opportunities from the 

2008 Farm Bill available within 30 days, 

which includes guidance and support to 

encourage biorefinereies to replace the 

use of fossil fuels in plant operations by 

installing new biomass energy systems 

or producing new energy from 

renewable biomass. 

Administrative Procedure Act 

Statement 

This NOFA is being issued without 

advance rulemaking or public comment. 

The Administrative Procedure Act 

(‘‘APA’’, 5 U.S.C. 553), has several 

exemptions to rulemaking requirements. 

Among them is an exemption for 

matters relating to federal benefits, but 

under the provisions of the ‘‘Statement 

of Policy of the Secretary of Agriculture 

effective July 24, 1971,’’ issued by 

Secretary Hardin in 1971 (36 FR 13804 

(the ‘‘Hardin Memorandum’’), the 

Department will normally engage in 

rulemaking related to federal benefits 

despite that exemption. However, the 

Hardin Memorandum does not waive 

certain other APA-contained 

exemptions, in particular the ‘‘good 

cause’’ exemption found at 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(3)(B), which allows effective 

government action without rulemaking 

procedures where withholding the 

action would be ‘‘impracticable, 

unnecessary, or contrary to the public 

interest.’’ The Hardin memorandum 

specifically provides for the use of the 

‘‘good cause’’ exemption, albeit 

sparingly, when a substantial basis for 

so doing exists, and where, as will be 

described more fully below, that 

substantial basis is explained. 

USDA has determined, consistent 

with the APA and the Hardin