Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 48787 

1To view these notices and the comments we 

received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2008-0119. 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Food and Nutrition Service 

Title: Evaluation of Alternatives to 

Improve Elderly Access to 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP) Study. 

OMB Control Number: 0584–NEW. 

Summary of Collection: The Food and 

Nutrition Service (FNS), under 

authorization of SEC. 17. [7 U.S.C. 2026] 

of the FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT OF 

2008, as amended, intends to conduct 

the Evaluation of Alternatives to 

Improve Elderly Access. FNS is 

interested in exploring whether policy 

options designed to improve access to 

the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP) for the elderly are 

effective. The objective of the study is 

to better understand how to maximize 

elder (60+) access to SNAP. 

Need and Use of the Information: 

This study will provide FNS with a 

better understanding of the barriers to 

serving elderly populations in SNAP 

and the extent to which available policy 

options improve program access, 

whether certain program models or 

combinations are more effective than 

others, and what tradeoffs exist between 

program simplification/access goals and 

ensuring benefit adequacy. 

Description of Respondents: 

Individuals/Households (681); Businessnot-for-profit (90) and State, Local & 

Tribal agencies (253). 

Number of Respondents: 1,024. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

Once. 

Total Burden Hours: 1,380. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22793 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0119] 

Implementation of Revised Lacey Act 

Provisions 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Food, Conservation, and 

Energy Act of 2008 amended the Lacey 

Act to provide, among other things, that 

importers submit a declaration at the 

time of importation for certain plants 

and plant products. The declaration 

requirements of the Lacey Act became 

effective on December 15, 2008, and 

enforcement of those requirements is 

being phased in. In 2009, we initiated a 

blanket declaration pilot program for 

participants in U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection’s expedited border release 

programs. In this notice, we are 

announcing the end of the blanket 

declaration pilot program and providing 

guidance on how participants in the 

program may continue to file 

declarations as required by the Lacey 

Act. 

DATES: The blanket declaration pilot 

program will end on April 18, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Richard Schading, Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, Permitting and Compliance 

Coordination, Compliance and 

Environmental Coordination Branch, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 60, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 851– 

2045. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et 

seq.), first enacted in 1900 and 

significantly amended in 1981, is the 

United States’ oldest wildlife protection 

statute. The Act combats trafficking in 

illegally taken wildlife, fish, and plants. 

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act 

of 2008, effective May 22, 2008, 

amended the Lacey Act by expanding its 

protections to a broader range of plants 

and plant products (Section 8204, 

Prevention of Illegal Logging Practices). 

As amended, the Lacey Act now makes 

it unlawful to, among other things, 

import, export, transport, sell, receive, 

acquire, or purchase in interstate or 

foreign commerce any plant, with some 

limited exceptions, taken, possessed, 

transported, or sold in violation of any 

Federal, State, tribal, or foreign law that 

protects plants or that regulates the theft 

of plants; the taking of plants from a 

park, forest reserve, or other officially 

protected area; the taking of plants from 

an officially designated area; or the 

taking of plants without, or contrary to, 

required authorization. 

In addition, Section 3 of the Lacey 

Act, as amended, makes it unlawful, 

beginning December 15, 2008, to import 

plants and plant products without an 

import declaration. The declaration 

must contain, among other things, the 

scientific name of the plant, value of the 

importation, quantity of the plant, and 

the name of the country in which the 

plant was harvested. Currently, 

enforcement of the declaration 

requirement is being phased in, as 

described in five notices published in 

the Federal Register.1

Commenters on these notices asked 

that we consider establishing a program 

through which importers could submit 

periodic blanket declarations instead of 

submitting declarations with each 

shipment. The commenters noted that 

such declarations would reduce the 

paperwork burden on affected entities, 

reduce costs, and could, in addition, 

improve the quality and usefulness of 

the information collected. Some 

commenters provided detailed 

descriptions of possible blanket 

declaration programs. 

In response to these comments, the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) began a pilot blanket 

declaration program on May 1, 2009 for 

participants in U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection’s (CBP’s) expedited border 

release programs, Automated Line 

Release (ALR) or Border Release 

Advance Screening and Selectivity 

(BRASS) in CBP’s Automated 

Commercial System (ACS). This pilot 

program tested the feasibility of 

collecting the required information 

through the use of a monthly ‘‘blanket’’ 

declaration, with subsequent 

reconciliation reports. Blanket 

declarations could be used to declare 

routine and/or repeat shipments. The 

pilot program for the Lacey Act blanket 

declaration was open only to those 

entities participating in ALR or BRASS. 

Eligible importers who wished to 

participate in the pilot were required to 

send a letter to APHIS specifically 

requesting participation in the program. 

Eighty-two individual companies 

registered a total of 119 participants 

with the pilot program. We note that by 

January 2017, only eight companies 

were still participating in the program. 

Executive Order 13659 required CBP 

to create a ‘‘single window’’ for trade to 

file entries through its Automated 

Commercial Environment (ACE). As a 

result, the ACS was discontinued and 

entries are no longer filed in that 

system. 

Due to the development of the ACE 

system, and a diminishing number of 

participants, APHIS has decided to end 

the pilot program on April 18, 2018. 

CBP’s BRASS program will continue to 

operate as it did prior to the creation of 

the pilot program, and participants in 

the blanket declaration pilot program 

will not lose their line release status in 

the expedited border release programs. 

When the program ends, importers 

whose products are subject to the Lacey 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES
48788 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 202 / Friday, October 20, 2017 / Notices 

Act declaration requirement and clear 

under the BRASS program are advised 

to file the required declaration 

information along with their CBP entry 

summary documentation. 

Additional Information 

APHIS will continue to provide the 

latest information regarding the Lacey 

Act on our Web site, http://

www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ 

lacey_act/. The Web site currently 

contains the full text of the Lacey Act, 

as amended; a slideshow covering 

background and context, requirements, 

commodities and products covered, 

information on prohibitions, the current 

status of implementation of the 

declaration requirement of the Lacey 

Act, and frequently asked questions. 

The Web site will be updated as new 

materials become available. We 

encourage persons interested in 

receiving timely updates on APHIS’ 

Lacey Act efforts to register for our 

stakeholder registry at https://

public.govdelivery.com/accounts/ 

USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new/ and select 

‘‘Lacey Act Declaration’’ as a topic of 

interest. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of 

October 2017. 

Michael C. Gregoire, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22800 Filed 10–19–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); 

Dairy Assistance Program for Puerto 

Rico (DAP–PR) in Response to 2017 

Hurricanes 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation 

and Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This NOFA is in response to 

the devastation to dairy operations left 

by 2017 hurricanes in Puerto Rico. This 

NOFA announces the availability of an 

estimated $12 million to provide 

assistance to dairy operations in Puerto 

Rico for buying feed from feed dealers 

in Puerto Rico. Each dairy operation in 

Puerto Rico can apply to the Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) to receive a 

voucher to purchase a one-month 

supply of feed for 100 percent of the 

feed cost, as calculated by FSA. At the 

discretion of the Secretary of 

Agriculture, additional assistance may 

be provided for additional days of feed 

or for purchasing fuel if funds remain 

available, taking into consideration, 

among other things, the value of the 

feed vouchers. DAP–PR assistance will 

be provided to help the dairy industry 

in Puerto Rico with the production and 

marketing of dairy. 

DATES: Application period: October 20, 

2017 through December 1, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

Berry, (202) 720–7641. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Certain 2017 hurricanes caused 

widespread destruction in Puerto Rico, 

including to dairy operations. Dairy 

operations in Puerto Rico suffered 

intense damage in late September, 2017. 

Puerto Rico and its residents continue to 

suffer severe hardships related to the 

availability of electricity, fuel, and 

water, among other things. As a result 

of the 2017 hurricanes, dairy operations 

in Puerto Rico face the possibility of 

financial and other, actual losses to their 

dairy operation due to amount of and 

availability of feed for their animals and 

lack of electricity to run their dairy 

operations until recovery operations are 

able to stabilize conditions on Puerto 

Rico. There are an estimated 94,000 

dairy cows, heifers, and other livestock, 

such as bulls necessary for a dairy 

operation as part of Puerto Rico’s 277 

dairy operations. Dairy feed and fuel are 

both available on Puerto Rico; however, 

there are various challenges to dairy 

operations, including actual feed 

surcharges and the potential for 

additional surcharges, increasing the 

cost of feed to the dairy operations, and 

the recent preference of vendors 

subsequent to the hurricanes to be paid 

only in cash or certified check instead 

of their usual policy, prior to the 

hurricanes, to allow dairy operations to 

pay for feed with credit. 

The Commodity Credit Corporation 

Charter (CCC) Act (15 U.S.C. 714c(b)) 

includes authority for CCC to use its 

general powers to make available 

materials and facilities required in 

connection with the production and 

marketing of agricultural commodities 

(other than tobacco). The procurement 

of feed and fuel for the dairy sector in 

Puerto Rico is required in connection 

with the production and marketing of 

dairy in Puerto Rico. 

DAP–PR is being implemented as a 

NOFA, as opposed to a regulation, 

because it is one-time assistance to help 

Puerto Rico dairy operations purchase 

feed in connection with the production 

and marketing of dairy. FSA has 

designed DAP–PR as a simplified, 

stream-lined method to provide 

assistance as quickly as possible to dairy 

operations in Puerto Rico given the 

extent of the disaster and the resulting 

need for feed assistance. 

FSA will administer DAP–PR on 

behalf of the Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC), using CCC funds. 

DAP–PR Description 

DAP–PR is anticipated to provide an 

estimated $12 million to provide 

vouchers to dairy operations in Puerto 

Rico for acquiring feed from feed dealers 

in Puerto Rico. Each licensed dairy 

operation can apply to receive a voucher 

to acquire one-month supply of feed for 

100 percent of the feed cost, as 

calculated by FSA. The value of the 

voucher does not guarantee a given 

quantity of feed. The feed may last less 

or more than 30 days, depending upon 

the feeding requirements of each dairy 

operation and how much feed is 

acquired. 

FSA will prepare one voucher for the 

value of the required feed needs for each 

eligible dairy operation on Puerto Rico, 

as determined by FSA. The operation 

may elect to use the whole value of the 

voucher at one time, or may elect to use 

a portion of the voucher, up to 4 times, 

not to exceed the value of the voucher. 

The value of the voucher expires 45 

days from the date approved by FSA. If 

any value remains on the voucher after 

it expires, that value may not be used 

by the dairy operation. 

FSA, on behalf of CCC, through the 

vouchers themselves, will enter into 

agreements with Puerto Rican feed 

dealers to accept the vouchers from 

dairy operations. FSA will reimburse 

the dealers for the feed acquired via the 

vouchers. The voucher can only be used 

to acquire feed from the vendors and for 

no other purpose, including paying 

down any existing debt owed by a dairy 

operation or individual or producer 

affiliated with that dairy operation to a 

vendor. 

Application and Eligible Applicants 

Each dairy operation in Puerto Rico is 

licensed by the Department of 

Agriculture of Puerto Rico; as a result, 

FSA has received certain information 

from the Puerto Rican Department of 

Agriculture about each dairy, including, 

the name, address, contact information, 

and number of head of cattle. The 

information was compiled as of August 

2017. An application, on a form 

determined by FSA, will include the 

number of dairy head as reported to 

FSA by the Puerto Rican Department of 

Agriculture, and should only reflect the 

number of live, eligible dairy cows at 

the time of application. If the number of 

cattle on the application is correct, the 

dairy operation will certify as such on 


srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with NOTICES