[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 188 (Monday, September 29, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50849-50853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25739]



 ========================================================================
 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 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.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 188 / Monday, September 29, 1997 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 50849]]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

7 CFR Part 783

Commodity Credit Corporation

7 CFR Part 1478

RIN 0560-AF17


Tree Assistance Program

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency and Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This interim rule sets forth the regulations necessary for 
implementing the 1997 Tree Assistance Program (TAP). The Act Making 
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from Natural 
Disasters for the Fiscal Year ending September 30, 1997, (The Act) 
authorized TAP assistance to small orchardists to replace or 
rehabilitate trees and vineyards damaged by natural disasters. Due to 
limited funds appropriated for this program, the losses for which 
reimbursement is sought are limited to natural disasters that occurred 
between October 1, 1996, and September 30, 1997. Cost-share assistance 
may not exceed 100 percent of the eligible replacement or 
rehabilitation costs and may be based on average costs or the actual 
costs for the replanting practices, as determined by the Deputy 
Administrator for Farm Programs.

DATES: Interim rule effective September 24, 1997. Written comments on 
this rule must be received on or before October 29, 1997 to be assured 
of consideration. Comments on the information collections in this rule 
must be received on or before November 28, 1997 in order to be assured 
of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to: David M. Nix, Compliance and 
Production Adjustment Division (CPAD), Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA, 
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., STOP 0517, Washington, DC 20012-0517, 
telephone (202) 690-4091, e-mail address: [email protected]. 
Comments may be inspected in the Office of the Director, Compliance and 
Production Adjustment Division (CPAD), Farm Service Agency (FSA), USDA, 
Room 3630 South Building, Washington, D.C., between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David M. Nix at the above listed 
address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

    This interim rule has been determined to be not significant and was 
not reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under 
Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act is not applicable to this rule 
because the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is not required by 5 U.S.C. 553 
or any other provision of law to publish a notice of proposed 
rulemaking with respect to the subject matter of this rule.

Environmental Evaluation

    An Environmental Evaluation with respect to the Tree Assistance 
Program has been completed. It has been determined that this action is 
not expected to have a significant impact on the quality of the human 
environment. In addition, it has been determined that this action will 
not adversely affect environmental factors such as wildlife habitat, 
water quality, air quality, and land use and appearance. Accordingly, 
neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact 
Statement is needed.

Executive Order 12372

    This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 
12372, which require intergovernmental consultation with State and 
local officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V, 
published at 48 FR 29115 (June 24, 1983).

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FSA will 
submit an emergency information request (ICR) to OMB for the approval 
of the Tree Assistance Program reports as necessary for the proper 
functioning of the program.
    Title: Tree Assistance Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0560-NEW.
    Type of Request: Emergency.
    Abstract: Persons who suffered losses according to this part are 
required to provide information regarding their operation, losses that 
occurred and the action that will or has been taken as a result of 
those losses.
    USDA has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget proposed 
forms to be used for application and contract and for collection of 
information relating to resource needs. Form CCC-435, Tree Assistance 
Program Technical Worksheet, is used for the collection of data and 
calculation of losses of eligible trees and eligible vines due to 
natural disaster. Form CCC-436, TAP Eligibility Certification 
Statement, is used for owner certification that the owner owns no more 
than 500 acres of eligible trees or eligible vines, and had an annual 
qualifying gross revenue of no more than $2.5 million for the 1996 tax 
year.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting for this information 
collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per applicant.
    Respondents: Owners of eligible trees and eligible vines who 
suffered losses from natural disasters.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 2.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 333 hours.
    Proposed topics for comment include: (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including 
the validity of methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
or (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate

[[Page 50850]]

automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments regarding this information collection requirement may be 
directed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, 
Attention: Desk Officer for USDA, Washington, D.C. 20503, and to David 
M. Nix. All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in 
the request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of 
public record.
    OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection(s) of 
information contained in this interim rule between 30 and 60 days after 
publication of this document in the Federal Register. Therefore, a 
comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB 
receives it within 30 days of publication. This does not affect the 
deadline for the public to comment to the Department on the interim 
regulations.

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order 
12988. The provisions of this rule preempt State law to the extent that 
such laws are inconsistent with the provisions of this rule. The 
provisions of this rule are retroactive to October 1, 1996. Before any 
judicial action may be brought regarding the provisions of this rule, 
the administrative remedies must be exhausted.

Executive Order 12612

    It has been determined that this rule does not have sufficient 
Federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism 
Assessment. The provisions contained in this rule will not have a 
substantial direct effect on States or their political subdivisions or 
on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various 
levels of government.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995

    This rule contains no Federal mandates under the regulatory 
provisions of Title II of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(UMRA) for State, local, and tribal governments or the private sector. 
Therefore, this rule is not subject to the requirements of sections 202 
and 205 of the UMRA regulations.

Background

    This interim rule sets forth the terms and conditions under which 
owners of eligible trees and eligible vines who suffered a loss as a 
result of a natural disaster may apply for benefits to compensate for 
this loss. Congress has mandated the Secretary to make available up to 
$9 million to replace or rehabilitate eligible trees and eligible vines 
damaged by natural disasters. Owners eligible for TAP may be reimbursed 
up to 100 percent of the cost incurred to replace or rehabilitate 
eligible trees or eligible vines.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 783 and Part 1478

    Disaster assistance, Grant programs--agriculture.

    For reasons set forth in the preamble and under the authority of 
Pub. L. 105-18, (111 Stat. 158), 7 CFR Chapters VII and XIV are amended 
as follows:

PART 1478--[REMOVED]

    1. Part 1478 is removed.
    2. Part 783 is added to read as follows:

PART 783--1997 TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Sec.
783.1  Applicability.
783.2  Administration.
783.3  Definitions.
783.4  Program deadlines.
783.5  Ownership, income and payment limitations.
783.6  Qualifying loss.
783.7  Eligible costs.
783.8  Application process.
783.9  Obligations of an eligible owner.
783.10  Partial performance.
783.11  Liens and claims of creditors; set-offs.
783.12  Appeals.
783.13  Misrepresentation and scheme or device.
783.14  Estates, trusts, and minors.
783.15  Death, incompetency, or disappearance.
783.16  Other regulations.
783.17  Paperwork Reduction Act assigned numbers.

    Authority: Pub. L. 105-18, 111 Stat. 158.


Sec. 783.1  Applicability.

    The regulations in this part set forth the terms and conditions of 
the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) authorized by the Act Making 
Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from Natural 
Disasters for the Fiscal Year ending September 30, 1997 (1997 Emergency 
Appropriations Act). Within specified limits, FSA is authorized by the 
1997 Emergency Appropriations Act to reimburse eligible owners for up 
to 100 percent of the cost of replanting or rehabilitating eligible 
trees and eligible vines damaged by natural disasters occurring from 
October 1, 1996, through September 30, 1997.


Sec. 783.2  Administration.

    (a) This part shall be administered by the Farm Service Agency 
(FSA) under the general direction and supervision of the Deputy 
Administrator for Farm Programs, FSA. The program shall be carried out 
in the field by FSA State and county committees (State and county 
committees).
    (b) State and county committees, and representatives and employees 
thereof, do not have the authority to modify or waive any of the 
provisions of the regulations in this part, as amended or supplemented.
    (c) The State committee shall take any action required by this part 
which has not been taken by the county committee. The State committee 
shall also:
    (1) Correct, or require a county committee to correct, any action 
taken by such county committee which is not in accordance with this 
part; or
    (2) Require a county committee to withhold taking any action which 
is not in accordance with this part.
    (d) The State committee shall allow the county committee to approve 
applications only for those owners of eligible trees and eligible vines 
who actually owned the eligible trees or eligible vines at time of the 
eligible disaster and at the time of application.
    (e) No delegation herein to a State or county committee shall 
preclude the Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, FSA, or a 
designee, from determining any question arising under the program or 
from reversing or modifying any determination made by a State or county 
committee.


Sec. 783.3  Definitions.

    (a) In determining the meaning of the provisions of this part, 
unless the context indicates otherwise, singular terms include the 
plural and plural terms include the singular, masculine terms include 
the feminine, and terms used in the present tense include the future.
    (b) The following terms contained in this part shall have the 
following meanings:
    Annual gross revenue means, with respect to a person as defined in 
part 1400 of this title:
    (1) For a person who receives more than 50 percent of such person's 
gross income from farming, ranching, and forestry operations, the total 
gross income received from such operations.
    (2) For a person who receives 50 percent or less of such person's 
gross income from farming, ranching, and forestry operations, the total 
gross income from all sources.
    (3) The determinations made in accordance with 7 CFR part 1400,

[[Page 50851]]

subpart B, shall include all entities in which an individual or entity 
has an interest, whether or not such entities are engaged in farming.
    (4) The year for which the annual gross income shall be received 
for the purpose of this definition shall be the 1996 tax year.
    Cutting means a vine which was planted in the ground for commercial 
production of grapes, kiwi fruit, or passion fruit.
    Eligible owner means an individual, partnership, corporation, 
association, estate, trust, or other business enterprise or legal 
entity and includes any Indian tribe under the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act; any Indian organization or 
entity chartered under the Indian Reorganization Act; any tribal 
organization under the Indian Self-Determination and Assistance Act; 
and, any economic enterprise under the Indian Financing Act of 1974 
which meets the requirements of this part.
    Eligible trees means papaya trees or orchard trees grown for 
commercial production of fruit and nuts.
    Eligible vines means grape, kiwi fruit, or passion fruit vines 
grown for commercial production.
    Individual stand means an area of eligible trees or vines which are 
tended by an eligible owner as a single operation, whether or not such 
trees or vines are planted in the same field or similar location, as 
determined by the Deputy Administrator. Differing species of trees or 
vines in the same field or similar area may be considered to be 
separate individual stands if FSA determines that the species have 
significantly differing levels of freeze, drought, earthquake, 
hurricane, or typhoon susceptibility.
    Local county office means the county FSA office or USDA Service 
Center that services the farm if an FSA farm serial number has been 
assigned or, if no serial number is assigned, then the office that 
services the county in which the eligible trees or vines are located.
    Natural disaster means drought, excessive moisture, hail, freeze, 
tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or excessive wind.
    Normal mortality means the percentage of plant loss on the 
individual stand of eligible trees or eligible vines which normally 
occurs in a 12-month period.
    Orchard means eligible trees planted for commercial annual 
production of fruit or nuts.
    Owner means a person who has legal ownership of the eligible trees 
or vines as determined by FSA. Eligible tree or vine owners need not 
own the land on which the trees or vines are planted.
    Seedling means an eligible tree which was planted in the ground for 
commercial purposes.
    Total mortality means the actual percentage of eligible tree or 
eligible vine losses on a given individual stand.
    (c) The definitions set forth in this section shall be applicable 
for all purposes of administering the Tree Assistance Program. The 
terms defined in part 718 of this chapter shall also be applicable, 
except where those definitions conflict with the definitions set forth 
in this section.


Sec. 783.4  Program deadlines.

    (a) A request for benefits under this part to reimburse for losses 
to eligible trees and eligible vines must be submitted to FSA at the 
local county office by close of business on Friday, September 26, 1997.
    (b) All related and supporting documentation shall be submitted at 
the time the request for assistance is filed or no later than September 
30, 1997.
    (c) The State committee shall allow the county committee to approve 
late-filed requests received after the enrollment period ends, but no 
later than September 30, 1997. Late-filed requests will be accepted 
only for those owners who applied late due to circumstances beyond 
their control as determined by the county committee and concurred with 
by the State committee.
    (d) The State committee may approve an extension, not to exceed 24 
months beyond the date of application, to complete TAP practices if 
delays are determined to be beyond the control of the applicant.


Sec. 783.5  Ownership, income and payment limitations.

    (a) An eligible owner must:
    (1) Own less than 500 acres of each type of eligible tree or 
eligible vine, regardless of their size or condition, which produce 
annual crops for commercial purposes, or are grown for harvest for 
commercial purposes; and
    (2) Have owned the eligible trees or eligible vines at the time the 
natural disaster occurred and continuously until the application for 
TAP benefits is submitted.
    (b) No person, as defined in part 1400 of this title, as 
applicable, with an annual gross revenue in excess of $2.5 million for 
the 1996 tax year will be eligible for TAP benefits.
    (c) The amount of payments which any person, as determined in 
accordance with part 1400 of this title, may receive under this part in 
connection with losses of eligible trees and eligible vines, shall not 
exceed $25,000.
    (d) An owner who acquires eligible trees or eligible vines from a 
previous owner approved for 1997 TAP shall not receive additional 
program benefits due to an increase in the number of persons associated 
with the new ownership. A new owner is allowed to receive TAP benefits 
not paid to the previous owner if the new owner:
    (1) Acquires ownership of land or trees for which TAP benefits have 
been approved;
    (2) Meets the income and payment limitation under this part;
    (3) Agrees to complete all practices which the original owner has 
not completed; and
    (4) Agrees to receive any remaining payments and assumes full 
responsibility for all provisions of TAP, including refund of payments 
made to the previous owner, if necessary.
    (e) In the event the total amount of claims submitted under this 
part during the sign-up period exceeds the applicable funds available 
for such period, such payments shall be reduced by a uniform national 
percentage. Such payment reductions shall be applied after the 
imposition of applicable payment limitation provisions.
    (f) Federal, State, and local governments and agencies and 
political subdivisions thereof are not eligible for benefits under this 
part.


Sec. 783.6  Qualifying loss.

    (a) An eligible owner may receive assistance under this part for 
qualifying loss of eligible trees, eligible orchard tree seedlings, 
eligible vines or cuttings as determined by the Deputy Administrator 
for Farm Programs, FSA:
    (1) Which were destroyed or injured as a result of a natural 
disaster, as determined by the county committee in accordance with the 
instructions of the Deputy Administrator; and
    (2) For which the total mortality rate equals or exceeds 20 
percent, after deducting the normal mortality the owner would have 
incurred.
    (b) Qualifying loss determinations shall be made on an individual 
stand basis. A qualifying loss shall be the loss for the individual 
stand of eligible trees, or eligible vines, as appropriate, after 
deducting the normal mortality of such trees or vines, equal to or in 
excess of 20 percent mortality.
    (c) Qualifying losses of eligible trees or vines shall not include:
    (1) Losses which could have been prevented through readily-
available horticultural measures; or
    (2) Losses of trees or vines which would normally have been 
rehabilitated

[[Page 50852]]

or replanted within the 12-month period following the loss, in the 
absence of the natural disaster.
    (d) When visible evidence of losses no longer exists on the site 
where the eligible trees or eligible vines were planted, acceptable 
evidence as determined in accordance with instructions issued by the 
Deputy Administrator must be established for the county committee to 
qualify the individual stand for the program.


Sec. 783.7  Eligible costs.

    (a) Payments will be made only to the extent specifically provided 
for in this part. An eligible owner shall be reimbursed under this 
part, to the extent of the availability of funds, for an amount not to 
exceed 100 percent of the eligible costs of replanting or 
rehabilitating trees or vines, not in excess of the number of trees or 
vines constituting the qualifying loss. Such reimbursement may be based 
on average costs or the actual costs for the replanting, or 
rehabilitating practices, as determined by the Deputy Administrator. If 
the costs are to replace eligible trees or eligible vines, the costs 
reimbursed under this part shall only be for replacement seedlings or 
cuttings of a size and quality determined by Deputy Administrator to be 
sufficient for that purpose. The costs for which cost-sharing shall be 
permitted shall only be the costs of:
    (1) The seedlings or cuttings, eligible tree or vine rehabilitation 
measures;
    (2) Site preparation measures and debris handling measures that are 
normal cultural practices for the type of individual stand being re-
established and necessary to ensure successful plant survival;
    (3) Chemicals and nutrients if needed to ensure successful plant 
survival; and
    (4) Labor used to physically plant or rehabilitate such seedlings 
or cuttings as based on standard labor rates as determined by the 
county committee.
    (b) Costs eligible for reimbursement under this part specifically 
exclude items such as fencing, irrigation, irrigation equipment, 
measures to protect seedlings from wildlife, and general land and 
eligible tree or vine stand improvements, and re-establishing 
structures and windscreens.
    (c) When eligible trees or eligible vines are replanted instead of 
rehabilitated, the types planted may be different than those originally 
planted if the new types have the same general end use as determined by 
the county committee. Payments will be based on the lesser of rates 
established to plant the types actually lost or the cost to establish 
the trees or vines actually used. Eligible costs shall not include 
costs incurred for planting species of seedlings or cuttings differing 
significantly from the species of the seedlings or cuttings 
constituting the qualifying loss except as approved by the Deputy 
Administrator. If such substitution is approved, eligible costs shall 
be the lesser of:
    (1) The actual eligible costs incurred; or
    (2) The estimated eligible costs which otherwise would have been 
incurred to replant the species constituting the qualifying loss.
    (d) Costs eligible for reimbursement under this part shall only 
include expenditures approved within the limits set by this part, 
including, but not limited to, those limits set forth in paragraph (a) 
of this section. Eligible costs include costs incurred before an 
application for payment is submitted. Eligible costs shall only include 
those costs for which the eligible owner has submitted documentation 
determined by the county committee to adequately document such costs. 
The county committee shall limit TAP payments for eligible costs at the 
minimum level to re-establish an individual stand, as determined by the 
State committee.
    (e) Payments shall not exceed the lesser of 100 percent of the 
eligible costs actually incurred by an eligible applicant for 
replanting or rehabilitating the qualifying loss, or the average cost 
to replant or rehabilitate the qualifying loss, as determined by the 
Deputy Administrator.


Sec. 783.8  Application process.

    (a) Applications for payment shall be filed by the eligible owner 
with the local county office and shall contain an estimate by the 
applicant of the number of eligible trees or eligible vines which 
constitute the qualifying loss and the amount of the acreage of the 
individual stands with respect to which the loss was suffered. The 
applicant must provide sufficient evidence of the losses so as to allow 
the county committee to determine qualifying losses.
    (b)(1) The county committee or a designee may conduct field reviews 
to determine the actual qualifying loss and the acreage of individual 
stands with respect to which the loss was suffered. The county 
committee and, if designated by the county committee, the county 
executive director, are authorized, subject to the provisions of this 
part, to approve or disapprove all applications, subject to the 
limitations and conditions of this part, provided the applicant is not 
a county committee member or an FSA employee.
    (2) The State committee shall approve or disapprove applications of 
the county committee members and all FSA employees except applications 
submitted by the State Executive Director, or by a State committee 
member.
    (3) The Deputy Administrator, or a designee, shall approve or 
disapprove applications of State committee members and the State 
Executive Director.
    (4) All applications forwarded to a higher reviewing authority for 
consideration shall be accompanied by committee recommendations. No 
application shall be approved unless the owner meets all eligibility 
requirements. Information furnished by the applicant and any other 
information, including knowledge of the county and State committee 
members concerning the owner's normal operations, shall be taken into 
consideration in making recommendations and approvals. If information 
furnished by the owner is incomplete or ambiguous and sufficient 
information is not otherwise available with respect to the owner's 
farming operations in order to make a determination as to the owner's 
eligibility, the owner's application shall not be approved until 
sufficient additional information is provided by the owner.
    (c) TAP eligibility and payments are not affected by participation 
in crop or tree insurance, or the receipt of any other payments.


Sec. 783.9  Obligations of an eligible owner.

    (a) Eligible owners must submit a request for assistance on the 
approved form and must also submit all documentation requested by the 
appropriate official as necessary to make determinations specified in 
this part.
    (b) Eligible owners must:
    (1) Comply with all terms and conditions of this part;
    (2) Execute all required documents;
    (3) Comply with all applicable noxious weed laws; and
    (4) Complete the TAP practice within 24 months of the date the 
application is approved.
    (c) In the event of a determination that a person was erroneously 
determined to be eligible or has become ineligible for all or part of a 
payment made under this part for any reason, including a failure to 
comply with the terms and conditions of this part, or other condition 
for payment imposed by the county or State committee or the Deputy 
Administrator, such person shall refund any payment paid under this 
part together with interest. Such interest shall be charged at the rate 
determined

[[Page 50853]]

for late payment charges under part 1403 of this title and computed 
from the date of disbursement of the payment to the date of the refund.
    (d) Eligible owners must allow representatives of FSA to visit the 
site for the purposes of examining and certifying mortality and 
practice completion.


Sec. 783.10  Partial performance.

    (a) Participants may elect not to replant the maximum amount of 
eligible trees or eligible vines because of imposition of the payment 
limitation in Sec. 783.5(c) or any other reason. If owners partially 
complete their practices after they apply, but do not replant or 
rehabilitate all of their qualifying trees or vines, the county 
committee shall calculate payment based on the extent performed.
    (b) Eligible owners who have been paid but choose not to complete 
the practice by the final practice expiration date shall refund their 
payments with interest. Interest on these refunds shall be calculated 
beginning on the date the payment was disbursed. Such refund amounts 
may be reduced, at the discretion of the Deputy Administrator, when 
only part of the required replanting practice is not implemented.


Sec. 783.11  Liens and claims of creditors; set-offs.

    Any payment or portion thereof due any person under this part shall 
be allowed without regard to questions of title under State law, and 
without regard to any claim or lien in favor of any person except 
agencies of the U.S. Government. The regulations governing set-offs and 
withholdings found at part 792 of this chapter shall be applicable to 
this part.


Sec. 783.12  Appeals.

    Any person who is dissatisfied with a determination made with 
respect to this part may make a request for reconsideration or appeal 
of such determination in accordance with the appeal regulations set 
forth at part 11 of this title and part 780 of this chapter.


Sec. 783.13  Misrepresentation and scheme or device.

    (a) A person shall be ineligible to receive assistance under this 
program if such person is determined by the State committee or the 
county committee to have:
    (1) Adopted any scheme or device which tends to defeat the purpose 
of this program;
    (2) Made any fraudulent representation; or
    (3) Misrepresented any fact affecting a program determination.
    (b) All moneys paid by CCC under this part to any such person or to 
any other person as a result of such person's actions shall be refunded 
to CCC with interest together with such other sums as may become due. 
The party engaged in acts prohibited by this section and the party 
receiving payment shall be jointly and severally liable for any refund 
due under this section and for related charges. The remedies provided 
to CCC in this part shall be in addition to other civil, criminal, or 
administrative remedies which may apply.


Sec. 783.14  Estates, trusts, and minors.

    (a) Program documents executed by persons legally authorized to 
represent estates or trusts will be accepted only if such person 
furnishes evidence of the authority to execute such documents.
    (b) A minor who is an otherwise eligible owner shall be eligible 
for assistance under this subpart only if such person meets one of the 
following requirements:
    (1) The minor establishes that the right of majority has been 
conferred on the minor by court proceedings or by statute;
    (2) A guardian has been appointed to manage the minor's property 
and the applicable program documents are executed by the guardian; or
    (3) A bond is furnished under which the surety guarantees any loss 
incurred for which the minor would be liable had the minor been an 
adult.


Sec. 783.15  Death, incompetency, or disappearance.

    In the case of death, incompetency or disappearance of any owner 
who is eligible to receive assistance in accordance with this part, 
such person or persons specified in part 707 of this chapter may 
receive such assistance.


Sec. 783.16  Other regulations.

    In addition to any other regulations as may be applicable, the 
following regulations shall also apply to this part:
    (a) Part 11 of this title, National Appeals Division Rules of 
Foreclosure;
    (b) Part 12 of this title, Highly Erodible Land and Wetland 
Conservation;
    (c) Part 703 of this chapter, Debt Settlements, Policies and 
Procedures;
    (d) Part 718 of this chapter, Provisions Applicable to Multiple 
Programs;
    (e) Part 780 of this chapter, Appeal Regulations;
    (f) Part 1400 of this title, Payment Limitation and Payment 
Eligibility; and
    (g) Part 1404 of this title, Assignments.


Sec. 783.17  Paperwork Reduction Act assigned numbers.

    The information collection requirements of this part have been 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for purposes of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act.

    Signed at Washington, D.C., on September 24, 1997.
Bruce R. Weber,
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
Acting Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 97-25739 Filed 9-24-97; 3:39 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P