Quiero saber acerca de...

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 196 / Thursday, October 14, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 702, Specification for Quality Control and Inspection of Timber Products.
II. Purpose of the Regulatory Action This final rulemaking adopts most of the changes to Bulletin 1728F700, RUS Specification for Wood Poles, Stubs and Anchor Logs incorporated by reference at 1728.97; 7 CFR
1728.201 Bulletin 1728H701, Specification for Wood Crossarms Solid and Laminate, Transmission Timbers, and Pole Keys; and 7 CFR 1728.202
Bulletin 1728H702, Specification for Quality Control and Inspection of Timber Products, as published in the final rule; request for comments on June 18, 2019 84 FR 28186, in the Federal Register. This final rule also incorporates some of the suggestions received by the Agency through submitted public comments, as well as administrative updates and clarifications based on Agency experience in working with borrowers.
A summary of the major changes to these three bulletins are noted in the Agencys responses to the commenters and Summary of Changes section of this document.

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

III. Summary of Comments and Responses As noted above, the Agency invited comments on the final rule; request for comments published on June 18, 2019, in the Federal Register on or before August 2, 2019. The Agency received comments from the following organizations: Treated Wood Council TWC; North American Wood Pole Council NAWPC; Viance, LLC, a wood preservative chemical manufacturer;
McFarland Cascade a Stella-Jones Company, a producer of utility poles;
and Brooks Manufacturing Co., which are summarized as follows:
Comments and Responses Relevant to Bulletin 1728F700, Specification for Wood Poles, Stubs and Anchor Logs Incorporated by Reference at 1728.97
Comment 1: Two commenters noted that the RUS stated its intent to remove Northern White Cedar from the list of approved species, but one reference to Northern White Cedar in paragraph 8d1b was not removed.
Agency Response: The Agency agrees and in this final rule we removed northern white cedar as an acceptable pole species in that paragraph and also added Alaska Yellow Cedar. The use of Alaska Yellow Cedar is a viable choice for poles and crossarms.
Comment 2: Three commenters requested that the Agency update all the references to the latest version of the
VerDate Sep<11>2014

16:23 Oct 13, 2021

Jkt 256001

American Wood Protection Association AWPA Book of Standards in the Bulletin 1728F700.
Agency Response: The Agency agrees to use the latest version of the AWPA
Book of Standards that is available at the time the bulletin is updated.
Comment 3: Three commenters asked that RUS should allow shipment of materials greater than two years after initial treatment, so long as it has been retreated and reinspected to ensure it continues to meet the RUS
specifications.
Agency Response: The two-year time is confirmed by a result of survey of industry experts and is a balance of interest of RUS borrowers and pole suppliers.
Comment 4a: Four commenters urged RUS to delete references to specific preservatives.
Agency Response: In general, the Agency does not agree with deleting references to specific preservatives.
However, given that the Ammoniacal Copper Arsenate ACA is no longer listed in the AWPA Standards in Pole Specifications and Crossarm Specifications, the Agency is no longer referencing ACA in Bulletin 1728F700.
Comment 4b: Four commenters asked the Agency to allow RUS Borrowers to choose from any of the preservatives approved in the AWPA Standards for the commodities being purchased.
Agency Response: RUS maintains an approved List of Material. For borrowers desiring to use materials that are not on the List, there is a process where approval to use such materials can be requested from RUS on a case-by-case basis. The same process would apply to any AWPA approved preservative that is not listed in this RUS specification.
RUS reviewed DCOI Dichloro-2-noctyl-4-isothiazolin-3 application package and focused on Treatability and field pole stub/post-test. It is determined to include AWPA approved DCOI in RUS bulletins as a new preservative to address the discontinuation of penta.
Comment 5: Three commenters stated that there is no basis for providing compliance to the requirement for sterilization, described as heating the pith center to 150 F for one hour as the standard; rule concerning heat transfer taking one hour for each inch of diameter has been removed from the specification.
Agency Response: The Agency believes that there may be a misunderstanding on how the statement, as published in the final rule that Heat transfer usually requires 1
hour for each inch of diameter at 150 F, has been interpreted. Citing the
PO 00000

Frm 00007

Fmt 4700

Sfmt 4700

57017

statement was not intended to be a requirement but rather included as an informational statement. The Agencys position is supported by the USDA
Agriculture Handbook 40, printed in 1952 and the current ANSI 05.1 pole specification Paragraph 5.2.1.6, where there is no basis for compliance.
Comment 6: Three commenters requested that in addition to a calibrated recording chart, RUS acknowledge that electronic or digital storage of temperatures and pressures during the treating cycle is also acceptable.
Agency Response: The Agency agrees and includes the digital storage in this final rule to keep up with the industry practice.
Comment 7: Two commenters recommended that the information in the present 8d3b3 concerning retreatment should be removed and be combined with the information in the present 8e3 as they are presently duplicative.
Agency Response: The Agency agrees and in this final rule we removed the duplicated info in 8d3b3 and combined with Item 8e3 in the final rule.
Comment 8: Two commenters noted that the tables should be re-numbered to be in a continuous sequence with all references to the tables being adjusted to reflect the changes.
Agency Response: The Agency agrees with the commenters and in this final rule we renumbered the tables numbers in a continuous sequence and all references to the tables are updated accordingly.
Comment 9: Two commenters noted that the word cedar is used in the bulletin without clarifying whether it is Western Red Cedar or Alaskan Yellow Cedar or both.
Agency Response: The Agency does not see a need to clarify the word cedar when specifications are applicable to both. They are normally not separated from one another during the production process.
Comment 10: Three commenters recommended that in Appendix A
paragraph 4b3 Kiln Drying, Red Pine should be added to the species allowed to be dried at above 170 F.
Agency Response: The Agency agrees with the comment and in this final rule we added Red Pine to the species allowed to be dried at above 170 F in this final rule.
Comment 11: Two commenters noted that Table 10, in the middle section should be labeled as Thermal Process not Pressure and Thermal process.
Agency Response: The Agency agrees and in this final rule we deleted Pressure and and keep Thermal
E:FRFM14OCR1.SGM

14OCR1