Designation of Biobased Items for Federal Procurement

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is amending its Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement, to be consistent with certain statutory changes to section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) that were effected when the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008 was signed into law on June 18, 2008. The amendment is issued as an immediately effective final rule. Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, we are publishing a companion proposed rule under USDA's usual procedure for notice and comment to provide a procedural framework to finalize the rule in the event we receive significant adverse comment and withdraw this direct final rule.