Office of Energy Policy and New Uses; Designation of Biobased Items for Federal Procurement

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is amending 7 CFR part 2902, Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement, to be consistent with the statutory changes to section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (FSRIA) that were effected when the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was signed into law on August 8, 2005. In addition, USDA amends part 2902 in order to clarify that biobased products from certain designated countries must be treated by procuring agencies as eligible for the procurement preference under FSRIA. Finally, this rule amends part 2902 to clarify the USDA intent to exclude from the preferred procurement program biobased products that are merely incidental to Federal funding. The amendment is issued as an immediately effective interim rule, with opportunity for public comment.