(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an applicant whose sourcing area application was submitted by December 20, 1990, and was disapproved could either phase out of purchasing Federal timber or phase out of exporting unprocessed timber originating from private lands within the sourcing area that would have been approved, as follows:

(1) Phase-out of Federal timber purchasing. The applicant could purchase, in the 9-month period after receiving the application disapproval, unprocessed timber originating from Federal lands in the disapproved sourcing area, in an amount not to exceed 75 percent of the annual average of such person's purchases of unprocessed Federal timber in such area during the 5 full fiscal years immediately prior to the date of submission of the application. In the 6-month period immediately following the 9-month period, such person could purchase not more than 25 percent of such annual average, after which time the prohibitions against direct substitution, set forth in §223.189 of this subpart, shall apply; or

(2) Phase-out of private timber exporting. The applicant could continue to purchase unprocessed timber originating from Federal lands within the disapproved sourcing area without being subject to the phase-out of Federal timber purchasing procedures described in paragraph (a) of this section, if the following requirements were met:

(i) The applicant certified to the Regional Forester or the approving official to whom such authority has been delegated, within 90 days after receiving the disapproval decision, as follows:

(A) An applicant that has exported unprocessed timber originating from private lands from the geographic area that would have been approved provided a signed certification that reads as follows:

or,

(B) An applicant who has not exported unprocessed timber originating from private lands from the geographic area that the Secretary would have approved provided a signed certification that reads as follows:

(ii) Each certification statement set forth in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section must have been signed by the person making such certification or, in the case of a corporation, by its Chief Executive Officer; must have been on company letterhead; must have been notarized; and must have had a corporate seal attached.

(iii) The person signing such certification set forth in paragraph (a)(2)(i)(A) of this section must have provided to the Regional Forester the annual volume of timber exported by that person during the five (5) full fiscal years immediately preceding submission of the application, originating from private lands in the geographic area for which the application would have been approved.

(iv) When the applicant submitted the certificate, the area the Secretary would have approved, as shown on the sourcing area map provided by the Secretary, became an approved sourcing area. If the certificate was not submitted, the sourcing area that would have been approved did not become an approved sourcing area.

(3) The phase-out of Federal timber purchasing and the phase-out of private timber exporting procedures provided by paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section do not apply to persons submitting sourcing area applications after December 20, 1990, or to persons requesting review of disapproved sourcing areas.

(b) Limits on purchases and exports.

(1) During the 15-month period following disapproval of a sourcing area, a person who elects to phase-out of private timber exporting as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, may not:

(i) Purchase more than 125 percent of the person's annual average purchases of unprocessed timber originating from Federal lands within the person's disapproved sourcing area during the five (5) full fiscal years immediately prior to submission of the application; and,

(ii) Export unprocessed timber originating from private lands in the geographic area determined by the approving official for which the application would have been approved, in amounts that exceed 125 percent of the annual average of that person's exports of unprocessed timber from such private land during the five (5) full years immediately prior to submission of the application.

(2) At the conclusion of the 15-month export phase-out period, the prohibition against exporting private timber originating from within the area shall be in full force and effect as long as the sourcing area remains approved, pursuant to this subpart F of this part 223.

(c) Presentation of map to applicant whose sourcing area is disapproved. The area determined by the deciding official that would have been approved shall be drawn on a map and presented to the applicant by the deciding official with the notice of disapproval of the application.

(d) Effect of prior certification to cease exporting. An applicant's previous certification to cease exporting beginning February 20, 1991, for a period of three (3) years from within the disapproved sourcing area pursuant to paragraphs (f) and (g) in §223.189 of this subpart shall remain in full force and effect for persons with approved and disapproved sourcing areas.

(e) Review process and frequency.

(1) Approved sourcing areas shall be reviewed not less often than every five (5) years. A tentative date for a review shall be included in the Administrative Law Judge's, or, on appeal, the Judicial Officer's determination or stated in writing by the Regional Forester following the determination. At least 60 days prior to the tentative review date, the Regional Forester or other such reviewing official shall notify the person holding the sourcing area of the pending review, publish notice of such review in newspapers of general circulation within the sourcing area, and invite comments, to be received no later than 30 days from the date of the notice, from all interested persons, including the person holding the sourcing area. For 10 working days following the comment period, any person submitting a written comment and the person with the sourcing area may review the comments. If there is disagreement among the persons who submitted written comments regarding the proper sourcing area, the reviewing official shall convene an informal meeting convenient to the persons that all interested persons may attend. If an agreement cannot be reached among the persons, formal administrative adjudication shall occur. The Administrative Law Judge, or, on appeal, the Judicial Officer shall, on the record and after opportunity for a hearing, approve or disapprove the sourcing area being reviewed, pursuant to the Rules of Practice Governing the Adjudication of Sourcing Area Applications and Formal Review of Sourcing Areas Pursuant to the Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 620, et seq.), found at 7 CFR part 1, subpart M.

(2) Disapproved sourcing areas shall be reviewed using the process described in paragraph (e)(1) of this section upon resubmission of an application, provided the applicant has accepted the area the Secretary would have approved as a sourcing area pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

(3) The Department reserves the right to schedule a review, at the request of the Forest Service or the person holding the sourcing area, at any time prior to the scheduled tentative review date, with 60 days notice.

(4) Sourcing areas being reviewed shall continue in full force and effect pending the final review determination.

(f) Reporting and record keeping procedures. The reporting and record keeping procedures in this section constitute information collection requirements as defined in 5 CFR part 1320. These requirements have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget and assigned clearance number 0596-0115.