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.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

56811 

Vol. 78, No. 179 

Monday, September 16, 2013 

MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION 

BOARD 

5 CFR Parts 1201 and 1209 

Practices and Procedures 

AGENCY: Merit Systems Protection 

Board. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Merit Systems Protection 

Board (MSPB or the Board) is adopting 

as final an interim rule that conformed 

the Board’s regulations to legislative 

changes that amended whistleblower 

protections for Federal employees and 

the penalties available in cases where 

the MSPB determines that a Federal 

employee or a State or local officer or 

employee violated restrictions on 

partisan political activity. 

DATES: Effective: September 16, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William D. Spencer, Clerk of the Board, 

Merit Systems Protection Board, 1615 M 

Street NW., Washington, DC 20419; 

phone: (202) 653–7200; fax: (202) 653– 

7130; or email: mspb@mspb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 2, 

2013, the Board published an interim 

final rule amending 5 CFR parts 1201 

and 1209. 78 FR 39543. The interim 

final rule was necessary to conform the 

MSPB’s regulations to recent 

amendments to Federal law contained 

in the Hatch Act Modernization Act of 

2012, Public Law 112–230 (the Act) and 

the Whistleblower Protection 

Enhancement Act of 2012, Public Law 

112–199 (WPEA). A detailed discussion 

of the amendments to the Board’s 

regulations required by the Act and the 

WPEA is set forth in the interim rule. 

The Board received no comments in 

response to the interim rule. Therefore, 

the Board has determined to adopt the 

interim rule as final without change. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Parts 1201 and 

1209 

Administrative practice and 

procedure. 

William D. Spencer, 

Clerk of the Board. 

Interim Rule Adopted as Final Without 

Change 

Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 5 CFR parts 1201 and 1209, 

which was published at 78 FR 39543, on 

July 2, 2013, is adopted as a final rule 

without change. 

[FR Doc. 2013–22439 Filed 9–13–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7400–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 205 

[Document Number AMS–NOP–13–0057; 

NOP–13–03] 

National Organic Program—Sunset 

Process 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notification of sunset process. 

SUMMARY: This document describes the 

sunset review and renewal process for 

substances on the National List of 

Allowed and Prohibited Substances 

(National List), a subpart of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

organic regulations. The Organic Foods 

Production Act of 1990 (OFPA) requires 

that the National Organic Standards 

Board (NOSB), a 15-member federal 

advisory committee, review all 

substances and that the Secretary of 

Agriculture (Secretary) renew these 

substances, within 5 years of their 

addition to or renewal on the National 

List. This action of NOSB review and 

USDA renewal is commonly referred to 

as the ‘‘Sunset Process.’’ This document 

informs stakeholders about the process 

that the NOSB will use to complete their 

responsibility to review substances 

under OFPA’s sunset provision. This 

document also informs stakeholders 

about the process that the Secretary and 

the Agricultural Marketing Service’s 

(AMS) National Organic Program (NOP) 

will use to complete the USDA’s 

responsibilities under OFPA’s sunset 

provision. 

DATES: The process announced by this 

document is effective on September 17, 

2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melissa Bailey, Ph.D., Director, 

Standards Division, Telephone: (202) 

720–3252; Fax: (202) 205–7808. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

What is the National List? 

The OFPA authorized the 

establishment of a National List of 

Allowed and Prohibited Substances 

(National List) (7 U.S.C. 6517). The 

National List, a subpart of the USDA 

organic regulations, identifies the 

synthetic substances that are allowed 

(exemptions) and the nonsynthetic 

(natural) substances that are not allowed 

(prohibitions) in organic production (7 

CFR 205.601–604). Nonsynthetic 

substances are generally permitted to be 

used in organic production and are not 

required to be included on the National 

List. The USDA organic regulations 

specifically prohibit the use of any 

synthetic substance in organic 

production and handling unless the 

synthetic substance is on the National 

List (§ 205.105). The National List also 

identifies the nonorganic substances 

that may be used in organic handling 

(§§ 205.605–205.606). Any nonorganic 

substance used in organic handling 

must also be included on the National 

List (§ 205.105). 

Changes to the National List may be 

requested by any individual or 

organization through the National List 

Petition Process. Petitioners may submit 

a petition requesting the addition of a 

substance, the removal of a substance, 

or an amendment to a substance already 

on the National List. Section 205.607 of 

the USDA organic regulations addresses 

amending the National List. In addition, 

AMS published in the Federal Register 

guidelines regarding the submission of 

petitions for the National List on 

January 18, 2007 (72 FR 2167). This 

information can also be accessed 

through the NOP Web site at http://

www.ams.usda.gov/nop. 

What is the National Organic Standards 

Board? 

The NOSB is a 15-member Federal 

Advisory Committee that assists in the 

development of standards for substances 

to be used in organic production and 

handling (7 U.S.C. 6518(a)). The NOSB 

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is responsible for developing proposed 

amendments to the National List for 

submission to the Secretary (7 U.S.C. 

6518(k)(2)). Specifically, the NOSB 

reviews petitions received through the 

National List Petition Process and 

evaluates petitioned substances using 

specific criteria in OFPA (7 U.S.C. 

6518(m)) and the USDA organic 

regulations (§ 205.600). These criteria 

address the impact of the use of the 

substance on human health and the 

environment, the necessity of the 

substance, and its compatibility with 

organic production and handling. 

Depending on the petitioned use of the 

substance, the petition will be reviewed 

by an NOSB subcommittee: Crops, 

livestock, or handling. Proposals from 

the subcommittees are posted for public 

comment prior to the NOSB issuing a 

final recommendation. In developing 

their final recommendation, NOSB 

considers information from the petition, 

third party technical information, and 

written and in-person comments at 

public meetings. After NOSB provides a 

final recommendation to the Secretary, 

AMS reviews the recommendation and, 

if warranted, considers action to amend 

the National List through rulemaking. 

Under the authority of OFPA, the 

Secretary can amend the National List 

based on proposed amendments 

developed by the NOSB (7 U.S.C. 

6517(d)(1)). 

What is the Sunset Process? 

OFPA specifies that the NOSB must 

review all substances on the National 

List and that the Secretary renew 

substances within 5 years of their 

addition to or renewal on the National 

List. This action of NOSB review and 

USDA renewal is commonly referred to 

as the ‘‘Sunset Process.’’ It is essential 

for the NOSB to complete this review 

and the Secretary to complete any 

renewals in a timely manner because 

these substances are critical to the 

production and handling of a wide array 

of raw and processed organic 

agricultural products. Failure to 

complete this process could cause 

disruption of well-established and 

accepted organic production, handling, 

and processing systems. 

The NOSB has previously evaluated 

and determined that all substances 

currently on the National List are 

consistent with OFPA and the USDA 

organic regulations. As of publication of 

this document, the NOSB has completed 

five Sunset reviews since the 

establishment of the National List in 

October 21, 2002. AMS has addressed 

these reviews through multiple 

rulemaking actions. A complete list of 

Federal Register notices pertinent to 

NOSB reviews and AMS rules that 

address NOSB’s Sunset Reviews is 

available on the NOP Web site at: 

www.ams.usda.gov/

nopfederalregisternotices. 

What does this document do? 

This document describes the process 

that NOSB will use to complete its 

responsibility to review substances on 

the National List under OFPA’s sunset 

provision. This document also describes 

the process that AMS’ National Organic 

Program (NOP) will use to complete the 

Secretary’s responsibility to renew the 

National List under OFPA’s sunset 

provision. 

The Sunset Process described in this 

document will be used for future Sunset 

reviews and renewals, unless AMS 

replaces or updates this document. This 

document replaces the process that 

AMS described in the first Advanced 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) 

for Sunset Review published in the 

Federal Register on June 17, 2005 (70 

FR 35177). 

II. The Sunset Process 

The Sunset Process is comprised of 

two components: (1) The NOSB review 

and (2) USDA action on substances 

within 5 years of their addition to or 

renewal on the National List. The 

Sunset Process is completed for each 

substance through the steps shown in 

Figure 1 and described below. 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 56813 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 

Step 1—AMS Announces Substance(s) 

for Sunset Review 

AMS will publish a list of substances 

that will be undergoing the sunset 

review and renewal process in a given 

calendar year. The list will be published 

on the NOP Web site with enough lead 

time (e.g., two years) to provide for both 

NOSB review and USDA action on these 

substances. The list will be divided by 

subcommittee and provides the 

following information for each 

substance: Current listing, use 

description, references to past technical 

reports, past NOSB actions, and 

regulatory history (e.g., links to 

proposed and final rules), as applicable. 

An example of the structure and content 

of this type of list is available at: 

www.ams.usda.gov/nop. 

Step 2—Public Submits Comments on 

Substance’s Status and Impact 

AMS will also publish a Federal 

Register document announcing an 

NOSB meeting and request public 

comments on each substance under 

sunset review. This request for 

comments will direct the public to 

provide information that aids in NOSB 

review of the substance against the 

criteria in OFPA and under the USDA 

organic regulations. This request is for 

new information about a substance 

since its addition to the National List or 

its previous Sunset Review. Such 

information could include research or 

data that may support a change in the 

NOSB’s determination for a substance. 

This may include information on a 

substance’s impact on human health 

and the environment, its necessity, and 

its continued compatibility with organic 

production and handling. 

In advance of the NOSB meeting, the 

public can submit written comments on 

the substances undergoing sunset 

review. At the NOSB meeting, the 

public can also provide in-person 

comments to NOSB on these substances. 

Members of the public interested in 

providing in-person comments may 

request a slot in advance. Instructions 

for such requests are available in the 

Federal Register document announcing 

the NOSB meeting. 

Step 3—Public Meeting #1: NOSB 

Discusses Substance, No Action Taken 

At the first public meeting, each 

NOSB Subcommittee presents a brief 

background summary for each substance 

and describes any public comments 

received. The NOSB does not take 

action on this substance at this meeting. 

Instead, the purpose of the first meeting 

is for the NOSB to hear about any new 

information about each substance under 


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56814 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

review. Through the process of public 

comment, NOSB may identify and 

discuss key issues about a substance 

that needs further examination. Each 

Subcommittee will consider these issues 

as it develops its preliminary sunset 

review for the next public NOSB 

meeting. 

Step 4—NOSB Subcommittee Completes 

Preliminary Review 

After the first public meeting, the 

NOSB Subcommittees will review 

public comment and technical 

information to draft a preliminary 

review of substances undergoing sunset 

review in a given year. AMS will 

publish this preliminary review on the 

NOP Web site. For substances that 

continue to meet the criteria for 

substances on the National List, the 

Subcommittee will summarize relevant 

information regarding its review of this 

substance. The review will also 

summarize information from any 

available technical report(s) on the 

substance and describe any new 

information pertaining to substance’s 

impact on human health and the 

environment, its necessity, and its 

compatibility with organic production 

and handling. If the Subcommittee 

determines that a substance should 

remain on the National List, and there 

are no proposals to remove the 

substance, then the Subcommittee’s 

preliminary review moves to the next 

step in this process. The Subcommittee 

does not vote on a motion to retain a 

substance on the National List. 

As part of this review, the 

Subcommittee may identify new 

information that merits consideration of 

a substance for removal from the 

National List. If warranted, the NOSB 

Subcommittees can develop proposals 

to remove substances as part of their 

preliminary review. Any proposals to 

remove a substance must be justified 

using the evaluation criteria in OFPA 

and the USDA organic regulations. 

Proposals to remove a substance must 

be part of the preliminary review that is 

posted in advance of the NOSB meeting. 

If the Subcommittee identifies new 

information that it believes merits 

reconsideration of a use restriction for a 

substance (e.g., to expand its use, 

further restrict its use, or correct its 

restrictive annotation), then a member 

of the Subcommittee or a member of the 

public can file a petition to change the 

use of a substance through the National 

List Petition Process. Changes to or 

addition of annotations to substances 

already on the National List cannot be 

proposed during the Sunset Process. 

Additional information in support of 

this procedure is described below under 

Discussion. 

Step 5—Public Submits Comments on 

Preliminary Review 

AMS will publish a Federal Register 

document announcing the second NOSB 

meeting and request public comments 

on each Subcommittee’s preliminary 

review. This request for comments will 

again direct the public to provide 

information that aids in NOSB review of 

each substance against the criteria in 

OFPA and under the USDA organic 

regulations. This request is for new 

information on the status of a substance 

since its addition to the National List or 

its previous Sunset Review. Such 

information could include research or 

data that may support a change in the 

NOSB’s determination for a substance. 

This may include information on a 

substance’s impact on human health 

and the environment, its necessity, and 

its continued compatibility with organic 

production and handling. 

In advance of the second NOSB 

meeting, the public can respond to this 

Federal Register document by 

submitting written comments on the 

substances undergoing review. At the 

NOSB meeting, the public can also 

provide in-person comments to NOSB 

on these substances. Members of the 

public interested in providing in-person 

comments may request a slot in 

advance. Instructions for such requests 

are available in the Federal Register 

document announcing the NOSB 

meeting. 

Step 6—Public Meeting #2: NOSB 

Completes Sunset Review 

At the second public meeting, each 

Subcommittee will present a brief 

background summary of its preliminary 

review and summarize any public 

comments received. Each Subcommittee 

Chair leads the full NOSB discussion on 

that Subcommittee’s preliminary 

reviews and any associated proposals to 

remove substances from the National 

List. 

After NOSB discussion of each 

preliminary review and any proposals, 

the NOSB will vote on any motions to 

remove substances from the National 

List. If a Subcommittee had published a 

proposal to remove a substance, then a 

member of the NOSB can make a motion 

to remove that substance from the 

National List. As specified by OFPA, 

two-thirds of the votes cast at the 

meeting shall be decisive of any motion 

(7 U.S.C. 6518(i)). For motions to 

remove a substance, this means that 

two-thirds of votes cast must be in favor 

of removal of the substance. A motion 

to remove a substance that does not 

receive two-thirds of the votes cast fails, 

and the substance will remain on the 

National List. 

Proposals to remove substances from 

the National List can only be considered 

by the NOSB if they were published as 

part of the Subcommittee’s preliminary 

review for public comment in advance 

of the NOSB meeting. If the 

Subcommittee identifies new 

information at the meeting that it 

believes merits reconsideration of the 

conclusions presented in the 

preliminary review, that information 

will be considered untimely for 

purposes of the Sunset Review process. 

However, a member of the 

Subcommittee or a member of the 

public then can file a petition for 

removal or changes to the use of a 

substance through the National List 

Petition Process. 

After NOSB votes on any proposals to 

remove substances, the NOSB discusses 

the overall review of substances under 

their consideration. At the conclusion of 

this discussion, the NOSB Chair 

confirms that the NOSB review is 

complete. The NOSB Chair compiles the 

preliminary reviews from each 

Subcommittee and any NOSB 

recommendations for removals into a 

comprehensive NOSB Sunset Review 

document. The NOSB Chair accepts this 

document as complete and transmits 

this document to AMS for consideration 

and for public posting on the NOP Web 

site at www.ams.usda.gov/nop. This 

action completes the NOSB’s 

responsibility to review substances on 

the National List through OFPA’s sunset 

provision (7 U.S.C. 6517(e)). 

Step 7—AMS Reviews NOSB Sunset 

Review 

Upon receipt of the NOSB’s Sunset 

Review document, AMS reviews the 

outcome for each substance to consider 

AMS’ next action and to ensure 

accuracy and completeness of the 

document. 

Step 8—AMS Announces Renewal of 

Substance 

After AMS’ review, AMS may publish 

a document in the Federal Register 

listing all the substances that will 

remain on the National List until the 

next five year sunset review. This action 

addresses the Secretary’s responsibility 

to renew substances on the National List 

through OFPA’s sunset provision (7 

U.S.C. 6517(e)). If the NOSB has 

recommended removal of any substance 

from the National List, then AMS may 

take the following actions to remove the 

substance: 

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 56815 

Removal 1—AMS Proposes To Remove 

Substance 

AMS will review any NOSB 

recommendations to remove a substance 

from the National List. If warranted, 

AMS will publish a proposed rule in the 

Federal Register to propose removal of 

these substances from the National List. 

Removal 2—Public Submits Comments 

on Proposal 

AMS will request comments on the 

proposed rule for any removals. AMS 

may specifically request comments on 

the NOSB’s justification for removal of 

the substance, information on the 

availability of alternatives to the 

substance (e.g., other substances, 

cultural or management practices), and 

information on the potential impacts 

(benefits and costs) of removing the 

substance from the National List. 

Removal 3—AMS Publishes Final Rule 

AMS will review the comments 

received on the proposed rule and 

determine whether to finalize the rule as 

proposed. If AMS publishes a final rule 

to remove one or more substances, then 

these substances will be removed from 

the National List on the effective date of 

the final rule. On this date, their 

authorized use or prohibition in organic 

production or handling expires. 

III. Discussion 

What are the benefits of this action? 

The Sunset Process described in this 

document is designed to improve public 

participation and transparency and 

ensure well-informed decision making 

about substances that are critical in 

organic production and handling. 

Over the last few Sunset Reviews, 

AMS identified a number of ways that 

the process could be improved by: 

• Increasing opportunities for the 

public to submit comments directly to 

NOSB; 

• Clarifying the NOSB’s voting 

approach and requirements for decisive 

votes under OFPA; and 

• Ensuring that NOSB proposals are 

exposed to robust public comment and 

can be addressed in a timely manner 

through the AMS’ process. 

Therefore, the Sunset Process 

described in this document will create 

greater efficiency and will ensure that: 

• Members of the public receive the 

full benefit of public comment on NOSB 

Sunset decisions over the course of two 

public meetings; 

• There is consistency in NOSB 

review of substances across the Sunset 

Process and the National List Petition 

Process; and 

• There is flexibility in the regulatory 

process to provide the organic industry 

with the regulatory certainty required 

for successful production and marketing 

of organic products. 

How does this Sunset Process enhance 

public participation? 

Since the NOSB represents all sectors 

of the organic community, the NOSB’s 

review provides AMS with critical 

information about which substances 

should be allowed or prohibited in 

organic agriculture. This Sunset Process 

enhances the NOSB’s ability to 

thoroughly review sunset substances 

over the course of two public meetings. 

The first meeting enables the public to 

provide NOSB Subcommittees with new 

information about substances under 

review and may prompt their requests 

for additional technical information. 

The second meeting enables the public 

to comment specifically on the 

outcomes of the NOSB Subcommittee’s 

preliminary review, including any 

proposals to remove substances from the 

National List. The AMS rulemaking 

process provides an additional 

opportunity for the public to comment 

on any NOSB recommendation to 

remove a substance from the National 

List. 

Can NOSB recommend a change to or 

addition of an annotation to a substance 

during Sunset Review? Can the NOSB 

recommend moving a substance to a 

different section of the National List 

during the Sunset Review? 

No. For substances already on the 

National List, changes to or addition of 

annotations, or changes to the location 

of a substance on the National List (e.g., 

agricultural versus nonagricultural), 

cannot be proposed during the Sunset 

Process. In the past, NOSB made 

recommendations to further restrict the 

use of substances during Sunset Review. 

At times, these recommendations have 

not been exposed to robust public 

comment and have been difficult for 

AMS to implement through rulemaking 

actions by the sunset date. The 

difficulties with implementing these 

recommendations include the level of 

analysis required to assess how organic 

stakeholders may be affected by the 

recommendation and the deadline for 

completion of the Sunset Process. 

If the NOSB identifies new 

information that it believes merits 

reconsideration of a use restriction on a 

substance (e.g., to expand its use, 

further restrict its use, or correct its 

restrictive annotation) or the location of 

a substance on the National List, then a 

member of the NOSB or a member of the 

public can file a petition for changes to 

the use or classification of a substance 

through the National List Petition 

Process (www.ams.usda.gov/nop). 

Do all NOSB members have to agree to 

recommend removal of a substance 

during the Sunset Process? 

No. Two-thirds of the votes cast at the 

meeting must be in favor of removal for 

a motion to remove to pass (7 U.S.C. 

6518(i)). A motion to remove a 

substance that does not receive twothirds of the votes cast fails to be 

‘‘decisive’’ under OFPA and the 

substance will remain on the National 

List. 

How does this document clarify the 

requirements for decisive votes under 

OFPA and the NOSB’s voting approach 

for Sunset review? 

The ‘‘decisive votes’’ provision in 

OFPA states that two-thirds of the votes 

cast by NOSB is decisive of any motion 

(7 U.S.C. 6518(i)). Through this 

document, AMS is clarifying that 

removal of a substance during Sunset 

Review requires a two-thirds majority or 

‘‘decisive’’ vote. In the past, the NOSB 

voted on a motion to ‘‘renew’’ each 

substance under Sunset Review. If a 

two-thirds majority wasn’t reached on a 

motion to renew a substance, then the 

outcome, by default, was considered an 

NOSB recommendation to remove the 

substance from the National List. 

Ensuring that a two-thirds majority vote 

is reached for any decisive action (e.g. 

removal of a substance) would bring 

greater consistency with OFPA. 

The previous approach also was not 

aligned with the National List Petition 

Process, a process by which 

stakeholders can request removal of a 

substance from the National List. For 

the petition review, a two-thirds 

majority vote is required for the NOSB 

to recommend removal of a substance. 

Under the process described in this 

Federal Register document, the NOSB 

voting approach requires that, regardless 

of whether the substance is under 

Sunset Review or petition review, the 

NOSB will need a two-thirds majority 

vote to recommend removal of a 

substance from the National List. 

What is the importance of submitting 

public comments to the NOSB at their 

first public meeting? 

It is important for the public to engage 

in the Sunset Process early because the 

Subcommittees will use comments from 

their first public meeting to develop any 

proposals for removal of substances 

leading up to the second public 

meeting. As discussed in Step 6, 

proposals to remove substances from the 

National List can only be considered by 

the NOSB if they were published as part 

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56816 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

of the Subcommittee’s preliminary 

review for public comment in advance 

of the second NOSB meeting. Allowing 

changes to proposals or addition of new 

proposals at the public meeting does not 

provide stakeholders who submitted 

written comments in advance of this 

meeting any opportunity to comment on 

substantive changes or additions that 

occur at the in-person meeting. 

Therefore, public participation during 

the first public meeting of this Sunset 

Process will provide the NOSB with the 

greatest amount of information available 

to aid in a thorough review. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6501–6522. 

Dated: September 10, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–22388 Filed 9–13–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 955 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–12–0071; FV13–955–1 

FIR] 

Vidalia Onions Grown in Georgia; 

Change in Reporting and Assessment 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

rule that changed the reporting and 

assessment requirements prescribed 

under the marketing order for Vidalia 

onions grown in Georgia (order). The 

interim rule changed the date by which 

handlers are required to submit monthly 

shipping reports and their 

corresponding assessments to the 

Vidalia Onion Committee (Committee) 

from the fifth day of the month to the 

tenth day of the month. In addition, the 

interim rule also changed the due date 

to the first business day after the tenth 

day of the month, should the tenth fall 

on a weekend or a holiday. These 

changes benefit handlers without 

negatively affecting program 

compliance. 

DATES: Effective September 17, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Corey Elliott, Marketing Specialist, or 

Christian Nissen, Regional Director, 

Southeast Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324– 

3378, Fax: (863) 325–8793, or Email: 

Corey.Elliott@ams.usda.gov or 

Christian.Nissen@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this and 

other marketing order and agreement 

regulations by viewing a guide at the 

following Web site: http://

www.ams.usda.gov/

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide; 

or by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

and Order No. 955, both as amended (7 

CFR part 955), regulating the handling 

of Vidalia onions grown in Georgia, 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘order.’’ 

The order is effective under the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674), 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act.’’ 

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

The handling of Vidalia onions grown 

in Georgia is regulated by 7 CFR part 

955. Prior to this change, the order’s 

reporting requirements required 

handlers to file a monthly shipping 

report and pay corresponding 

assessments on the fifth day of each 

month following the month in which 

shipments were made. In addition, 

should the fifth day of the month fall on 

a weekend or holiday, both reports and 

assessments were due on the first 

business day prior to the fifth. 

These reporting requirements caused 

difficulties for handlers as they did not 

have sufficient time to close out their 

internal month-end sales paperwork in 

time to submit their reports by the fifth 

of the month or sooner if the fifth was 

on a weekend or a holiday. Therefore, 

this rule continues in effect the interim 

rule published in the Federal Register 

on May 14, 2013, and effective on May 

15, 2013, (78 FR 28118, Doc. No. AMS– 

FV–12–0071, FV13–955–1 IFR) that 

extended the monthly reporting and 

assessment due date an additional five 

days to the tenth day of the month. This 

rule also continues the change that 

when the tenth day falls on a weekend 

or a holiday, the due date is the next 

business day following the tenth. These 

changes allow handlers sufficient time 

to complete their monthly reports and to 

submit their assessments. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

action on small entities. Accordingly, 

AMS has prepared this final regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are approximately 40 handlers 

of Vidalia onions who are subject to 

regulation under the order and 

approximately 80 onion producers in 

the designated production area. Small 

agricultural service firms, which 

include handlers, are defined by the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$7,000,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000. 

(13 CFR 121.201) 

Based on the National Agricultural 

Statistical Service (NASS) and 

Committee data, the average annual 

grower price for fresh Vidalia onions 

during the 2012 season was around $17 

per 40-pound container, and total 

Vidalia onion shipments were around 

4,450,000 40-pound containers. Using 

available data, we estimate that more 

than 90 percent of Vidalia onion 

handlers have annual receipts of less 

than $7,000,000. However, the average 

receipts for Vidalia producers were 

around $946,000 in 2012, which is 

higher than the SBA threshold for small 

producers. Assuming a normal 

distribution, the majority of handlers of 

Vidalia onions may be classified as 

small entities, while the majority of 

producers may be classified as large 

entities, according to the SBA 

definition. 

This rule continues in effect the 

action that changed the reporting and 

assessment requirements prescribed 

under the order. This rule revises 

sections 955.101 and 955.142 to change 

when monthly shipping reports and 

assessments, respectively, are due to the 

Committee from the fifth day of the 

month to the tenth day of the month 

following the month in which the 

shipments were made. In addition, this 

rule also changes both sections to 

specify that should the tenth fall on a 

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