Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 3 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 948 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–12–0043; FV12–948–1 

IR] 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado; 

Modification of the Handling 

Regulation for Area No. 2 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule modifies the grade 

requirements for potatoes handled 

under the Colorado potato marketing 

order, Area No. 2 (order). The order 

regulates the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Colorado and is administered 

locally by the Colorado Potato 

Administrative Committee, Area No. 2 

(Committee). This rule relaxes the 

minimum grade requirement for size B 

and 1-inch to 13⁄4-inch diameter round, 

red-skinned potatoes handled under the 

Colorado potato marketing order from 

U.S. No. 1 to U.S. Commercial. This 

change is expected to facilitate the 

handling and marketing of the Area No. 

2 potato crop, provide producers and 

handlers with increased returns, and 

supply consumers with increased potato 

purchasing options. 

DATES: Effective January 3, 2013; 

comments received by March 4, 2013 

will be considered prior to issuance of 

a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order and Agreement Division, Fruit 

and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938; or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

should reference the document number 

and the date and page number of this 

issue of the Federal Register and will be 

made available for public inspection in 

the Office of the Docket Clerk during 

regular business hours, or can be viewed 

at: http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments submitted in response to this 

rule will be included in the record and 

will be made available to the public. 

Please be advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting the 

comments will be made public on the 

Internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barry Broadbent, Marketing Specialist, 

or Gary Olson, Regional Director, 

Northwest Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (503) 326– 

2724, Fax: (503) 326–7440, or Email: 

Barry.Broadbent@ams.usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Laurel May, 

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: 

Laurel.May@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

No. 97 and Marketing Order No. 948, 

both as amended (7 CFR part 948), 

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Colorado, 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. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

§ 608c(15)(A) of the Act, any handler 

subject to an order may file with USDA 

a petition stating that the order, any 

provision of the order, or any obligation 

imposed in connection with the order is 

not in accordance with law and request 

a modification of the order or to be 

exempted therefrom. A handler is 

afforded the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. After the hearing USDA 

would rule on the petition. The Act 

provides that the district court of the 

United States in any district in which 

the handler is an inhabitant, or has his 

or her principal place of business, has 

jurisdiction to review USDA’s ruling on 

the petition, provided an action is filed 

not later than 20 days after the date of 

the entry of the ruling. 

This rule modifies the minimum 

requirements for certain potatoes 

handled under the order’s handling 

regulation. This rule relaxes the 

minimum grade requirement for all size 

B (11⁄2-inch to 21⁄4-inch diameter) and 1- 

inch to 13⁄4-inch diameter round, redskinned potatoes handled under the 

order to U.S. Commercial. Prior to this 

change, round, red-skinned potatoes in 

the above size ranges were required to 

meet or exceed the requirements of the 

U.S. No. 1 grade standard if such 

potatoes were to be shipped outside the 

State of Colorado. This rule is a 

relaxation of the handling regulation 

and will make the minimum grade 

requirements for round, red-skinned 

potatoes consistent with the current 

minimum grade requirements for all 

other varieties of similarly sized 

potatoes handled under the order. This 

change was unanimously recommended 

by the Committee at a meeting held on 

July 19, 2012. 

Section 948.22 authorizes the 

issuance of grade, size, quality, 

maturity, pack, and container 

regulations for potatoes grown in the 

production area. Section 948.21 further 

authorizes the modification, suspension, 

or termination of regulations issued 

pursuant to § 948.22. 

Under the Colorado potato marketing 

order, the State of Colorado is divided 

into three areas of regulation for 

marketing order purposes. These 

include: Area 1, commonly known as 

the Western Slope; Area 2, commonly 

known as San Luis Valley; and, Area 3, 

which consists of the remaining 

producing areas within the State of 

Colorado not included in the definition 

of Area 1 or Area 2. Currently, the order 

only regulates the handling of potatoes 

produced in Area 2 and Area 3. 

Regulation for Area 1 has been 

suspended. 

The grade, size, and maturity 

regulations specific to the handling of 

potatoes grown in Area 2 are contained 

in § 948.386 of the order. The current 

handling regulation requires that all 

potatoes handled under the order must 

meet the minimum requirements of the 

U.S. No. 2 grade and be 2 inches or 

greater in diameter. Smaller size 

potatoes may be handled if such 

potatoes meet the requirements of 

certain higher grades. For all varieties, 

except round, red-skinned varieties, size 

B and 1-inch to 13⁄4-inch diameter 

potatoes may be handled if such 

potatoes meet the requirements of the 

U.S. Commercial grade. Round, redskinned varieties of the above size 

profiles must meet the minimum 

requirements of the U.S. No. 1 grade 

standard to be handled under the order. 

At the July 19 Committee meeting, 

industry participants indicated to the 

Committee that there is an emerging 

market for smaller size U.S. Commercial 

grade round, red-skinned potatoes for 

use in certain value added potato 

products. They further stated that the 

order’s current U.S. No. 1 grade 

requirement for small-size, round, redskinned potatoes precludes them from 


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4 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

supplying that market. Relaxing the 

minimum grade requirement for such 

potatoes will allow area handlers to 

compete with other domestic potato 

producing regions for this developing 

market segment. 

Changing the handling regulations to 

allow small-size, round, red-skinned 

potatoes to meet or exceed U.S. 

Commercial grade, instead of the more 

stringent U.S. No. 1 grade, will make 

more small potatoes available to 

consumers and will allow Area 2 

handlers to move more of the area’s 

potato production into the fresh market. 

This change is expected to benefit 

producers, handlers, and consumers of 

round, red-skinned potatoes. 

Initial 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 initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

business 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 80 handlers 

of Colorado Area No. 2 potatoes subject 

to regulation under the order and 

approximately 180 producers in the 

regulated production area. Small 

agricultural service firms are defined by 

the Small Business Administration (13 

CFR 121.201) 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. 

During the 2010–2011 marketing year, 

the most recent full marketing year for 

which statistics are available, 

15,583,512 hundredweight of Colorado 

Area No. 2 potatoes were inspected 

under the order and sold into the fresh 

market. Based on an estimated average 

f.o.b. price of $12.75 per 

hundredweight, the Committee 

estimates that 71 Area No. 2 handlers, 

or about 89 percent, had annual receipts 

of less than $7,000,000. In view of the 

foregoing, the majority of Colorado Area 

No. 2 potato handlers may be classified 

as small entities. 

In addition, based on information 

provided by the National Agricultural 

Statistics Service, the average producer 

price for Colorado fall potatoes for 

2010–2011 was $9.37 per 

hundredweight. The average annual 

fresh potato revenue for each of the 180 

Colorado Area No. 2 potato producers is 

therefore calculated to be approximately 

$811,208. Consequently, on average, 

many of the Area No. 2 Colorado potato 

producers may not be classified as small 

entities. 

This rule relaxes the minimum grade 

requirement for size B and 1-inch to 

13⁄4-inch diameter round, red-skinned 

potato varieties from U.S. No. 1 grade to 

U.S. Commercial. Authority for this 

action is contained in §§ 948.21 and 

948.22. 

This relaxation is expected to benefit 

the producers, handlers, and consumers 

of Colorado potatoes by allowing a 

greater quantity of fresh potatoes from 

the production area to enter the market. 

This anticipated increase in volume is 

expected to translate into greater returns 

for handlers and producers, and more 

purchasing options for consumers. 

After discussing possible alternatives 

to this rule, the Committee determined 

that a relaxation in the grade 

requirement for small-size, round, redskinned potatoes from U.S. No. 1 to U.S. 

Commercial would sufficiently meet the 

industry’s current needs while 

maintaining the integrity of the order. 

During its deliberations, the Committee 

considered making no changes to the 

handling regulations as well as relaxing 

the minimum grade requirement for all 

small-size potatoes to U.S. No. 2. The 

Committee believes that a relaxation in 

the handling regulation for small 

potatoes is necessary to allow handlers 

to pursue new markets, but lowering the 

grade requirements for small-size 

potatoes to U.S. No. 2 would erode the 

quality reputation of the area’s potatoes. 

The Committee, therefore, found that 

there were no other viable alternatives 

to the recommended relaxation of the 

minimum grade requirements for round, 

red-skinned potatoes handled under the 

order from U.S. No. 1 to U.S. 

Commercial. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178. No 

changes in those requirements as a 

result of this action are necessary. 

Should any changes become necessary, 

they would be submitted to OMB for 

approval. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

potato handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. In 

addition, USDA has not identified any 

relevant Federal rules that duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with this rule. 

Further, the Committee’s meeting was 

widely publicized throughout the 

Colorado potato industry and all 

interested persons were invited to 

attend the meeting and participate in 

Committee deliberations. Like all 

Committee meetings, the July 19, 2012, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. 

Finally, interested persons are invited to 

submit information on the regulatory 

and informational impacts of this action 

on small businesses. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: www.ams.usda.gov/

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Laurel May at 

the previously mentioned address in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

This rule invites comments on a 

modification of the grade and maturity 

requirement prescribed under the 

Colorado potato marketing order. Any 

comments received will be considered 

prior to the finalization of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is hereby found 

that this interim rule, as hereinafter set 

forth, will tend to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) This action is a relaxation 

of the current handling regulation; (2) 

handlers are already shipping potatoes 

from the 2012–2013 crop and may want 

to take advantage of this relaxation as 

soon as possible; (3) handlers are aware 

of this rule, which was initiated by the 

industry and unanimously 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 5 

recommended by the Committee at a 

public meeting during which interested 

parties had an opportunity to provide 

input; and (4) this rule provides a 60- 

day comment period and any comments 

received will be considered prior to 

finalization of this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 948 

Marketing agreements, Potatoes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 948 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 948—IRISH POTATOES GROWN 

IN COLORADO 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 948 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. In § 948.386, paragraphs (a)(3) and 

(4) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 948.386 Handling regulation. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(3) 11⁄2-inch minimum to 21⁄4-inch 

maximum diameter (Size B). U.S. 

Commercial grade or better. 

(4) 1-inch minimum diameter to 13⁄4- 

inch maximum diameter. U.S. 

Commercial grade or better. 

* * * * * 

Dated: December 26, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–31513 Filed 12–31–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0482; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–NE–14–AD; Amendment 39– 

17290; AD 2012–25–09] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Rolls-Royce 

plc Turbofan Engines 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all 

Rolls-Royce plc (RR) RB211–524G2–19; 

RB211–524G2–T–19; RB211–524G3–19; 

RB211–524G3–T–19; RB211–524H2–19; 

RB211–524H2–T–19; RB211–524H–36; 

RB211–524H–T–36; RB211–535E4–37; 

RB211–535E4–B–37; RB211–535E4–B– 

75; and RB211–535E4–C–37 turbofan 

engines. This AD was prompted by an 

investigation by RR concluding that 

certain intermediate-pressure (IP) 

turbine discs produced before 1997 by 

a certain supplier may contain steel 

inclusions. This AD requires removal of 

the affected IP turbine discs to inspect 

them for steel inclusions, and removal 

of the affected discs from service if they 

fail the inspection. This AD also 

requires removal from service of some 

IP turbine discs at reduced life limits. 

We are issuing this AD to prevent 

uncontained IP turbine disc failure, 

engine failure, and damage to the 

airplane. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

February 6, 2013. The Director of the 

Federal Register approved the 

incorporation by reference of certain 

publications listed in this AD as of 

February 6, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: The Docket Operations 

office is located at Docket Management 

Facility, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., West Building Ground 

Floor, Room W12–140, Washington, DC 

20590–0001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alan Strom, Aerospace Engineer, Engine 

Certification Office, FAA, Engine & 

Propeller Directorate, 12 New England 

Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803; 

phone: 781–238–7143; fax: 781–238– 

7199; email: alan.strom@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to include an AD that would 

apply to the specified products. That 

NPRM was published in the Federal 

Register on July 11, 2012 (77 FR 40820). 

That NPRM proposed to correct an 

unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

The inspection of several intermediate 

pressure (IP) turbine discs at past engine 

overhauls identified the presence of steel 

inclusions in these parts. Further 

investigation concluded that all affected parts 

were manufactured from billets produced 

before 1997 at a certain supplier who also 

melted steel in the same furnaces. Initial 

engineering evaluation concluded that the 

lives of the parts would not be affected by the 

presence of the said steel inclusions. This 

evaluation has been recently repeated, 

utilising improved structural analysis, and it 

is now concluded that the currently 

published lives of the components cannot be 

supported for some discs with a steel 

inclusion. 

We are issuing this AD to prevent 

uncontained IP turbine disc failure, 

engine failure, and damage to the 

airplane. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. We 

considered the comments received. The 

following presents the comments 

received on the proposal and the FAA’s 

response to each comment. 

Request To Provide Alternative to 

Inspection 

One commenter, American Airlines, 

requested that we allow replacement of 

the removed IP turbine disc with a 

serviceable part as an alternative to the 

inspection mandated by paragraph (f) in 

the proposed AD. American noted that 

including this alternative would allow 

operators to avoid the added expense of 

an inspection of discs that are being 

removed from service. 

We agree. We revised paragraph (f) of 

the Compliance section of the AD to 

allow replacement of an affected disc 

with a part eligible for installation. 

Request To Redefine ‘‘Shop Visit’’ 

One commenter, FedEx Express, 

requested that we redefine ‘‘shop visit’’ 

as any IP turbine disc exposed at shop 

visit, engine Level 3 (Refurbishment), 

Level 4 (Overhaul), or 05 Module Level 

2 (Check and Repair). FedEx Express 

indicated that this change would align 

the AD with the current wording in RR 

Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) RB.211– 

72–AG493, dated October 12, 2012. 

We do not agree. The terms ‘Level 3’ 

and ‘Level 4’ are not specific enough to 

be enforceable. Our definition of shop 

visit in the AD is consistent with the 

definition in MCAI AD No. 2012–0060, 

dated April 18, 2012. We did not change 

the AD based on this comment. 

Request To Remove Reference to 

Demagnetization 

Commenter Rolls-Royce requested 

that we remove the reference to 

demagnetization from Compliance 

paragraph (f). The disc does not need to 

be demagnetized as it will be 

magnetized as part of the 

Superconductive Quantitative Inductive 

Device (SQUID) inspection process 

required by paragraph (f). 

We agree. We changed the references 

in Compliance paragraphs (f)(1) and 

(f)(2) from ‘‘clean, demagnetize, and 

perform * * *’’ to ‘‘clean and perform 

* * *’’. The first sentence in paragraph 

(f)(1) now reads: ‘‘If below the 

inspection threshold, clean and perform 

a Superconductive Quantitative 

Inductive Device (SQUID) inspection of 

the disc at the next shop visit or before 

the disc reaches the inspection 


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