This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

33104 

Vol. 77, No. 108 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 932 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–11–0093; FV12–932–1 

PR] 

Olives Grown in California; Increased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

California Olive Committee (Committee) 

for the 2012 and subsequent fiscal years 

from $16.61 to $31.32 per assessable ton 

of olives handled. The Committee 

locally administers the marketing order 

which regulates the handling of olives 

grown in California. Assessments upon 

olive handlers are used by the 

Committee to fund reasonable and 

necessary expenses of the program. The 

fiscal year begins January 1 and ends 

December 31. The assessment rate 

would remain in effect indefinitely 

unless modified, suspended, or 

terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

July 5, 2012. 

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 Programs, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938; or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Comments should 

reference the document number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register and will be 

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: Jerry 

L. Simmons, Marketing Specialist or 

Kurt J. Kimmel, Regional Manager, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or Email: 

Jerry.Simmons@ams.usda.gov or 

Kurt.Kimmel@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 Programs, 

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. 148 and Order No. 932, both as 

amended (7 CFR part 932), regulating 

the handling of olives grown in 

California, 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. Under the marketing order now 

in effect, California olive handlers are 

subject to assessments. Funds to 

administer the order are derived from 

such assessments. It is intended that the 

assessment rate as proposed herein 

would be applicable to all assessable 

olives beginning on January 1, 2012, and 

continue until amended, suspended, or 

terminated. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

section 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. Such 

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 would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

Committee for the 2012 and subsequent 

fiscal years from $16.61 to $31.32 per 

ton of assessable olives. 

The California olive marketing order 

provides authority for the Committee, 

with the approval of USDA, to formulate 

an annual budget of expenses and 

collect assessments from handlers to 

administer the program. The members 

of the Committee are producers and 

handlers of California olives. They are 

familiar with the Committee’s needs and 

with the costs for goods and services in 

their local area and are thus in a 

position to formulate an appropriate 

budget and assessment rate. The 

assessment rate is formulated and 

discussed in a public meeting. Thus, all 

directly affected persons have an 

opportunity to participate and provide 

input. 

For the 2011 and subsequent fiscal 

years, the Committee recommended, 

and USDA approved, an assessment rate 

that would continue in effect from fiscal 

year to fiscal year unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated by USDA 

upon recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

information available to USDA. 

The Committee met on December 15, 

2011, and unanimously recommended 

2012 expenditures of $1,197,291 and an 

assessment rate of $31.32 per ton of 

assessable olives. Olives are an alternate 

year bearing crop. Olive growers and 

handlers are accustomed to wide swings 

in crop yields and assessments from 

year to year. In comparison, last year’s 

budgeted expenditures were $2,203,909. 

The assessment rate of $31.32 is $14.71 

higher than the rate currently in effect. 

The Committee recommended the 

higher assessment rate because of a 

substantial decrease in assessable olive 

volume for the 2012 fiscal year. The 

olive volume available for fiscal year 

2011 as reported by the California 

Agricultural Statistics Service (CASS) is 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2012 / Proposed Rules 33105 

26,944 tons, which compares to 167,000 

tons reported for the 2010 fiscal year. 

The reduced crop is due to olives being 

an alternate year bearing fruit. The 

Committee also plans to use available 

reserve funds to help meet its 2012 

expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2012 fiscal year include $333,791 for 

research, $480,000 for marketing 

activities, $50,000 for inspection 

equipment development, and $333,500 

for administration. Budgeted expenses 

for these items in 2011 were $1,093,009, 

$700,000, $75,000 and $335,900, 

respectively. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by 

considering anticipated fiscal year 

expenses, actual olive tonnage received 

by handlers during the 2011 crop year, 

and additional pertinent factors. Actual 

assessable tonnage for the 2012 fiscal 

year is expected to be lower than the 

2011 crop receipts of 167,000 tons 

reported by the CASS because some 

olives may be diverted by handlers to 

uses that are exempt from marketing 

order requirements. Income derived 

from handler assessments, along with 

interest income and funds from the 

Committee’s authorized reserve would 

be adequate to cover budgeted expenses. 

Funds in the reserve would be kept 

within the maximum permitted by the 

order of approximately one fiscal year’s 

expenses (§ 932.40). 

The proposed assessment rate would 

continue in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

USDA upon recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or other available 

information. 

Although this assessment rate would 

be in effect for an indefinite period, the 

Committee would continue to meet 

prior to or during each fiscal year to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations for 

modification of the assessment rate. The 

dates and times of Committee meetings 

are available from the Committee or 

USDA. Committee meetings are open to 

the public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

USDA would evaluate Committee 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking would be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2012 budget and those for 

subsequent fiscal years would be 

reviewed and, as appropriate, approved 

by USDA. 

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 

rule 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 1000 

producers of olives in the production 

area and 2 handlers subject to regulation 

under the marketing order. Small 

agricultural producers are defined by 

the Small Business Administration (13 

CFR 121.201) as those having annual 

receipts less than $750,000, and small 

agricultural service firms are defined as 

those whose annual receipts are less 

than $7,000,000. 

Based upon information from the 

industry and CASS, the average grower 

price for 2011 was approximately $798 

per ton and total grower production was 

around 26,944 tons. Based on 

production, producer prices, and the 

total number of California olive 

producers, the average annual producer 

revenue is less than $750,000. Thus, the 

majority of olive producers may be 

classified as small entities. Both of the 

handlers may be classified as large 

entities. 

This rule would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

Committee and collected from handlers 

for the 2012 and subsequent fiscal years 

from $16.61 to $31.32 per ton of 

assessable olives. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2012 

expenditures of $1,197,291 and an 

assessment rate of $31.32 per ton. The 

higher assessment rate is necessary 

because assessable olive receipts for the 

2012 fiscal year were reported by the 

CASS to be 26,944 tons, compared to 

167,000 tons for the 2011 fiscal year. 

Actual assessable tonnage for the 2012 

fiscal year is expected to be lower 

because some of the receipts may be 

diverted by handlers to exempt outlets 

on which assessments are not paid. 

Income derived from the $31.32 per ton 

assessment rate along with funds from 

the authorized reserve and interest 

income should be adequate to meet this 

year’s expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2012 fiscal year include $333,791 for 

research, $480,000 for marketing 

activities, $50,000 for inspection 

equipment development, and $333,500 

for administration. Budgeted expenses 

for these items in 2011 were $1,093,009, 

$700,000, $75,000 and $335,900, 

respectively. The Committee 

recommended decreases in all major 

expense categories due to the huge 

decrease in assessable crop volume as 

reported by the CASS. 

Prior to arriving at this budget, the 

Committee considered information from 

various sources, such as the 

Committee’s Executive, Marketing, 

Inspection, and Research 

Subcommittees. Alternate expenditure 

levels were discussed by these groups, 

based upon the relative value of various 

projects to the olive industry and the 

reduced olive production. The 

assessment rate of $31.32 per ton of 

assessable olives was derived by 

considering anticipated expenses, the 

volume of assessable olives, and 

additional pertinent factors. 

A review of historical information and 

preliminary information pertaining to 

the upcoming fiscal year indicates that 

grower price could range between 

approximately $1000 per ton and $1,200 

per ton. Therefore, the estimated 

assessment revenue for the 2012 fiscal 

year as a percentage of total grower 

revenue could range between 2.6 and 

3.1 percent. 

This action would increase the 

assessment obligation imposed on 

handlers. While assessments impose 

some additional costs on handlers, the 

costs are minimal and uniform on all 

handlers. Some of the additional costs 

may be passed on to producers. 

However, these costs would be offset by 

the benefits derived by the operation of 

the marketing order. In addition, the 

Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the California’s 

olive industry and all interested persons 

were invited to attend the meeting and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the December 15, 2011, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express views on this issue. Finally, 

interested persons are invited to submit 

comments on this proposed rule, 

including the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

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 


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33106 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 108 / Tuesday, June 5, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

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 proposed rule would impose no 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

California olive 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. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this rule. 

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. 

A 30-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rule. Thirty days is 

deemed appropriate because: (1) The 

2012 fiscal year began on January 1, 

2012, and the marketing order requires 

that the rate of assessment for each 

fiscal year apply to all assessable olives 

handled during such fiscal year; (2) the 

Committee needs to have sufficient 

funds to pay its expenses which are 

incurred on a continuous basis; and (3) 

handlers are aware of this action which 

was unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at a public meeting and is 

similar to other assessment rate actions 

issued in past years. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 932 

Olives, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 932 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 932—OLIVES GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 932 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

2. Section 932.230 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 932.230 Assessment rate. 

On and after January 1, 2012, an 

assessment rate of $31.32 per ton is 

established for California olives. 

Dated: May 30, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–13526 Filed 6–4–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2010–BT–TP–0023] 

RIN 1904–AC26 

Energy Conservation Program: Test 

Procedure for Microwave Ovens 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of data availability; 

request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) initiated a test procedure 

rulemaking to develop active mode 

testing methodologies for residential 

microwave ovens. DOE conducted 

testing to evaluate potential test 

procedure amendments to provide 

methods of measuring energy use for 

microwave ovens, including both 

microwave-only ovens and convection 

microwave cooking ovens. In today’s 

notice, DOE presents the results from 

these testing investigations and requests 

comment and additional information on 

these results and potential amendments 

to the microwave oven test procedure. 

DATES: DOE will accept comments, data, 

and information regarding this notice 

submitted no later than July 5, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Any comments submitted 

must identify the Notice of Data 

Availability for Microwave Ovens, and 

provide docket number EERE–2010– 

BT–TP–0023 and/or RIN 1904–AC26. 

Comments may be submitted using any 

of the following methods: 

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

2. Email: MWO-2010-TP0023@ee.doe.gov. Include docket EERE– 

2010–BT–TP–0023 and/or RIN 1904– 

AC26 in the subject line of the message. 

3. Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. If 

possible, please submit all items on a 

compact disc (CD), in which case it is 

not necessary to include printed copies. 

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda 

Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Building Technologies Program, 6th 

Floor, 950 L’Enfant Plaza SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: 

(202) 586–2945. If possible, please 

submit all items on a CD, in which case 

it is not necessary to include printed 

copies. 

Docket: The docket is available for 

review at www.regulations.gov, 

including Federal Register notices, 

public meeting attendee lists and 

transcripts, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials. All 

documents in the docket are listed in 

the www.regulations.gov index. 

However, not all documents listed in 

the index may be publicly available, 

such as information that is exempt from 

public disclosure. 

A link to the docket web page can be 

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

#!docketDetail;dct=FR%252BPR% 

252BN%252BO%252BSR;rpp=10; 

po=0;D=EERE-2010-BT-TP-0023. This 

Web page contains a link to the docket 

for this notice on the 

www.regulations.gov site. The 

www.regulations.gov Web page contains 

simple instructions on how to access all 

documents, including public comments, 

in the docket. 

For further information on how to 

submit a comment or review other 

public comments and the docket, 

contact Ms. Brenda Edwards at (202) 

586–2945 or email: 

Brenda.Edwards@ee.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Wes Anderson, U.S. Department 

of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency 

and Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, EE–2J, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: 202–586–7335. Email: 

Wes.Anderson@ee.doe.gov. 

In the Office of the General Counsel, 

contact Mr. Ari Altman, U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Ave. SW., Room 6B–159, 

Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: 

202–287–6307; Email: 

Ari.Altman@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Discussion 

A. Test Units 

B. Water Load Microwave-Only Testing 

C. Reheat Food Simulation Mixture Testing 

D. Convection Microwave Cooking Testing 


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