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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

24979 

Vol. 78, No. 82 

Monday, April 29, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 932 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–12–0076; FV13–932–1 

IR] 

Olives Grown in California; Decreased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule decreases the 

assessment rate established for the 

California Olive Committee (Committee) 

for the 2013 and subsequent fiscal years 

from $31.32 to $21.16 per ton of 

assessable 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 began 

January 1 and ends December 31. The 

assessment rate will remain in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Effective April 30, 2013. 

Comments received by June 28, 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. 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 

comments will be made public on the 

Internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry 

L. Simmons, Marketing Specialist, or 

Rose Aguayo, Acting Regional Director, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or Email: 

Jerry.Simmons@ams.usda.gov or 

Rose.Aguayo@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation 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 

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 issued herein will be 

applicable to all assessable olives 

beginning on January 1, 2013, 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 decreases the assessment 

rate established for the Committee for 

the 2013 and subsequent fiscal years 

from $31.32 to $21.16 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. Thus, they are 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 2012 and subsequent fiscal 

years, the Committee recommended, 

and USDA approved, an assessment rate 

of $31.32 per ton of assessable olives 

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 11, 

2012, and unanimously recommended 

2013 fiscal year expenditures of 

$1,289,198 and an assessment rate of 

$21.16 per ton of assessable olives. In 

comparison, last year’s budgeted 

expenditures were $1,197,291. The 

assessment rate of $21.16 is $10.16 

lower than the rate currently in effect. 

The Committee recommended the lower 

assessment rate because the 2012–13 

assessable olive receipts as reported by 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
24980 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 82 / Monday, April 29, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

the California Agricultural Statistics 

Service (CASS) are 67,355 tons, which 

compares to 26,944 tons in 2011–12. 

Olives are an alternate-bearing crop, 

where crop size alternates between 

small and large crops, resulting in a 

higher 2012–13 volume crop and a 

lower 2011–12 volume crop. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2013 fiscal year include $333,800 for 

General Administration, $637,380 for 

Marketing Programs, $105,000 for 

Inspection Equipment Development, 

and $213,018 for Research Programs. 

Budgeted expenses for these items in 

2012 were $333,500, $480,000, $50,000, 

and $333,791, respectively. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee is based upon the actual 

revenue necessary to meet the 

anticipated 2013 fiscal year expenses, 

given the actual olive tonnage received 

by handlers during the 2012–13 crop 

year, and taking into consideration the 

potential tonnage diverted by handlers 

into exempt uses. Actual assessable 

tonnage for the 2013 fiscal year is 

expected to be lower than the 2012–13 

crop receipts of 67,355 tons reported by 

CASS because some olives may be 

diverted by handlers to uses that are 

exempt from marketing order 

requirements. Income derived from 

handler assessments will be adequate to 

cover budgeted expenses. Funds in the 

reserve will be kept within the 

maximum amount of one fiscal year’s 

expenses permitted by the order. 

The assessment rate established in 

this rule will continue in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated by USDA 

based upon a recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or upon other available 

information. 

Although this assessment rate is 

effective for an indefinite period, the 

Committee will 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 

from USDA. Committee meetings are 

open to the public and interested 

persons may express their views at these 

meetings. USDA will evaluate 

Committee recommendations and other 

available information to determine 

whether modification of the assessment 

rate is needed. Further rulemaking will 

be undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2013 budget and those for 

subsequent fiscal years will 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 primarily small 

entities acting on their own behalf. 

There are approximately 1,000 

producers of California 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 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. (13 

CFR 121.201) 

Based upon information from the 

industry and CASS, the average grower 

price for 2012 was approximately 

$1,150 per ton of assessable olives and 

total grower deliveries were 67,355 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. Neither of 

the handlers may be classified as small 

entities. 

This rule decreases the assessment 

rate established for the Committee and 

collected from handlers for the 2013 and 

subsequent fiscal years from $31.32 to 

$21.16 per ton of assessable olives, a 

decrease of $10.16. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2013 

expenditures of $1,289,198. The 

quantity of assessable California olives 

for the 2012–13 season is 67,355 tons. 

However, the quantity of olives actually 

assessed is expected to be slightly lower 

because some of the tonnage may be 

diverted by handlers to exempt outlets 

on which assessments are not paid. The 

$21.16 rate should provide an 

assessment income adequate to meet 

this year’s expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2013 year include $333,800 for General 

Administration, $637,380 for Marketing 

Programs, $105,000 for Inspection 

Equipment Development, and $213,018 

for Research Programs. Budgeted 

expenses for these items in 2012 were 

$333,500, $480,000, $50,000, and 

$333,791, respectively. 

The decrease in the assessment rate, 

despite the increase in the overall 

budget, is possible due to a larger 2012– 

13 crop. Funds in the reserve will be 

kept within the maximum amount of 

one fiscal year’s expenses permitted by 

the order. 

The Committee reviewed and 

unanimously recommended 2013 fiscal 

year expenditures of $1,289,198, which 

included increases in Marketing 

Programs and Inspection Equipment 

Development, and a decrease in 

Research Programs. Prior to arriving at 

this budget, the Committee considered 

information from various sources, such 

as the Executive Subcommittee, 

Marketing Subcommittee, Inspection 

Subcommittee, and the Research 

Subcommittee. Alternative expenditure 

levels were discussed by these groups, 

based upon the relative value of various 

projects to the olive industry. The 

assessment rate of $21.16 per ton of 

assessable olives was derived by 

considering anticipated expenses, the 

volume of assessable olives, potentially 

exempt olives, and other pertinent 

factors. 

A review of historical information and 

preliminary information indicates that 

the grower price for the 2012 fiscal year 

was approximately $1,150.03 per ton for 

canning fruit and $333.70 per ton for 

limited-use sizes, leaving the balance as 

unusable cull fruit. Approximately 86.6 

percent of a ton of olives are canning 

fruit sizes and 7.7 percent are limited 

use sizes, leaving the balance as 

unusable cull fruit. Grower revenue on 

67,355 total tons of canning and limiteduse sizes would be $68,811,276, given 

the current grower prices for those sizes. 

Therefore, the estimated assessment 

revenue for the 2013 fiscal year, as a 

percentage of total grower revenue, is 

expected to be approximately 1.9 

percent. 

This action decreases the assessment 

obligation imposed on handlers. 

Assessments are applied uniformly on 

all handlers, and some of the costs may 

be passed on to producers. However, 

decreasing the assessment rate reduces 

the burden on handlers, and may reduce 

the burden on producers. In addition, 

the Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the California 

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 11, 2012, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express views on this issue. Finally, 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 82 / Monday, April 29, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 24981 

interested persons are invited to submit 

comments on this interim 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 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, Generic 

Vegetable Crops. 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 action imposes 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 Jeffrey Smutny 

at the previously mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendation 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, it is hereby found 

that this 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) The 2013 fiscal year began 

on January 1, 2013, 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) this action decreases 

the assessment rate for assessable olives 

beginning with the 2013 fiscal year; (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; and, (4) this 

interim rule provides a 60-day comment 

period, and all comments timely 

received will be considered prior to 

finalization of this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 932 

Marketing agreements, Olives, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 932 is 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, 2013, an 

assessment rate of $21.16 per ton is 

established for California olives. 

Dated: April 23, 2013. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–09998 Filed 4–26–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 946 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0010; FV13–946–1 

IR] 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Washington; 

Decreased Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule decreases the 

assessment rate established for the State 

of Washington Potato Committee 

(Committee) for the 2013–2014 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.003 to 

$0.0025 per hundredweight of potatoes 

handled. The Committee locally 

administers the marketing order which 

regulates the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Washington. Assessments 

upon Washington potato handlers are 

used by the Committee to fund 

reasonable and necessary expenses of 

the program. The fiscal period begins 

July 1 and ends June 30. The assessment 

rate will remain in effect indefinitely 

unless modified, suspended, or 

terminated. 

DATES: Effective April 30, 2013. 

Comments received by June 28, 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. 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: 

Teresa Hutchinson or Gary Olson, 

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: 

Teresa.Hutchinson@ams.usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation 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 Order No. 

946, as amended (7 CFR part 946), 

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Washington, 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. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES