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contains regulatory documents having general

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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

76597

Vol. 69, No. 245

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 905

[Docket No. FV05–905–1 IFR] 

Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and 

Tangelos Grown in Florida; Change in 

the Minimum Maturity Requirements 

for Fresh Grapefruit

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule reduces the 

minimum maturity requirements for 

fresh grapefruit under the marketing 

order for Oranges, Grapefruit, 

Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in 

Florida (order). The Citrus 

Administrative Committee (Committee), 

which locally administers the order, 

recommended this change. This rule 

reduces the minimum maturity 

requirement for soluble solids (sugars) 

from 8.0 percent to 7.5 percent until 

July 31, 2005. This action makes 

additional quantities of grapefruit 

available for the fresh market and will 

help reduce the losses sustained by the 

grapefruit industry during the recent 

hurricanes in Florida.

DATES: Effective December 23, 2004; 

comments received by February 22, 

2005 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 Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., STOP 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: (202) 

720–8938, or E-mail: 

moab.docketclerk@usda.gov; or Internet: 

http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments should reference the docket 

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.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Doris Jamieson, Southeast Marketing 

Field Office, Marketing Order 

Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 799 

Overlook Drive, Suite A, Winter Haven, 

Florida 33884–1671; Telephone: (863) 

324–3375, Fax: (863) 325–8793; or 

George Kelhart, Technical Advisor, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, 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 E-mail: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

No. 84 and Marketing Order No. 905, 

both as amended (7 CFR part 905), 

regulating the handling of oranges, 

grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos 

grown in Florida, 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 action is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. This rule will 

not preempt any State or local laws, 

regulations, or policies, unless they 

present an irreconcilable conflict with 

this rule. 

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. 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 reduces the minimum 

maturity requirement for soluble solids 

(sugars) from 8.0 percent to 7.5 percent 

until July 31, 2005. This action makes 

additional quantities of grapefruit 

available for the fresh market and will 

help reduce the losses sustained by the 

grapefruit industry during the recent 

hurricanes in Florida. This action was 

unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at its meeting on November 

16, 2004. 

Section 905.52 of the order provides 

authority for the establishment of grade 

and size requirements for Florida citrus. 

One element of grade is maturity. 

Section 905.306 of the order specifies, 

in part, the minimum maturity 

requirements for grapefruit. The current 

minimum maturity requirements for 

Florida grapefruit are 8.0 percent 

soluble solids (sugars) and 7.5 to 1 

solids to acid ratio with a sliding scale 

minimum ratio of 7.2 to 1. 

This rule reduces the minimum 

maturity requirement for soluble solids 

(sugars) from 8.0 percent to 7.5 percent 

soluble solids for the remainder of the 

2004–05 season which ends July 31, 

2005. On August 1, 2005, the 

requirement returns to 8.0 percent 

soluble solids. The 7.5 to 1 solids to 

acid ratio with a sliding scale minimum 

of 7.2 to 1 remains unchanged by this 

action. 

During the months of August and 

September the major grapefruit growing 

regions in Florida suffered significant 

damage and fruit loss from multiple 

hurricanes. The strong winds from the 

storms blew substantial volumes of the 

setting fruit off the trees. The impact of 

the storms also produced a much higher 

than normal fruit drop. The extent of the 

loss is evident in the official USDA crop 

estimate for this season which reflects a 

76598 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 22, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 

64 percent decrease from last year’s 

estimate. 

In inspecting groves following the 

storms, growers have found that the 

younger trees retained their fruit better 

compared to trees in established groves. 

However, based on Committee 

discussion, the fruit from younger trees 

has more difficulty meeting the current 

maturity requirement. To address the 

situation, the Committee considered 

how the maturity requirements might be 

adjusted so that more fruit from the 

younger trees would be available for the 

fresh market.

The Committee considered several 

options to address this issue including 

a one-point reduction in the soluble 

solids and a reduction in the minimum 

ratio. Several members were concerned 

about reducing requirements too much 

and believed that reducing maturity 

requirements by a full point would 

impact the quality of the fruit. It was 

also stated that the industry should not 

pack inferior fruit just because there is 

a shortage of volume. The Committee 

agreed that the current maturity 

standards have been well received by 

the market. However, Committee 

members also recognized that the 

special circumstances surrounding this 

season were unprecedented in the 

history of the grapefruit industry, and 

based on that, if it was possible, some 

allowances should be made to assist 

growers and provide some additional 

volume to the market. 

The Committee reached a compromise 

position where the soluble solid 

requirement was reduced by a half a 

point and the ratios were maintained at 

current levels. The Committee stressed 

that this change be made for the 

remainder of the current season only, 

and starting August 1, 2005, the 

maturity retirements return to their 

current level. The Committee believes 

by reducing the soluble solids level and 

maintaining the minimum ratio 

combinations at the current levels for 

the remainder of the season, additional 

quantities of grapefruit can be made 

available for the fresh market without a 

significant reduction in quality. 

Therefore, the Committee voted 

unanimously to reduce the minimum 

soluble solid level from 8.0 to 7.5 until 

July 31, 2005. This change benefits both 

growers and consumers by increasing 

the available supply of fresh grapefruit. 

Section 8e of the Act provides that 

when certain domestically produced 

commodities, including grapefruit, are 

regulated under a Federal marketing 

order, imports of that commodity must 

meet the same or comparable grade, 

size, quality, and maturity requirements. 

As this rule changes the minimum 

maturity requirements under the 

domestic handling regulations, a 

corresponding change to the import 

regulations must be considered. Such 

change to the import regulations would 

be made under a separate action. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 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. Thus, both statutes have small 

entity orientation and compatibility. 

There are approximately 75 grapefruit 

handlers subject to regulation under the 

order and approximately 11,000 

producers of citrus in the regulated area. 

Small agricultural service firms, which 

includes handlers, are defined by the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$5,000,000, and small agricultural 

producers are defined as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000 

(13 CFR 121.201). 

Based on industry and Committee 

data, the average annual f.o.b. price for 

fresh Florida grapefruit during the 

2003–04 season was approximately 

$8.00 per 4/5-bushel carton, and total 

fresh shipments for the 2003–04 season 

are estimated at 26 million cartons of 

grapefruit. Approximately 25 percent of 

all handlers handled 75 percent of 

Florida’s grapefruit shipments. Using 

the average f.o.b. price, at least 69 

percent of the grapefruit handlers could 

be considered small businesses under 

SBA’s definition. In addition, based on 

production and grower prices reported 

by the National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, and the total number of 

grapefruit growers, the average annual 

grower revenue is approximately 

$20,600. In view of the foregoing, it can 

be concluded that the majority of 

handlers and producers of Florida 

grapefruit may be classified as small 

entities.

This rule reduces the minimum 

maturity requirement for soluble solids 

(sugars) from 8.0 percent to 7.5 percent 

until July 31, 2005. This action makes 

additional quantities of grapefruit 

available for the fresh market and will 

help reduce the losses sustained by the 

grapefruit industry during the recent 

hurricanes in Florida. This action was 

unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at its meeting on November 

16, 2004. This rule modifies the 

maturity requirements specified in 

§ 905.306. Authority for this action is 

provided for in § 905.52 of the order. 

With respect to the impact of this 

action, it is anticipated that this 

temporary change will not result in any 

increase in grower or handler costs. 

However, it will make some additional 

quantities of grapefruit available for the 

fresh market. This will help growers 

maximize their fresh shipments in a 

year where there may be potential 

shortages of grapefruit. This will help 

increase grower returns and address 

some of the losses sustained from the 

storms. 

The Committee believes by reducing 

the soluble solids level and maintaining 

the minimum ratio combinations at the 

current levels for the remainder of the 

2004–05 season, additional quantities of 

grapefruit will be made available for the 

fresh market without a significant 

reduction in quality. This change 

benefits both growers and consumers by 

increasing the available supply of fresh 

grapefruit. 

The purpose of this rule is to help 

improve producer returns and provide 

some additional volume of grapefruit to 

the market. The opportunities and 

benefits of this rule are expected to be 

available to all grapefruit handlers and 

producers regardless of their size of 

operation. 

The Committee considered several 

alternatives to taking this action. One 

alternative considered was a reduction 

in maturity requirements to 7.0 percent 

soluble solids with 7.0 to 1 solids to 

acid ratio. Committee members believed 

that this was too much of a change and 

that it would negatively impact the 

quality of the fruit. Therefore, this 

option was rejected. Another alternative 

considered was making no change to the 

maturity requirement. However, the 

Committee believed that some 

adjustment should be made to 

accommodate fruit from young trees. 

The Committee also recognized the 

special circumstances surrounding this 

season as a result of the hurricanes. 

Consequently, the Committee 

unanimously supported the action taken 

by this rule. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

grapefruit handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 22, 2004 / Rules and Regulations 76599

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. In addition, USDA has 

not identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap or conflict with 

this rule. However, grapefruit must meet 

the requirements as specified in the U.S. 

Standards for Grades of Florida 

Grapefruit (7 CFR 51.760 through 

51.784) issued under the Agricultural 

Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 

through 1627). 

The Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the citrus 

industry and all interested persons were 

invited to attend the meeting and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the November 16, 2004, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. In 

addition, 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: http://www.ams.usda.gov/

fv/moab.html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

This rule invites comments on a 

reduction in the minimum maturity 

requirements prescribed under the order 

until July 31, 2005. Any comments 

received will be considered prior to 

finalization of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim final 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) Handlers began shipping 

grapefruit in late September; (2) Florida 

grapefruit growers need to know as soon 

as possible that they can begin picking 

this fruit; (3) the Committee 

recommended this change at a public 

meeting and 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 905

Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, 

Oranges, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Tangelos, Tangerines.

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 905 is amended as 

follows:

PART 905—ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, 

TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS 

GROWN IN FLORIDA

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 

905 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

■ 2. In § 905.306, paragraph (e) is 

amended as follows:

■ a. By designating the current text 

preceding Table III as paragraph (e)(1);

■ b. By adding new paragraph (e)(2) to 

read as follows:

§ 905.306 Orange, Grapefruit, Tangerine, 

and Tangelo Regulations.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

(2) Notwithstanding the provision of 

paragraph (e)(1) of this section, for the 

period December 23, 2004 to July 31, 

2005, all grapefruit shipped under the 

order shall meet minimum maturity 

requirements of 7.5 percent soluble 

solids (sugars) and 7.5 to 1 solids to acid 

ratio or shall comply with one of the 

alternate equivalent soluble solids and 

solids to acid ratio combinations set 

forth in Table III: Provided, That the 

minimum ratio shall not drop below 7.2 

even if the soluble solids (sugars) 

reaches a level higher than 9.6.

Dated: December 15, 2004. 

A.J. Yates, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service.

[FR Doc. 04–27892 Filed 12–17–04; 4:47 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Parts 19, 34, 40, 55, and 60

RIN 3150–AH58

Minor Correction Amendments for 

FY2004

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is amending its 

regulations to correct several 

miscellaneous errors in the NRC Rules 

and Regulations. This document is 

necessary to inform the public of these 

corrective changes to NRC regulations.

DATES: Effective Date: December 22, 

2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alzonia Shepard, Office of 

Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, telephone (301) 415–6864.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

is amending the regulations in 10 CFR 

Parts 19, 34, 40, 55 and 60 to correct 

several miscellaneous errors in 

regulatory text. These changes occurred 

in the process of preparing and printing 

rulemaking documents. 

Because these amendments constitute 

minor administrative corrections to the 

regulations, the notice and comment 

provisions of the Administrative 

Procedure Act do not apply pursuant to 

5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). The amendment are 

effective upon publication in the 

Federal Register. Good cause exists 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d) to dispense with 

the usual 30-day delay in the effective 

date of the final rule, because the 

amendments are of a minor and 

administrative nature dealing with 

corrections to certain CFR sections, 

which do not require action by any 

person or entity regulated by the NRC. 

Nor does the final rule change the 

substantive responsibilities of any 

person or entity regulated by the NRC. 

Environmental Impact: Categorical 

Exclusion 

The NRC has determined that this 

final rule is the type of action described 

in categorical exclusion 10 CFR 

51.22(c)(2). Therefore, neither an 

environmental impact statement nor an 

environmental assessment has been 

prepared for this final rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement 

This final rule does not contain a new 

or amended information collection 

requirements subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). Existing requirements were 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget, approval numbers 3150–

0053; 3150–0044; 3150–0010; 3150–

0130; 3150–0020; and 3150–0011. 

Public Protection Notification 

The NRC may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a person is not required to respond 

to, a request for information of an 

information collection requirement 

unless the requesting document 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number.