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

63128 

Vol. 78, No. 205 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 993 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0065; FV13–993–1 

PR] 

Dried Prunes Produced in California; 

Increased Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

increase the assessment rate established 

for the Prune Marketing Committee 

(Committee) for the 2013–14 and 

subsequent crop years from $0.22 to 

$0.28 per ton of salable dried prunes 

handled. The Committee locally 

administers the marketing order, which 

regulates the handling of dried prunes 

grown in California. Assessments upon 

dried prune handlers are used by the 

Committee to fund reasonable and 

necessary expenses of the program. The 

crop year begins August 1 and ends July 

31. The assessment rate would remain 

in effect indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

November 7, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed 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 proposed 

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 

Martin Engeler, Regional Director, 

California Marketing Field Office, Fruit 

and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (559) 487–5901, Fax: (559) 

487–5906, or Email: Jerry.Simmons@

ams.usda.gov or Martin.Engeler@

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 

proposed rule is issued under Marketing 

Agreement No. 110 and Order No. 993, 

both as amended (7 CFR part 993), 

regulating the handling of dried prunes 

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 proposed rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

12866 and 13563. 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. Under the marketing 

order now in effect, California dried 

prune handlers are subject to 

assessments. Funds to administer the 

order are derived from such 

assessments. It is intended that the 

assessment rate as proposed would be 

applicable to all assessable dried prunes 

beginning on August 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 the 

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 entry of the 

ruling. 

This proposed rule would increase 

the assessment rate established for the 

Committee for the 2013–14 and 

subsequent crop years from $0.22 to 

$0.28 per ton of salable dried prunes 

handled. 

The California dried prune 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 

dried prunes. They are familiar with the 

Committee’s needs and with the costs of 

goods and services in their local area. 

Therefore, 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 2011–12 and subsequent crop 

years, the Committee recommended, 

and USDA approved, an assessment rate 

that would continue in effect from crop 

year to crop 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 June 25, 2013, 

and unanimously recommended 2013– 

14 expenditures of $43,791 and an 

assessment rate of $0.28 per ton of 

salable dried prunes. The assessment 

rate of $0.28 is $0.06 higher than the 

rate currently in effect, even though last 

year’s budgeted expenditures of $44,968 

were higher than those recommended 

for this year. 

The Committee unanimously 

recommended the higher assessment 

rate because the production estimate of 

105,000 tons of salable dried prunes for 

the 2013–14 crop year is substantially 

lower than the 137,285 tons produced 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 23, 2013 / Proposed Rules 63129 

during the 2012–13 crop year. Using the 

proposed assessment rate, assessment 

income for the 2013–14 crop year would 

be $29,400. Assessment income, 

combined with funds carried over from 

the prior crop year and interest income, 

is expected to be adequate to cover 

budgeted expenses for the year. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2013–14 year include $26,944 for 

salaries, $9,538 for operating expenses, 

and $7,308 for contingencies. Budgeted 

expenses for these items in 2012–13 

were $22,997, $9,970, and $12,001, 

respectively. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by 

considering the funds needed to meet 

anticipated expenses, the estimated 

salable tons of California dried prunes, 

excess funds carried forward into the 

2013–14 crop year, and estimated 

interest income. As mentioned earlier, 

dried prune production for the year is 

estimated at 105,000 salable tons, which 

should provide $29,400 in assessment 

income. Income derived from handler 

assessments, along with interest income 

and funds from the Committee’s 

authorized reserve, would be adequate 

to cover budgeted expenses. 

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 crop 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 and further rulemaking would 

be undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2013–14 budget and those 

for subsequent crop 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 

proposed 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 

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 800 

producers of dried prunes in the 

California area and approximately 21 

handlers subject to regulation under the 

marketing order. Small agricultural 

producers are defined by the Small 

Business Administration as those 

having annual receipts of 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) 

Committee data indicates that about 

64 percent of the handlers ship less than 

$7,000,000 worth of dried prunes. 

Dividing the average prune crop value 

for 2012 reported by the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of 

$172,500,000 by the number of 

producers (800) yields an average 

annual producer revenue estimate of 

about $215,625. Based on the foregoing, 

the majority of handlers and producers 

of dried prunes may be classified as 

small entities. 

This proposal would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

Committee and collected from handlers 

for the 2013–14 and subsequent crop 

years from $0.22 to $0.28 per ton of 

salable dried prunes. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2013–14 

expenditures of $43,791 and an 

assessment rate of $0.28 per ton of 

salable dried prunes. The proposed 

assessment rate of $0.28 is $0.06 higher 

than the 2012–13 rate. The quantity of 

assessable dried prunes for the 2013–14 

crop year is estimated at 105,000 tons. 

Thus, the $0.28 rate should provide 

$29,400 in assessment income, and 

when combined with carry-in funds and 

interest income, should be adequate to 

meet this year’s expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2013–14 year include $26,944 for 

salaries, $9,538 for operating expenses, 

and $7,308 for contingencies. Budgeted 

expenses for these items in 2012–13 

were $22,997, $9,970, and $12,001, 

respectively. 

The Committee unanimously 

recommended the higher assessment 

rate because the production estimate of 

105,000 tons of salable dried prunes for 

this year is substantially lower than the 

137,285 tons produced last year. At the 

current assessment rate, the anticipated 

crop would not generate sufficient 

revenue to meet the 2013–14 budgeted 

expenses. 

Prior to arriving at this budget and 

assessment rate, the Committee 

considered information from various 

sources, including the Committee’s 

Executive Subcommittee. The 

assessment rate of $0.28 per ton of 

salable dried prunes was recommended 

after considering various factors, 

including the amount of handler 

assessment revenue needed to meet 

anticipated expenses, the estimated 

quantity of salable tons of California 

dried prunes for the 2013–14 crop year, 

excess funds carried forward into the 

2013–14 crop year, and estimated 

interest income. An alternative to this 

action would be to continue with the 

$0.22 per ton assessment rate. However, 

an assessment rate of $0.28 per ton of 

salable dried prunes, along with excess 

funds from the 2012–13 crop year, is 

needed to provide enough income to 

fund the Committee’s operations. 

A review of historical crop and price 

information, as well as preliminary 

information pertaining to the 2013–14 

season indicates that the producer price 

for salable dried prunes for the 2013–14 

season could average about $1,300 per 

ton. Utilizing this estimate and the 

proposed assessment rate of $0.28, 

estimated assessment revenue as a 

percentage of total estimated producer 

revenue should be about 0.02 percent 

for the 2013–14 season ($0.28 divided 

by $1,300 per ton). 

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 from the operation 

of the marketing order. 

In addition, the Committee’s meeting 

was widely publicized throughout the 

California dried prune industry. All 

interested persons were invited to 

attend the meeting and participate in 

Committee deliberations on all issues. 

Like all Committee meetings, the June 

25, 2013, meeting was a public meeting. 

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. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
63130 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 23, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

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 proposed rule would impose no 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

California prune 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 action. 

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/ 

AMSv1.0/MarketingOrdersSmall

BusinessGuide. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to 

Jeffrey Smutny at the previouslymentioned address in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

A 15-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rule. Fifteen days is 

deemed appropriate because: (1) The 

2013–14 crop year began on August 1, 

2013, and the marketing order requires 

that the rate of assessment for each crop 

year apply to all assessable prunes to be 

handled during such crop 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 993 

Marketing agreements, Plum, Prunes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 993 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 993—DRIED PRUNES 

PRODUCED IN CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 993 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 993.347 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 993.347 Assessment rate. 

On and after August 1, 2013, an 

assessment rate of $0.28 per ton of 

salable dried prunes is established for 

California dried prunes. 

Dated: October 17, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–24899 Filed 10–22–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0864; Directorate 

Identifier 2013–NM–108–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing 

Company Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

The Boeing Company Model 777F series 

airplanes. This proposed AD was 

prompted by a report of a fire that 

originated near the first officer’s seat 

and caused extensive damage to the 

flight deck. This proposed AD would 

require replacing the low-pressure 

oxygen hoses with non-conductive lowpressure oxygen hoses in the stowage 

box and supernumerary ceiling area. We 

are proposing this AD to prevent 

electrical current from passing through 

an internal, anti-collapse spring of the 

low-pressure oxygen hose, which can 

cause the low-pressure oxygen hose to 

melt or burn and lead to an oxygen-fed 

fire on the flight deck. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by December 9, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail 

address above between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes, Attention: Data 

& Services Management, P.O. Box 3707, 

MC 2H–65, Seattle, WA 98124–2207; 

telephone 206–544–5000, extension 1; 

fax 206–766–5680; Internet https://

www.myboeingfleet.com. You may 

review copies of the referenced service 

information at the FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, WA. For information on 

the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call 425–227–1221. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Management Facility between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The AD 

docket contains this proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Office 

(phone: 800–647–5527) is in the 

ADDRESSES section. Comments will be 

available in the AD docket shortly after 

receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Susan L. Monroe, Aerospace Engineer, 

Cabin Safety and Environmental 

Systems Branch, ANM–150S, FAA, 

Seattle Aircraft Certification Office 

(ACO), 1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 

Washington 98057–3356; phone: 425– 

917–6457; fax: 425–917–6590; email: 

susan.l.monroe@faa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

We invite you to send any written 

relevant data, views, or arguments about 

this proposal. Send your comments to 

an address listed under the ADDRESSES

section. Include ‘‘Docket No. FAA– 

2013–0864; Directorate Identifier 2013– 

NM–108–AD’’ at the beginning of your 

comments. We specifically invite 

comments on the overall regulatory, 

economic, environmental, and energy 

aspects of this proposed AD. We will 

consider all comments received by the 

closing date and may amend this 

proposed AD because of those 

comments. 

We will post all comments we 

receive, without change, to http://www.


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS