Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 136 / Wednesday, July 16, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 41415 

assessments. The form modification has 

been approved by OMB. 

While this rule continues in effect the 

action requiring a reporting requirement 

for red types of potatoes, the exemption 

of red types of potatoes from handling 

regulation also eliminates, for the 

exemption period, the more frequent 

reporting requirements imposed under 

the order’s special purpose shipment 

exemptions (§ 946.336(d) and (e)). 

Under these paragraphs, handlers are 

required to provide detailed reports 

whenever they divert regulated potatoes 

for livestock feed, charity, seed, 

prepeeling, processing, grading and 

storing in specified counties in Oregon, 

and experimentation. 

Therefore, any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large handlers of red types of 

potatoes are expected to be offset by the 

elimination of the other reporting 

requirements currently in effect. In 

addition, the exemption from handling 

regulation and inspection requirements 

for red types of potatoes is expected to 

reduce industry expenses. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with this rule. 

Further, the Committee’s meetings 

were widely publicized throughout the 

Washington potato industry and all 

interested persons were invited to 

participate in Committee deliberations. 

Like all Committee meetings, the May 9, 

July 16, and December 10, 2013, 

meetings were public meetings. All 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express views on this issue. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before 

April 14, 2014. No comments were 

received. Accordingly, for the reasons 

given in the interim rule, USDA is 

adopting the interim rule as a final rule, 

without change. 

To view the interim rule, go to: 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=AMS-FV-13-0068- 

0001. 

This action also affirms information 

contained in the interim rule concerning 

Executive Orders 12866, 12988, and 

13563; the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35); and the E-Gov Act 

(44 U.S.C. 101). 

In accordance with section 8e of the 

Act, the United States Trade 

Representative has concurred with the 

issuance of this final rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, it is found that 

finalizing the interim rule, without 

change, as published in the Federal 

Register (79 FR 8253, February 12, 

2014) will tend to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. 

List of Subjects 

7 CFR Part 946 

Marketing agreements, Potatoes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

7 CFR Part 980 

Food grades and standards, Imports, 

Marketing agreements, Onions, Potatoes, 

Tomatoes. 

PARTS 946 and 980 [AMENDED] 

■ Accordingly, the interim rule that 

amended 7 CFR parts 946 and 980 and 

that was published at 79 FR 8253 on 

February 12, 2014, is adopted as final 

without change. 

Dated: July 10, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–16635 Filed 7–15–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 987 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–13–0090; FV14– 

987–2 FR] 

Domestic Dates Produced or Packed in 

Riverside County, California; Revision 

of Assessment Requirements 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule revises the rules and 

regulations of the California date 

marketing order (order) to impose 

interest and late payment charges on 

overdue handler assessments. The order 

regulates the handling of dates 

produced or packed in Riverside 

County, California, and is administered 

locally by the California Date 

Administrative Committee (committee). 

Assessments upon date handlers are 

used to fund the reasonable and 

necessary expenses of the committee. 

These changes are expected to assist in 

the financial administration of the order 

by encouraging handlers to pay their 

assessments in a timely manner. 

DATES: Effective July 17, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Terry Vawter, Senior Marketing 

Specialist, or Martin Engeler, 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: 

Terry.Vawter@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 final 

rule is issued under Marketing 

Agreement and Order No. 987, as 

amended (7 CFR Part 987), regulating 

the handling of dates produced or 

packed in Riverside County, 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 Orders 

12866, 13563, and 13175. 

This final 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 

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 final rule revises the rules and 

regulations of the California date order 

to impose interest and late payment 

charges on overdue handler 

assessments. Interest and late payment 

charges will encourage California date 

handlers to pay their assessments 

promptly when billed by the committee. 

The order was amended on June 25, 

2012, [77 FR 37762], to provide 

authority for the committee to 

recommend these actions, thereby 

permitting these changes through 

informal rulemaking, with the approval 

of the Secretary. 


ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with RULES
41416 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 136 / Wednesday, July 16, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

Section 987.72 of the order establishes 

the authority for the committee to 

collect assessments from handlers. 

Paragraph (b) of that section specifically 

authorizes the committee to establish 

rules and regulations regarding 

delinquent assessment payments, 

including subjecting overdue 

assessments to an interest or late 

payment charge, or both; and authorizes 

the committee to recommend to USDA 

the period of time at which assessments 

become late, the rate of interest, and the 

late payment charge to be imposed on 

such delinquent assessments. 

The California date industry is a small 

industry with 70 producers and 11 

handlers. If a handler withholds an 

assessment payment, it has an impact 

on the committee’s ability to administer 

the order. The committee believes that 

charging interest and late payment fees 

will provide a greater incentive for 

handlers to make assessment payments 

on time. This in turn, will help ensure 

that the committee is able to meet its 

financial obligations and fund its 

programs on a continuing basis. 

Charging interest and late payment 

fees on unpaid financial obligations is 

commonplace in the business world, 

and such charges bring the committee’s 

financial operations in line with 

standard business practices. Such 

charges remove any financial advantage 

for those who do not pay on time while 

they benefit from committee programs, 

thus, creating a more level playing field 

for the industry. 

For those reasons, the committee 

unanimously recommended an interest 

rate of 1.5 percent per month, a late 

payment charge of 10 percent on the 

unpaid balance, and specified that 

assessment payments become overdue 

at 60 days after the date on the 

assessment invoice. This 

recommendation was made at a 

committee meeting on October 31, 2013. 

Based upon the above considerations, 

this rule will implement interest and 

late payment charges for delinquent 

payment of assessments. 

Final 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 final 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 70 date 

producers in the production area and 11 

handlers subject to regulation under the 

marketing order. The Small Business 

Administration defines small 

agricultural producers as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000, 

and small agricultural service firms as 

those whose annual receipts are less 

than $7,000,000. (13 CFR 121.201) 

According to the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 

data for the most recently completed 

crop year (2012) show that about 3.70 

tons, or 7,400 pounds of dates were 

produced per acre. The 2012 grower 

price published by NASS was $1,340 

per ton or $0.67 per pound. Thus, the 

value of date production per acre in the 

2012–13 crop year averaged about 

$4,958 (7,400 pounds times $0.67 per 

pound). At that average price, a 

producer would have to farm over 151 

acres to receive an annual income from 

dates of $750,000 ($750,000 divided by 

$4,958 per acre equals 151.2 acres). 

According to committee staff, the 

majority of California date producers 

farm less than 151 acres. Therefore, it 

can be concluded that the majority of 

date producers could be considered 

small entities. 

Additionally, based on data from the 

committee staff, the majority of 

California date handlers have receipts of 

less than $7,000,000, and may also be 

considered small entities. 

This final rule imposes an interest 

charge of 1.5 percent monthly, and a 

late payment charge of 10 percent on the 

unpaid balance of handler assessments 

owed to the committee 60 days after the 

date on the assessment invoice. 

At the meeting, the committee 

discussed the impact of these changes 

on handlers. They noted that the 

greatest impact would be only on 

handlers who do not pay their 

assessments on time. Such charges 

provide an incentive for all handlers to 

pay their assessments in a timely 

manner. 

The committee also discussed 

alternatives to these changes including 

not implementing them at all. It was 

determined that not implementing 

interest and late payment charges allows 

the current problem to continue. Late or 

delinquent assessment payments 

negatively impact the committee’s 

ability to efficiently manage the 

program’s resources and meet budget 

obligations. The committee concluded 

that encouraging timely assessment 

payment through the imposition of 

interest and late payment charges will 

benefit the administration of the order. 

Thus, the committee unanimously 

recommended these changes. 

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, 

‘‘Vegetable and Specialty Crop 

Marketing Orders.’’ 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 Riverside 

County, California, date 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. 

In addition, the committee’s meeting 

was widely publicized throughout the 

California date industry and all 

interested persons were invited to 

attend the meeting and encouraged to 

participate in committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all committee 

meetings, the October 31, 2013, meeting 

was a public meeting and all entities, 

both large and small, were able to 

express views on this issue. 

A proposed rule concerning this 

action was published in the Federal 

Register on April 7, 2014 (79 FR 19028). 

Copies of the rule were provided to all 

committee members and date handlers. 

Finally, the rule was made available 

through the Internet by USDA and the 

Office of the Federal Register. A 60-day 

comment period ending June 6, 2014, 

was provided to allow interested 

persons to respond to the proposal. No 

comments were received. Accordingly, 

no changes will be made to the rule as 

proposed. 

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/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 


ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 136 / Wednesday, July 16, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 41417 

guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny 

at the previously mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

matters 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. 

It is further found that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register (5 

U.S.C. 553) because handlers are already 

aware of the rule, which was 

recommended at a public meeting. 

Further, the new crop year begins on 

August 1, and the committee needs time 

to institute the changes. In addition, a 

60-day comment period was provided 

for in the proposed rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 987 

Dates, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 987 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 987—DATES PRODUCED OR 

PACKED IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY, 

CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 987 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

§ 987.172 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 987.172 is amended by 

revising the section heading, 

redesignating the existing paragraph as 

paragraph (a), and adding paragraphs (b) 

and (c) to read as follows: 

§ 987.172 Adjustment of assessment 

obligation, and late payment and interest 

charges. 

* * * * * 

(b) Pursuant to § 987.72, the 

committee shall impose an interest 

charge on any handler whose 

assessment payment has not been 

received in the committee’s office, or 

the envelope containing the payment 

legibly postmarked by the U.S. Postal 

Service, within 60 days of the invoice 

date shown on the handler’s statement. 

The interest charge shall be a rate of one 

and one half percent per month, and 

shall be applied to the unpaid 

assessment balance for the number of 

days all or any part of the unpaid 

balance is delinquent beyond the 60-day 

payment period. 

(c) In addition to the interest charge 

specified in paragraph (b) of this 

section, the committee shall impose a 

late payment charge on any handler 

whose payment has not been received in 

the committee’s office, or the envelope 

containing the payment legibly 

postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service, 

within 60 days of the invoice date. The 

late payment charge shall be 10 percent 

of the unpaid balance. 

Dated: July 10, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–16637 Filed 7–15–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2012–BT–TP–0016] 

RIN 1904–AC76 

Energy Conservation Program for 

Consumer Products: Test Procedures 

for Refrigerators, RefrigeratorFreezers, and Freezers; Correction 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Correcting amendments. 

SUMMARY: On April 21, 2014, the U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) published 

a final rule in the Federal Register that 

amended the test procedure for 

refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and 

freezers (79 FR 22320). Due to drafting 

errors, that document incorrectly listed 

the name of a third-party test procedure 

that was incorporated by reference. This 

final rule corrects those errors. 

DATES: This correction is effective July 

16, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Lucas Adin, U.S. Department of Energy, 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, EE–5B, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 287–1317. Email: 

Lucas.Adin@ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Michael Kido, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–71, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586–8145. Email: 

Michael.Kido@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On April 21, 2014, DOE’s Office of 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable 

Energy published a test procedure final 

rule in the Federal Register titled, ‘‘Test 

Procedures for Refrigerators, 

Refrigerator-Freezers, and Freezers’’ 

(‘‘April 2014 final rule’’). 79 FR 22320. 

Since the publication of that final rule, 

it has come to DOE’s attention that, due 

to a technical oversight, certain portions 

of the regulatory text adopted in the 

April 2014 final rule for appendix A to 

subpart B of 10 CFR part 430 (Appendix 

A) contained erroneous references to 

AS/NZS 4474.1:2007, Performance of 

Household Electrical Appliances— 

Refrigerating Appliances; Part 1: Energy 

Consumption and Performance, Second 

edition, published August 15, 2007, 

which is incorporated by reference at 

§ 430.3. Specifically, several references 

to this standard in Appendix A are 

incorrectly listed as ‘‘AZ/NZS 

44474.1:2007.’’ The text of § 430.3 

correctly references this incorporated 

standard. DOE has also become aware 

that the text adopted in the April 2014 

final rule for appendix B to subpart B 

of 10 CFR part 430 (Appendix B) 

contains an error in a formula in section 

5.2.1.3, in that the published version is 

missing the ‘‘K’’ adjustment factor 

present in the other formulas in section 

5.2 of the test procedure. 

II. Need for Correction 

As published, the adopted test 

procedure text may result in confusion 

due to the incorrect reference in 

Appendix A and the incorrect formula 

in Appendix B. Because this final rule 

would simply correct errors in the text 

without making substantive changes to 

the test procedures, the changes 

addressed in this document are 

technical in nature. Accordingly, DOE 

finds that there is good cause under 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to not issue a separate 

notice to solicit public comment on the 

changes contained in this document. 

Issuing a separate notice to solicit 

public comment would be 

impracticable, unnecessary, and 

contrary to the public interest. 

III. Procedural Requirements 

DOE has concluded that the 

determinations made pursuant to the 

various procedural requirements 

applicable to the April 21, 2014 test 

procedure final rule remain unchanged 

for this final rule technical correction. 

These determinations are set forth in the 

April 21, 2014 final rule. 79 FR at 

22345–22348. 

Correction to Preamble 

In FR Doc. 2014–08644, published on 

April 21, 2014 (79 FR 22320), on page 

22320, in the second column, in the 

Supplementary Information section, 


ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with RULES