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

47124 

Vol. 74, No. 177 

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 987 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0035; FV09–987–1 

PR] 

Domestic Dates Produced or Packed in 

Riverside County, CA; Changes to 

Nomination Procedures and a 

Reporting Date 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule invites comments 

on revisions to the nomination 

procedures and a change to a reporting 

date under the California date marketing 

order (order). The order regulates the 

handling of domestic dates produced or 

packed in Riverside County, California, 

and is administered locally by the 

California Date Administrative 

Committee (CDAC or committee). This 

rule would change the method of 

polling for nominees to the committee 

and the date on which CDAC Form 6 is 

due. These changes are expected to 

assist in the administration of the order 

by updating and streamlining committee 

program operations. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

October 15, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposal. 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 

Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments should reference the 

document 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.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: 

Terry Vawter, Senior Marketing 

Specialist, or Kurt J. Kimmel, Regional 

Manager, California Marketing Field 

Office, Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or e-mail: 

Terry.Vawter@ams.usda.gov or 

Kurt.Kimmel@ams.usda.gov. 

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@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposal is issued under Marketing 

Agreement and Order No. 987, both as 

amended (7 CFR part 987), regulating 

the handling of domestic 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 Order 

12866. 

This proposal 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. 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 proposal invites comments on 

revisions to the nomination procedures 

and a reporting date under the 

California date marketing order. This 

rule would permit the committee to 

conduct nominations for member and 

alternate member positions on the 

committee through the mail or 

equivalent electronic means (including, 

but not limited to fax, or other 

technology, as available) rather than 

limit balloting to in-person polling on a 

specific date or absentee balloting. 

This rule would also change the date 

on which CDAC Form 6 is due to the 

committee. Currently, the form is due by 

the 10th day of each month, but this 

rule would relax the reporting 

requirement by changing the due date to 

the 16th day of each month or such 

other date as the committee may 

prescribe. These changes were 

recommended unanimously by the 

committee at a meeting on October 30, 

2008. A meeting of the Marketing Order 

Policy Review Subcommittee was held 

on October 21, 2008. At that meeting, 

the subcommittee discussed various 

proposals for improving committee 

operations, including these two 

proposed changes. 

Section 987.24 of the order specifies 

that nominations shall be made no later 

than June 15 of every other year, and 

establishes procedures for nominations 

for membership on the committee by 

requiring the committee to establish a 

polling day for receiving committee 

nominations, and procedures for 

requesting and returning absentee 

ballots. This section also provides 

authority for the committee, with the 

approval of the Secretary, to recommend 

rules and regulations on the manner in 

which nominees may be obtained. 

Section 987.124 of the order’s rules 

and regulations further specifies the 

date, time, and procedure for polling, as 

well as for obtaining and casting 

absentee ballots. 

At its meeting on October 30, 2008, 

the committee recommended that 

nominations be permitted through the 

mail or by other electronic means 

equivalent to the mail. When the order 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 177 / Tuesday, September 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 47125 

was promulgated, there were a number 

of absentee date garden owners, and the 

advent of the polling day permitted the 

owners to travel to the area to vote on 

nominees to the committee. 

Section 987.62 of the date order 

provides authority for the committee to 

require reports of dates shipped from 

handlers. In § 987.162 of the order’s 

rules and regulations, CDAC Form 6 is 

specified as the handler acquisition and 

disposition report, and is currently due 

by the 10th day of each month. 

There also is a California State 

marketing program, administered by the 

California Date Commission 

(commission). Under that program, the 

due date for the same type of 

information is the 16th of each month. 

Changing the due date of the CDAC 

Form 6 would simplify reporting by 

handlers as well as coordinate the 

operations of the committee and 

commission, since the committee staff is 

also the commission staff. 

Deliberations on the Proposed Changes 

In its deliberations on mail balloting, 

the committee commented that the 

current system is outmoded and 

cumbersome. Authorizing the 

committee to conduct nominations via 

mail or equivalent electronic means 

could result in greater industry 

participation in the nomination process, 

with the possible result being greater 

committee outreach and diversity of 

committee representation. 

In their deliberations regarding the 

due date for CDAC Form 6, the 

committee discussed the confusion 

created by the State and Federal 

programs’ differing due dates. Handlers 

report to the committee on the 10th day 

of the month and to the commission on 

the 16th day of the month. By making 

both reports due the same day, handlers 

could report more conveniently, and 

committee and commission operations 

would be coordinated and streamlined. 

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 

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 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 85 producers 

of dates in the production area and 9 

handlers subject to regulation under the 

marketing order. The Small Business 

Administration (13 CFR 121.201) 

defines small agricultural producers as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$750,000, and small agricultural service 

firms are defined as those having annual 

receipts of less than $7,000,000. 

According to the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 

data for the most-recently completed 

crop year, 2008, indicates that about 

3.34 tons, or 6,680 pounds, of dates 

were produced per acre. The 2008 

grower price published by NASS was 

$1,470 per ton, or $.735 per pound. 

Thus, the value of date production in 

2008 averaged about $4,909 per acre 

(6,680 pounds per acre times $.735 per 

pound). At that average price, a 

producer would have to have over 152 

acres to receive an annual income from 

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

$4,909 per acre equals 152.7 acres). 

According to committee staff, the 

majority of California date producers 

farm less than 152 acres. Thus, it can be 

concluded that the majority of date 

producers could be considered small 

entities. According to data from the 

committee, the majority of handlers of 

California dates may also be considered 

small entities. 

This proposal would authorize the 

committee to conduct nominations via 

mail or equivalent electronic means, 

and would revise the due date for CDAC 

Form 6 from the 10th day each month 

to the 16th day of each month or such 

other date as the committee may 

prescribe. 

The committee unanimously 

recommended these changes at their 

meeting on October 30, 2008. At the 

meeting, the committee discussed the 

impact of these changes on handlers and 

producers in terms of cost. Handlers and 

producers would be positively impacted 

by mail balloting, as they would not 

have to set aside time to drive to the 

committee offices to vote for committee 

members and alternate members, nor 

would they have to plan ahead to 

request absentee ballots. 

Handlers would also be positively 

impacted by the change in the due date 

of the CDAC Form 6, since changing the 

due date of the committee form brings 

the requirement into line with the due 

date of the commission form, which 

seeks identical information. Handlers 

will simply be able to file the forms on 

the same day. Committee and 

commission operations would, thus, be 

streamlined. 

The benefits for this rule are not 

expected to be disproportionately 

greater or less for small handlers or 

producers than for larger entities. 

The committee discussed alternatives 

to these changes, including not 

conducting mail balloting or changing 

the due date of the CDAC Form 6. 

However, mail balloting would provide 

the industry with increased flexibility, 

outreach, and convenience by offering 

an opportunity for polling on more than 

just one day. A change of the due date 

for the CDAC Form 6 would also 

increase the reporting handlers’ 

convenience. Both changes would 

improve the administration of the 

program and keep informational data 

filing uniform between the committee 

and the commission. For those reasons, 

the changes are advantageous to all 

entities, as well as to the committee 

staff. As a result, the committee 

members unanimously agreed that these 

changes should be recommended and 

should be in effect for the 2009–10 crop 

year, beginning on October 1, 2009. 

A meeting of the Marketing Order 

Policy Review Subcommittee was held 

on October 21, 2008. At that meeting, 

the subcommittee discussed various 

proposals for improving committee 

operations, including these two 

proposed changes. 

This proposed rule would provide 

more flexibility on committee polling 

procedures and change the due date for 

CDAC Form 6 under the date marketing 

order. Accordingly, this action would 

not impose any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large date handlers. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the information collection 

requirements contained in this rule have 

been previously approved by the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, 

Vegetable and Specialty Crops. 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. In 

addition, USDA has not identified any 

relevant Federal rules that duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with this rule. 

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. 

In addition, the committee’s meeting 

was widely publicized throughout the 

date industry, and all interested persons 

were invited to attend the meeting and 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with PROPOSALS
47126 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 177 / Tuesday, September 15, 2009 / Proposed Rules 

encouraged to participate in committee 

deliberations on all issues. Like all 

committee meetings, the October 30, 

2008, meeting was a public meeting and 

all entities, both large and small, were 

encouraged to express their 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. 

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/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?

template=TemplateN&page=Marketing

OrdersSmallBusinessGuide. Any 

questions about the compliance guide 

should be sent to Jay Guerber 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 proposal. Thirty days is deemed 

appropriate because: (1) This rule 

should be in place at the beginning of 

the crop year, October 1, 2009; (2) this 

rule was unanimously recommended at 

a public meeting; and (3) this rule is a 

relaxation of nomination procedures 

and reporting requirements. All written 

comments timely received will be 

considered before a final determination 

is made on this matter. 

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 proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 987—DOMESTIC 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. 

§ 987.124 [Amended] 

2. In § 987.124, paragraph (a) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 987.124 Nomination and polling. 

(a) Date producers and producerhandlers shall be provided an 

opportunity to nominate and vote for 

individuals to serve on the committee. 

For this purpose, the committee shall, 

no later than June 15 of each evennumbered year, provide date producers 

and producer-handlers nomination and 

balloting material by mail or equivalent 

electronic means, upon which 

producers and producer-handlers may 

nominate candidates and cast their 

votes for members and alternate 

members of the committee in 

accordance with the requirements in 

paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, 

respectively. All ballots are subject to 

verification. Balloting material should 

be provided to voters at least 2 weeks 

before the due date and should contain, 

at least, the following information: 

(1) The names of incumbents who are 

willing to continue to serve on the 

committee; 

(2) The names of other persons 

willing and eligible to serve; 

(3) Instructions on how voters may 

add write-in candidates; 

(4) The date on which the ballot is 

due to the committee or its agent; and 

(5) How and where to return ballots. 

* * * * * 

3. Section 987.162 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 987.162 Handler acquisition and 

disposition. 

(a) Handlers shall file CDAC Form No. 

6 with the committee by the 16th of 

each month or such other date as the 

committee may prescribe, reporting at 

least the following for the preceding 

month: 

(1) Their acquisitions of field run 

dates; 

(2) Their shipments of marketable 

dates in each outlet category; 

(3) Their shipments of free dates and 

disposition of restricted dates, whenever 

applicable; and 

(4) Their purchases from other 

handlers of DAC, export, product, 

graded, and field run dates. 

(b) In addition, this report shall 

include the names and addresses of any 

producers not previously identified 

pursuant to § 987.38, the quantity of 

dates acquired from each producer, the 

location of such producer’s date garden, 

the acreage of that garden, and the 

estimated current season’s production 

from that garden. 

Dated: September 9, 2009. 

Rayne Pegg, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–22065 Filed 9–14–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 72 

[NRC–2008–0361] 

RIN 3150–AI09 

License and Certificate of Compliance 

Terms 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is proposing to 

amend its regulations that govern 

licensing requirements for the 

independent storage of spent nuclear 

fuel. These proposed amendments 

include changes that would enhance the 

effectiveness and efficiency of the 

licensing process for spent nuclear fuel 

storage. Specifically, they would clarify 

the term limits for dry storage cask 

Certificates of Compliance (CoCs) and 

independent spent fuel storage 

installation (ISFSI) specific licenses. 

The proposed amendments would also 

provide consistency between the general 

and specific ISFSI license requirements, 

and allow general licensees subject to 

these regulations to implement changes 

authorized by an amended CoC to a cask 

loaded under the initial CoC or an 

earlier amended CoC (a ‘‘previously 

loaded cask’’). 

DATES: The comment period expires 

November 30, 2009. Comments received 

after this date will be considered if it is 

practical to do so, but the NRC is able 

to assure consideration only for 

comments received on or before this 

date. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any one of the following methods. 

Please include Docket ID NRC–2008– 

0361 in the subject line of your 

comments. Comments submitted in 

writing or in electronic form will be 

posted on the NRC Web site and on the 

Federal rulemaking Web site 

Regulations.gov. Because your 

comments will not be edited to remove 

any identifying or contact information, 

the NRC cautions you against including 

any information in your submission that 

you do not want to be publicly 

disclosed. 

The NRC requests that any party 

soliciting or aggregating comments 

received from other persons for 

submission to the NRC inform those 

persons that the NRC will not edit their 

comments to remove any identifying or 

contact information, and therefore, they 

should not include any information in 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with PROPOSALS