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

5898 

Vol. 75, No. 24 

Friday, February 5, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 929 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0073; FV10–929–1 

PR] 

Cranberries Grown in the States of 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 

Washington, and Long Island in the 

State of New York; Changes to 

Reporting Dates 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule invites comments 

on proposed changes to the reporting 

dates prescribed under the marketing 

order that regulates the handling of 

cranberries grown in the States of 

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 

Washington, and Long Island in the 

State of New York. The order is 

administered locally by the Cranberry 

Marketing Committee (Committee). This 

rule would revise the due dates of 

handler reports to provide more time for 

handlers to file their reports with the 

Committee, and would improve handler 

compliance with the order’s reporting 

regulations. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 8, 2010. 

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: 

Patricia A. Petrella, Marketing Specialist 

or Kenneth G. Johnson, Regional 

Manager, DC Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (301) 734– 

5243, Fax: (301) 734–5275, or E-mail: 

Patricia.Petrella@ams.usda.gov or 

Kenneth.Johnson@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Antoinette 

Carter, 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: 

Antoinette.Carter@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposal is issued under Marketing 

Agreement and Order No. 929, both as 

amended (7 CFR part 929), regulating 

the handling of cranberries produced in 

States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 

Washington, and Long Island in the 

State of New York, 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 

revising the due dates of handler reports 

from January 5, May 5, and August 5 of 

each fiscal period and September 5 of 

the succeeding fiscal period to January 

20, May 20, and August 20 of each fiscal 

period and September 20 of the 

succeeding period, respectively. The 

proposed dates would provide more 

time for handlers to file their reports. It 

has become more difficult for handlers 

to meet the current filing deadlines due 

to the demands of growing domestic and 

international markets and the larger 

volumes of cranberries handled. 

Currently, § 929.62(d) of the order 

provides that each handler shall, upon 

request of the Committee, file promptly 

with the Committee a certified report as 

to the quantity of cranberries handled 

during any designated period or 

periods. Further, § 929.105 provides that 

certified reports shall be filed with the 

Committee, on a form provided by the 

Committee, by each handler not later 

than January 5, May 5, and August 5 of 

each fiscal period and by September 5 

of the succeeding fiscal period. These 

reports must show the total quantity of 

cranberries acquired and the total 

quantity of cranberries and Vaccinium 

oxycoccus cranberries the handler 

handled from the beginning of the 

reporting period indicated through 

December 31, April 30, July 31, and 

August 31, respectively. The reports 

must also show the total quantity of 

cranberries and Vaccinium oxycoccus 

cranberries as well as cranberry 

products and Vaccinium oxycoccus 

cranberry products held by the handler 

on January 1, May 1, August 1, and 

August 31 of each fiscal period. 

Information to be submitted to the 

Committee on the handler reports 

would not be changed by this action. 

The Committee recommended that the 

order’s reporting regulations be changed 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 24 / Friday, February 5, 2010 / Proposed Rules 5899 

to allow handlers additional time to 

submit these reports. Over time, the 

amount of cranberries being grown and 

handled has increased, and the greater 

demands associated with expanding 

markets have made it increasingly 

difficult for handlers to gather the 

information required for the reports 

before the filing deadline. 

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 80 handlers 

of cranberries who are subject to 

regulation under the marketing order 

and approximately 1,200 cranberry 

growers in the regulated area. Small 

agricultural service firms are defined by 

the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) (13 CFR 121.201) as those having 

annual receipts of less than $7,000,000, 

and small agricultural producers are 

defined as those having annual receipts 

of less than $750,000. Based on 

information maintained by the 

Committee, the majority of growers and 

handlers of cranberries under the order 

would be considered small entities 

under SBA’s standards. 

Under the order, handlers are 

required to submit acquisition, 

handling, and inventory reports to the 

Committee four times per year. Such 

information is used by the Committee in 

the administration of the order. The 

currently prescribed due dates follow 

the end of each respective reporting 

period by five days. Handlers indicated 

that it has become difficult to comply 

with the current reporting deadlines 

because five days is not enough time to 

compile the information required for the 

reports. 

This proposal invites comments on 

revising the due dates of mandatory 

handler reports from January 5, May 5, 

and August 5 of each fiscal period; and 

September 5 of the succeeding fiscal 

period to January 20, May 20, and 

August 20 of each fiscal period; and 

September 20 of the succeeding period, 

respectively. The proposed dates would 

provide more time for handlers to file 

their reports. 

At its August 21, 2009, meeting, the 

Committee discussed whether the 

current due dates needed to be changed 

to allow more time for handlers to 

comply with the reporting requirements. 

The Committee staff indicated that 

compliance with the order’s reporting 

requirements would improve if handlers 

were given additional time to file the 

reports. 

The Committee discussed alternatives 

to this change, including not making the 

change at all. However, the Committee 

believes that this change is necessary to 

ensure that handlers have adequate time 

to comply with the order’s 

requirements. 

This rule is not expected to have any 

economic impact on growers or 

handlers of any size. The benefits of this 

rule are not expected to be 

disproportionately greater or less for 

small handlers or growers than for larger 

entities. 

This proposed rule would not impose 

any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large cranberry 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 proposed rule. 

In addition, the Committee’s meeting 

was widely publicized throughout the 

cranberry industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations on all issues. Like all 

Committee meetings, the August 21, 

2009, meeting was a public meeting and 

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. 

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. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Antoinette 

Carter 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 this rule, if 

adopted, should be in place as soon as 

possible to inform handlers of the new 

reporting deadline in May of 2010. 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 

Marketing agreements, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Cranberries. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 929 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 929—CRANBERRIES GROWN IN 

THE STATES OF MASSACHUSETTS, 

RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW 

JERSEY, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, 

MINNESOTA, OREGON, 

WASHINGTON, AND LONG ISLAND IN 

THE STATE OF NEW YORK 

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 929 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

2. In § 929.105, the introductory text 

of paragraph (b) is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 929.105 Reporting. 

* * * * * 

(b) Certified reports shall be filed with 

the committee, on a form provided by 

the committee, by each handler not later 

than January 20, May 20, and August 20 

of each fiscal period and by September 

20 of the succeeding fiscal period 

showing: 

* * * * * 

Dated: February 2, 2010. 

Rayne Pegg, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2546 Filed 2–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with PROPOSALS