9984 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 36 / Monday, February 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

entities and whether they must undergo 

a periodic review required by Section 

610 of the RFA. This Web site will also 

include a link to the periodic review 

initiation and completion entries in the 

Unified Agenda for each rulemaking 

that must undergo a Section 610 

periodic review. 

Section 610 of the RFA allows 

agencies to update their plan at any time 

by giving notice in the Federal Register. 

The information on the public Web site 

for RFA procedures, which informs the 

public of which rules must undergo a 

periodic review and when and provides 

a link to the results of the periodic 

review as published in the Unified 

Agenda, supersedes the NRC’s 1981 

plan. 

B. Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act Compliance 

Section 212 of the SBREFA was 

enacted in 1996 and requires that for 

each rulemaking that requires a 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis under 5 

U.S.C. 605(b), the agency must publish 

a ‘‘small entity compliance guide.’’ The 

SBREFA was amended by the Fair 

Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which 

requires agencies to: (1) Publish, 

distribute, and post on their public Web 

sites compliance guides on the same 

date of publication of the final rule and 

(2) submit an annual report (signed by 

the head of the agency) to the 

appropriate Congressional Committees 

describing the status of the agency’s 

compliance with the Act. 

The NRC will update internal 

procedures to clarify the NRC staff’s 

responsibilities with regards to Section 

212 of the SBREFA. 

The NRC has issued small entity 

compliance guides and published them 

either in the Federal Register or in the 

appropriate document collection on the 

NRC’s public Web site; however, the 

NRC has not published all of its 

compliance guides in one location. The 

public Web site for RFA procedures that 

lists all NRC rules that impact small 

entities will also include a listing of the 

NRC’s small entity compliance guides 

and how they may be accessed. 

The NRC has not submitted a status 

report to Congress regarding its 

compliance with SBREFA. However, the 

NRC staff is currently drafting the 2013 

status report. A link to the status report 

will be included on the Web site for 

RFA procedures. 

IV. Final Plan for Retrospective 

Analysis 

The NRC’s final Plan describes the 

NRC’s processes and activities relating 

to retrospective analysis of existing 

regulations, including discussions of the 

(1) efforts to incorporate risk 

assessments into regulatory decisionmaking, (2) efforts to address the 

cumulative effects of regulation, (3) the 

NRC’s methodology for prioritizing its 

rulemaking activities, (4) rulemaking 

initiatives arising out of the NRC’s 

ongoing review of its regulations related 

to the recent events at the Fukushima 

Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, 

and (5) the NRC’s previous and ongoing 

efforts to update its regulations on a 

systematic, ongoing basis. 

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11th day 

of February, 2014. 

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

Annette L. Vietti-Cook, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2014–03849 Filed 2–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 947 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0036; FV13–947–1 

FR] 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Modoc and 

Siskiyou Counties, California, and in 

All Counties in Oregon, Except 

Malheur County; Termination of 

Marketing Order No. 947 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule, termination of order. 

SUMMARY: This final rule terminates 

Marketing Order No. 947 (order), which 

regulates the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, 

California, and in all counties in 

Oregon, except Malheur County, and the 

rules and regulations issued thereunder. 

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

has determined that the marketing order 

is no longer an effective marketing tool 

for the Oregon-California potato 

industry, and that termination serves 

the current needs of the industry while 

also eliminating the costs associated 

with the operation of the marketing 

order. 

DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 

2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melissa Schmaedick, Senior Marketing 

Specialist, or Michelle Sharrow, 

Rulemaking Branch Chief, 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: 

Melissa.Schmaedick@ams.usda.gov, or 

Michelle.Sharrow@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 

action is governed by section 

608c(16)(A) of the Agricultural 

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as 

amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674), hereinafter 

referred to as the ‘‘Act,’’ and § 947.71 of 

Marketing Agreement No. 114 and 

Marketing Order No. 947, both as 

amended (7 CFR part 947), effective 

under the Act and hereinafter referred to 

as the ‘‘order.’’ 

USDA is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

12866 and 13563. 

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. 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 terminates Federal 

Marketing Order No. 947 and the rules 

and regulations issued thereunder. The 

order authorizes regulation of the 

handling of Oregon-California potatoes. 

At a meeting held in Salem, Oregon, on 

March 7, 2013, the Committee 

recommended termination of the order. 

Section 947.71 of the order provides, 

in pertinent part, that USDA terminate 

or suspend any or all provisions of the 

order when a finding is made that the 

order does not tend to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. In addition, 

section 608c(16)(A) of the Act provides 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 36 / Monday, February 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 9985 

that USDA terminate or suspend the 

operation of any order whenever the 

order or any provision thereof obstructs 

or does not tend to effectuate the 

declared policy of the Act. Additionally, 

USDA is required to notify Congress at 

least 60 days before the date that the 

order would be terminated. 

The order has been in effect since 

1942 and provides the OregonCalifornia potato industry with 

authority to establish grade, size, 

maturity, quality, pack and inspection 

requirements. The order also authorizes 

the Committee to conduct marketing 

research and development projects, 

collect assessments, and establish 

reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Based on the Committee’s 

recommendation, USDA suspended the 

order’s handling, reporting, and 

assessment collection regulations 

effective July 1, 1999 (64 FR 49352). The 

suspended handling regulations 

(§ 947.340) specify minimum quality 

requirements for potatoes produced 

within the regulated production area. 

When the Committee made the 

recommendation to suspend the 

handling regulations, the industry 

believed that the costs of inspections 

outweighed the benefits of having the 

regulatory requirements in effect. At 

that time, the Committee also 

suspended assessment collection 

because there were sufficient funds in 

the monetary reserve to support the 

Committee’s administrative functions. 

Suspension of §§ 947.247 and 947.180 

suspended the collection of assessments 

and the reporting provision that 

provided a basis for assessment 

collection. The Committee also decided 

to evaluate its finances and the 

marketing conditions annually 

thereafter to determine whether to 

continue with the suspension or take 

some other action. 

After almost 14 years of evaluating the 

effects of operating without the 

handling, reporting, and assessment 

collection regulations, the Committee 

has determined that suspension has not 

adversely impacted the OregonCalifornia potato industry. Marketing 

conditions and statistics show that the 

Oregon-California potato industry has 

steadily declined over the past several 

years, which led the Committee to 

conclude that the order is no longer an 

effective marketing tool. Termination 

would relieve the industry of the costs 

and burdens associated with the order. 

Evidence reflecting the industry’s 

steady decline include statistics 

showing that the Oregon-California 

potato industry has fewer producers and 

handlers today than 30 years ago, and 

that acreage and production have 

significantly decreased. For example, 

USDA Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division records from a 1978 

continuance referendum indicate that 

there were approximately 464 producers 

of potatoes in the order’s production 

area, while the most recent information 

received from the Committee indicates 

that there are now only 130 active 

producers. Furthermore, Committee 

records indicate that there were 47 

handlers in 1978. Currently, there are 

only 16 handlers. Committee records 

also indicate that 6,810,195 

hundredweight of Oregon-California 

potatoes were shipped in 1978 

compared to shipments of 3,430,548 

hundredweight in 2011. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to the 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 16 handlers of potatoes 

subject to regulation under the order 

and approximately 130 potato producers 

in the regulated production area. Small 

agricultural service firms are defined by 

the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) 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. (13 CFR 121.201) 

During the 2011 marketing year, the 

Committee reported that 3,430,548 

hundredweight of Oregon-California 

potatoes were shipped into the fresh 

market. Based on information from the 

National Agricultural Statistics Service, 

the average producer prices for Oregon 

and California potatoes in 2011 were 

$8.05 and $14.70 per hundredweight, 

respectively. Multiplying the 2011 

shipment quantity times each of the two 

state’s average producer price, the 

average gross annual revenue for the 130 

Oregon-California potato producers is 

calculated to range between $212,430 

and $387,916. 

Typical f.o.b. shipper prices were 

estimated to be about $2.00 higher than 

the average grower price per 

hundredweight. The Committee 

estimated handler annual receipts from 

the sale of potatoes by multiplying the 

estimated shipper prices by individual 

handler shipment quantities. Based on 

those computations, the Committee 

estimated that 15 out of the 16 handlers, 

approximately 94 percent, had annual 

receipts of less than $7,000,000. In view 

of the foregoing, the majority of OregonCalifornia potato producers and 

handlers may be classified as small 

entities. 

This rule terminates the Federal 

marketing order for Oregon-California 

potatoes and the rules and regulations 

issued thereunder. The order authorized 

regulation of the handling of OregonCalifornia potatoes. The Committee has 

determined that the order is no longer 

an effective marketing tool for the 

Oregon-California potato industry. 

Evidence shows that suspension of the 

handling regulations has not adversely 

impacted the shipment of potatoes and 

that the costs associated with the order 

outweigh the benefits. The Committee 

also believes that the decline in the 

number of handlers and producers, and 

the acreage and volume of OregonCalifornia potatoes supports termination 

of the order. As a consequence, in a vote 

at a meeting on March 7, 2013, the 

Committee recommended that USDA 

terminate the order. 

Section 947.71 of the order provides 

that USDA terminate or suspend any or 

all provisions of the order when a 

finding is made that the order does not 

tend to effectuate the declared policy of 

the Act. Furthermore, section 

608c(16)(A) of the Act provides that 

USDA shall terminate or suspend the 

operation of any order whenever the 

order or provision thereof obstructs or 

does not tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. An additional 

provision requires that Congress be 

notified not later than 60 days before the 

date the order would be terminated. 

The proposed termination of the order 

is a regulatory relaxation and would 

reduce the costs to both handlers and 

producers (while marketing order 

requirements are applied to handlers, 

the costs of such requirements are often 

passed on to producers). Furthermore, 

following a period of approximately 14 

years of regulatory suspension, the 

Committee has determined that 

termination of the order would not 

adversely impact the Oregon-California 

potato industry. 

The Committee considered 

alternatives to this rule, including 

continuing with the suspension of the 

handling regulations, which would 

require no regulatory action at this time; 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES
9986 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 36 / Monday, February 24, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

however, this would require the 

Committee to continue collecting 

assessments and enforcing the reporting 

requirements. The Committee also 

considered requesting a producer 

continuance referendum. The 

Committee did not support either 

option, and instead recommended that 

the order be terminated. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the information collection 

requirements being terminated were 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, Generic 

Vegetable and Specialty Crops. 

Termination of the reporting 

requirements under the marketing order 

would reduce the reporting and 

recordkeeping burden on California and 

Oregon potato handlers by 316.42 hours, 

and should further reduce industry 

expenses. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap or 

conflict with this rule. 

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 

guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny 

at the previously mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

A proposed rule inviting comments 

regarding the termination of Federal 

Marketing Order 947 was published in 

the Federal Register on July 22, 2013 

(78 FR 43827). The Committee 

distributed the rule to handlers and 

producers. In addition, the rule was 

made available on the internet by the 

USDA and the Office of the Federal 

Register. The rule provided a 60-day 

comment period which ended on 

September 20, 2013. No comments were 

received. 

Based on the foregoing, and pursuant 

to section 608c(16)(A) of the Act and 

§ 947.71 of the order, it is hereby found 

that Federal Marketing Order 947 

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Modoc and Siskiyou Counties, 

California, and in all counties in 

Oregon, except Malheur County, does 

not tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act, and is therefore 

terminated. 

Section 8c(16)(A) of the Act requires 

USDA to notify Congress at least 60 

days before terminating a Federal 

marketing order program. Congress was 

so notified on November 12, 2013. 

USDA hereby appoints Committee 

Chairman, Jay Hoffman; Committee Vice 

Chairman Troy Betz; Jim Baggenstos, 

Mark Campbell, John Cross, Todd 

Dimbat, Scott Fenters, Tad Kloepper, 

Michael Macy, Frank Prosser, Sidney 

Staunton, Dan Walchli, and Roy Wright 

as trustees to conclude and liquidate the 

affairs of the Committee, and to 

continue in such capacity until 

discharged. 

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: (1) This action 

relieves restrictions on handlers by 

terminating the requirements of the Irish 

potato order; (2) handling, reporting, 

and assessment collection regulations 

under the order have been suspended 

since 1999; (3) the Committee 

recommended termination, and all 

handlers and producers in the industry 

have been notified and provided an 

opportunity to comment; and (4) no 

useful purpose would be served by 

delaying the effective date. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 947 

Marketing agreements, Potatoes, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

PART 947—[REMOVED] 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, and under authority of 7 

U.S.C. 601–674, 7 CFR part 947 is 

removed. 

Dated: February 18, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–03900 Filed 2–21–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 948 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0072; FV13–948–2 

FIR] 

Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado; 

Decreased Assessment Rate for Area 

No. 2 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a 

final rule, without change, an interim 

rule that decreased the assessment rate 

established for the Colorado Potato 

Administrative Committee, Area No. 2 

(Committee) for the 2013–2014 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0051 

to $0.0033 per hundredweight of 

potatoes handled. The Committee 

locally administers the marketing order 

for Irish potatoes grown in Colorado. 

The interim rule was necessary to allow 

the Committee to reduce its financial 

reserve while still providing adequate 

funding to meet program expenses. 

DATES: Effective February 25, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sue 

Coleman or Gary D. Olson, Northwest 

Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order 

and Agreement Division, Fruit and 

Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (503) 326–2724, Fax: (503) 

326–7440, or Email: Sue.Coleman@

ams.usda.gov or GaryD.Olson@

ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may obtain 

information on complying with this and 

other marketing order regulations by 

viewing a guide at the following Web 

site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide; 

or 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 rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

No. 97 and Marketing Order No. 948, 

both as amended (7 CFR part 948), 

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes 

grown in Colorado, 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 and Executive Order 13563. 

Under the order, Colorado Area No. 2 

potato handlers are subject to 

assessments, which provide funds to 

administer the order. Assessment rates 

issued under the order are intended to 

be applicable to all assessable Colorado 

Area No. 2 potatoes for the entire fiscal 

period and continue indefinitely until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

The Committee’s fiscal period begins on 

September 1 and ends on August 31. 

In an interim rule published in the 

Federal Register on November 22, 2013, 

and effective on November 23, 2013 (78 

FR 69985, Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0072, 

FV13–948–2 IR), § 948.216 was 

amended by decreasing the assessment 

rate established for Colorado Area No. 2 

potatoes for the 2013–2014 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0051 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with RULES