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

73111 

Vol. 78, No. 234 

Thursday, December 5, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 970 

[Doc. No. AO–FV–09–0138; AMS–FV–09– 

0029; FV09–970–1] 

National Marketing Agreement 

Regulating Leafy Green Vegetables; 

Termination of Proceeding on 

Proposed Marketing Agreement 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Termination of proceeding. 

SUMMARY: This action terminates a 

rulemaking proceeding that proposed to 

establish a marketing agreement 

(agreement) under the Agricultural 

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (Act) 

to regulate the handling of fresh leafy 

green vegetables in the United States. 

The agreement that was proposed by 

members of the produce industry would 

have authorized the development and 

implementation of handling regulations 

(audit metrics) to reflect the United 

States Food and Drug Administration’s 

(FDA) Good Agricultural Practices 

(GAPs), Good Handling Practices 

(GHPs), and Good Manufacturing 

Practices (GMPs). 

DATES: This termination is made on 

December 6, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melissa Schmaedick, Marketing Order 

and Agreement Division, Fruit and 

Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, P.O. 

Box 952, Moab, UT 84532; Telephone 

(202) 557–4783, Fax (435) 259–1502, or 

Email: Melissa.Schmaedick@

ams.usda.gov, or Michelle P. Sharrow, 

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: 

Michelle.Sharrow@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior 

documents in this proceeding include: 

Notice of Public Hearing issued on 

August 31, 2009, and published in the 

September 3, 2009, issue of the Federal 

Register (74 FR 45565); Notice of 

Additional Time for Public Hearing 

issued on September 18, 2009, and 

published in the September 23, 2009, 

issue of the Federal Register (74 FR 

48423); and Recommended Decision 

and Opportunity to File Written 

Exceptions issued on April 22, 2011, 

and published in the April 29, 2011, 

issue of the Federal Register (76 FR 

24292). The hearings were held 

pursuant to the provisions of the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674), 

and the applicable rules of practice and 

procedure governing the formulation of 

marketing agreements (7 CFR Part 900). 

This rulemaking action is governed by 

the provisions of sections 556 and 557 

of title 5 of the United States Code and 

is therefore excluded from the 

requirements of Executive Order 12866. 

Preliminary Statement 

On June 10, 2009, a petition for 

rulemaking and request for public 

hearing on a proposed national 

marketing agreement for leafy green 

vegetables was submitted to AMS. The 

proposal was submitted by a group of 

producers, handlers, and interested 

persons representing a cross-section of 

the national fresh and fresh-cut produce 

industry. 

The proposed agreement would have 

established a voluntary program that 

would have included mandatory 

compliance for its signatories under the 

authority of the Act. The agreement 

would have authorized the development 

and implementation of handling audit 

metrics consistent with the FDA’s good 

production, handling, and 

manufacturing practices (GAPs, GHPs, 

and GMPs). Signatory handlers would 

have been required to only handle 

domestic and imported leafy green 

vegetables that met the audit 

requirements established under the 

agreement. The program would have 

been administered by a board appointed 

by the Secretary, would have operated 

under the oversight of AMS, and would 

have been financed by assessments 

collected from signatory first handlers. 

Proponents anticipated that the 

proposed agreement would help 

minimize the potential for microbial 

contamination in production and 

handling systems and improve 

consumer confidence in leafy green 

vegetables in the United States market. 

A Notice of Public Hearing was 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 3, 2009, and was followed by 

a Notice of Additional Time for Public 

Hearing, which was published in the 

Federal Register on September 23, 2009. 

The public hearing was held on: 

September 22 through 24, 2009, in 

Monterey, California; September 30 

through October 1, 2009, in 

Jacksonville, Florida; October 6, 2009, 

in Columbus, Ohio; October 8, 2009, in 

Denver, Colorado; October 14 and 15, 

2009, in Yuma, Arizona; October 20, 

2009, in Syracuse, New York; and 

October 22, 2009, in Charlotte, North 

Carolina. At the conclusion of the 

hearing, the Administrative Law Judge 

set January 12, 2010, as the due date for 

interested persons to file proposed 

findings and conclusions or written 

arguments based on the evidence 

received at the hearing. The 

Administrative Law Judge issued an 

order extending this deadline through 

January 27, 2010. 

A Recommended Decision and 

Opportunity to File Written Exceptions 

(recommended decision) was published 

in the Federal Register on April 29, 

2011. Exceptions to the recommended 

decision were due by July 28, 2011. The 

recommended decision also announced 

AMS’s intent to request approval of new 

information collection requirements to 

implement the agreement. Written 

comments on the proposed information 

collection requirements were also due 

by July 28, 2011. A total of 2,143 

comments were received by USDA. 

In January 2013, FDA published two 

proposed rules, ‘‘Standards for Growing, 

Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of 

Produce for Human Consumption’’ (78 

FR 3504) and ‘‘Current Good 

Manufacturing Practice and Hazard 

Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive 

Controls for Human Food’’ (78 FR 3646), 

implementing sections of the Food 

Safety Modernization Act. This ongoing 

rulemaking may affect fundamental 

aspects of the proposed leafy green 

vegetable marketing agreement program. 

As a result, it is appropriate to terminate 

the leafy green vegetable marketing 

agreement rulemaking proceeding at 

this time. 

Termination of this proceeding will 

remove ex parte communication 

prohibitions and allow USDA to engage 


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73112 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 234 / Thursday, December 5, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

fully with all interested parties to 

discuss and consider the evolving needs 

of the industry and consumers going 

forward. Based on the above, USDA is 

terminating this rulemaking proceeding. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

As part of the proceedings conducted 

for this rulemaking, the provisions of 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

601–612) and the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1955 (Pub. L. 104–13) were 

considered. Because this action 

terminates the underlying rulemaking 

proceeding, the economic conditions of 

small entities are not changed as a result 

of this action, nor have any compliance 

requirements changed. Also, this action 

does not provide for any new or 

changed reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. Accordingly, all 

supporting forms for the proposed 

program will be withdrawn. 

Termination of Proceeding 

In view of the foregoing, it is hereby 

determined that the proceeding 

proposing a national marketing 

agreement for the regulation of leafy 

green vegetables should be and is 

hereby terminated. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 970 

Marketing agreements, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Vegetables. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

Dated: November 26, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–28869 Filed 12–4–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

15 CFR Part 922 

[Docket No. 130403324–3376–01] 

RIN 0648–BC94 

Boundary Expansion of Thunder Bay 

National Marine Sanctuary 

AGENCY: Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean 

Service (NOS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce (DOC). 

ACTION: Re-opening of public comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: On June 14, 2013, NOAA 

published a proposed rule in the 

Federal Register to revise the 

regulations for the boundary of the 

Thunder Bay National Marine 

Sanctuary. This document re-opens the 

public comment period. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

proposed rule published June 14, 2013 

(78 FR 35776), extended August 15, 

2013 (78 FR 49700) and October 28, 

2013 (78 FR 64186), is reopened. NOAA 

will accept public comments through 

December 19, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAANOS-2012-0077, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NOS-2012- 

0077, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Thunder Bay National Marine 

Sanctuary, 500 W. Fletcher, Alpena, 

Michigan 49707, Attn: Jeff Gray, 

Superintendent. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NOAA. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NOAA will 

accept anonymous comments (enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff 

Gray, Superintendent, Thunder Bay 

National Marine Sanctuary at 989–356– 

8805 ext. 12 or jeff.gray@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 

14, 2013, NOAA published a proposed 

rule in the Federal Register to revise the 

regulations for the boundary of the 

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary 

(78 FR 35776). An accompanying draft 

environmental impact statement (DEIS) 

was also published (78 FR 35928). 

Public comments on the proposed rule 

and DEIS were solicited. Three public 

meetings on the proposed action were 

held on July 15–17, 2013 in Michigan. 

The public comment period was 

extended until October 18, 2013 (78 FR 

49700) then until November 27, 2013 

(78 FR 64186) to gather more 

information on the applicability of U.S. 

Coast Guard and U.S. EPA regulations 

governing discharge of ballast water to 

the proposed expanded area. However, 

due to the need for further information 

from stakeholders, NOAA is re-opening 

the comment period for 14 days. 

While the public is free to comment 

on any issue related to the proposed 

action, NOAA is particularly interested 

in receiving input on the following 

topics: 

1. Please explain current ballast 

management practices. Identify, with 

specificity, all areas where ballast 

management occurs and under what 

circumstances. 

2. Please explain how the proposed 

boundary expansion is expected to 

impact existing ballast management 

practices. 

Dated: November 27, 2013. 

Daniel J. Basta, 

Director, Office of National Marine 

Sanctuaries. 

[FR Doc. 2013–29058 Filed 12–4–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–NK–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

18 CFR Part 40 

[Docket Nos. RM13–12–000, RM13–14–000 

and RM13–15–000] 

Monitoring System Conditions— 

Transmission Operations Reliability 

Standards; Interconnection Reliability 

Operations and Coordination 

Reliability Standards 

AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 215 of the 

Federal Power Act (FPA), the 

Commission proposes to remand 

revisions to the Transmission 

Operations and Interconnection 

Reliability Operations and Coordination 

Reliability Standards, developed by the 

North American Electric Reliability 

Corporation (NERC), which the 

Commission has certified as the Electric 

Reliability Organization responsible for 

developing and enforcing mandatory 

Reliability Standards. In addition, the 

Commission proposes to approve 

NERC’s proposed revisions to Reliability 

Standard TOP–006–3. 

DATES: Comments are due February 3, 

2014. 


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