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

78679 

Vol. 88, No. 220 

Thursday, November 16, 2023 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 989 

[Doc. No. AMS–SC–23–0038] 

Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown 

in California; Increased Assessment 

Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) proposes to implement a 

recommendation from the Raisin 

Administrative Committee (Committee) 

to increase the assessment rate 

established for the 2023–2024 and 

subsequent crop years. The proposed 

assessment rate would remain in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

December 18, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed rulemaking. 

Comments may be sent to the Docket 

Clerk, Market Development Division, 

Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237. 

Comments can also be submitted to the 

Docket Clerk electronically by Email: 

MarketingOrderComment@usda.gov or 

via the internet at: https://

www.regulations.gov. Comments should 

reference the document number, and 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register. Comments 

submitted in response to this proposed 

rulemaking will be included in the 

record, will be made available to the 

public, and can be viewed at: https://

www.regulations.gov. 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: 

Kathie Notoro, Marketing Specialist, or 

Gary Olson, Chief, West Region Branch, 

Market Development Division, Specialty 

Crops Program, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (559) 487–5901 or Email: 

Kathie.Notoro@usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Richard Lower, 

Market Development Division, Specialty 

Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, STOP 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–8085, or Email: 

Richard.Lower@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, 

proposes to amend regulations issued to 

carry out a marketing order as defined 

in 7 CFR 900.2(j). This proposed 

rulemaking is issued under Marketing 

Agreement and Order No. 989, as 

amended (7 CFR part 989), regulating 

the handling of raisins produced from 

grapes grown in California. Part 989 

(referred to as 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 Committee locally 

administers the Order and is comprised 

of producers and handlers of raisins 

operating within the area of production, 

and a public member. 

AMS is issuing this proposed 

rulemaking in conformance with 

Executive Orders 12866, 13563, and 

14094. Executive Orders 12866, 13563, 

and 14094 direct agencies to assess all 

costs and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, 

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and 

promoting flexibility. Executive Order 

14094 directs agencies to conduct 

proactive outreach to engage interested 

and affected parties through a variety of 

means, such as through field offices, 

and alternative platforms and media. 

This action falls within a category of 

regulatory actions that the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

exempted from Executive Order 12866 

review. 

This proposed rulemaking has been 

reviewed under Executive Order 

13175—Consultation and Coordination 

with Indian Tribal governments, which 

requires agencies to consider whether 

their rulemaking actions would have 

Tribal implications. AMS has 

determined that this proposed 

rulemaking is unlikely to have 

substantial direct effects on one or more 

Indian Tribes, on the relationship 

between the Federal Government and 

Indian Tribes, or on the distribution of 

power and responsibilities between the 

Federal Government and Indian Tribes. 

This proposed rulemaking has been 

reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 

Civil Justice Reform. Under the order 

now in effect, California raisin handlers 

are subject to assessments. Funds to 

administer the order are derived from 

such assessments. It is intended that the 

proposed assessment rate would be 

applicable to all assessable raisins 

beginning on August 1, 2023, and 

continue until amended, suspended, or 

terminated. 

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 the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(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. 

Section 989.79 provides authority for 

the Committee, with the approval of 

AMS, to formulate an annual budget of 

expenses and collect assessments from 

handlers to administer the program. The 

members are familiar with the 

Committee’s needs and with the costs of 

goods and services in their local area 

and are thus in a position to formulate 

an appropriate budget and assessment 

rate. The assessment rate is formulated 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
78680 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 220 / Thursday, November 16, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

and discussed in a public meeting. 

Thus, all directly affected persons have 

an opportunity to participate and 

provide input. 

For the 2018–2019 and subsequent 

crop years, an assessment rate of $22 per 

assessable ton of raisins handled (84 FR 

2049) was in place. That rate continues 

in effect from crop year to crop year 

until modified, suspended, or 

terminated by AMS upon 

recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

information available to AMS. 

This proposed rulemaking would 

increase the assessment rate from $22 

per ton to $24 per ton of assessable 

raisins for the 2023–2024 and 

subsequent crop years. Prior to arriving 

at this proposed assessment rate, the 

Committee considered information from 

its Audit Subcommittee 

(Subcommittee), which met on June 21, 

2023. The Subcommittee discussed 

alternative spending levels before 

making a recommendation to the full 

Committee. On June 28, 2023, the full 

Committee discussed the 

recommendation of the Subcommittee 

and voted unanimously to recommend a 

budget of $5,241,000 and an assessment 

rate of $24 per ton as reasonable and 

necessary to properly administer the 

Order. 

The Committee last amended the 

assessment rate in 2019 to $22 per ton, 

which continues to remain in effect; 

however, California raisin acreage and 

volume have steadily declined since 

2019. The Committee determined the 

level of assessment revenue under the 

current rate as now insufficient to meet 

the rising costs of program operations 

given a production estimate of 192,000 

tons of assessable raisins for the 2023– 

2024 crop year. 

The proposed assessment rate of $24 

is $2 higher than the rate currently in 

effect and is expected to generate 

assessment income of approximately 

$4,608,000 ($24 per ton multiplied by 

192,000 assessable tons) for the 2023– 

2024 crop year. This assessment 

revenue, combined with other 

Committee income and monetary 

reserves is sufficient to cover the 

balance of $633,000 ($5,241,000 minus 

$4,608,000). 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2023–2024 crop year include $3,303,000 

for marketing promotion; $1,205,000 for 

salaries and employee-related costs; 

$658,000 for administrative expenses; 

$55,000 for compliance activities; and 

$20,000 for research and studies. 

Budgeted expenditures for the 2022– 

2023 crop year were $3,592,000; 

$1,232,000; $703,900; $55,000; and 

$45,000, respectively. The proposed 

assessment rate increase would help 

cover the expenditures for the 2023– 

2024 crop year, while reducing the 

amount of money needing to be 

expended from reserves. 

This proposed assessment rate would 

continue in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

AMS upon recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or other available 

information. 

Although this assessment rate would 

be in effect for an indefinite period, the 

Committee would continue to meet 

prior to or during each crop year to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations for 

modification of the assessment rate. The 

dates and times of Committee meetings 

are available from the Committee or 

AMS. Committee meetings are open to 

the public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

AMS would evaluate Committee 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking would be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s budget for subsequent crop 

years would be reviewed and, as 

appropriate, approved by AMS. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the AMS has 

considered the economic impact of this 

proposed rulemaking 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 

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 1,700 

producers of California raisins and 

approximately 17 handlers subject to 

regulation under the marketing order. 

Small agricultural producers of raisins 

are defined by the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) as those having 

annual receipts equal to or less than 

$4.0 million (NAICS code 111332, 

Grape Vineyards) and small agricultural 

service firms are defined as those whose 

annual receipts are equal to or less than 

$34.0 million (NAICS code 115114, 

Postharvest Crop Activities) (13 CFR 

121.201). 

Using USDA National Agricultural 

Statistics Service (NASS) data, the 2022 

season average value of utilized 

production of California processed 

raisin-type grapes (most of which are 

dried into raisins) is $376.618 million. 

Dividing that figure by 1,700 producers 

yields an annual average revenue per 

producer of $221,540, well below the 

SBA large farm size threshold of $4.0 

million. Therefore, in terms of average 

annual sales of processed raisin-type 

grapes, the majority of California raisin 

producers may be classified as small 

entities. 

To make a similar computation for 

handlers, the first step is to estimate a 

representative handler price received 

per pound for packaged raisins. Recent 

USDA purchases under the Commodity 

Procurement Program provide such an 

estimate. For the most recent raisin crop 

year used by the RAC (August 2022–July 

2023) the average price paid for 

packaged raisins purchased by the 

USDA for feeding programs was $1.56 

per pound. For that time period, the 

RAC provided a list of quantities 

delivered by handlers. When multiplied 

by the $1.56 price per pound, the results 

showed that 5 handlers had annual 

raisin receipts greater than $34 million, 

the SBA threshold level for a large 

handler. The remaining 12 handlers out 

of 17 are small handlers, using the SBA 

criterion. 

This proposed rulemaking would 

increase the assessment rate collected 

from handlers for the 2023–2024 and 

subsequent crop years from $22 to $24 

per ton of assessable raisins acquired by 

handlers. The Committee reviewed its 

ongoing activities and determined the 

expenses that would be reasonable and 

necessary to continue program 

operations for the 2023–2024 crop year. 

Additionally, the Committee considered 

that California raisin acreage and 

volume have steadily declined. 

Consequently, the revenue collected 

from assessments also decreased, while 

program operating costs have continued 

to increase. Ultimately, the Committee 

recommended budget totals $5,241,000 

for the 2023–2024 crop year. With the 

current assessment of $22 a ton, and an 

operating budget of $5,241,000, the 

Committee would face a deficit of over 

$1MM. At the recommended assessment 

rate of $24 per ton, the anticipated 

assessment income would be $4,608,000 

and would help reduce the estimated 

deficit by approximately $384,000. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2023–2024 crop year include $3,303,000 

for marketing promotion; $1,205,000 for 

salaries and employee-related costs; 

$658,000 for administrative expenses; 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 220 / Thursday, November 16, 2023 / Proposed Rules 78681 

$55,000 for compliance activities; and 

$20,000 for research and studies. 

Budgeted expenditures for the 2022– 

2023 crop year were $3,592,000; 

$1,232,000; $703,900; $55,000; and 

$45,000, respectively. The increased 

assessment rate is necessary to help 

cover the expenditures for the 2023– 

2024 crop year, while reducing the 

amount of money needing to be 

expended from reserves. 

The Order provides authority for the 

Committee to formulate an annual 

budget of expenses and propose an 

assessment rate to cover such expenses 

authorized by AMS. Prior to arriving at 

this budget and assessment rate, the 

Committee considered alternative 

spending levels at its June 28, 2023, 

meeting but ultimately decided that the 

recommended budget and assessment 

rate were reasonable and necessary to 

properly administer the Order. 

This proposed rulemaking would 

increase the assessment obligation 

imposed on handlers. While the 

increased assessment rate would impose 

some additional costs on handlers, the 

costs are minimal and applied 

uniformly on all handlers. Some of the 

additional costs may be passed on to 

producers. However, these costs would 

be offset by the benefits derived by the 

industry from the operation of the 

Order. 

The Committee’s meetings are widely 

publicized throughout the production 

area. The raisin industry and all 

interested persons are invited to attend 

the meetings and participate in 

Committee deliberations on all issues. 

Like all Committee meetings, the June 

28, 2023, meeting was public meeting 

and all entities, both large and small, 

were able to express views on this issue. 

In addition, interested persons are 

invited to submit comments on this 

proposed rulemaking, including the 

regulatory and information collection 

impacts of this action on small 

businesses. 

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 OMB and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, 

Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No 

changes in those requirements are 

necessary as a result of this action. 

Should any changes become necessary, 

they would be submitted to OMB for 

approval. 

This proposed rulemaking would not 

impose any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large California raisin 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. 

AMS has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this proposed rulemaking. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: https://

www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/ 

moa/small-businesses. Any questions 

about the compliance guide should be 

sent to Richard Lower at the previously 

mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendations 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, USDA has 

determined that this proposed 

rulemaking is consistent with and will 

effectuate the purposes of the Act. 

A 30-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rulemaking. All written 

comments timely received will be 

considered before a final determination 

is made on this proposed rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 989 

Grapes, Marketing agreements, 

Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service proposes to amend 7 CFR part 

989 as follows: 

PART 989—RAISINS PRODUCED 

FROM GRAPES GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 989 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 989.347 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 989.347 Assessment rate. 

On and after August 1, 2023, an 

assessment rate of $24 per ton is 

established for assessable raisins 

produced from grapes in California. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25247 Filed 11–15–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 1021 

[DOE–HQ–2023–0063] 

RIN 1990–AA48 

National Environmental Policy Act 

Implementing Procedures 

AGENCY: Office of the General Counsel, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE or the Department) 

proposes to amend its implementing 

procedures (regulations) governing 

compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 

proposed changes would add a 

categorical exclusion for certain energy 

storage systems and revise categorical 

exclusions for upgrading and rebuilding 

transmission lines and for solar 

photovoltaic systems, as well as make 

conforming changes to related sections 

of DOE’s NEPA regulations. The 

proposed changes are based on the 

experience of DOE and other Federal 

agencies, current technologies, 

regulatory requirements, and accepted 

industry practice. DOE invites public 

comments on the proposed changes. 

DATES: DOE must receive comments by 

January 2, 2024 to ensure consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Documents relevant to this 

proposed rulemaking are posted at 

www.regulations.gov (Docket: DOE–HQ– 

2023–0063). Documents posted to this 

docket include: this notice of proposed 

rulemaking and DOE’s Technical 

Support Document, which provides 

additional information regarding certain 

proposed changes and a redline/ 

strikeout version of affected sections of 

the DOE NEPA regulations indicating 

the changes in this proposed rule. 

Submit comments, labeled ‘‘DOE 

NEPA Implementing Procedures, RIN 

1990–AA48,’’ by one of the following 

methods: 

1. www.regulations.gov: Enter ‘‘Docket 

ID DOE–HQ–2023–0063’’ in the search 

box. Click on ‘‘Comment’’ to submit 

comments, which you may enter 

directly on the web page or by 

uploading in a file. 

2. Postal Mail: Mail comments to 

NEPA Rulemaking Comments, Office of 

NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC–54), 

U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Because 

security screening may delay mail sent 

through the U.S. Postal Service, DOE 

encourages electronic submittal of 


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