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

43827 

Vol. 78, No. 140 

Monday, July 22, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 947 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–13–0036; FV13–947–1 

PR] 

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: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule invites 

comments on the termination of 

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 order is administered locally by the 

Oregon-California Potato Committee 

(Committee), which recommended 

termination of the marketing order at a 

meeting held on March 7, 2013. This 

recommendation is based on the 

Committee’s determination that the 

order is no longer an effective marketing 

tool for the Oregon-California potato 

industry, and that termination would 

best serve the current needs of the 

industry while also eliminating the 

costs associated with operating the 

marketing order. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 20, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposal. Comments 

must be sent to the Docket Clerk, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Fax: (202) 720–8938; or 

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

Comments should reference the 

document number and the date and 

page number of this issue of the Federal 

Register and will be 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 proposal 

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 

comments will be made public on the 

Internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathleen Bright, Marketing Order and 

Agreement Division, Fruit and 

Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Stop 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 205–2830, Fax: (202) 

720–8938 or Email: 

Kathleen.Bright@ams.usda.gov or 

Michelle Sharrow, Marketing Order and 

Agreement Division, Fruit and 

Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA; 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Stop 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–9921, Fax: (202) 

720–8938 or Email: 

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 

proposal is governed by § 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’’. 

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this proposed rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This proposal to terminate the order 

has been reviewed under Executive 

Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform. This 

proposed 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 

the termination of the order 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 

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 not 

later than 60 days before the date 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 

marketing research and development 

projects, the collection of assessments, 

and 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) consist of minimum quality 

requirements for potatoes produced 

within the regulated production area. 

When the Committee made the 


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43828 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 140 / Monday, July 22, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

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 the collection of assessments 

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 collection of 

assessment regulations, the Committee 

has determined that suspension of the 

regulations has not adversely impacted 

the Oregon-California potato industry. 

Analysis of the marketing conditions 

over the past 14 years, and analysis of 

statistics showing that the OregonCalifornia potato industry has steadily 

declined over the past several years, 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 there were 30 years 

ago, and that acreage and production 

have significantly decreased. For 

example, USDA Marketing Order and 

Agreement Division records from a 

continuance referendum in 1978 

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 operating. 

Committee records also indicate that 

6,810,195 hundredweight of OregonCalifornia potatoes were shipped in 

1978 as compared to the 3,430,548 

hundredweight shipped in 2011. 

The proposed termination of the order 

is intended to solicit input and any 

additional information available from 

interested parties regarding whether the 

order should be terminated. USDA will 

evaluate all available information prior 

to making a final determination on this 

matter. Termination of the order would 

become effective only after a 60-day 

notification to Congress as required by 

law. 

Initial 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 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 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 reports 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 average producer prices, 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, 

or approximately 94 percent, had 

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

In view of the foregoing, the majority of 

Oregon-California potato producers and 

handlers may be classified as small 

entities. 

This proposed rule would terminate 

the Federal marketing order for OregonCalifornia potatoes and the rules and 

regulations issued thereunder. The 

order authorizes regulation of the 

handling of Oregon-California 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 Oregon-California 

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, § 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; 

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. 

This proposed rule is intended to 

solicit input and other available 

information from interested parties on 

whether the order should be terminated. 

USDA will evaluate all available 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 140 / Monday, July 22, 2013 / Proposed Rules 43829 

information prior to making a final 

determination on this matter. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the information collection 

requirements being terminated were 

approved previously 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. 

Since handlers would no longer be 

required to file forms with the 

Committee, this proposed rule would 

not impose any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large entities. 

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. 

The Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the OregonCalifornia potato industry, and all 

interested persons were invited to 

attend the meeting and participate in 

the Committee’s deliberations. Like all 

Committee meetings, the March 7, 2013, 

meeting was a public meeting, and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. 

Additionally, interested persons are 

invited to submit information on 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: 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. 

This proposal invites comments on 

the termination of Marketing Order No. 

947, which regulates the handling of 

Irish potatoes grown in Modoc and 

Siskiyou Counties, California, and in all 

counties in Oregon, except Malheur 

County. All written comments received 

in a timely manner will be considered 

before a final determination is made on 

this matter. 

Based on the foregoing, and pursuant 

to § 608c(16)(A) of the Act and § 947.71 

of the order, USDA is considering 

termination of the order. If USDA 

decides to terminate the order, trustees 

would be appointed to conclude and 

liquidate the affairs of the Committee, 

and would continue in that capacity 

until discharged by USDA. In addition, 

USDA would notify Congress 60 days in 

advance of termination pursuant to 

§ 608c(16)(A) of the Act. 

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, under the authority of 7 

U.S.C. 601–674, 7 CFR part 947 is 

proposed to be removed. 

Dated: July 16, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–17464 Filed 7–19–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

12 CFR Parts 208 and 225 

[Regulations H, Q, and Y; Docket No. R– 

1459] 

RIN 7100 AD–98 

Risk-Based Capital Guidelines; Market 

Risk 

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPR). 

SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System (Board) 

proposes to revise its market risk capital 

rule (market risk rule) to address recent 

changes to the Country Risk 

Classifications (CRCs) published by the 

Organization for Economic Cooperation 

and Development (OECD), which are 

referenced in the Board’s market risk 

rule; to clarify the treatment of certain 

traded securitization positions; to make 

a technical amendment to the definition 

of covered position; and to clarify the 

timing of the required market risk 

disclosures. These changes would 

conform the Board’s current market risk 

rule to the requirements in the Board’s 

new capital framework and thereby 

allow the current market risk rule to 

serve as a bridge until the new capital 

framework becomes fully effective for 

all banking organizations. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before September 3, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be 

directed to: 

When submitting comments, please 

consider submitting your comments by 

email or fax because paper mail in the 

Washington, DC area and at the Board 

may be subject to delay. You may 

submit comments, identified by Docket 

No. R–1459 and RIN No. 7100 AD–98, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Agency Web site: http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments at 

http://www.federalreserve.gov/ 

generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm. 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: 

regs.comments@federalreserve.gov. 

Include the Docket and RIN numbers in 

the subject line of the message. 

• Fax: (202) 452–3819 or (202) 452– 

3102. 

• Mail: Robert deV. Frierson, 

Secretary, Board of Governors of the 

Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20551. 

All public comments are available 

from the Board’s Web site at http:// 

www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/ 

foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 

unless modified for technical reasons. 

Accordingly, your comments will not be 

edited to remove any identifying or 

contact information. Public comments 

may also be viewed electronically or in 

paper form in Room MP–500 of the 

Board’s Martin Building (20th and C 

Street NW., Washington, DC 20551) 

between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Constance Horsley, Manager, (202) 452– 

5239, or Tim Geishecker, Senior 

Supervisory Financial Analyst, (202) 

475–6353, Capital and Regulatory 

Policy, Division of Banking Supervision 

and Regulation; or Benjamin 

McDonough, Senior Counsel, (202) 452– 

2036, or Mark Buresh, Attorney (202) 

452–5270, Legal Division, Board of 

Governors of the Federal Reserve 

System, 20th and C Streets NW., 

Washington, DC 20551. For the hearing 

impaired only, Telecommunication 

Device for the Deaf (TDD), (202) 263– 

4869. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On August 30, 2012, the Office of the 

Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the 

Board of Governors of the Federal 

Reserve System (Board), and the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 


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