Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 169 / Tuesday, September 2, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 46179

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 1207 is amended

as follows:

PART 1207—POTATO RESEARCH

AND PROMOTION PLAN

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 1207 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2611–2627.

§ 1207.322 [Amended]

2. Section 1207.322 is amended by

suspending:

(A) Paragraph (a) in its entirety,

(B) In paragraph (b), the words ‘‘at

meetings’’ in the first sentence and the

entire last sentence,

(C) In paragraph (c), the entire last

sentence, and

(D) In paragraph (d), the entire last

two sentences of the introductory text

and paragraphs (d)(1) through (5).

3. In § 1207.503, paragraphs (a), (b),

and (c) are revised to read as follows:

§ 1207.503 Nominations.

(a) Pursuant to § 1207.322 of the plan,

the Board shall assist producers in

producing sections or States each year

to nominate producer members for the

Board. Such nominations may be

conducted at meetings or by mail

ballots. One individual shall be

nominated for each position to become

vacant. A list of nominees shall be

submitted to the Secretary for

consideration by November 1 of each

year.

(b) Pursuant to § 1207.322 of the plan,

the Board shall assist importers each

year to nominate importer members for

the Board. Such nominations may be

conducted at meetings or by mail

ballots.

(c) Nomination meetings or mail

balloting shall be well publicized with

notice given to producers, importers,

and the Secretary at least 10 days prior

to each meeting or mailing of ballots.

* * * * *

4. Section 1207.505 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 1207.505 Procedure.

(a) The procedure for conducting the

Board’s meetings shall be in accordance

with the bylaws adopted by the Board

on June 7, 1972, and approved by the

Secretary and any subsequent

amendments adopted by the Board and

approved by the Secretary.

(b) Each importer member shall be

entitled to not less than one vote.

Importer members shall also be entitled

to one additional vote for each 1 million

hundredweight, or major fraction

thereof, on a fresh-weight basis, of

imported tablestock potatoes, potato

products, or seed potatoes, as

determined by data on imports provided

by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The casting of such votes shall be

determined by the importer members.

5. In § 1207.513, paragraph (c)(2) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 1207.513 Payment of assessments.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(2) All designated handlers, including

a designated handler whose own

production is handled and assessments

to the Board paid by another designated

handler, shall report to the Board:

(i) Date of report (which is also date

of payment to the Board).

(ii) The name and address of the

designated handler;

(iii) The period potatoes were

handled;

(iv) The total quantity of potatoes

determined to be assessable during the

period potatoes were handled, pursuant

to § 1207.511.

* * * * *

Dated: August 26, 1997.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing

Service.

[FR Doc. 97–23307 Filed 8–28–97; 12:10

p.m.]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Parts 94 and 96

[Docket No. 97–002–2]

Change in Disease Status of Italy,

Except the Island of Sardinia, Because

of African Swine Fever

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are declaring Italy, with

the exception of the island of Sardinia,

free of African swine fever because there

have been no confirmed outbreaks of

African swine fever in Italy, except on

the island of Sardinia, since 1983. This

action will relieve certain restrictions on

the importation into the United States of

pork and pork products, including

swine casings, from all regions of Italy

except Sardinia. However, because hog

cholera and swine vesicular disease

exist in Italy, and because Italy, as a

member state of the European Union,

has certain trade practices regarding live

swine and pork and pork products that

are less restrictive than are acceptable to

the United States, the importation into

the United States of live swine and pork

and pork products from Italy will

continue to be subject to certain

restrictions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 17, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

John Cougill, Staff Veterinarian,

Products Program, National Center for

Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700

River Road, Unit 40, Riverdale, MD

20737–1231, (301) 734–8695; or e-mail:

jcougill@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94

(referred to below as the regulations)

prohibit or restrict the importation into

the United States of specified animals

and animal products in order to prevent

the introduction into the United States

of various animal diseases, including

rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease,

bovine spongiform encephalopathy,

swine vesicular disease, hog cholera,

and African swine fever (ASF). These

are dangerous and destructive

communicable diseases of ruminants

and swine.

On June 12, 1997, we published in the

Federal Register (62 FR 32051–32053,

Docket No. 97–002–1) a proposal to

amend the regulations to declare Italy,

with the exception of the island of

Sardinia, free of ASF. In that document,

we noted that because hog cholera and

swine vesicular disease exist in Italy,

and because Italy, as a member state of

the European Union, has certain trade

practices regarding live swine and pork

and pork products that are less

restrictive than are acceptable to the

United States, the importation into the

United States of live swine and pork

and pork products from Italy would

continue to be subject to certain

restrictions. We further proposed to

amend §§ 94.8 and 96.2 to include the

words ‘‘or part of a country’’ after

references to ‘‘a country’’ or ‘‘any

country’’ affected with ASF so that the

regulations in those sections would

remain accurate in light of the proposal

to recognize less than the entire country

of Italy as free of ASF. We also proposed

to make two nonsubstantive editorial

changes to the regulations in part 94.

We solicited comments concerning

our proposal for a 60-day period ending

on August 11, 1997. We received two

comments by that date. The comments

we received were from two foreign meat

processor associations and supported

the proposed rule.

Therefore, based on the rationale set

forth in the proposed rule, we are
46180 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 169 / Tuesday, September 2, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

adopting the provisions of the proposal

as a final rule without change.

Effective Date

This is a substantive rule that relieves

restrictions and, pursuant to the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made

effective less than 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register.

This rule removes certain restrictions on

the importation into the United States,

from all regions of Italy except Sardinia,

of pork and pork products, including

swine casings. We have determined that

approximately 2 weeks are needed to

ensure that Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service personnel at ports of

entry receive official notice of this

change in the regulations. Therefore, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this rule should be

made effective 15 days after publication

in the Federal Register.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. For this action,

the Office of Management and Budget

has waived its review process required

by Executive Order 12866.

This rule amends the regulations in

part 94 by removing Italy, except the

island of Sardinia, from the list of

countries where ASF exists or is

reasonably believed to exist. This action

relieves certain restrictions on the

importation of pork and pork products,

including swine casings, into the United

States from all areas of Italy except the

island of Sardinia. However, because

hog cholera and swine vesicular disease

exist in Italy, and because Italy, as a

member state of the European Union,

has certain trade practices regarding live

swine and pork and pork products that

are less restrictive than are acceptable to

the United States, the importation into

the United States of live swine and pork

and pork products from Italy will

continue to be subject to restrictions.

For this reason, no live swine, or fresh,

chilled, or frozen pork will be imported

from Italy as a result of this rule change.

Entities in the United States likely to

be affected by this rule are those entities

engaged in the production of swine and

processed pork products. According to

the Small Business Administration

(SBA) definition, a ‘‘small entity’’ in the

production of swine is an entity whose

total annual sales are less than $0.5

million. Under this definition,

approximately 96.3 percent of domestic

producers are considered to be small

entities. According to the SBA

definition, a small entity in the

production of pork products, including

meat packing plants, is an entity

employing fewer than 500 workers. In

1992, the most recent year for which

complete figures are available, over 95

percent of pork processors of all types

were considered small entities.

It is possible that imports of processed

pork products will be affected by this

rule, but we believe any change will be

minimal. Italy has not been declared

free of swine vesicular disease or hog

cholera, so there will continue to be

restrictions on the importation into the

United States of pork and pork

products, including dry-cured pork

products, from anywhere in Italy. Given

those continuing restrictions, we believe

any potential increase in imports of

processed pork products derived from

Italian swine will be minimal. The

economic impact of a slight increase in

those imports on U.S. swine producers

and processors of pork and pork

products is likewise expected to be

minimal.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State

and local laws and regulations that are

inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) does not

require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court

challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule contains no new

information collection or recordkeeping

requirements under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.).

List of Subjects

9 CFR Part 94

Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock,

Meat and meat products, Milk, Poultry

and poultry products, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

9 CFR Part 96

Imports, Livestock, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Accordingly, 9 CFR parts 94 and 96

are amended as follows:

PART 94—RINDERPEST, FOOT-ANDMOUTH DISEASE, FOWL PEST (FOWL

PLAGUE), EXOTIC NEWCASTLE

DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE FEVER,

HOG CHOLERA, AND BOVINE

SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY:

PROHIBITED AND RESTRICTED

IMPORTATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 94

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150ee, 161, 162,

and 450; 19 U.S.C. 1306; 21 U.S.C. 111, 114a,

134a, 134b, 134c, 134f, 136, and 136a; 31

U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331 and 4332; 7 CFR

2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

§ 94.4 [Amended]

2. In § 94.4, in the introductory text of

paragraph (b)(8) and in paragraph

(b)(8)(i)(C), footnotes 1 and 2 and their

references in the text are redesignated as

footnotes 2 and 3, respectively.

§ 94.6 [Amended]

3. Section 94.6 is amended as follows:

a. In paragraph (c)(2), footnote 1 and

its reference in the text are redesignated

as footnote 4.

b. In the introductory text of

paragraph (d), footnote 2 and its

reference in the text are redesignated as

footnote 5.

c. In paragraph (d)(1)(ix)(C)(1),

footnote 3 and its reference in the text

are redesignated as footnote 6.

§ 94.8 [Amended]

4. Section 94.8 is amended as follows:

a. In the introductory text of the

section, footnote 1 and its reference in

the text are redesignated as footnote 7,

and, in the text of newly redesignated

footnote 7, the words ‘‘or a part of a

country’’ are added after the word

‘‘country’’ the first time it appears.

b. In the introductory text of the

section, the words ‘‘All the countries of

Africa, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Italy, Malta,

and Portugal’’ are removed and the

words ‘‘All the countries of Africa;

Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Malta, and Portugal;

and the island of Sardinia, Italy’’ are

added in their place.

c. In the introductory text of

paragraph (a), the words ‘‘or part of a

country’’ are added after the word

‘‘country’’.

d. In paragraph (a)(3)(i)(A), the words

‘‘or part of a country’’ are added after

the word ‘‘country’’.

e. In paragraph (a)(3)(i)(B), footnote 2

and its reference in the text are

redesignated as footnote 8, and the

words ‘‘country listed’’ are removed and

the words ‘‘country or part of a country

listed’’ are added in their place.

f. In paragraph (a)(3)(iv)(A), the words

‘‘or parts of countries’’ are added after

the word ‘‘countries’’.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 169 / Tuesday, September 2, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 46181

g. In paragraph (a)(3)(v), the words ‘‘or

part of a country’’ are added after the

word ‘‘country’’.

h. In paragraph (c), the words ‘‘or part

of a country’’ are added after the word

‘‘country’’.

§ 94.9 [Amended]

5. In § 94.9, paragraph (a), footnote 1

and its reference in the text are

redesignated as footnote 9, and in

paragraph (b)(3) footnote 2 and its

reference in the text are redesignated as

footnote 10.

§ 94.12 [Amended]

6. In § 94.12, paragraph (b)(1)(iii)(B),

footnote 1 and its reference in the text

are redesignated as footnote 11, and in

paragraph (b)(3) footnote 2 and its

reference in the text are redesignated as

footnote 12.

§ 94.16 [Amended]

7. In § 94.16, paragraph (b)(2),

footnote 1 and its eight references in the

text are redesignated as footnote 13.

§ 94.17 [Amended]

8. In § 94.17, in paragraph (a), the

word ‘‘subpart’’ is removed and the

word ‘‘section’’ is added in its place,

and in paragraph (e), footnote 1 and its

reference in the text are redesignated as

footnote 14.

§ 94.18 [Amended]

9. In § 94.18, in paragraph (c)(2),

footnote 1 and its reference in the text

are redesignated as footnote 15, and in

paragraph (d)(1), footnote 2 and its

reference in the text are redesignated as

footnote 16.

PART 96—RESTRICTION OF

IMPORTATIONS OF FOREIGN ANIMAL

CASINGS OFFERED FOR ENTRY INTO

THE UNITED STATES

10. The authority citation for part 96

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 111, 136, and 136a; 7

CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

§ 96.2 [Amended]

11. In § 96.2, paragraph (a) is

amended by adding the words ‘‘or part

of a country’’ after the word ‘‘country’’

each time it appears.

Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of

August 1997.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97–23213 Filed 8–29–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Parts 207, 218, 430, 490, 501,

601, 820, 1013, 1017, and 1050

RIN 1901–AA76

Office of General Counsel; Inflation

Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties

AGENCY: Office of General Counsel,

Department of Energy.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(‘‘DOE’’) is issuing this final nondiscretionary rule to adjust DOE’s civil

monetary penalties (‘‘CMPs’’) for

inflation as mandated by the Debt

Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

This rule adjusts CMPs within the

jurisdiction of the DOE to the maximum

extent allowed by the Federal Civil

Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of

1990, as amended by the Debt

Collection Improvement Act of 1996.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 2, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen Duarte, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of General Counsel, GC–

74, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–9507.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

In order to preserve the deterrent

effect of civil penalties and foster

compliance with the law, the Federal

Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act

of 1990, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as

amended by the Debt Collection

Improvement Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–

134) (‘‘the Act’’), requires Federal

agencies to regularly adjust each CMP

provided by law within the jurisdiction

of the agency. The Act requires each

agency to make an initial inflationary

adjustment for all applicable civil

penalties within 180 days of the

enactment of the statute, and to make

further adjustments at least once every

four years.

The Act provides that any increase in

a CMP due to the calculated inflation

adjustments shall apply only to

violations that occur after the date the

increase takes effect and states that the

initial inflation adjustment may not

exceed 10 percent of the existing

penalty.

II. Method of Calculation

Under the Act, the inflation

adjustment for each applicable CMP is

determined by increasing the maximum

civil penalty amount per violation by

the cost-of-living adjustment. The ‘‘costof-living’’ adjustment is defined as the

amount by which the Consumer Price

Index (CPI) for the month of June of the

calendar year preceding the adjustment

exceeds the CPI for the month of June

of the year in which the amount of such

civil penalty was last set or adjusted

pursuant to law. Any calculated

increase under this adjustment is

rounded to the nearest—

(1) Multiple of $10 in the case of

penalties less than or equal to $100;

(2) Multiple of $100 in the case of

penalties greater than $100 but less than

or equal to $1,000;

(3) Multiple of $1000 in the case of

penalties greater than $1000 but less

than or equal to $10,000;

(4) Multiple of $5000 in the case of

penalties greater than $10,000 but less

than or equal to $100,000;

(5) Multiple of $10,000 in the case of

penalties greater than $100,000 but less

than or equal to $200,000; and

(6) Multiple of $25,000 in the case of

penalties greater than $200,000.

28 U.S.C. 2461 note, sec. 5.

For example, pursuant to section

13262 of Title 42 of the United States

Code, the DOE may impose a civil

penalty of up to $5,000 per violation

against any person who violates certain

sections of the Energy Policy Act of

1992 or any regulation issued under

such sections. This civil penalty was set

in 1992 and has not been adjusted. The

CPI for June 1996 is 156.7 and 140.2 for

June 1992. The inflation factor is 156.7/

140.2, or 1.117689. The maximum

penalty amount after the increase would

be $ 5588.45 and after rounding would

be $ 6,000. After applying the 10

percent limit on an initial increase,

however, the new maximum penalty

amount per violation is $5,500. DOE

made a similar calculation for each CMP

adjusted in this rulemaking.

III. Explanation of Final Rule

The following list summarizes the

existing DOE regulations containing

civil monetary penalties, and the

penalties before and after adjustment.

10 CFR 207.7 ............................................................................................................... ................................... $2,500 ....................... 2,750

10 CFR 218.42 ............................................................................................................. ................................... 5,000 ......................... 5,500

10 CFR 430.61 ............................................................................................................. ................................... 100 ............................ 110

10 CFR 490.604 ........................................................................................................... ................................... 5,000 ......................... 5,500