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

4662

Vol. 62, No. 21

Friday, January 31, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 56 and 70

[Docket No. PY–97–001]

Egg, Poultry, and Rabbit Grading

Increase in Fees and Charges

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) proposes to increase the

fees and charges for Federal voluntary

egg, poultry, and rabbit grading. These

fees and charges need to be increased to

cover the increase in salaries of Federal

employees, salary increases of State

employees cooperatively utilized in

administering the programs, and other

increased Agency costs.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before March 3, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments, in

duplicate, to Douglas C. Bailey, Chief,

Standardization Branch, Poultry

Division, Agricultural Marketing

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

room 3944–South, P.O. Box 96456,

Washington, DC 20090–6456.

Comments received may be inspected at

this location between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30

p.m., Eastern Time, Monday thru

Friday, except holidays. State that your

comments refer to Docket No. PY–97-

001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rex

A. Barnes, Chief, Grading Branch, (202)

720–3271.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

proposed rule has been determined to

be not significant for purposes of

Executive Order 12866 and has not been

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB).

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This action is not

intended to have retroactive effect. This

rule will not preempt any State or local

laws, regulations, or policies, unless

they present an irreconcilable conflict

with this rule. There are no

administrative procedures which must

be exhausted prior to any judicial

challenge to the provisions of this rule.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),

the AMS has considered the economic

impact of this action on small entities.

There are more than 400 users of the

Poultry Division’s grading services.

Many of these users are small entities

under the criteria established by the

Small Business Administration (13 CFR

121.601). This proposed rule will raise

the fees charged to businesses for

voluntary grading services for eggs,

poultry, and rabbits. The AMS estimates

that overall this rule would yield an

additional $1.2 million during fiscal

year 1998. Even though fees will be

raised, the hourly resident rate for

grading services will increase

approximately 5.5 percent and will not

significantly affect these entities. These

businesses are under no obligation to

use these grading services, and any

decision on their part to discontinue the

use of the services would not prevent

them from marketing their products.

The AMS has certified that this action

will not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities, as

defined in the RFA (5 U.S.C. 601).

The information collection

requirements that appear in the sections

to be amended by the proposed rule

have been previously approved by OMB

and assigned OMB Control Numbers

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1980 as follows: § 56.52(a)(4)—No.

0581–0128; and § 70.77(a)(4)—No.

0581–0127.

Background and Proposed Changes

The Agricultural Marketing Act

(AMA) of 1946 authorizes official

grading and certification on a user-fee

basis of eggs, poultry, and rabbits. The

AMA provides that reasonable fees be

collected from the user of the program

services to cover, as nearly as

practicable, the costs of services

rendered. AMS regularly reviews these

programs to determine if fees are

adequate and if costs are reasonable.

This proposal would amend the

schedule for fees and charges for

grading services rendered to the egg,

poultry, and rabbit industries to reflect

the costs currently associated with the

program.

In 1995 the egg products inspection

program was transferred to the Food

Safety and Inspection Service. In order

to offset the loss of efficiencies and to

avoid an increase in user fees for the

remaining shell egg and poultry grading

programs, AMS took several

streamlining actions in supervisory and

support activities. These actions

included reducing the number of

supervisory visits; consolidating and

closing submanagement offices;

consolidating the billing and support

functions into two regional offices;

realigning regional boundaries; and

substantially reducing the Washington,

D.C. headquarters staff. As a result, no

fee increase was necessary due to the

reorganization. However, increased

salaries and other costs and a

substantial shift from resident to

nonresident grading services now

require an increase in fees.

Employee salaries and benefits are

major program costs that account for

approximately 82 percent of the total

operating budget. A general and locality

salary increase for Federal employees,

ranging from 3.09 to 6.25 percent

depending on locality, effective January

1995, and an additional general and

locality salary increase, ranging from

2.39 to 2.87 percent depending upon

locality, effective January 1996, has

materially affected program costs.

Another general and locality salary

increase is scheduled in January 1997.

The general salary increase will be 2.3

percent. Also, from November 1994

through September 1997, salaries and

fringe benefits of federally licensed

State employees will have increased by

about 7 percent. Further, since October

1993, standardization program costs

must be recovered from user fees. As a

result, the hourly resident rate for

grading services will increase by

approximately 5.5 percent. The hourly

resident rate covers graders’ salaries,

fringe benefits, and related costs.

Another factor affecting the current

fee structure is the shift from resident to

nonresident grading services.

Historically, the majority of shell egg

and poultry grading has been done on

a resident basis according to the official

U.S. quality grade standards. Today,

however, a growing volume of shell eggs

and poultry is being traded according to

product-specific purchase requirements

where USDA certification is required,

work done increasingly on a
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 21 / Friday, January 31, 1997 / Proposed Rules 4663

nonresident fee basis. This shift has

increased the proportion of overhead

costs necessary to administer the

nonresident services. As a result, users

of nonresident services are not

supporting their share of the program’s

overhead costs under the present fee

structure.

A recent review of the fee schedule,

effective November 1, 1994, revealed

that anticipated revenue will not

adequately cover increasing program

costs. Without a fee increase, projected

FY 98 revenues for grading services are

$21.7 million with costs projected at

$23.1 million, and trust fund balances

would be below appropriate levels.

With a fee increase, projected FY 98

revenues are $22.9 million with costs

projected at $23.1 million.

The following table compares current

fees and charges with proposed fees and

charges for egg, poultry, and rabbit

grading as found in 7 CFR Parts 56 and

70:

Service Current Proposed

Resident shell egg and poultry grading—Administrative charges (supervision, other overhead and administrative

costs) assessed on the volume of product handled:

Per pound of poultry ............................................................................................................................................. .00031 .00033

Per 30-dozen case of shell eggs .......................................................................................................................... .036 .038

Minimum per month .............................................................................................................................................. 215 225

Maximum per month ............................................................................................................................................. 2,150 2,250

Nonresident shell egg and poultry grading and Resident rabbit grading—Administrative charge based on 25% of

grader’s salary, minimum per month ........................................................................................................................ 215 225

Nonresident fee basis poultry, shell egg and rabbit grading:

—Regular time, rate per hour ............................................................................................................................... 33.64 38.96

—Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, rate per hour .................................................................................... 35.52 43.24

Appeal grading and Review of grader’s decision—Rate per hour .............................................................................. 27.36 30.56

Inauguration of resident grading service ..................................................................................................................... 310 310

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 56

Eggs and egg products, Food grades

and standards, Food labeling, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

7 CFR Part 70

Food grades and standards, Food

labeling, Poultry and poultry products,

Rabbits and rabbit products, Reporting

and recordkeeping requirements.

For reasons set forth in the preamble,

it is proposed that 7 CFR, Parts 56 and

70 be amended as follows:

PART 56—GRADING OF SHELL EGGS

1. The authority citation for Part 56

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.

2. In § 56.46, paragraphs (b) and (c)

are revised to read as follows:

§ 56.46 On a fee basis.

* * * * *

(b) Fees for grading services will be

based on the time required to perform

the services. The hourly charge shall be

$38.96 and shall include the time

actually required to perform the grading,

waiting time, travel time, and any

clerical costs involved in issuing a

certificate.

(c) Grading services rendered on

Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays

shall be charged for at the rate of $43.24

per hour. Information on legal holidays

is available from the Supervisor.

3. § 56.47 is revised to read as follows:

§ 56.47 Fees for appeal grading or review

of a grader’s decision.

The cost of an appeal grading or

review of a grader’s decision shall be

borne by the appellant at an hourly rate

of $30.56 for the time spent in

performing the appeal and travel time to

and from the site of the appeal, plus any

additional expenses. If the appeal

grading or review of a grader’s decision

discloses that a material error was made

in the original determination, no fee or

expenses will be charged.

4. In § 56.52, paragraph (a)(4) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 56.52 Continuous grading performed on

resident basis.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(4) An administrative service charge

based upon the aggregate number of 30-

dozen cases of all shell eggs handled in

the plant per billing period multiplied

by $0.038, except that the minimum

charge per billing period shall be $225

and the maximum charge shall be

$2,250. The minimum charge also

applies where an approved application

is in effect and no product is handled.

* * * * *

5. In § 56.54, paragraph (a)(2) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 56.54 Charges for continuous grading

performed on a nonresident basis.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(2) An administrative service charge

equal to 25 percent of the grader’s total

salary costs. A minimum charge of $225

will be made each billing period. The

minimum charge also applies where an

approved application is in effect and no

product is handled.

* * * * *

PART 70—VOLUNTARY GRADING OF

POULTRY PRODUCTS AND RABBIT

PRODUCTS

6. The authority citation for Part 70

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.

7. In § 70.71, paragraphs (b) and (c)

are revised to read as follows:

§ 70.71 On a fee basis.

* * * * *

(b) Fees for grading services will be

based on the time required to perform

such services for class, quality, quantity

(weight test), or condition, whether

ready-to-cook poultry, ready-to-cook

rabbits, or specified poultry food

products are involved. The hourly

charge shall be $38.96 and shall include

the time actually required to perform

the work, waiting time, travel time, and

any clerical costs involved in issuing a

certificate.

(c) Grading services rendered on

Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays

shall be charged for at the rate of $43.24

per hour. Information on legal holidays

is available from the Supervisor.

8. § 70.72 is revised to read as follows:

§ 70.72 Fees for appeal grading, or

examination or review of a grader’s

decision.

The costs of an appeal grading, or

examination or review of a grader’s

decision, will be borne by the appellant

at an hourly rate of $30.56 for the time

spent in performing the appeal and
4664 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 21 / Friday, January 31, 1997 / Proposed Rules

travel time to and from the site of the

appeal, plus any additional expenses. If

the appeal grading, or examination or

review of a grader’s decision, discloses

that a material error was made in the

original determination, no fee or

expenses will be charged.

9. In § 70.76, paragraph (a)(2) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 70.76 Charges for continuous poultry

grading performed on a nonresident basis.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(2) An administrative service charge

equal to 25 percent of the grader’s total

salary costs. A minimum charge of $225

will be made each billing period. The

minimum charge also applies where an

approved application is in effect and no

product is handled.

* * * * *

10. In § 70.77, paragraphs (a)(4) and

(a)(5) are revised to read as follows:

§ 70.77 Charges for continuous poultry or

rabbit grading performed on a resident

basis.

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(4) For poultry grading: An

administrative service charge based

upon the aggregate weight of the total

volume of all live and ready-to-cook

poultry handled in the plant per billing

period computed in accordance with the

following: Total pounds per billing

period multiplied by $0.00033, except

that the minimum charge per billing

period shall be $225 and the maximum

charge shall be $2,250. The minimum

charge also applies where an approved

application is in effect and no product

is handled.

(5) For rabbit grading: An

administrative service charge equal to

25 percent of the grader’s total salary

costs. A minimum charge of $225 will

be made each billing period. The

minimum charge also applies where an

approved application is in effect and no

product is handled.

* * * * *

Dated: January 27, 1997.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–2404 Filed 1–30–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 96–063–3]

Imported Fire Ant; Approved

Treatments

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend

the imported fire ant regulations to

lengthen the certification period for

containerized nursery stock treated with

a 10 parts per million dosage of the

insecticide tefluthrin in its granular

formulation and to remove the 15 parts

per million dosage rate for granular

tefluthrin. Research has demonstrated

that a 10 parts per million dosage of

granular tefluthrin is efficacious for 18

months, which is 12 months longer than

the current certification period for that

dosage and 6 months longer than the

current certification period for a 15

parts per million dosage. Lengthening

the certification period for the 10 parts

per million dosage and removing the 15

parts per million dosage would reduce

the amount of insecticide used, which

would reduce the costs incurred by

persons moving containerized nursery

stock interstate from areas quarantined

for the imported fire ant.

DATES: Consideration will be given only

to comments received on or before

March 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 96–063–3, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 96–063–3. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA,

room 1141, South Building, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Ronald P. Milberg, Operations Officer,

Program Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700

River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD

20737–1236, (301) 734–5255; or E-mail:

rmilberg@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta

Buren and Solenopsis richteri Forel, are

aggressive, stinging insects that, in large

numbers, can seriously injure or even

kill livestock, pets, and humans. The

imported fire ant feeds on crops and

builds large, hard mounds that damage

farm and field machinery.

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart—

Imported Fire Ant’’ (7 CFR 301.81

through 301.81–10, referred to below as

the regulations) quarantine infested

States or infested areas within States

and impose restrictions on the interstate

movement of certain regulated articles

from those quarantined States or areas

for the purpose of preventing the

artificial spread of the imported fire ant.

Sections 301.81–4 and 301.81–5 of the

regulations provide, among other things,

that regulated articles requiring

treatment prior to interstate movement

must be treated in accordance with the

methods and procedures prescribed in

the appendix to the subpart, which sets

forth the treatment provisions of the

‘‘Imported Fire Ant Program Manual.’’

Currently, the appendix offers three

dosage rate/certification period options

for granular tefluthrin: 0 to 6 months for

a 10 parts per million (ppm) dosage, 0

to 12 months for a 15 ppm dosage, and

a continuous certification period for a

25 ppm dosage.

Tests conducted by the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

at its Imported Fire Ant Methods

Development Station (IFAMDS) in

Gulfport, MS, have demonstrated that

granular tefluthrin incorporated at a

dosage rate of 10 ppm into soil or

potting media for containerized nursery

stock is efficacious for 18 months. This

is 12 months longer than the current

certification period for a 10 ppm dosage

and 6 months longer than the current

certification period for a 15 ppm dosage.

Based on that efficacy data, we have

determined that containerized nursery

stock could be certified for interstate

movement for 18 months after treatment

with granular tefluthrin at a dosage rate

of 10 ppm.

Therefore, we are proposing to amend

the appendix to the regulations by

increasing the certification period for

the 10 ppm dosage of granular tefluthrin

from 0–6 months to 0–18 months. In

light of that longer certification period

for the lower 10 ppm dosage, the 15

ppm dosage, which has a certification

period of 0 to 12 months, would no

longer be necessary and would be

removed. The dosage rate of 25 ppm

would be required for certification of

containerized nursery stock for

interstate movement from quarantined

areas for more than 18 months.