Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 4 / Tuesday, January 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 915

Dated: December 5, 1996.

William E. Ludwig,

Administrator, Food and Consumer Services.

Dated: December 20, 1996.

Stephen B. Dewhurst,

Director, Office of Budget and Program

Analysis.

Dated: December 20, 1996.

Keith Collins,

Chief Economist.

Dated: December 23, 1996.

Dan Dager,

Acting Executive Assistant to the Under

Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer

Services.

[FR Doc. 97–116 Filed 1–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 929

[Docket No. FV–96–929–2FR]

Cranberries Grown in the States of

Massachusetts, Rhode Island,

Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin,

Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon,

Washington, and Long Island in the

State of New York; Change in

Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule changes the

reporting requirements currently

prescribed under the cranberry

marketing order. The marketing order

regulates the handling of cranberries

grown in 10 States and is administered

locally by the Cranberry Marketing

Committee (committee). This rule

allows the committee to collect receipt

and inventory information from

handlers on a different species of

cranberries. This rule will provide more

accurate information to the cranberry

industry to be used in making marketing

decisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This final rule becomes

effective February 6, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patricia A. Petrella or Kathleen M. Finn,

Marketing Specialists, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, F&V, AMS,

USDA, room 2530–S, P.O. Box 96456,

Washington, DC 20090–6456: telephone:

(202) 720–1509, Fax #(202) 720–5698.

Small businesses may request

information on compliance with this

regulation by contacting: Jay Guerber,

Marketing Order Administration

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division,

AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room

2525–S, Washington, DC 20090–6456;

telephone (202) 720–2491; Fax #(202)

720–5698.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final

rule is issued under Marketing Order

No. 929 (7 CFR part 929), as amended,

regulating the handling of cranberries

grown in 10 States, hereinafter referred

to as the ‘‘order.’’ 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 Department of Agriculture

(Department) is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

This final rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This rule is not intended

to have retroactive effect. This final rule

will not preempt any State or local laws,

regulations, or policies, unless they

present an irreconcilable conflict with

this rule.

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 Secretary 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 the Secretary 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 the Secretary’s ruling on the

petition, provided an action is filed not

later than 20 days after date of the entry

of the ruling.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),

the Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS) has considered the economic

impact of this final rule on small

entities.

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 rules issued thereunder, are

unique in that they are brought about

through group action of essentially

small entities acting on their own

behalf. Thus, both statutes have small

entity orientation and compatibility.

There are approximately 25 handlers

of cranberries who are subject to

regulation under the marketing order

and approximately 1,400 producers of

cranberries in the regulated area. Small

agricultural service firms, which

includes handlers, have been defined by

the Small Business Administration (13

CFR 121.601) as those having annual

receipts of less than $5,000,000, and

small agricultural producers are defined

as those having annual receipts of less

than $500,000. The majority of handlers

and producers of cranberries may be

classified as small entities.

Handlers are already required to

complete a form four times a year

reporting all regulated cranberries on

hand for a specified period, all

cranberries acquired and sold, and the

new balance of cranberries on hand.

This rule authorizes adding data to this

form requiring information on a new

variety of cranberries not regulated

under the order. The form has an

estimated burden time of two hours. No

additional burden time will be added to

this form to acquire this information. In

addition, because the industry relies on

the comprehensive information

provided by the committee, it is critical

that the committee obtain accurate

information. This information will be

used in making marketing decisions and

the additional burden on handlers, if

any, will not be significant.

Therefore, the AMS has determined

that this action will not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

This final rule changes the reporting

requirements currently prescribed under

the cranberry marketing order. This rule

allows the committee to collect receipt

and inventory information from

handlers on a different species of

cranberries. This rule will provide more

accurate information to the cranberry

industry to be used in making marketing

decisions. The committee unanimously

recommended the above change.

The request for this information will

be incorporated on the handler

inventory report, a form already used by

the committee. The request of this

information should not constitute a

significant burden on a business unit,

large or small. Currently, the estimated

reporting burden per response for the

handler inventory report is two hours.

The burden time will not change with

the additional data request.

Section 929.62(e) of the cranberry

marketing order provides authority to

require handlers to furnish to the

committee information with respect to

acquisitions and dispositions of

cranberries. This section also provides

authority to require handlers to file

reports to the committee as to the

quantity of cranberries handled by such

handler during any designated period.
916 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 4 / Tuesday, January 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Under the marketing order,

cranberries are defined as all varieties of

the fruit Vaccinium macrocarpon grown

in the production area. In 1995, the

cranberry industry experienced a short

crop coupled with increased demand.

To replace the shortage of Vaccinium

macrocarpon, handlers have

supplemented their inventories with

Vaccinium oxycoccus which is a

European species of cranberry,

recognized by the Food and Drug

Administration as a cranberry. Because

of the increase in volume of this species

of cranberry, it is important to the

cranberry industry to know the amount

of Vaccinium oxycoccus that is being

acquired and utilized by handlers.

The order authorizes the committee to

recommend limiting the quantities of

cranberries which may be handled

during any fiscal period. The Secretary

would establish a volume regulation

based on information received from the

committee if the Secretary found that

such regulation would effectuate the

declared policy of the Act. The

committee is considered by the industry

as the source for comprehensive

cranberry related data, primarily data

relating to production, supplies,

utilization and inventories. Therefore, it

is critical to the committee to receive

comprehensive information on

cranberries.

The committee will be able to use this

information on Vaccinium oxycoccus

when considering its decisions to

implement volume regulation within

the industry. Since this species is not

regulated under the order, the

committee needs to know the quantities

and which handlers have acquired

Vaccinium oxycoccus in order to keep

the data on the non-regulated species

separate and apart from the data on the

regulated species, Vaccinium

macrocarpon.

Therefore, the committee

recommended that section 929.105 be

revised by adding a new subparagraph

(c) that requires that handlers also

report on the same form as currently

filed with the committee, the total

quantity of Vaccinium oxycoccus

cranberries the handler acquired and the

disposition of such cranberries. Also,

the handler are required to report the

respective quantities of Vaccinium

oxycoccus cranberries and cranberry

products held by the handler.

The committee and its staff are

responsible for keeping information on

individual handlers’ inventories and

receipt confidential. Information

gathered by the committee, including

information relating to supplies of this

non-regulated species of cranberries,

will only be reported in the aggregate,

along with other pertinent cranberry

data.

The proposed rule concerning this

action was published in the August 21,

1996, Federal Register (61 FR 43186),

with a 30-day comment period ending

September 20, 1996. No comments were

received. The proposed rule also

announced AMS’s intention to request a

revision to the currently approved

information collection requirements

issued under the marketing order. The

information collection requirements

contained in the referenced sections

have been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under

the provisions of 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35

and have been assigned OMB number

0581–0103.

After consideration of all relevant

matter presented, including the

information and recommendations

submitted by the committee and other

available information, it is hereby found

that this rule, as hereinafter set forth,

will tend to effectuate the declared

policy of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 929

Cranberries, Marketing agreements,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 929 is amended as

follows:

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 929 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

PART 929—CRANBERRIES GROWN IN

THE STATES OF MASSACHUSETTS,

RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW

JERSEY, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN,

MINNESOTA, OREGON,

WASHINGTON, AND LONG ISLAND IN

THE STATE OF NEW YORK

§ 929.105 [Amended]

2. In § 929.105, paragraphs (b) (1) and

(2) are amended by adding the words

‘‘and Vaccinium oxycoccus cranberries’’

after the word ‘‘cranberries’’ everywhere

they appear and paragraph (b)(2) is

amended by adding the words ‘‘and

Vaccinium oxycoccus cranberry

products’’ after the words ‘‘cranberry

products’’.

Dated: December 31, 1996.

Robert C. Keeney,

Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 97–276 Filed 1–6– 97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Part 959

[Docket No. FV96–959–1 IFR]

Onions Grown in South Texas;

Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request

for comments.

SUMMARY: This interim final rule

establishes an assessment rate for the

South Texas Onion Committee

(Committee) under Marketing Order No.

959 for the 1996–97 and subsequent

fiscal periods. The Committee is

responsible for local administration of

the marketing order which regulates the

handling of onions grown in South

Texas. Authorization to assess Texas

onion handlers enables the Committee

to incur expenses that are reasonable

and necessary to administer the

program.

DATES: Effective on August 1, 1996.

Comments received by February 6,

1997, will be considered prior to

issuance of a final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this rule. Comments must be

sent in triplicate to the Docket Clerk,

Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS,

USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2525–S,

Washington, DC 20090–6456, FAX 202–

720–5698. Comments should reference

the docket 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Belinda G. Garza, Marketing Specialist,

McAllen Marketing Field Office, Fruit

and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA,

1313 East Hackberry, McAllen, TX

78501, telephone 210–682–2833, FAX

210–682–5942, or Martha Sue Clark,

Program Assistant, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.

Box 96456, room 2525–S, Washington,

DC 20090- 6456, telephone 202–720–

9918; FAX 202–720–5698. Small

businesses may request information on

compliance with this regulation by

contacting: Jay Guerber, Marketing

Order Administration Branch, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.

Box 96456, room 2525–S, Washington,

DC 20090-6456; telephone 202–720–

2491; FAX 202–720–5698.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under Marketing Agreement

No. 143 and Order No. 959, both as

amended (7 CFR part 959), regulating

the handling of onions grown in South