66036 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules

(2) For quality and condition

inspection and/or condition only

inspection of products in quantities of

50 or less packages unloaded from the

same conveyance:

(i) $43 for each individual product.

(ii) $14 for each additional lot of any

of the same product.

(b) When performing inspections of

palletized products unloaded directly

from sea transportation or when

palletized product is first offered for

inspection before being transported

from the dock-side facility, charges shall

be determined on the following basis:

(1) For each package inspected

according to the following rates:

(i) 1.1 cent per package weighing less

than 15 pounds;

(ii) 2.2 cents per package weighing 15

to 29 pounds; and,

(iii) 3.3 cents per package weighing 30

or more pounds.

(2) $14 for each additional lot of any

of the same product.

(3) A minimum charge of $86 for each

product inspected.

(c) When performing inspections of

products from sea containers unloaded

directly from sea transportation or when

palletized products unloaded directly

from sea transportation are not offered

for inspection at dockside, the carlot

fees in § 51.38(a) shall apply.

(d) When performing inspections for

Government agencies, or for purposes

other than those prescribed in the

preceding paragraphs, including weightonly and freezing-only inspections, fees

for inspection shall be based on the time

consumed by the grader in connection

with such inspections, computed at a

rate of $43 an hour: Provided, That:

(1) Charges for time shall be rounded

to the nearest half hour;

(2) The minimum fee shall be two

hours for weight-only inspections, and

one-half hour for other inspections; and

(3) When weight certification is

provided in addition to quality and/or

condition inspection, a one-hour charge

shall be added to the carlot fee.

(4) When inspections are performed to

certify product compliance for Defense

Personnel Support Centers, the daily or

weekly charge shall be determined by

multiplying the total hours consumed to

conduct inspections by the hourly rate.

The daily or weekly charge shall be

prorated among applicants by

multiplying the daily or weekly charge

by the percentage of product passed

and/or failed for each applicant during

that day or week. Waiting time and

overtime charges shall be charged

directly to the applicant responsible for

their incurrence.

(e) When performing inspections at

the request of the applicant during

periods which are outside the grader’s

regularly scheduled work week, a

charge for overtime or holiday work

shall be made at the rate of $21.50 per

hour or portion thereof in addition to

the carlot equivalent fee, package

charge, or hourly charge specified in

this subpart. Overtime or holiday

charges for time shall be rounded to the

nearest half hour.

(f) When an inspection is delayed

because product is not available or

readily accessible, a charge for waiting

time shall be made at the prevailing

hourly rate in addition to the carlot

equivalent fee, package charge, or

hourly charge specified in this subpart.

Waiting time shall be rounded to the

nearest half hour.

Dated: December 11, 1997

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs.

[FR Doc. 97–32813 Filed 12–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

7 CFR Parts 800 and 810

United States Standards for Rye

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Federal Grain Inspection

Service (FGIS) of the Grain Inspection,

Packers and Stockyards Administration

(GIPSA) proposes to revise the United

States Standards for Rye to certificate

dockage to the nearest tenth of a

percent. The current method of dockage

certification rounds the actual dockage

percentage down to the nearest whole

percent. This method may result in

understating the level of dockage up to

0.99 percent on the certificate.

Certification of dockage to the nearest

tenth of a percent is more precise than

the current method and should enhance

the marketability of U.S. Rye traded in

the domestic and export markets. This

change would also require the

establishment of new inspection

tolerances or breakpoints, as

appropriate.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on

or before February 17, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments must be

submitted to George Wollam, GIPSA,

USDA, Room 0623–S, Stop 3649,

Washington, D.C., 20250–3649; FAX

(202) 720–4628; or E-mail

gwollam@fgisdc.usda.gov.

All comments received will be made

available for public inspection at Room

0623 South Building, 1400

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, D.C., during regular

business hours (7 CFR 1.27 (b)).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Wollam, address as above,

telephone (202) 720–0292.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

The Department of Agriculture is

issuing this rule in conformance with

Executive Order 12866.

Executive Order 12988

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This action is not

intended to have a retroactive effect.

The United States Grain Standards Act

provides in Section 87g that no State or

subdivision may require or impose any

requirements or restrictions concerning

the inspection, weighing, or description

of grain under the Act. Otherwise, this

proposed rule will not preempt any

State or local laws, regulations, or

policies, unless they present an

irreconcilable conflict with this

proposed rule. There are no

administrative procedures which must

be exhausted prior to any judicial

challenge to the provisions of this

proposed rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

GIPSA has determined that this

proposed rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities, as defined in

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601 et seq.), because most users of the

official inspection and weighing

services and those entities that perform

these services do not meet the

requirements for small entities. Further,

the regulations are applied equally to all

entities.

The rye industry, including

producers, handlers, exporters and

processors, are the primary users of the

U.S. Standards for Rye and utilize the

official standards as a common trading

language to market rye.

The rye industry in the United States

is regional in nature, concentrated

primarily in the upper midwest area.

There are an estimated 10 processors of

rye, utilizing a crop produced on

approximately 355,000 acres in the

United States. The average annual

production of rye for the period 1988

through 1997 was 10,045,000 bushels.

No rye has been officially inspected for

export from the United States for several

years.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules 66037

The current method of dockage

certification rounds the actual dockage

percentage down to the nearest whole

percent. This method may result in

understating the level of dockage up to

0.99 percent on the certificate.

Certification of dockage to the nearest

tenth of a percent is more precise than

the current method and should enhance

the marketability of U.S. Rye traded in

the domestic and potentially, the export

markets. The potential benefits of

revising the dockage certification

procedure to report rye dockage to the

nearest tenth of a percent include a

more accurate description of the raw

grain and the potential to improve

pricing efficiency within the market.

Certification to the nearest tenth of a

percent would be more precise. A

corresponding change would be made to

the inspection tolerances or breakpoints,

as appropriate.

Further, we understand that the rye

industry already trades on dockage

reported in tenths of a percent. Small

entities, therefore, should experience no

significant economic impact from these

proposed changes.

Background

Certification of Dockage in Rye

Dockage consists primarily of dust,

chaff, small weed seeds, very small

pieces of broken rye, and coarse grains

larger than rye. Domestic handlers and

millers usually remove dockage during

grain cleaning and may use it as animal

feed. Foreign buyers use dockage in a

variety of ways. Some use the dockage

in animal feed, others mill the dockage

with the rye, and some remove and

discard the dockage.

In the current Official United States

Standards for Grain (7 CFR part 810),

the percentage of rye dockage is

certified by rounding down to the

nearest 1.0 percent (7 CFR 810.104 (b)).

For example, for 0.0 to 0.99 percent, no

dockage is reported on the certificate,

1.00 to 1.99 percent is reported as 1.0

percent dockage, 2.00 to 2.99 is reported

as 2.0 percent dockage, and so forth. A

domestic handler/processor has

questioned the adequacy of the current

dockage certification method asserting

that the actual dockage is almost always

understated. Further, the handler/

processor suggested that the current

U.S. Standards for Rye are not relevant,

as the domestic rye industry trades on

a dockage basis expressed in tenths of

a percent and not whole percents.

Therefore, GIPSA is seeking industry

comment for changing the current

reporting and certification procedure to

the nearest tenth percent on official

inspection certificates to more

accurately and precisely state dockage

content in rye. Further, this action

should also promote pricing efficiency.

Inspection Plan Tolerances

Shiplots, unit trains, and lash barge

lots are inspected with a statistically

based inspection plan. Inspection

tolerances, commonly referred to as

‘‘breakpoints,’’ are used to determine

acceptable quality. The proposed

change requires the establishment of a

new breakpoint that reflects the greater

accuracy to which rye dockage is

proposed to be calculated and reported.

Therefore, GIPSA proposes to change

the current breakpoint for rye dockage

which is listed in Table 14 of section

800.86(c)(2). Specifically, GIPSA

proposes to change the breakpoint from

0.32 to 0.2.

Proposed Action

GIPSA proposes to revise § 800.86,

Inspection of shiplot, unit train, and

lash barge grain in single lots, paragraph

(c)(2) Table 14, by changing the

breakpoint for dockage in rye from 0.32

to 0.2.

GIPSA also proposes to amend the

Official United States Standards for

Grain, Subpart A—General Provisions,

§ 810.104, Percentages, by revising

paragraph (b) Recording. This change

would require rye dockage to be

determined and reported in whole and

tenths of a percent to the nearest tenth

of a percent.

Comments, including data, views, and

arguments are solicited from interested

persons. Pursuant to Section 4(b)(1) of

the United States Grain Standards Act,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 76(b)(1)), upon

request, such information concerning

changes to the standards may be

presented orally in an informal manner.

Also, pursuant to this section, no

standards established or amendments or

revocations of standards are to become

effective less than one calendar year

after promulgation unless, in the

judgement of the Secretary, the public

health, interest, or safety require that

they become effective sooner.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 800

Administrative practice and

procedure, Exports, Grains.

7 CFR Part 810

Exports, Grains.

For reasons set out in the preamble,

7 CFR part 800 and 7 CFR part 810 are

proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 800—GENERAL REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 800

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.)

2. Section 800.86(c)(2) is amended by

revising the entry for ‘‘Dockage’’ in

Table 14 to read as follows:

§ 800.86 Inspection of shiplot, unit train,

and lash barge grain in single lots.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(2) * * *

TABLE 14.—BREAKPOINTS (BP) FOR

RYE SPECIAL GRADES AND FACTORS

Special

grade or

factor

Grade limit Breakpoint

* * * * *

Dockage .. As specified by contract or load order

grade.

0.2

* * * * *

PART 810—OFFICIAL UNITED STATES

STANDARDS FOR GRAIN

3. The authority citation for Part 810

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867 as

amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.)

4. Section 810.104 is amended by

revising the first three sentences of

paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 810.104 Percentages.

* * * * *

(b) Recording. The percentage of

dockage in flaxseed and sorghum is

reported in whole percent with fractions

of a percent being disregarded. Dockage

in barley and triticale is reported in

whole and half percent with a fraction

less than one-half percent being

disregarded. Dockage in wheat and rye

is reported in whole and tenth percents

to the nearest tenth percent. * * *

Dated: December 10, 1997.

James R. Baker,

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration.

[FR Doc. 97–32780 Filed 12–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P