Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 244 / Friday, December 19, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 66497

winter pear handlers. As with all

Federal marketing order programs,

reports and forms are periodically

reviewed to reduce information

requirements and duplication by

industry and public sector agencies.

The Department has not identified

any relevant Federal rules that

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this

rule.

The interim final rule concerning this

action was published in the Federal

Register (62 FR 44202) on August 20,

1997, and requested comments to be

received by September 21, 1997. A copy

of the interim final rule was also made

available on the Internet by the U.S.

Government Printing Office. No

comments were received.

After consideration of all relevant

material presented, including the

information and recommendation

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 927

Marketing agreements, Pears,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

PART 927—WINTER PEARS GROWN

IN OREGON AND WASHINGTON

Accordingly, the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR part 927 which was

published at 62 FR 44202 on August 20,

1997, is adopted as a final rule without

change.

Dated: December 15, 1997.

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs.

[FR Doc. 97–33168 Filed 12–18–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 948

[Docket No. FV97–948–1 FIR]

Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado;

Change in Handling Regulation for

Area No. 2

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of

Agriculture (Department) is adopting as

a final rule, without change, the

provisions of an interim final rule

which changed the size requirement

from a 2 inch minimum diameter or 4

ounce minimum weight to a 17⁄8 inch

minimum diameter for Centennial

Russet variety potatoes grown in Area

No. 2 of Colorado. The size requirement

for Centennial Russets had been larger

than the requirement for similar long

varieties. The change recognized the

similarity among all long varieties and

provided potato handlers with more

marketing flexibility, growers with

increased returns, and consumers with

a greater supply of potatoes.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 20, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dennis L. West, Northwest Marketing

Field Office, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, F&V, AMS,

USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, room

369, Portland, Oregon 97204; telephone:

(503) 326–2724, Fax: (503) 326–7440, or

Anne M. Dec, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, F&V, AMS,

USDA, room 2525–S, P.O. Box 96456,

Washington, DC 20090–6456; telephone:

(202) 720–2491, Fax: (202) 205–6632.

Small businesses may request

information on compliance with this

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber,

Marketing Order Administration

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

AMS, USDA, room 2525–S, P.O. Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090–6456;

telephone: (202) 720–2491, Fax: (202)

205–6632.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under Marketing Agreement

No. 97 and Marketing Order No. 948 (7

CFR part 948), both as amended,

regulating the handling of Irish potatoes

grown in Colorado. The marketing

agreement and order are authorized by

the Agricultural Marketing Agreement

Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–

674), hereinafter referred to as the

‘‘Act.’’

The Department is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule 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.

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.

The interim rule relaxed the size

requirement for Centennial Russet

variety potatoes grown in Area No. 2

from the current 2 inch minimum

diameter or 4-ounce minimum weight to

a 17⁄8 inch minimum diameter with no

minimum weight option. This change

enabled handlers to market a larger

portion of the crop in fresh market

outlets and improved the marketing of

Colorado potatoes. Further, all Russet

varieties are now required to meet the

same size specifications.

Section 948.22 (7 CFR 948.22)

authorizes the issuance of regulations

for grade, size, quality, maturity, and

pack for any variety or varieties of

potatoes grown in different portions of

the production area during any period.

Section 948.4 of the order defines the

counties included in Area No. 2, which

is commonly known as the San Luis

Valley. The Colorado Potato

Administrative Committee, San Luis

Valley Office (Area No. 2) (Committee),

is the agency responsible for local

administration of the Federal marketing

order in Area No. 2.

Size regulations for potatoes grown in

Area No. 2 are currently in effect under

§ 948.386. Centennial Russet variety

potatoes had to be 2 inches minimum

diameter or 4 ounces minimum weight.

Other long varieties, which include

other Russet varieties, had to be 17⁄8

inch minimum diameter with no

minimum weight option. The interim

final rule amended that section by

removing the weight requirement option

for Centennial Russets and reducing the

minimum diameter requirement for

Centennial Russets to 17⁄8 inches. Thus,

all Russet varieties are now required to

meet the same minimum diameter. The

Committee unanimously recommended

this change at its August 21, 1997,

meeting.

When the previous size regulations

were established, the Centennial Russet

was the dominant variety in the San

Luis Valley (Area No. 2), accounting for

approximately 65–75 percent of the

crop. The other major Russet variety

grown in the San Luis Valley was the

Russet Burbank, a slimmer potato which

was required to meet the 17⁄8 inch

minimum diameter. Today, the Russet
66498 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 244 / Friday, December 19, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

Burbank has been phased out

completely and the Centennial Russet

accounts for less than 10 percent of the

crop. The Burbank and the Centennial

have been replaced by other varieties,

including new Russet varieties which

have the same bulky features as the

Centennial.

The new varieties, however, were

required only to meet the 17⁄8 inch

minimum diameter, not the 2 inch

minimum diameter or 4 ounce

minimum weight requirements that

Centennial Russets were required to

meet. The industry was concerned that

Centennial Russets could be

misrepresented as one of the new Russet

varieties, so as to comply only with the

smaller size requirement. The interim

final rule, by establishing the same size

requirements for all Russet varieties,

eliminated that possibility.

Reducing the size requirement

allowed handlers to market a larger

portion of the Centennial Russet crop in

fresh outlets. That change improved the

marketing of Colorado potatoes and

increased returns to producers.

Pursuant to requirements set forth in

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

has considered the economic impact of

this action on small entities.

Accordingly, AMS has prepared this

final regulatory flexibility analysis.

There are approximately 118 handlers

of Colorado Area 2 potatoes who are

subject to regulation under the

marketing order and approximately 280

producers of Colorado potatoes in the

regulated area. Small agricultural

service firms 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 whose annual receipts are less

than $500,000. The majority of potato

producers and handlers regulated under

the marketing agreement and order may

be classified as small entities.

Section 948.22 of the order authorizes

the issuance of handling regulations for

potatoes grown in Colorado. The interim

final rule relaxed the size requirement

for Centennial Russet variety potatoes

grown in Area No. 2 from a 2 inch

minimum diameter or 4-ounce

minimum weight to a 17⁄8 minimum

diameter with no weight option. This

change enabled handlers to market a

larger portion of the crop in fresh

market outlets and improved the

marketing of Colorado potatoes. There is

no available information detailing how

many potatoes this relaxation allowed to

be marketed which could not have been

marketed prior to this action.

The rule also eliminated a potential

compliance problem, as all Russet

varieties are now required to meet the

same size specifications. Other Russet

varieties were required only to meet the

smaller size regulation of 17⁄8 inch

diameter. Because some of the new

Russet varieties with characteristics

very similar to Centennials faced the

smaller size requirement and have

surpassed Centennials in popularity,

there was a possibility that Centennials

could have been misrepresented as one

of the new Russet varieties.

The only viable alternative to

reducing the size requirement for

Centennials was to increase the size

requirement for all other long potatoes,

including all other Russets. The

Committee surveyed 270 growers from

Area No. 2 concerning the grade and

size regulation. Both options for

equalizing the size regulations for all

long potatoes were included in the

survey. The participating growers

rejected increasing the size

requirements for all other long potatoes,

which would have reduced the number

of Colorado potatoes on the market, in

favor of the size requirement reduction

established by the interim final rule.

This rule will not impose any

additional reporting or recordkeeping

requirements on either small or large

potato handlers. As with all Federal

marketing order programs, reports and

forms are periodically reviewed to

reduce information requirements and

duplication by industry and public

sectors. In addition, the Department has

not identified any relevant Federal rules

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with

this rule.

Further, the Committee’s meeting was

widely publicized throughout the

Colorado potato industry and all

interested persons were invited to

attend the meeting and participate in

Committee deliberations. Like all

Committee meetings, the August 21,

1997, meeting was a public meeting and

all entities, both large and small, were

able to express their views on this issue.

The Committee itself is composed of 12

members, of which 5 are handlers and

7 are producers, the majority of whom

are small entities.

Also, the Committee surveyed 270

producers in Area No. 2, the majority of

whom are small entities, concerning

regulation during the 1997–98 potato

shipping season. This rule reflects the

outcome of that survey of

predominantly small growers.

An interim final rule concerning this

action was published in the Federal

Register on September 26, 1997 (62 FR

50479). Copies of the rule were mailed

or sent via facsimile to all Committee

members and Area 2 potato producers

and handlers. Finally, the rule was

made available through the Internet by

the Office of the Federal Register. A 60-

day comment period was provided. No

comments were received.

After consideration of all relevant

material presented, including the

Committee’s recommendation, and

other information, it is 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 948

Marketing agreements, Potatoes,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

PART 948—IRISH POTATOES GROWN

IN COLORADO

Accordingly, the interim final rule

amending 7 CFR part 948 which was

published at 62 FR 50479 on September

26, 1997, is adopted as a final rule

without change.

Dated: December 15, 1997.

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable

Programs.

[FR Doc. 97–33167 Filed 12–18–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 97–CE–13–AD; Amendment 39–

10258; AD 97–26–15]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Raytheon

Aircraft Company Models 1900, 1900C,

and 1900D Airplanes

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This amendment adopts a

new airworthiness directive (AD) that

applies to certain Raytheon Aircraft

Company (Raytheon) Models 1900,

1900C, and 1900D airplanes (formerly

referred to as Beech Models 1900,

1900C, and 1900D airplanes). This AD

requires lubricating the main landing

gear actuator rod ends and eventually

replacing these rod ends with Teflonlined rod ends. The AD results from

reports of in-flight separations of the rod

end that attaches the actuator to the arm

of the main landing gear drag brace

assembly on two of the affected

airplanes caused by excessive friction in

the rod end bearing. The actions