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

39184 

Vol. 77, No. 127 

Monday, July 2, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 925 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–11–0090; FV12–925–1 

PR] 

Grapes Grown in Designated Area of 

Southeastern California; Increased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

California Desert Grape Administrative 

Committee (Committee) for the 2012 

and subsequent fiscal periods from 

$0.0125 to $0.0150 per 18-pound lug of 

grapes handled. The Committee locally 

administers the marketing order, which 

regulates the handling of grapes grown 

in a designated area of southeastern 

California. Assessments upon grape 

handlers are used by the Committee to 

fund reasonable and necessary expenses 

of the program. The fiscal period begins 

January 1 and ends December 31. The 

assessment rate would remain in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, suspended 

or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

August 1, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Orders Agreements Division, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., STOP 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: (202) 

720–8938; or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 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, or can be viewed at: 

http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments submitted in response to this 

rule will be included in the record and 

will be made available to the public. 

Please be advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting the 

comments will be made public on the 

Internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathie M. Notoro, Marketing Specialist, 

or Kurt J. Kimmel, Regional Manager, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Orders and Agreements 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or Email: 

Kathie.Notoro@ams.usda.gov or 

Kurt.Kimmel@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Laurel May, 

Marketing Orders and Agreements 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Laurel.May@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

925, as amended (7 CFR part 925), 

regulating the handling of grapes grown 

in a designated area of southeastern 

California, 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 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. Under the marketing order now 

in effect, grape handlers in a designated 

area of southeastern California are 

subject to assessments. Funds to 

administer the order are derived from 

such assessments. It is intended that the 

assessment rate as proposed herein 

would be applicable to all assessable 

grapes beginning on January 1, 2012, 

and continue until amended, 

suspended, or terminated. 

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 USDA 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. Such 

handler is afforded the opportunity for 

a hearing on the petition. After the 

hearing, USDA 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 USDA’s ruling on the petition, 

provided an action is filed not later than 

20 days after the date of the entry of the 

ruling. 

This rule would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

Committee for the 2012 and subsequent 

fiscal periods from $0.0125 to $0.0150 

per 18-pound lug of grapes. 

The grape order provides authority for 

the Committee, with the approval of 

USDA, to formulate an annual budget of 

expenses and collect assessments from 

handlers to administer the program. The 

members of the Committee are 

producers and handlers of grapes grown 

in a designated area of southeastern 

California. They are familiar with the 

Committee’s needs and with the costs 

for goods and services in their local area 

and are thus in a position to formulate 

an appropriate budget and assessment 

rate. The assessment rate is formulated 

and discussed in a public meeting. 

Thus, all directly affected persons have 

an opportunity to participate and 

provide input. 

For the 2011 and subsequent fiscal 

periods, the Committee recommended, 

and the USDA approved, an assessment 

rate that would continue in effect from 

fiscal period to fiscal period unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

USDA upon recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or other information 

available to USDA. 

The Committee met on November 3, 

2011, and unanimously recommended 

2012 expenditures of $95,500 and an 

assessment rate of $0.0150 per 18-pound 

lug of grapes handled. In comparison, 

last year’s budgeted expenditures were 

$89,616. The assessment rate of $0.0150 

per 18-pound lug of grapes handled 

recommended by the Committee is 

$0.0025 higher than the $0.0125 rate 

currently in effect. The higher 

assessment rate is necessary to cover the 

Committee’s budgeted expenses which 

include an increase in research and 

general office expenses. While the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 127 / Monday, July 2, 2012 / Proposed Rules 39185 

Committee’s crop estimate of 5.8 million 

18-pound lugs is higher than the 5.4 

million 18-pound lugs handled last 

year, the higher assessment rate would 

generate $87,000 of revenue. This 

revenue plus the operating reserve 

would be sufficient to cover the increase 

in anticipated expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2012 fiscal period include $15,500 for 

research, $17,500 for general office 

expenses, and $62,500 for management 

and compliance expenses. The $15,500 

research project is a for a new vine 

study proposed by the University of 

California Riverside. In comparison, 

major expenditures for the 2011 fiscal 

period included $10,000 for research, 

$15,616 for general office expenses, and 

$64,000 management and compliance 

expenses. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by the 

following formula: Anticipated 2012 

expenses ($95,500) plus the desired 

2012 ending reserve ($70,000), minus 

the 2012 beginning reserve ($78,500), 

divided by the estimated 2012 

shipments (5.8 million 18-pound lugs) 

equals $0.0150 per lug. 

Income generated through the $0.0150 

assessment ($87,000) plus carry-in 

reserve funds ($78,500) should be 

sufficient to meet anticipated expenses 

($95,500). Reserve funds by the end of 

2012 are projected at $70,000 or about 

one fiscal period’s expenses. Section 

925.41 of the order permits the 

Committee to maintain about one fiscal 

period’s expenses in reserve. 

The proposed assessment rate would 

continue in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

USDA upon recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or other available 

information. 

Although this assessment rate would 

be in effect for an indefinite period, the 

Committee would continue to meet 

prior to or during each fiscal period to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations for 

modification of the assessment rate. The 

dates and times of Committee meetings 

are available from the Committee or 

USDA. Committee meetings are open to 

the public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

USDA would evaluate the Committee 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking would be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2012 budget and those for 

subsequent fiscal periods would be 

reviewed and, as appropriate, approved 

by USDA. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

rule on small entities. Accordingly, 

AMS has prepared this initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

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 the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are approximately 13 handlers 

of southeastern California grapes who 

are subject to regulation under the order 

and about 41 grape producers in the 

production area. Small agricultural 

service firms are defined by the Small 

Business Administration (13 CFR 

121.201) as those having annual receipts 

of less than $7,000,000, and small 

agricultural producers are defined as 

those whose annual receipts are less 

than $750,000. Nine of the 13 handlers 

subject to regulation have annual grape 

sales of less than $7 million. Based on 

data from the National Agricultural 

Statistics Service and the Committee, 

the crop value for the 2011 season was 

about $46,574,000. Dividing this figure 

by the number of producers (41) yields 

an average annual producer revenue 

estimate of about $1,135,951. However, 

according to the Committee, at least ten 

of 41 producers would be considered 

small businesses under the Small 

Business Administration threshold of 

$750,000. Based on the foregoing, it may 

be concluded that a majority of grape 

handlers and at least ten of the 

producers could be classified as small 

entities. 

This rule would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

Committee and collected from handlers 

for the 2012 and subsequent fiscal 

periods from $0.0125 to $0.0150 per 18- 

pound lug of grapes. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2012 

expenditures of $95,500 and an 

assessment rate of $0.0150 per 18-pound 

lug of grapes handled. The proposed 

assessment rate of $0.0150 is $0.0025 

higher than the 2011 rate currently in 

effect. The higher assessment rate is 

necessary to cover the Committee’s 

budgeted expenses, including increases 

in research and general office expenses. 

While the Committee’s crop estimate of 

5.8 million 18-pound lugs is higher than 

the 5.4 million 18-pound lugs handled 

last year, the higher assessment rate 

would generate $87,000 of revenue. This 

revenue plus the operating reserve 

would be sufficient to cover the increase 

in anticipated expenses. Reserve funds 

by the end of 2012 are projected at 

$70,000 or about one fiscal period’s 

expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2012 fiscal period include $15,500 for 

research, $17,500 for general office 

expenses, and $62,500 for management 

and compliance expenses. The $15,500 

research project is for a new vine study 

proposed by the University of California 

Riverside. In comparison, major 

expenditures for the 2011 fiscal period 

included $10,000 for research, $15,616 

for general office expenses, and $64,000 

management and compliance expenses. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by the 

following formula: Anticipated 2012 

expenses ($95,500) plus the desired 

2012 ending reserve ($70,000), minus 

the 2012 beginning reserve ($78,500), 

divided by the estimated 2012 

shipments (5.8 million 18-pound lugs) 

equals $0.0150 per lug. 

The Committee reviewed and 

unanimously recommended 2012 

expenditures of $95,500 which included 

increases in research and general office 

expenses. Prior to arriving at this 

budget, the Committee considered 

alternative expenditures and assessment 

rates, to include not increasing the 

$0.0125 assessment rate currently in 

effect. Based on a crop estimate of 5.8 

million 18-pound lugs, the Committee 

ultimately determined that increasing 

the assessment rate to $0.0150 

combined with funds generated from 

the reserve would adequately cover 

increased expenses and provide an 

adequate 2012 ending reserve. 

A review of historical crop and price 

information, as well as preliminary 

information pertaining to the upcoming 

fiscal period indicates that the producer 

price for the 2012 season could average 

about $8.03 per 18-pound lug of grapes 

handled for California grapes. To 

calculate the percentage of producer 

revenue represented by the assessment 

rate for 2011, the assessment rate of 

$0.0125 per 18-pound lug is divided by 

the estimated average producer price of 

$8.03 per 18-pound lug. NASS data for 

2012 is not yet available. However, 

applying these same calculations above 

using the 2011 producer price would 

result in an estimated assessment 

revenue as a percentage of total 

producer revenue of 0.187 percent for 


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39186 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 127 / Monday, July 2, 2012 / Proposed Rules 

the 2012 season ($0.0150 divided by 

$8.03 per 18-pound lug). Thus, the 

assessment revenue should be well 

below the 1 percent of estimated 

producer revenue in 2012. 

This action would increase the 

assessment obligation imposed on 

handlers. While assessments impose 

some additional costs on handlers, the 

costs are minimal and uniform on all 

handlers. Some of the additional costs 

may be passed on to producers. 

However, these costs would be offset by 

the benefits derived by the operation of 

the order. In addition, the Committee’s 

meeting was widely publicized 

throughout the grape production area 

and all interested persons were invited 

to attend and participate in Committee 

deliberations on all issues. Like all 

Committee meetings, the November 3, 

2011, meeting was a public meeting and 

all entities, both large and small, were 

able to express views on this issue. 

Finally, interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on this proposed rule, 

including the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0189. No 

changes in those requirements as a 

result of this action are necessary. 

Should any changes become necessary, 

they would be submitted to OMB for 

approval. 

This proposed rule would impose no 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

California grape 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. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E–Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Laurel May at 

the previously-mentioned address in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

A 30-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rule. Thirty days is 

deemed appropriate because: (1) The 

2012 fiscal period begins on January 1, 

2012, and the order requires that the 

rate of assessment for each fiscal period 

apply to all assessable grapes handled 

during such fiscal period; (2) the 

Committee needs to have sufficient 

funds to pay its expenses, which are 

incurred on a continuous basis; and (3) 

handlers are aware of this action, which 

was unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at a public meeting and is 

similar to other assessment rate actions 

issued in past years. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 925 

Grapes, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 925 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 925—GRAPES GROWN IN A 

DESIGNATED AREA OF 

SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA 

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 925 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

2. Section 925.215 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 925.215 Assessment rate. 

On or after January 1, 2012, an 

assessment rate of $0.0150 per 18-pound 

lug is established for grapes grown in a 

designated area of southeastern 

California. 

Dated: June 26, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–16064 Filed 6–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0676; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–NM–182–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all 

Airbus Model A318, A319, A320, and 

A321 series airplanes. This proposed 

AD was prompted by reports of the 

escape slide of the raft inflation system 

not deploying when activated due to the 

rotation of the cable guide in a direction 

which resulted in jamming of the 

inflation control cable. This proposed 

AD would require modifying the 

affected slide rafts. We are proposing 

this AD to prevent non-deployment of 

the inflation system of the escape slide 

raft, which could result in delayed 

evacuation from the airplane during an 

emergency, and consequent injury to the 

passengers. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by August 16, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

For Airbus service information 

identified in this proposed AD, contact 

Airbus, Airworthiness Office—EAS, 1 

Rond Point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 

Blagnac Cedex, France; telephone +33 5 

61 93 36 96; fax +33 5 61 93 44 51; email 

account.airworth-eas@airbus.com; 

Internet http://www.airbus.com. For Air 

Cruisers service information identified 

in this proposed AD, contact Zodiac 

Services Americas, Cage Code 567V9, 

4900, St. Joe Boulevard, Building 200, 

Suite 400, College Park, Georgia 30337; 

telephone 678–228–8153; fax 404–599– 

0041; email techpubs@zodiac.com; 

Internet http:// 

www.zodiacaerospace.com. You may 

review copies of the referenced service 

information at the FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, Washington. For 

information on the availability of this 

material at the FAA, call 425–227–1221. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov; or in person at the 

Docket Operations office between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 


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