Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 6705

with the policy and written agreement

provisions.

Signed in Washington DC, on February 6,

1997.

Kenneth D. Ackerman,

Manager, Federal Crop Insurance

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 97–3329 Filed 2–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–FA–P

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

7 CFR Part 868

Removal of U.S. Grade Standards;

Procedures for Development and

Maintenance of Voluntary Grade

Standards

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Grain Inspection, Packers

and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)

is adopting as a final rule, without

change, its interim final rule removing

the voluntary U.S. grade standards for

Beans, Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and

Lentils from the Code of Federal

Regulations (CFR). The voluntary

standards and all subsequent revisions

or new standards will be made available

in a separate publication, and will

appear as notices in the Federal

Register for the public to comment on.

This action is part of the National

Performance Review program to

eliminate unnecessary regulations.

In addition, this rule specifies in the

CFR the procedures, which were set out

in the February 29, 1996, interim rule,

that GIPSA will follow in developing,

issuing, revising, suspending or

terminating voluntary U.S. grade

standards for Beans, Whole Dry Peas,

Split Peas, and Lentils.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 14, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sharon Vassiliades, USDA, GIPSA,

Room 0623-S, STOP 3649, 1400

Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20250-3649; FAX

(202) 720–4628.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the

February 29, 1996, Federal Register (61

FR 7687), GIPSA published an Interim

Final Rule with Request for Comments

announcing removal from the CFR of

voluntary standards dealing with the

U.S. grade standards for Beans, Whole

Dry Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils which

may be used to describe the quality of

these agricultural commodities as

valued in the marketplace. No

comments were received in response to

this Interim Final Rule. GIPSA also will

ensure that the public will have an

opportunity to comment on any future

proposed, new, or revised voluntary

standards by publishing such standards

in the ‘‘Notices’’ section of the Federal

Register.

Executive Order 12866

The Department of Agriculture

(Department) is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule is not intended to

have preemptive effect with respect to

any State or local laws, regulations, or

policies unless they present an

irreconcilable conflict with this rule.

This rule is not intended to have

retroactive effect. There are no

administrative procedures which must

be exhausted prior to any judicial

challenge to this rule or the application

of its provisions.

Effects on Small Entities

GIPSA has determined that this final

rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities as defined

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5

U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Removal of the

voluntary standards from the CFR will

not adversely affect interested persons.

On the contrary, the U.S. pulse industry

(beans, peas, and lentils) is expected to

benefit from this action because it will

provide for more timely improvements

to the bean, pea, and lentil standards.

Furthermore, those persons who apply

the standards and most users of the

inspection services do not meet the

requirements for small entities as

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility

Act.

The primary user of pulse inspection

services is the U.S. government. It is

estimated that between 80 and 90

percent of all inspections are performed

(directly or indirectly) at the request of

either the USDA’s Farm Service Agency

or Foreign Agricultural Service, or the

U.S. Agency for International

Development. Approximately 20

percent of all inspections are performed

at the request of major bean, pea, and

lentil shippers who would not be

considered small entities, as defined by

the Small Business Administration (13

CFR 121.60); and about 3 percent of the

service requests originate from other

interested parties, such as producers.

But regardless of who requests the

service, the standards are applied

equally to all entities. Use of the

standards for Beans, Whole Dry Peas,

Split Peas, and Lentils is voluntary and

small entities may avoid incurring any

economic impact by not employing the

standards. Although this action will

remove standards for Beans, Whole Dry

Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils from the

CFR, small entities should see no

changes as the standards will still be

administered in a manner to ensure

public input to their formulation.

Further, no costs are expected to result

from this action for handlers or

producers and benefits derived from

this action may be passed on to

consumers.

Further, this final rule includes in the

CFR procedures to be used by GIPSA in

developing, issuing, revising,

suspending, or terminating voluntary

U.S. grade standards. These procedures

provide for public input and

participation and will not adversely

affect small or large entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

In accordance with the provisions of

the Paperwork Reduction Act, the

information collection requirements

contained in Part 868 have been

previously approved by the Office of

Management and Budget under control

number 0580–0013.

Background

GIPSA is delegated by the Secretary of

Agriculture under the Agricultural

Marketing Act of 1946 (AMA), to

provide programs for Federal grading/

certification services and to develop and

establish efficient marketing methods

and practices for designated agricultural

commodities such as Beans, Whole Dry

Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils. For many

years, these agricultural programs have

facilitated the marketing of agricultural

commodities by developing official U.S.

grade standards which provide uniform

language that may be used to describe

the characteristics of commodities as

valued by the marketplace. The AMA

standards are widely used in private

contracts, government procurement,

marketing communication and, for some

commodities, consumer information.

Through the years, the standards have

been promulgated as regulations and

codified in the CFR.

Rapid changes in consumer

preferences, together with associated

changes in commodity characteristics,

processing technology, and marketing

practices have out paced the revision or

issuance of standards. As a result,

industry and the marketplace could be

burdened with outdated trading

language. The President’s regulatory

review initiative provided an impetus to

develop new approaches to more

effectively meet the needs of U.S.
6706 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

industry, government agencies, and

consumers and still reduce the

regulatory burden. To meet this

initiative, the February 29, 1996, interim

final rule (61 FR 7687) removed from

the CFR regulations with respect to the

official grade standards except those

used to implement government price

support. The regulations removed cover

Beans, Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and

Lentils. The grade standards for Rice

will continue to appear in the CFR.

Procedures for Maintenance of

Voluntary U.S. Grade Standards

To ensure that future voluntary U.S.

grade standards will be developed,

issued, and revised in a uniform manner

that ensures a fair and open process,

GIPSA is placing in the CFR the

procedures it will follow in developing,

issuing, revising, suspending or

terminating voluntary U.S. grade

standards for Beans, Whole Dry Peas,

Split Peas, and Lentils.

In developing or revising existing

grade standards, the Administrator must

first determine that a new or revised

standard is needed to facilitate trade in

a particular commodity. Second,

because use of the standards is

voluntary, there must be demonstrated

interest and support from the affected

industry or other interested parties. And

third, the standards must be practical to

use.

Initial requests for development or

revision of a standard may come from

the industry, trade, or consumer groups,

State departments of agriculture, the

U.S. Department of Agriculture, or

others. Once a request has been

received, GIPSA will coordinate

procedures to gather information

needed to move forward with the new

or revised standards. After this process

is completed, a notice of proposed

standards change will be published in

the Federal Register to solicit comment

from any interested parties (normally 30

to 60 days). After evaluating the

comments received from interested

parties, GIPSA will determine whether

to proceed, develop a new proposal, or

terminate the process. The public will

be informed through a news release and

notice in the Federal Register.

In addition to publication in the

Federal Register, upon request, GIPSA

will distribute copies of each standard

as a pamphlet or other means under the

direction of the Administrator of GIPSA.

The above procedures, which were

discussed and explained in the interim

final rule published in the Federal

Register on February 29, 1996 (61 FR

7687), are set forth in a new Subpart B

titled Marketing Standards.

Good cause is found for not

postponing the effective date of this rule

until 30 days after publication in the

Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553). This

action makes final an interim final rule

removing voluntary U.S. grade

standards. This action also specifies in

the CFR the procedures, as discussed in

the interim rule, which GIPSA will

follow in developing, issuing, revising,

suspending or terminating such

standards. No comments were received

concerning the interim final rule. No

useful purpose would be served by

delaying the effective date of this final

rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 868

Administrative practice and

procedures, Agricultural commodities,

Beans, Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and

Lentils.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, the interim rule published on

February 29, 1996 (61 FR 7687), is

confirmed as a final rule and 7 CFR Part

868 is amended by adding a new

Subpart B titled Marketing Standards.

PART 868—GENERAL REGULATIONS

AND STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN

AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES

1. The authority citation for Part 868

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 202–208, 60 Stat. 1087, as

amended (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.)

2. A new Subpart B (§§ 868.101

through 868.103) is added to read as

follows:

Subpart B—Marketing Standards

Sec.

868.101 General Information.

868.102 Procedures for establishing and

revising grade standards.

868.103 Public notification of grade

standards action.

§ 868.101 General information.

The Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) of

the U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) facilitates the fair and efficient

marketing of agricultural products by

maintaining voluntary grade standards

for Beans, Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas,

and Lentils, which provide a uniform

language for describing the quality of

these commodities in the marketplace.

These standards may cover (but are not

limited to) terms, classes, quality levels,

performance criteria, and inspection

requirements. Procedures contained in

this part set forth the process which

GIPSA will follow in developing,

issuing, revising, suspending, or

terminating the U.S. standards for

Beans, Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and

Lentils. Communications about GIPSA

standards in general should be

addressed to the Administrator, GIPSA,

USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue,

S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250–3601.

§ 868.102 Procedures for establishing and

revising grade standards.

(a) GIPSA will develop, revise,

suspend, or terminate grade standards if

it determines that such action is in the

public interest. GIPSA encourages

interested parties to participate in the

review, development, and revision of

grade standards. Interested parties

include growers, producers, processors,

shippers, distributors, consumers, trade

associations, companies, and State or

Federal agencies. Such persons may at

any time recommend that GIPSA

develop, revise, suspend, or terminate a

grade standard. Requests for action

should be in writing, and should be

accompanied by a draft of the suggested

change, as appropriate.

(b) GIPSA will:

(1) Determine the need for new or

revised standards;

(2) Collect technical, marketing, or

other appropriate data;

(3) Conduct research regarding new or

revised standards, as appropriate; and

(4) Draft the proposed standards.

(c) If GIPSA determines that new

standards are needed, existing standards

need to be revised, or the suspension or

termination of existing standards is

justified, GIPSA will undertake the

action with input from interested

parties.

§ 868.103 Public notification of grade

standards action.

(a) After developing a standardization

proposal, GIPSA will publish a notice in

the Federal Register proposing new or

revised standards or suspending or

terminating existing standards. The

notice will provide a sufficient

comment period for interested parties to

submit comments.

(b) GIPSA will simultaneously issue a

news release about these actions,

notifying the affected industry and

general public. GIPSA will also

distribute copies of proposals to anyone

requesting a copy or to anyone it

believes may be interested, including

other Federal, State, or local government

agencies.

(c) All comments received within the

comment period will be made part of

the public record maintained by GIPSA,

will be available to the public for

review, and will be considered by

GIPSA before final action is taken on the

proposal.

(d) Based on the comments received,

GIPSA’s knowledge of standards,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 30 / Thursday, February 13, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 6707

grading, marketing, and other technical

factors, and any other relevant

information, GIPSA will decide whether

the proposed actions should be

implemented.

(e) If GIPSA concludes that the

changes as proposed or with appropriate

modifications should be adopted,

GIPSA will publish the final changes in

the Federal Register as a final notice.

GIPSA will make the grade standards

and related information available in

printed form and electronic media.

(f) If GIPSA determines that proposed

changes are not warranted, or otherwise

are not in the public interest, GIPSA

will either publish in the Federal

Register a notice withdrawing the

proposal, or will revise the proposal and

again seek public input.

Dated: February 7, 1997.

David R. Shipman,

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–3567 Filed 2–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

8 CFR Part 204

[INS No. 1602–92]

Classification of Certain Scientists of

the Commonwealth of Independent

States of the Former Soviet Union and

the Baltic States as EmploymentBased Immigrants

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Justice.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule adopts,

without change, an interim rule

published in the Federal Register by the

Immigration and Naturalization Service

(‘‘the Service’’) on October 19, 1995,

that allows certain scientists and

engineers from the former Soviet Union

to apply for permanent residence under

the Soviet Scientist Act of 1992. This is

necessary to clearly identify those

scientists who qualify for permanent

resident status under the Soviet

Scientists Immigration Act of 1992.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 13, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael W. Straus, Adjudications

Officer, Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Room 3214, 425 I Street NW.,

Washington, DC 20536, telephone (202)

514–5014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Soviet Scientists Immigration Act

of 1992 (SSIA), Public Law 102–509,

dated October 24, 1992, provides that

up to 750 immigrant visas may be

allotted under section 203(b)(2)(A) of

the Immigration and Nationality Act

(Act) to eligible scientists of the

independent states of the former Soviet

Union and the Baltic states, by virtue of

their expertise in nuclear, chemical,

biological, or other high-technology

fields or their current work on nuclear,

chemical, biological, or other hightechnology defense projects. The

provisions of the SSIA terminated on

October 24, 1996.

On October 19, 1995, at 60 FR 54027–

30, the Service published an interim

rule with request for comments in the

Federal Register. The October 19, 1995,

interim rule revised a previous interim

rule published on May 27, 1993, at 58

FR 30699–701, on the ground that

revisions in the previous interim rule

were necessary to improve the visa

petition process, and responded to

written comments submitted in

response to the May 27, 1993, interim

rule. Interested persons were invited to

submit written comments on or before

December 18, 1995 to the October 19,

1995, interim rule. The Service received

one comment.

Comments

The following discussion summarizes

the issues which have been raised

relating to the interim rule and provides

the Service’s position on the issues.

Termination

The interim rule provides that the

Service must approve an SSIA petition

on or before October 24, 1996, or when

the Service has approved a total of 750

petitions on behalf of eligible scientists,

whichever date is earlier. See 8 CFR

204.10(a). The commenter contended

that the Service’s requirement that a

visa petition filed under the SSIA be

approved on or before October 24, 1996,

would result in inequities due to the

difference in processing times among

the service centers. The SSIA, however,

states that the Attorney General’s

authority to designate a class of eligible

scientists from the former Soviet Union

for purposes of section 203(b)(2)(A) of

the Act terminates 4 years after the

enactment date of the SSIA. The

Service, therefore, has no authority to

approve an SSIA petition after October

24, 1996.

Jurisdiction

The 1995 interim rule states that SSIA

applicants must file the petition at a

service center. The commenter objected,

arguing that such a procedure could

delay the petitioner’s ability to obtain

employment authorization and

adjustment of status. The commenter

suggested that, after a combined filing of

an I–40 petition (for SSIA classification)

and an I–485 application for adjustment

of status at a local office, the I–140

petition could be forwarded to a service

center for adjudication. The commenter

contended that this would allow SSIA

applicants to apply immediately for

employment authorization and, thus,

attract more qualified scientists from the

former Soviet Union.

As noted in the interim rule, the

Service has determined that centralizing

the adjudication of SSIA petitions at

service centers would enhance

coordination with other government

agencies in adjudicating these petitions.

In addition, centralized adjudication

makes sense in light of the expertise

developed by the service centers in

adjudicating these types of petitions.

The Service believes that the SSIA has

already created a sufficiently powerful

inducement for qualified scientists to

immigrate to the United States by

waiving the job offer, labor certification,

and minimum eligibility requirements

under section 203(b)(2) of the Act. The

fact that, under the interim rule, SSIA

applicants who are present in the

United States must have an approved

SSIA petition before becoming eligible

to apply for adjustment of status, and

thus, for employment authorization

under 8 CFR 274.a.12(c)(9), has little, if

any, impact on the basic attractiveness

of the SSIA to qualified scientists.

Moreover, the provision requiring

adjudication of SSIA petitions at service

centers would have no effect on SSIA

petitioners who are not present in the

United States. Accordingly, no change

will be made in the final rule.

Definition of Eligible Scientist

The interim rule amended the

definition of eligible scientists and

engineers to include those scientists or

engineers who have expertise in a high

technology field which is clearly

applicable to the design, development,

and production of ballistic missiles,

nuclear, biological, chemical, or other

high-technology weapons of mass

destruction. See 8 CFR 204.10(d). The

previous rule defined eligible scientist

or engineers as those who have

expertise in nuclear, chemical,

biological, or other high technology

fields. The commenter argued that the