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

56019 

Vol. 75, No. 178 

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 987 

[Docket No. AMS–FV–10–0059; FV10–987– 

2 PR] 

Domestic Dates Produced or Packed in 

Riverside County, CA; Increased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

California Date Administrative 

Committee (Committee) for the 2010–11 

and subsequent crop years from $0.75 to 

$1.00 per hundredweight of dates 

handled. The Committee locally 

administers the marketing order, which 

regulates the handling of dates grown or 

packed in Riverside County, California. 

Assessments upon date handlers are 

used by the Committee to fund 

reasonable and necessary expenses of 

the program. The crop year begins 

October 1 and ends September 30. The 

assessment rate would remain in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

October 15, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order Administration Branch, 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: Jeff 

Smutny, Marketing Specialist, or Kurt J. 

Kimmel, Regional Manager, California 

Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order 

Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (559) 487–5901, Fax: (559) 

487–5906, or E-mail: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov or 

Kurt.Kimmel@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Antoinette 

Carter, Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, 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 E-mail: 

Antoinette.Carter@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

987, as amended (7 CFR part 987), 

regulating the handling of dates grown 

or packed in Riverside County, 

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, Riverside County, California 

date handlers 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 dates beginning October 1, 

2010, and would 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 2010–11 and 

subsequent crop years from $0.75 to 

$1.00 per hundredweight of dates. 

The California date marketing 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 California dates. 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 2009–10 and subsequent crop 

years, the Committee recommended, 

and USDA approved, an assessment rate 

that would continue in effect from crop 

year to crop year 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 June 24, 2010, 

and unanimously recommended 2010– 

11 expenditures of $245,000 and an 

assessment rate of $1.00 per 

hundredweight of California dates. In 

comparison, last year’s budgeted 

expenditures were $200,000. The 

modified assessment rate of $1.00 is 

$0.25 higher than the rate currently in 

effect. The Committee recommended a 

higher assessment rate to offset the 

2010–11 budgeted increases in salaries, 

operating expenses, and promotion 

programs, and to build their operating 

reserve. The higher assessment rate 

should be sufficient to cover the 2010– 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
56020 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

11 budgeted expenses and meet their 

financial goals. 

Section 987.72(c) authorizes the 

Committee to establish and maintain an 

operating reserve not to exceed 50 

percent of an average year’s expenses. 

Funds from the reserve are available for 

the Committee’s use during the crop 

year to cover budgeted expenses as 

necessary or for other purposes deemed 

appropriate by USDA. The Committee 

expects to carry a $40,000 reserve into 

the 2010–11 crop year. They expect to 

add $16,500 to the reserve during the 

year, for a desired carryout of 

approximately $56,000, which is well 

below the limit specified in the order. 

Income from the sale of cull dates is 

deposited in a surplus account for 

subsequent use by the Committee to 

cover the surplus pool share of the 

Committee’s expenses. Handlers may 

also dispose of cull dates of their own 

production within their own livestockfeeding operation; otherwise, such cull 

dates must be shipped or delivered to 

the Committee for sale to non-human 

food product outlets. Pursuant to 

§ 987.72(b), the Committee is authorized 

to temporarily use funds derived from 

assessments to defray expenses incurred 

in disposing of surplus dates. All such 

expenses are required to be deducted 

from proceeds obtained by the 

Committee from the disposal of surplus 

dates. For the 2010–11 crop year, the 

Committee estimated that $1,500 from 

the surplus account would be needed to 

temporarily defray expenses incurred in 

disposing of surplus dates. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2010–11 crop year include $85,000 for 

general and administrative programs, 

$127,875 for promotional programs, 

$17,900 for nutritional research, and 

$14,225 for marketing and media 

consulting. The budgeted amount for 

promotional programs includes a 

$29,000 contingency fund that would 

allow the Committee to take advantage 

of unexpected marketing opportunities 

that may present themselves during the 

year. 

By comparison, expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2009–10 crop year included $60,000 for 

general and administrative programs, 

$97,000 for promotional programs, 

$15,000 for nutritional research, and 

$28,000 for marketing and media 

consulting. 

The assessment rate of $1.00 per 

hundredweight of assessable dates was 

derived by applying the following 

formula where: 

A = 2009–10 estimated reserve on 09/ 

30/10 ($40,000); 

B = 2010–11 estimated reserve on 09/ 

30/11 ($56,500); 

C = 2010–11 expenses ($245,000); 

D = Cull Surplus Fund ($1,500); 

F = 2010–11 expected shipments 

(26,000,000 pounds). 

[(C ¥ A + B ¥ D)/F] × 100. 

The assessment rate proposed in this 

rule 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 proposed assessment 

rate would be in effect for an indefinite 

period, the Committee would continue 

to meet prior to or during each crop year 

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 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 2010–11 budget and those 

for subsequent crop years 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 

action 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 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 85 producers 

of dates in the production area and 9 

handlers subject to regulation under the 

marketing order. The Small Business 

Administration (13 CFR 121.201) 

defines small agricultural producers as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$750,000, and small agricultural service 

firms are defined as those having annual 

receipts of less than $7,000,000. 

According to the National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), 

data for the most-recently completed 

crop year, 2009–10, indicates that about 

3.8 tons, or 7,600 pounds, of dates were 

produced per acre. The 2009–10 

producer price published by NASS was 

$1,450 per ton, or $0.725 per pound. 

Thus, the value of date production in 

2009–10 averaged about $5,510 per acre 

(7,600 pounds per acre times $0.725 per 

pound). At that average price, a 

producer would have to farm more than 

136 acres to receive an annual income 

from dates of $750,000 ($750,000 

divided by $5,510 per acre equals 136.1 

acres). According to the Committee’s 

staff, the majority of California date 

producers farm fewer than 136 acres. 

Thus, it can be concluded that the 

majority of date producers could be 

considered small entities. According to 

data from the Committee, the majority of 

California date handlers may also be 

considered small entities. 

This rule would increase the 

assessment rate established for the 

Committee and collected from handlers 

for the 2010–11 and subsequent crop 

years from $0.75 to $1.00 per 

hundredweight of dates handled. The 

Committee unanimously recommended 

2010–11 expenditures of $245,000 and 

an assessment rate of $1.00 per 

hundredweight of dates. The proposed 

assessment rate is $0.25 higher than the 

2009–10 rate currently in effect. The 

quantity of assessable dates for the 

2010–11 crop year is estimated at 

26,000,000 pounds. Thus, the $1.00 rate 

should provide approximately $260,000 

in assessment income and will be 

adequate to meet the budgeted 

expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2010–11 crop year include $85,000 for 

general and administrative programs, 

$127,875 for promotional programs, 

$17,900 for nutritional research, and 

$14,225 for marketing and media 

consulting. The Committee also hopes 

to add $16,500 to its operating reserve. 

Prior to arriving at this budget, the 

Committee considered information from 

various sources, such as the 

Committee’s Marketing Subcommittee. 

Alternative expenditure levels were 

discussed, but the Committee ultimately 

decided that the recommended levels 

were reasonable to properly administer 

the order. The assessment rate of $1.00 

per hundredweight of dates was then 

derived, based upon the Committee’s 

estimates of the available operating 

reserve, projected crop size, and 

anticipated expenses. 

As previously noted, NASS reported 

that the average producer price for 

2009–10 crop dates was $1,450 per ton, 

or $72.50 per hundredweight. No 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 178 / Wednesday, September 15, 2010 / Proposed Rules 56021 

official NASS estimate is available yet 

for 2010–11. However, the average 

grower price for the 3-year period 

between 2007–08 and 2009–10 was 

$1,756.67 per ton, or $87.83 per 

hundredweight. 

Assuming that the average producer 

price for 2010–11 will range between 

$72.50 and $87.83 per hundredweight, 

the estimated assessment revenue, 

stated as a percentage of producer 

revenue, would range between 1.38 and 

1.14 percent ($1.00 per hundredweight 

divided by either $72.50 or $87.83 per 

hundredweight). Thus, assessment 

revenue should be less than 1.5 percent 

of estimated producer revenue for 2010– 

11. 

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 marketing order. In addition, the 

Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the California 

date industry and all interested persons 

were invited to attend the meeting and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the June 24, 2010, 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 rule, including the 

regulatory and informational impacts of 

this action on small businesses. 

This proposed rule would impose no 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

California date 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: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Antoinette 

Carter 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 

2010–11 crop year begins on October 1, 

2010, and the marketing order requires 

that the rate of assessment for each crop 

year apply to all assessable dates 

handled during such crop year; (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 987 

Dates, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 987 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 987—DATES PRODUCED OR 

PACKED IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY, 

CALIFORNIA 

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 987 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

2. Section 987.339 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 987.339 Assessment rate. 

On and after October 1, 2010, an 

assessment rate of $1.00 per 

hundredweight is established for 

California dates. 

Dated: September 10, 2010. 

David R. Shipman, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–22981 Filed 9–14–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2008–BT–STD–0005] 

RIN 1904–AB57 

Energy Conservation Standards for 

Battery Chargers and External Power 

Supplies: Public Meeting and 

Availability of the Preliminary 

Technical Support Document 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

availability of preliminary technical 

support document. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) will hold a public meeting 

to discuss and receive comments on the 

following: the product classes DOE 

plans to analyze for the purposes of 

amending energy conservation 

standards for Class A external power 

supplies (EPSs) and establishing energy 

conservation standards for battery 

chargers (BCs) and non-Class A EPSs; 

the analytical framework, models, and 

tools DOE is using to evaluate standards 

for these products; the results of 

preliminary analyses performed by DOE 

for these products; and potential energy 

conservation standard levels derived 

from these analyses that DOE could 

consider for these products. DOE also 

encourages interested parties to submit 

written comments on these subjects. To 

inform stakeholders and facilitate the 

public meeting and comments process, 

DOE has prepared an agenda, a 

preliminary technical support document 

(TSD), and briefing materials, which are 

available at: http:// 

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ 

appliance_standards/residential/ 

battery_external.html. 

DATES: The Department will hold a 

public meeting on Wednesday, October 

13, 2010, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in 

Washington, DC. Any person requesting 

to speak at the public meeting should 

submit such request, along with an 

electronic copy of the statement to be 

given at the public meeting, before 4 

p.m., Wednesday, September 29, 2010. 

Written comments are welcome, 

especially following the public meeting, 

and should be submitted by October 15, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 8E–089, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. Please 

note that foreign nationals participating 

in the public meeting are subject to 

advance security screening procedures. 

If a foreign national wishes to 

participate in the public meeting, please 

inform DOE of this fact as soon as 

possible by contacting Ms. Brenda 

Edwards at (202) 586–2945 so that the 

necessary procedures can be completed. 

Interested persons may submit 

comments, identified by docket number 

EERE–2008–BT–STD–0005, by any of 

the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS