This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

20353 

Vol. 77, No. 65 

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Farm Service Agency 

United States Warehouse Act; Export 

Food Aid Commodities Licensing 

Agreement 

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of Licensing Agreement 

Fee Schedule. 

SUMMARY: This notice specifies the fee 

schedule for the new Export Food Aid 

Commodities (EFAC) licensing 

agreement offered by the Farm Service 

Agency (FSA) under the United States 

Warehouse Act (USWA). Agricultural 

products that may be stored under an 

EFAC licensing agreement include, but 

are not limited to, corn soy blend, 

vegetable oil, and pulses such as peas, 

beans, and lentils. USWA licensing is a 

voluntary program. Warehouse 

operators that apply for USWA licensing 

agree to be licensed, comply with the 

licensing agreement, and pay associated 

user fees. The fees announced in this 

notice are intended to cover the costs of 

administering the licensing program, 

including the costs of inspections. 

DATES: Effective date: April 4, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Patricia Barrett, Warehouse Operations 

Program Manager; phone: (202) 720– 

3877, email: FSA– 

USWA@wdc.usda.gov. Persons with 

disabilities who require alternative 

means for communication of 

information for this notice (Braille, large 

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 

USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720– 

2600 (voice and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USWA (7 

U.S.C. 241–256) authorizes the 

Secretary of Agriculture to license 

warehouse operators who store 

agricultural products and to assess 

warehouse operator fees. FSA 

administers this authority for USDA. 

The USWA licensing program is 

intended to protect depositors of 

agricultural products by ensuring that 

licensed warehouses meet specified 

requirements for sanitation, physical 

security, equipment maintenance, 

recordkeeping, insurance, and financial 

soundness. The licensing agreement 

specifies the terms and conditions for a 

warehouse operator to qualify for 

licensing and to operate the warehouse 

in compliance with the USWA and with 

federal regulations in 7 CFR part 735. 

The USWA requires the Secretary to 

assess fees to cover the cost of 

implementing the program. FSA has 

different types of USWA licensing 

agreements, with storage and inspection 

requirements and fees that are specific 

to the purpose of the license and the 

commodities to be stored. 

On March 15, 2011 (76 FR 13972– 

13973), FSA published a notice in the 

Federal Register proposing a licensing 

agreement for EFAC warehouse 

operators. The notice requested 

comments on the licensing requirements 

and fee structures that would be 

appropriate for EFAC licensing 

agreements. Three comments were 

received; two did not address the fee 

structure. One comment stated that 

there should be no fees. In response to 

this comment, FSA notes that USWA 

requires the assessment of fees to cover 

the cost of implementing the program. 

This notice announces the fee 

schedule for the EFAC licensing 

agreement. Both the fee schedule and 

the licensing agreement will be posted 

on the FSA Web site at http:// 

www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/

webapp?area=home&subject

=coop&topic=was-ua. 

The EFAC licensing agreement will be 

available to port and transload facility 

operators storing or handling EFAC. 

This licensing agreement was developed 

in response to concerns of export food 

aid providers; specifically, the 

sanitation and security of agricultural 

commodities temporarily stored and 

handled in preparation for export under 

various food aid programs. In many 

existing USWA licensed warehouses, 

commodities such as grain or rice are 

stored in bulk form and commingled. In 

contrast, EFAC are typically packaged 

products that are stored on an ‘‘identity 

preserved’’ basis, meaning that specific 

quantities must be stored and handled 

separately from all other commodities to 

allow for the subsequent delivery of the 

actual commodity delivered for 

warehouse storage. The fee structure for 

EFAC reflects that requirement. For 

example, USWA warehouse fees 

typically include a separate ‘‘service 

license’’ fee to license individuals to 

inspect and weigh commodities, but this 

is not an applicable fee category for 

EFAC. 

The fees provided in this notice are 

intended to cover the costs of the EFAC 

warehouse examination and inspection 

program. The warehouse examination 

and inspection program is designed to 

ensure the warehouse operator’s initial 

qualification for licensing and 

continuing compliance with the 

regulations and the licensing agreement. 

FSA will conduct examinations and 

inspections of licensed facilities as 

specified in the EFAC licensing 

agreement. Inspections will be 

conducted to determine the suitability 

of a facility for proper storage and 

handling of EFAC. Examinations will 

include, but are not limited to, review 

of warehouse records, pest management 

and control, housekeeping, safety, and 

security of goods in the care and 

custody of the licensee. The personnel 

conducting the examinations will verify 

that all commodities are properly 

marked and recorded in the warehouse 

records, and that commodities are 

stored in licensed space. Facilities must 

be kept and maintained in sound 

physical condition. 

USWA fees vary by type of 

warehouse, and are based on estimates 

of FSA costs for warehouse 

examinations and inspections for that 

type of warehouse. The fee schedule for 

EFAC was developed based on the 

anticipated time needed to review 

license applications and amendments, 

and to conduct inspections and 

subsequent examinations. FSA will 

review the fee schedule periodically to 

ensure that fees collected will cover 

associated FSA operational costs, and 

may revise the schedule accordingly. 

Any changes to the fee schedule will be 

posted on the FSA Web site and 

announced in the Federal Register. The 

fee schedule will also be included as an 

attachment to the licensing agreement. 

The initial EFAC fee schedule includes 

the following licensing, annual, and 

inspection fees. 

Licensing Fees 

Section 4(a) of the USWA states, ‘‘The 

Secretary shall assess persons covered 


emcdonald on DSK29S0YB1PROD with NOTICES
20354 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 4, 2012 / Notices 

by this Act fees to cover the costs of 

administering the Act.’’ The application 

fee for original issuance, reissuance, or 

duplication of a license for EFAC is 

$100 for each license issued. A license, 

and the corresponding licensing 

agreement, may cover multiple locations 

under one license, subject the approval 

of the FSA Deputy Administrator for 

Commodity Operations (DACO). 

Annual User Fees 

Annual user fees are assessed based 

on the cost for site visits to conduct 

warehouse examinations to determine 

continued compliance with the terms of 

the licensing agreement and the USWA. 

Annual user fees will be assessed 

independently of application fees and 

inspection fees. The annual user fee will 

be $1500 for 1 to 3 locations, plus $300 

for each additional location operated 

under the same licensing agreement. 

Inspection Fees 

Inspection fees are assessed to recover 

the costs of administering the USWA. 

The inspection fees are assessed for site 

visits to determine initial suitability for 

storage of EFAC. Fees will be assessed 

for each original examination or 

inspection and for amendment 

examinations to modify an existing 

license. The inspection fee will be 

$1000 for 1 to 3 locations, plus $300 for 

each additional location operated under 

the same licensing agreement. Fees for 

additional or special examination 

services, including requested 

examinations or examinations due to 

adverse conditions, will be assessed at 

an hourly rate as determined by FSA. 

USWA fees for EFAC are provided in 

the following table: 

UNITED STATES WAREHOUSE ACT

[Fee Schedule—Export Food Aid Commodities 

(EFAC)] 

Licensing Fee ................................... $100 

Inspection Fee, 1 to 3 Locations ...... 1,000 

Inspection Fee, each additional 

location over 3 ....................... 300 

Annual User Fee, 1 to 3 Locations .. 1,500 

Annual User Fee, each additional location over 3 ............. 300 

General information about FSA 

administration of its responsibilities 

related to the USWA is available on 

FSA’s Web site, at the following link: 

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/

webapp?area=home&subject=coop&

topic=was-ua. In addition to useful 

information such as policy and 

procedural details, the Web site 

includes a listing of licensed 

warehouses. 

Signed on December 7, 2011. 

Carolyn B. Cooksie, 

Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8079 Filed 4–3–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

CHEMICAL SAFETY AND HAZARD 

INVESTIGATION BOARD 

Meetings; Sunshine Act 

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard 

Investigation Board (CSB) announces 

that it will hold a public meeting on 

April 19, 2012, in Buffalo, New York, to 

present the findings from its 

investigation of a flammable vapor 

explosion on November 9, 2010, at the 

E.I DuPont de Nemours and Co. Inc. 

chemical plant in Buffalo, New York. 

The incident involved a contract welder 

and foreman who were repairing an 

agitator support atop an atmospheric 

storage tank containing flammable vinyl 

fluoride (VF). The VF vapor from 

interconnected, in-service process tanks 

flowed undetected into the tank and 

ignited when the welder was repairing 

the agitator support assembly. The 

welder died instantly and the foreman 

was burned. 

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at 

the Embassy Suites Buffalo Downtown, 

Room: Encore I, II, and III, 200 Delaware 

Ave., Buffalo, NY 14202 (716–842– 

1000). The meeting is free and open to 

the public. Pre-registration is not 

required, but to assure adequate seating, 

attendees are encouraged to pre-register 

by emailing their names and affiliations 

to publicmeeting@csb.gov by April 14, 

2012. 

At the meeting CSB staff will present 

to the Board the results of their 

investigation into this incident. Key 

issues involved in the investigation 

concern flammable gas monitoring, tank 

isolation and hot work permits and signoffs. Following the presentation of the 

CSB’s findings and safety 

recommendations, the Board will hear 

comments from the public. 

At the conclusion of the public 

comment period, the Board will 

consider whether to approve the final 

case study and recommendations. All 

staff presentations are preliminary and 

are intended solely to allow the Board 

to consider in a public forum the issues 

and factors involved in this case. No 

factual analyses, conclusions or findings 

presented by staff should be considered 

final. Only after the Board has 

considered the final staff presentation, 

listened to the public comments and 

approved the staff case study will there 

be an approved final record of this 

incident. 

The Board will also consider whether 

to approve the CSB’s draft 2012–2016 

Strategic Plan, which includes strategic 

goals, objectives, and associated 

measures for managing and evaluating 

agency operations. The draft plan is 

available for public comment until April 

12, 2012 at www.csb.gov. All comments 

can be submitted via email to 

strategicplan@csb.gov. 

Please notify CSB if a translator or 

interpreter is needed, at least 5 business 

days prior to the public meeting. For 

more information, please contact the 

U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard 

Investigation Board at (202) 261–7600, 

or visit our Web site at: www.csb.gov. 

Daniel Horowitz, 

Managing Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8142 Filed 4–2–12; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 6350–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

U.S. Census Bureau 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Quarterly Survey 

of Plant Capacity Utilization 

AGENCY: U.S. Census Bureau, 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(2)(A)). 

DATES: To ensure consideration, written 

comments must be submitted on or 

before June 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th and Constitution Avenue NW., 

Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at jjessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument(s) and instructions should 

be directed to Mary C. Potter, U.S. 

Census Bureau, Manufacturing and 

Construction Division, Room 7K157, 

Washington, DC 20233, (301) 763–4207 

(or via the Internet at 

mary.catherine.potter@census.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


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