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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

21391 

Vol. 77, No. 69 

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 985 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–10–0094; FV11–985–1B 

IR] 

Marketing Order Regulating the 

Handling of Spearmint Oil Produced in 

the Far West; Revision of the Salable 

Quantity and Allotment Percentage for 

Class 1 (Scotch) Spearmint Oil for the 

2011–2012 Marketing Year 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule revises the quantity 

of Class 1 (Scotch) spearmint oil that 

handlers may purchase from, or handle 

on behalf of, producers during the 

2011–2012 marketing year. This rule 

increases the Scotch spearmint oil 

salable quantity from 733,913 pounds to 

876,596 pounds, and the allotment 

percentage from 36 percent to 43 

percent. The marketing order regulates 

the handling of spearmint oil produced 

in the Far West and is administered 

locally by the Spearmint Oil 

Administrative Committee (Committee). 

The Committee unanimously 

recommended this rule for the purpose 

of avoiding extreme fluctuations in 

supplies and prices and to help 

maintain stability in the Far West 

spearmint oil market. 

DATES: Effective June 1, 2011, through 

May 31, 2012; comments received by 

June 11, 2012 will be considered prior 

to issuance of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this interim rule. Comments 

must be sent to the Docket Clerk, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Fax: (202) 720–8938; or 

Internet: http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments should reference the 

document number and the date and 

page number of this issue of the Federal 

Register and will be made 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: 

Barry Broadbent, Marketing Specialist, 

or Gary Olson, Regional Manager, 

Northwest Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (503) 326– 

2724, Fax: (503) 326–7440, or Email: 

Barry.Broadbent@ams.usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Laurel May, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

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. 

985 (7 CFR part 985), as amended, 

regulating the handling of spearmint oil 

produced in the Far West (Washington, 

Idaho, Oregon, and designated parts of 

Nevada and Utah), 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 provisions of the 

marketing order now in effect, salable 

quantities and allotment percentages 

may be established for classes of 

spearmint oil produced in the Far West. 

This rule increases the quantity of 

Scotch spearmint oil produced in the 

Far West that handlers may purchase 

from, or handle on behalf of, producers 

during the 2011–2012 marketing year, 

which ends on May 31, 2012. 

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. A 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. 

The original salable quantity and 

allotment percentages for Scotch and 

Native spearmint oil for the 2011–2012 

marketing year were recommended by 

the Committee at its October 13, 2010, 

meeting. The Committee recommended 

salable quantities of 694,774 pounds 

and 1,012,983 pounds, and allotment 

percentages of 34 percent and 44 

percent, respectively, for Scotch and 

Native spearmint oil. A proposed rule 

was published in the Federal Register 

on March 4, 2011 (76 FR 11971). 

Comments on the proposed rule were 

solicited from interested persons until 

April 4, 2011. No comments were 

received. A final rule establishing the 

salable quantities and allotment 

percentages for Scotch and Native 

spearmint oil for the 2011–2012 

marketing year was published in the 

Federal Register on May 13, 2011 (76 

FR 27852). 

The Committee met again on August 

17, 2011, to consider amending the 

salable quantities and allotment 

percentages for Scotch and Native 

spearmint oil for the 2011–2012 

marketing year. At the meeting, the 

Committee recommended increasing the 

salable quantities to 733,913 pounds 

and 1,266,161 pounds, and allotment 

percentages to 36 percent and 55 

percent, respectively, for Scotch and 

Native spearmint oil. The 2011–2012 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES
21392 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

marketing year salable quantities and 

allotment percentages were 

subsequently amended to those levels 

by an interim rule published in the 

Federal Register on October 6, 2011 (76 

FR 61933). Comments on the interim 

rule were solicited from interested 

persons until December 5, 2011. No 

comments were received in response to 

the interim rule. A final rule 

establishing the amended salable 

quantities and allotment percentages 

was published in the Federal Register 

on February 3, 2012 (77 FR 5385). 

This rule further revises the quantity 

of Scotch spearmint oil that handlers 

may purchase from, or handle on behalf 

of, producers during the 2011–2012 

marketing year, which ends on May 31, 

2012. Pursuant to authority contained in 

§§ 985.50, 985.51, and 985.52 of the 

order, the full eight member Committee 

met on February 22, 2012, to consider 

pertinent market information on the 

current supply, demand, and price of 

spearmint oil. In a vote with seven 

members in favor and one member 

opposed, the Committee recommended 

that the 2011–2012 Scotch spearmint oil 

allotment percentage be increased by 7 

percent, from 36 percent to 43 percent. 

The Committee member that voted 

against the increase concurred with the 

rest of the Committee members that an 

increase was justified; however, he felt 

that a 7 percent increase was an 

excessive response to the current Scotch 

spearmint oil marketing conditions. 

Thus, taking into consideration the 

following discussion, this rule increases 

the 2011–2012 marketing year salable 

quantity and allotment percentage for 

Scotch spearmint oil to 876,596 pounds 

and 43 percent. 

The salable quantity is the total 

quantity of each class of oil that 

handlers may purchase from, or handle 

on behalf of, producers during the 

marketing year. The total salable 

quantity is divided by the total industry 

allotment base to determine an 

allotment percentage. Each producer is 

allotted a share of the salable quantity 

by applying the allotment percentage to 

the producer’s individual allotment base 

for the applicable class of spearmint oil. 

The total industry allotment base for 

Scotch spearmint oil for the 2011–2012 

marketing year was initially estimated 

by the Committee to be 2,043,453 

pounds. When that allotment base was 

applied to the originally established 

allotment percentage of 34 percent, the 

initially established 2011–2012 

marketing year salable quantity was set 

at 694,774 pounds. 

The total allotment base is adjusted at 

the end of each marketing year to 

account for the bona fide effort 

provision of the order. In accordance 

with § 985.53(e), producers must make a 

bona fide effort to produce a quantity of 

oil equal to or greater than their 

allotment base. Should a producer fail 

to produce that amount, their allotment 

base is reduced by an amount equal to 

the unproduced portion. The 

production data used to accurately make 

this adjustment to the total industry 

allotment base is not available until 

after the end of the marketing year. 

Consequently, since the rule that 

established the 2011–2012 marketing 

year initial allotment percentage and 

salable quantity for Scotch spearmint oil 

was published prior to the end of the 

2010–2011 marketing year, an estimate 

of the total industry allotment base was 

relied upon in the calculation of the 

initial salable quantity for the 2011– 

2012 marketing year. 

After the end of the 2010–2011 

marketing year on May 31, 2011, 

however, the Committee recalculated 

the final total industry allotment base 

for Scotch spearmint oil to be 2,038,595 

pounds rather than 2,043,453 pounds. 

The 4,858 pound difference between the 

estimated number and the final number 

is the amount of Scotch spearmint oil 

allotment base that producers failed to 

produce during the 2010–2011 

marketing year. 

The Committee met again in August 

2011 to consider the current market 

conditions of the spearmint oil industry 

and to recommend increases in 

allotment percentages and salable 

quantities for both Scotch and Native 

spearmint oil. The allotment percentage 

and salable quantity for Scotch 

spearmint oil was subsequently 

increased in an interim rule that was 

finalized February 3, 2012 (77 FR 5385). 

That rule increased the allotment 

percentage 2 percent and effectively 

increased the 2011–2012 marketing year 

salable quantity by 142,683 pounds. The 

total salable quantity was increased to 

733,913 pounds and was calculated by 

applying the increased allotment 

percentage (36 percent) to the revised 

total industry allotment base of 

2,038,595 pounds and adjusted for 

rounding. 

This interim rule further increases the 

allotment percentage and salable 

quantity for the remainder of the 2011– 

2012 marketing year, which ends May 

31, 2012. The Scotch spearmint oil 

salable quantity is increased from 

733,913 pounds to 876,596 pounds, and 

the allotment percentage from 36 

percent to 43 percent. The additional 

amount of Scotch spearmint oil is made 

available by releasing oil from the 

reserve pool. The reserve pool is 

composed of Scotch spearmint oil that 

producers have produced in prior years 

in excess of their annual allotment and 

is restricted in its disposition. The oil is 

held in storage and may only be 

released to fill the producer’s future 

production deficiencies or when 

additional oil is needed to satisfy 

normal market demand. The reserve is 

an important component of volume 

regulation, providing a mechanism to 

supply the market in times of 

unanticipated increases in the demand 

for spearmint oil. As of February 1, 

2012, the Committee estimated the 

reserve pool of Scotch spearmint oil to 

be 366,988 pounds. 

When the allotment percentage 

increase established by this rule is 

applied to each individual producer, 

that producer may take up to an amount 

equal to such allotment from their 

reserve of Scotch spearmint oil. 

Producers that do not have excess oil in 

the reserve pool equal to or greater than 

their respective share of the pro rata 

increase in the salable quantity will not 

be able to exercise the full marketing 

rights associated with such an increase. 

Also, pursuant to §§ 985.56 and 

985.156, producers with excess oil are 

not able to transfer such excess oil to 

other producers to fill deficiencies in 

annual allotments after October 31 of 

each marketing year. As a result, the 

Committee has calculated that 

deficiencies in individual producer’s oil 

reserves will most likely result in a 

reduction in the amount of Scotch 

spearmint oil that will actually made 

available to the market by this rule. The 

Committee estimates that as much as 

24,453 pounds of the additional salable 

quantity will not actually enter the 

market. 

Therefore, the anticipated effect of the 

7 percent increase in the salable 

percentage established by this rule is 

that an estimated total of 1,079,384 

pounds of Scotch spearmint oil will be 

available for the 2011–2012 marketing 

year. This amount is lower that the 

established salable quantity and 

accounts for the expected producer 

reserve pool deficiencies. The 

Committee believes the net effect of this 

rule is to release an estimated additional 

118,230 pounds of Scotch spearmint oil 

into the market. 

The following summarizes the 

Committee recommendations: 

Scotch Spearmint Oil Recommendation 

(A) Estimated 2011–2012 Allotment 

Base—2,043,453 pounds. This is the 

estimate on which the original 2011– 

2012 Scotch spearmint oil salable 

quantity and allotment percentage was 

based. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 21393 

(B) Revised 2011–2012 Allotment 

Base—2,038,595 pounds. This is 4,858 

pounds less than the estimated 

allotment base of 2,043,453 pounds due 

to the accounting for producers that 

failed to produce all of their 2011–2012 

allotment. 

(C) Original 2011–2012 Allotment 

Percentage—34 percent. This was 

unanimously recommended by the 

Committee on October 13, 2010. 

(D) Original 2011–2012 Salable 

Quantity—694,774 pounds. This figure 

is 34 percent of the originally estimated 

2011–2012 allotment base of 2,043,453. 

(E) Prior Revision to the 2011–2012 

Salable Quantity and Allotment 

Percentage: 

(1) Increase in Allotment Percentage— 

2 percent. The Committee 

recommended a 2 percent increase at its 

August 17, 2011, meeting. 

(2) 2011–2012 Allotment Percentage— 

36 percent. This figure is derived by 

adding the increase of 2 percent to the 

originally established 2011–2012 

allotment percentage of 34 percent. 

(3) Calculated Revised 2011–2012 

Salable Quantity—733,913 pounds. This 

figure is 36 percent of the revised 2011– 

2012 allotment base of 2,038,595 

pounds, plus 19 pounds to account for 

a rounding adjustment. 

(4) Computed Increase in the 2011– 

2012 Salable Quantity—40,772 pounds. 

This figure is 2 percent of the revised 

2011–2012 allotment base of 2,038,595. 

(F) Current Revision to the 2011–2012 

Salable Quantity and Allotment 

Percentage effectuated by this rule: 

(1) Increase in Allotment Percentage— 

7 percent. The Committee 

recommended a 7 percent increase at its 

February 22, 2012, meeting. 

(2) 2011–2012 Allotment Percentage— 

43 percent. This figure is derived by 

adding the increase of 7 percent to the 

revised 2011–2012 allotment percentage 

of 36 percent. 

(3) Calculated Revised 2011–2012 

Salable Quantity—876,596 pounds. This 

figure is 43 percent of the revised 2011– 

2012 allotment base of 2,038,595 

pounds. 

(4) Computed Increase in the 2011– 

2012 Salable Quantity—142,702 

pounds. This figure is 7 percent of the 

revised 2011–2012 allotment base of 

2,038,595 pounds. 

The 2011–2012 marketing year began 

on June 1, 2011, with an estimated 

carry-in of 227,241 pounds of salable 

Scotch spearmint oil. When the 

estimated carry-in is added to the 

revised 2011–2012 salable quantity of 

876,596 pounds, the result is a total 

available supply of Scotch spearmint oil 

for the 2011–2012 marketing year of 

1,103,837 pounds. However, the 

Committee estimates that only 1,079,384 

will actually be available to the market 

given producer reserve pool 

deficiencies. Of this amount, 915,964 

pounds of oil has already been sold or 

committed for the 2011–2012 marketing 

year. This would leave approximately 

163,420 pounds to fulfill market needs 

for the remainder of the marketing year. 

In making this recommendation, the 

Committee considered all available 

information on price, supply, and 

demand. The Committee also 

considered reports and other 

information from handlers and 

producers in attendance at the meeting 

and reports given by the Committee 

manager from handlers and producers 

who were not in attendance. By 

increasing the 2011–2012 Scotch 

spearmint oil salable percentage by 7 

percent, an additional 142,702 pounds 

of Scotch spearmint oil is theoretically 

made available to the market. However, 

as previously discussed, deficiencies in 

producer’s reserves are expected to limit 

the amount of Scotch spearmint oil that 

is actually released into the market. 

Scotch spearmint oil handlers 

originally estimated that the trade 

demand for Scotch oil for the 2011– 

2012 marketing year may be 850,000 

pounds. Sales and commitments for 

Scotch spearmint oil have already 

eclipsed that estimate, and the industry 

expects that market activity will 

continue through the end of the 

marketing year. The Committee believes 

that this rule will release enough oil to 

satisfy the demand for Scotch spearmint 

oil for the remainder of the 2011–2012 

marketing year and will carry over a 

sufficient quantity of Scotch spearmint 

oil into the 2012–2013 marketing year to 

adequately supply the market. 

When the Committee made its 

original recommendation for the 

establishment of the Scotch spearmint 

oil salable quantity and allotment 

percentage for the 2011–2012 marketing 

year, and again when it recommended 

the first increase, it anticipated that its 

actions would provide the industry with 

an ample available supply. In the 

interim, the Scotch spearmint oil market 

has experienced dynamic changes in the 

demand for oil. The Committee believes 

that the supply of Scotch spearmint oil 

that is available to the market without 

the issuance of this rule would be 

insufficient to satisfy the current 

demand at reasonable price levels. 

Therefore, the industry may not be able 

to adequately meet market demand 

without this increase. 

Based on its analysis of available 

information, USDA has determined that 

the salable quantity and allotment 

percentage for Scotch spearmint oil for 

the 2011–2012 marketing year should be 

increased to 876,596 pounds and 43 

percent, respectively. 

This rule relaxes the regulation of 

Scotch spearmint oil and will allow 

producers to meet market demand while 

improving producer returns. In 

conjunction with the issuance of this 

rule, the Committee’s revised marketing 

policy statement for the 2011–2012 

marketing year has been reviewed by 

USDA. The Committee’s marketing 

policy statement, a requirement 

whenever the Committee recommends 

implementing volume regulations or 

recommends revisions to existing 

volume regulations, meets the intent of 

§ 985.50 of the order. During its 

discussion of revising the 2011–2012 

salable quantities and allotment 

percentages, the Committee considered: 

(1) The estimated quantity of salable oil 

of each class held by producers and 

handlers; (2) the estimated demand for 

each class of oil; (3) prospective 

production of each class of oil; (4) total 

of allotment bases of each class of oil for 

the current marketing year and the 

estimated total of allotment bases of 

each class for the ensuing marketing 

year; (5) the quantity of reserve oil, by 

class, in storage; (6) producer prices of 

oil, including prices for each class of oil; 

and (7) general market conditions for 

each class of oil, including whether the 

estimated season average price to 

producers is likely to exceed parity. 

Conformity with USDA’s ‘‘Guidelines 

for Fruit, Vegetable, and Specialty Crop 

Marketing Orders’’ has also been 

reviewed and confirmed. 

The increase in the Scotch spearmint 

oil salable quantity and allotment 

percentage allows for anticipated market 

needs for this class of oil. In 

determining anticipated market needs, 

consideration by the Committee was 

given to historical sales, and changes 

and trends in production and demand. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

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 

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. 


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21394 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

There are 8 spearmint oil handlers 

subject to regulation under the order 

and approximately 32 producers of 

Scotch spearmint oil in the regulated 

production area. Small agricultural 

service firms are defined by the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) (13 CFR 

121.201) as those having annual receipts 

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

agricultural producers are defined as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$750,000. 

Based on the SBA’s definition of 

small entities, the Committee estimates 

that two of the eight handlers regulated 

by the order could be considered small 

entities. Most of the handlers are large 

corporations involved in the 

international trading of essential oils 

and the products of essential oils. In 

addition, the Committee estimates that 8 

of the 32 Scotch spearmint oil producers 

could be classified as small entities 

under the SBA definition. Thus, a 

majority of handlers and producers of 

Far West spearmint oil may not be 

classified as small entities. 

The Far West spearmint oil industry 

is characterized by producers whose 

farming operations generally involve 

more than one commodity, and whose 

income from farming operations is not 

exclusively dependent on the 

production of spearmint oil. A typical 

spearmint oil-producing operation has 

enough acreage for rotation such that 

the total acreage required to produce the 

crop is about one-third spearmint and 

two-thirds rotational crops. Thus, the 

typical spearmint oil producer has to 

have considerably more acreage than is 

planted to spearmint during any given 

season. Crop rotation is an essential 

cultural practice in the production of 

spearmint oil for weed, insect, and 

disease control. To remain economically 

viable with the added costs associated 

with spearmint oil production, most 

spearmint oil-producing farms fall into 

the SBA category of large businesses. 

Small spearmint oil producers 

generally are not as extensively 

diversified as larger ones and as such 

are more at risk to market fluctuations. 

Such small producers generally need to 

market their entire annual crop and do 

not have the luxury of having other 

crops to cushion seasons with poor 

spearmint oil returns. Conversely, large 

diversified producers have the potential 

to endure one or more seasons of poor 

spearmint oil markets because income 

from alternate crops could support the 

operation for a period of time. Being 

reasonably assured of a stable price and 

market provides small producing 

entities with the ability to maintain 

proper cash flow and to meet annual 

expenses. Thus, the market and price 

stability provided by the order 

potentially benefit the small producer 

more than such provisions benefit large 

producers. Even though a majority of 

handlers and producers of spearmint oil 

may not be classified as small entities, 

the volume control feature of this order 

has small entity orientation. 

This rule revises the quantity of 

Scotch spearmint oil that handlers may 

purchase from, or handle on behalf of, 

producers during the 2011–2012 

marketing year, which ends on May 31, 

2011. This rule increases the Scotch 

spearmint oil salable quantity from 

733,913 pounds to 876,596 pounds and 

the allotment percentage from 36 

percent to 43 percent. 

The use of volume control regulation 

allows the industry to fully supply 

spearmint oil markets while avoiding 

the negative consequences of oversupplying these markets. Volume 

control is believed to have little or no 

effect on consumer prices of products 

containing spearmint oil and likely does 

not result in fewer retail sales of such 

products. Without volume control, 

producers would not be limited in the 

production and marketing of spearmint 

oil. Under those conditions, the 

spearmint oil market would likely 

fluctuate widely. Periods of oversupply 

could result in low producer prices and 

a large volume of oil stored and carried 

over to future crop years. Periods of 

undersupply could lead to excessive 

price spikes and could drive end users 

to source flavoring needs from other 

markets, potentially causing long term 

economic damage to the domestic 

spearmint oil industry. The marketing 

order’s volume control provisions have 

been successfully implemented in the 

domestic spearmint oil industry for 

nearly three decades and provide 

benefits for producers, handlers, 

manufacturers, and consumers. 

Based on projections available at the 

meeting, the Committee considered a 

number of alternatives to this increase. 

The Committee not only considered 

leaving the salable quantity and 

allotment percentage unchanged, but 

also considered other potential levels of 

increase. The Committee reached its 

recommendation to increase the salable 

quantity and allotment percentage for 

Scotch spearmint oil after careful 

consideration of all available 

information, and believes that the levels 

recommended will achieve the 

objectives sought. Without the increase, 

the Committee believes the industry 

would not be able to satisfactorily meet 

market demand. 

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. 0581–0178, 

Vegetable and Specialty Crop Marketing 

Orders. 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 rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

spearmint oil 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. 

In addition, USDA 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 

spearmint oil industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations. Like all Committee 

meetings, the February 22, 2012, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express their views on this issue. 

Finally, interested persons are invited to 

submit information on the regulatory 

and informational impacts of this action 

on small businesses. 

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. 

This rule invites comments on a 

change to the salable quantity and 

allotment percentage for Scotch 

spearmint oil for the 2011–2012 

marketing year. Any comments received 

will be considered prior to finalization 

of this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 69 / Tuesday, April 10, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 21395 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) This rule increases the 

quantity of Scotch spearmint oil that 

may be marketed during the marketing 

year, which ends on May 31, 2012; (2) 

the current quantity of Scotch spearmint 

oil may be inadequate to meet demand 

for the 2011–2012 marketing year, thus 

making the additional oil available as 

soon as is practicable will be beneficial 

to both handlers and producers; (3) the 

Committee recommended these changes 

at a public meeting and interested 

parties had an opportunity to provide 

input; and (4) this rule provides a 

60-day comment period and any 

comments received will be considered 

prior to finalization of this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 985 

Marketing agreements, Oils and fats, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Spearmint oil. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 985 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 985—MARKETING ORDER 

REGULATING THE HANDLING OF 

SPEARMINT OIL PRODUCED IN THE 

FAR WEST 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 985 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. In § 985.230, paragraph (a) is 

revised to read as follows: 

[Note: This section will not appear in 

the annual Code of Federal Regulations.] 

§ 985.230 Salable quantities and allotment 

percentages—2011–2012 marketing year. 

* * * * * 

(a) Class 1 (Scotch) oil—a salable 

quantity of 876,596 pounds and an 

allotment percentage of 43 percent. 

* * * * * 

Dated: April 4, 2012. 

Robert C. Keeney, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–8531 Filed 4–9–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2012–0333; Directorate 

Identifier 2011–NM–085–AD; Amendment 

39–17011; AD 2012–07–05] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Fokker 

Services B.V. Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Fokker Services B.V. Model F.27 Mark 

050 airplanes. This proposed AD would 

require performing a low frequency 

eddy current inspection for cracks of the 

lap joint of the rear fuselage, and repair 

if necessary. This AD was prompted by 

reports of cracking in the fuselage lap 

joint. We are issuing this AD to detect 

and correct exponential crack growth, 

which could lead to failure of the lap 

joint over a certain length and 

consequent in-flight decompression of 

the airplane. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective April 

25, 2012. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of the service information listed in the 

AD as of April 25, 2012. 

We must receive comments on this 

AD by May 25, 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. 

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, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this AD, the regulatory 

evaluation, any comments received, and 

other information. The street address for 

the Docket Operations office (telephone 

(800) 647–5527) is in the ADDRESSES

section. Comments will be available in 

the AD docket shortly after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom 

Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, FAA, 

1601 Lind Avenue SW., Renton, 

Washington 98057–3356; telephone 

(425) 227–1137; fax (425) 227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

The European Aviation Safety Agency 

(EASA), which is the Technical Agent 

for the Member States of the European 

Community, has issued EASA 

Airworthiness Directive 2011–0064, 

dated April 7, 2011 (referred to after this 

as ‘‘the MCAI’’), to correct an unsafe 

condition for the specified products. 

The MCAI states: 

One operator reported a clearly visible 

crack in a fuselage lap joint, just forward of 

the ice protection plate in the forward 

fuselage. During a subsequent review of 

fatigue lives of lap joints in general, a critical 

location was found at a skin cut-out for a 

water service panel in the rear fuselage. 

Analysis by Fokker Services shows that at 

this specific location, due to the high local 

loads, cracks can occur from about 47,000 

flight cycles (FC) in the inner skin. The outer 

skin will cover a crack in the inner skin and 

a crack will therefore not be visible. 

This condition, if not detected and 

corrected, can result in an exponential crack 

growth rate, possibly leading to failure of the 

lap joint over a certain length and consequent 

in-flight decompression of the aeroplane. 

For the reasons described above, this 

[EASA] AD requires a one-time lowfrequency eddy current inspection of the lap 

joint for cracks and, depending on findings, 

repair of the lap-joint. This [EASA] AD also 

requires sending an inspection report (even 

when no cracks are found) to the TC [type 

certificate] holder to confirm the selected 

inspection threshold for aeroplanes that have 

not yet accumulated 45,000 FC, as well as the 

inspection interval. The repetitive inspection 

task will be introduced in a future revision 

of the Fokker 50/60 Maintenance Review 

Board (MRB) Document. 

Repair of the lap joint constitutes 

terminating action for the repetitive 

inspections. In addition, the terminating 

action can also be applied before the initial 

inspection is required, thereby preventing the 

need for inspection altogether. 

You may obtain further information by 

examining the MCAI in the AD docket. 

Relevant Service Information 

Fokker Services B.V. has issued 

Service Bulletin SBF50–53–061, dated 

January 13, 2011; and Service Bulletin 


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