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

58956 

Vol. 78, No. 186 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1217 

[Document Number AMS–FV–13–0038] 

Softwood Lumber Research, 

Promotion, Consumer Education and 

Industry Information Order; Changes 

to the Membership of the Softwood 

Lumber Board 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposal invites 

comments on changes to the 

membership of the Softwood Lumber 

Board (Board) established under the 

Softwood Lumber Research, Promotion, 

Consumer Education and Industry 

Information Order (Order). The Board 

administers the Order with oversight by 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA). Under the Order, assessments 

are collected from U.S. manufacturers 

(domestic) and importers and used for 

projects to promote softwood lumber 

within the United States. This proposal 

would revise the Board’s membership to 

reflect the diversity of the industry in 

terms of size of operation; allow 

companies that operate in multiple 

geographic regions to seek 

representation in any region in which 

they operate (U.S. or import); add 

flexibility for the Board to nominate 

eligible persons to fill vacancies that 

occur during a term; and re-designate 

the States of Virginia and West Virginia 

to the U.S. South Region. These changes 

would help facilitate program 

operations. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

October 25, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposal. Comments 

may be submitted on the Internet at: 

http://www.regulations.gov or to the 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, 

USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Room 1406–S, Stop 0244, 

Washington, DC 20250–0244; facsimile: 

(202) 205–2800. 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, 

including name and address, if 

provided, in the above office during 

regular business hours or it can be 

viewed at http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maureen T. Pello, Marketing Specialist, 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, 

USDA, P.O. Box 831, Beavercreek, 

Oregon, 97004; telephone: (503) 632– 

8848; facsimile (503) 632–8852; or 

electronic mail: 

Maureen.Pello@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposal is issued under the Order. The 

Order is authorized under the 

Commodity Promotion, Research, and 

Information Act of 1996 (1996 Act) (7 

U.S.C. 7411–7425). 

Executive Order 12866 

The Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has waived the review process 

required by Executive Order 12866 for 

this action. 

Executive Order 13175 

This action has been reviewed in 

accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. The review reveals that 

this regulation would not have 

substantial and direct effects on Tribal 

governments and would not have 

significant Tribal implications. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposal has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. Section 524 of 

the 1996 Act (7 U.S.C. 7423) provides 

that it shall not affect or preempt any 

other Federal or State law authorizing 

promotion or research relating to an 

agricultural commodity. 

Under section 519 of the 1996 Act (7 

U.S.C. 7418), a person subject to an 

order may file a written petition with 

USDA stating that an order, any 

provision of an order, or any obligation 

imposed in connection with an order, is 

not established in accordance with the 

law, and request a modification of an 

order or an exemption from an order. 

Any petition filed challenging an order, 

any provision of an order, or any 

obligation imposed in connection with 

an order, shall be filed within two years 

after the effective date of an order, 

provision, or obligation subject to 

challenge in the petition. The petitioner 

will have the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. Thereafter, USDA will 

issue a ruling on the petition. The 1996 

Act provides that the district court of 

the United States for any district in 

which the petitioner resides or conducts 

business shall have the jurisdiction to 

review a final ruling on the petition, if 

the petitioner files a complaint for that 

purpose not later than 20 days after the 

date of the entry of USDA’s final ruling. 

Background 

This proposal invites comments on 

changes to the Board’s membership 

provisions under the Order. The Board 

administers the Order with oversight by 

USDA. Under the Order, assessments 

are collected from U.S. manufacturers 

and importers and used for projects to 

promote softwood lumber within the 

United States. This proposal would 

revise the Board’s membership to reflect 

the diversity of the industry in terms of 

size of operation; allow companies that 

operate in multiple regions to seek 

representation in any region in which 

they operate (U.S. or import); add 

flexibility for the Board to nominate 

eligible persons to fill vacancies that 

occur during a term; and re-designate 

the States of Virginia and West Virginia 

to the U.S. South Region. These changes 

would help facilitate program 

operations and were unanimously 

recommended by the Board in July 

2013. 

Pursuant to section 1217.40(b), the 

Board is composed of 18 or 19 members, 

depending upon whether an additional 

importer member is appointed to the 

Board. Twelve members are domestic 

manufacturers and six members are 

importers of softwood lumber from 

Canada. Of the 12 domestic 

manufacturers, 6 represent the U.S. 

South, 5 represent the U.S. West and 1 

represents the Northeast and Lake 

States. Of the six Canadian importers, 

four represent Canada West and two 

represent Canada East. An additional 

importer member may be appointed to 

represent all other importing countries 

besides Canada. Section 1217.40(c)(2) 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2013 / Proposed Rules 58957 

provides authority for the Board to 

recommend changes to its membership 

and nomination process. 

The Board met on May 7 and 8, 2013, 

and reviewed program operations, 

including the Board’s structure and 

nomination process. The Board 

reviewed these issues further and made 

the following four recommendations in 

July 2013. 

Board Diversity and Size of Operation 

The Board recommended that its 

regional membership be revised to 

reflect the diversity of the industry in 

terms of size of operation. About 8 

percent of the companies covered under 

the Order account for the top two-thirds 

of the total annual volume of assessable 

softwood lumber (both domestic and 

imports). These companies are 

considered large by the industry in 

terms of size of operation. Some of these 

companies operate in multiple regions 

and some are both a domestic 

manufacturer and an importer of 

softwood lumber. Ninety-two percent of 

the companies covered under the Order 

account for the remaining one-third of 

the total annual volume of assessable 

softwood lumber. These are considered 

small by the industry in terms of size of 

operation. 

The Board wants to ensure that this 

diversity is reflected within each region. 

The Board analyzed each region’s 

volume of assessable softwood lumber 

in relation to the region’s volume 

attributed to small and large companies. 

Table 1 below shows this analysis based 

on 3-year average data (2010–2012). 

TABLE 1—REGIONAL ANALYSIS OF ASSESSABLE SOFTWOOD LUMBER BY SIZE OF OPERATION

Region Assessable volume 

(billion board feet) 

Large companies Small companies 

Regional volume 

(billion board feet) 

Regional volume 

(billion board feet) 

U.S. South ................................................................................... 10.436 5.951 (57%) 4.485 (43%) 

U.S. West ..................................................................................... 10.548 8.017 (76%) 2.511 (24%) 

NE and Lake States .................................................................... 0.749 0.229 (31%) 0.520 (69%) 

Canada West ............................................................................... 4.983 3.919 (79%) 1.064 (21%) 

Canada East ................................................................................ 2.379 1.315 (55%) 1.064 (45%) 

* These figures are an average of data from 2010–2012. 2012 is actual Board assessment data from its first year of operation. 2010 and 2011 

Canadian data is from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 2010 and 2011 U.S. data is from Forest Economic Advisors. 

It is noted that for the U.S. South, 

while the majority of the volume of 

assessable softwood lumber is attributed 

to large companies, almost 90 percent of 

the number of companies operating in 

this region are small. The Board 

considered this in its recommended 

distribution of Board seats as shown in 

Table 2 below. 

TABLE 2—ALLOCATION OF BOARD SEATS BASED ON SIZE OF OPERATION

Size of operation 

Number of seats 

U.S. South U.S. West NE and Lake 

States Canada east Canada west Non-Canadian importer 

Large companies ..................................... 2 4 N/A 1 3 N/A 

Small companies ...................................... 4 1 1 1 

6 5 1 2 4 1 

* The Northeast and Lake States member and non-Canadian importer member could represent companies of any size. 

Additionally, if there were no eligible 

nominees for a large or small seat within 

a region, that seat could be filled by a 

nominee representing a company of any 

size. Should a company’s size change 

during a member’s term of office, that 

member could serve for the remainder 

of the term to which they were 

appointed. Section 1217.40(b) would be 

revised accordingly. 

Further, section 1217.40(c) requires 

the Board to periodically review the 

geographic distribution of the volume of 

softwood lumber manufactured and 

shipped within the United States by 

domestic manufacturers and the volume 

of softwood lumber imported into the 

United States. This section would be 

revised to require the Board to also 

periodically review the distribution of 

seats based on size of operation and 

recommend changes as necessary. 

Section 1217.40(c) would be revised 

accordingly. 

Entities That Operate in Multiple 

Regions (U.S. and/or Import) 

Section 1217.41(b)(3) provides that 

nominees that are both a domestic 

manufacturer and importer may seek 

nomination to the Board as either a 

domestic manufacturer or an importer, 

but not both. Nominees who 

domestically manufacture the majority 

of their softwood lumber must seek 

representation as a domestic 

manufacturer and nominees who import 

the majority of their softwood lumber 

must seek representation as an importer. 

Section 1217.41(b)(4) provides that 

domestic manufacturers who 

manufacture and domestically ship from 

more than one U.S. region must seek 

representation in the region of the 

majority of their softwood lumber. 

Further, section 1217.41(b)(5) provides 

that importers who import from more 

than one Canadian region must seek 

representation in the region from which 

they import the majority of their 

softwood lumber. 

As previously mentioned some 

entities in the softwood lumber industry 

are both domestic manufacturers and 

importers and operate in multiple 

regions under the Order. Industry 

members would like the flexibility to 

choose which region they represent and 

whether they seek a position as a 

domestic manufacturer or an importer 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
58958 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

1Price data was obtained from Random Lengths 

Publications, Inc., and is a framing composite price 

that is designed as a broad measure of price 

movement in the lumber market 

(www.randomlengths.com). 

2Percentages were obtained from the American 

Lumber Standard Committee, Inc. (ALSC). The 

ALSC administers an accreditation program for the 

grade marking of lumber produced under the 

American Softwood Lumber Standard (Voluntary 

Product Standard 20). 

on the Board. Thus, the Board 

recommended revising the Order so that 

entities that are U.S. manufacturers and 

importers and who may operate in 

multiple regions have the ability to seek 

representation in any region in which 

they operate. This would add flexibility 

to the nomination process by allowing 

companies to seek representation in 

their region of choice. Paragraphs (3), (4) 

and (5) of section 1217.41(b) would be 

revised accordingly. 

Vacancies That Occur Mid-Term 

Section 1217.43(c) currently specifies 

that if a position becomes vacant, 

nominations to fill the vacancy be 

conducted using the nomination process 

set forth in the Order (section 

1217.41(b)) whereby the Board solicits 

the names of eligible nominees and then 

conducts regional elections. The process 

is lengthy and can result in a seat 

remaining vacant for an extended period 

of time. Thus, the Board recommended 

revising the Order to allow the Board 

the flexibility to nominate eligible 

persons to fill vacancies that occur 

during a term. This would facilitate 

program operations by helping to ensure 

that vacancies are filled in a timely 

manner. Section 1217.43(c) would be 

revised accordingly. 

Virginia and West Virginia 

Section 1217.40(b)(1)(iii) specifies 

that the States of Virginia and West 

Virginia are included as part of the 

Northeast and Lake States Region under 

the Order. However, softwood lumber 

from Virginia and West Virginia is 

predominately pine, a much different 

species from the white spruce and red 

pine in the Northeast and Lake States, 

respectively. Thus, the Board 

recommended that the Order be revised 

to re-designate the States of Virginia and 

West Virginia as part of the U.S. South. 

The volume of softwood lumber from 

Virginia and West Virginia is relatively 

small (284 million board feet in 2012), 

so this change would have no impact on 

the regional distribution of seats on the 

Board. This change would align Virginia 

and West Virginia with the region in 

which they have more in common. 

Section 1217.40(b)(1)(iii) would be 

revised accordingly. 

This proposal would also make two 

minor changes to the Order. In 

paragraph (b) of section 1217.70 on 

reports, the last sentence would be 

modified to specify that importers who 

pay their assessments directly to the 

Board must submit their report that 

accompanies the payment of collected 

assessments within 30 calendar days 

after the end of the quarter in which the 

softwood lumber was imported as 

opposed to 30 calendar days after 

importation. This language was 

inadvertently omitted from the final rule 

that implemented the Order (76 FR 

46185; August 2, 2012) and would bring 

the Order in line with current industry 

practices. This proposal would also 

change the OMB control number in 

section 1217.108 from 0581–NEW to 

0581–0264, the control number assigned 

by the OMB. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Analysis 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601– 

612), AMS is required to examine the 

impact of the proposed rule on small 

entities. Accordingly, AMS has 

considered the economic impact of this 

action on small entities. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions so 

that small businesses will not be 

disproportionately burdened. The Small 

Business Administration defines, in 13 

CFR Part 121, small agricultural 

producers as those having annual 

receipts of no more than $750,000 and 

small agricultural service firms 

(domestic manufacturers and importers) 

as those having annual receipts of no 

more than $7.0 million. 

According to the Board, it is estimated 

that there are currently about 446 

domestic manufacturers of softwood 

lumber in the United States. This 

number represents separate business 

entities; one business entity may 

include multiple sawmills. Using an 

average price of $322 per thousand 

board feet,1 a domestic manufacturer 

who ships less than about 25 million 

board feet per year would be considered 

a small entity. Using 2012 data, it is 

estimated that about 270 domestic 

manufacturers, or about 60 percent,2

ship less than 25 million board feet 

annually. 

Likewise, based on data from U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection 

(Customs) and the Board, it is estimated 

there are currently about 767 importers 

of softwood lumber. Using 2012 

Customs data, about 699 importers, or 

about 91 percent, import less than $7.0 

million worth of softwood lumber 

annually. Thus, for purposes of the 

RFA, the majority of domestic 

manufacturers and importers of 

softwood lumber would be considered 

small entities. 

Regarding value of the commodity, 

with domestic production averaging 

about 28.5 billion board feet in 2012, 

and using an average price of $322 per 

thousand board feet, the average annual 

domestic value for softwood lumber is 

about $9.2 billion. According to 

Customs data, the average annual value 

for softwood lumber imports for 2012 is 

about $3.5 billion. 

This proposal invites comments on 

four changes to the Order regarding the 

Board’s membership. Paragraphs (1) and 

(2) of section 1217.40(b) would be 

revised to reflect the diversity of the 

industry in terms of size of operation; 

paragraph 1217.40(c) would be revised 

to require the Board to periodically 

review this distribution. Paragraphs (3), 

(4) and (5) of section 1217.41(b) would 

be revised to allow companies that 

operate in multiple regions to seek 

representation in any region in which 

they operate. Section 1217.43(c) would 

be revised to add flexibility for the 

Board to nominate eligible persons to 

fill vacancies that occur during a term. 

Section 1217.40(b)(1)(iii) would be 

revised to re-designate the States of 

Virginia and West Virginia to the U.S. 

South Region. These changes were 

unanimously recommended by the 

Board and are authorized under section 

1217.40(c)(2) of the Order and section 

515(b)(3) of the 1996 Act. 

Regarding the economic impact of this 

proposed rule on affected entities, these 

changes are administrative in nature 

and would have no economic impact on 

entities covered under the program. 

These changes would help maintain the 

Board’s balance in terms of size of 

operation by geographic region; add 

flexibility so that multi-region 

companies could choose which region 

they represent on the Board; help ensure 

that mid-term vacancies are filled in a 

timely manner; and better align the 

States of Virginia and West Virginia. 

Regarding alternatives, the Board 

explored various options regarding the 

diversity of size of operation. The Board 

considered establishing a separate 

region for multi-region companies and 

companies that are both a domestic 

manufacturer and an importer. The 

Board also considered establishing some 

‘‘at large’’ seats for multi-region 

companies. The Board considered 

weighting an entity’s vote in a regional 

election by volume. The Board also 

considered maintaining the status quo 

and not changing the Order in this 

regard. After much deliberation, the 

Board opted to recommend allocating 


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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2013 / Proposed Rules 58959 

regional seats based on an analysis of 

the volume of softwood lumber within 

each region and the volume of 

assessable softwood lumber covered 

under the Order. 

The Board considered maintaining the 

status quo regarding multi-region 

companies who may also be a domestic 

manufacturer and importer, filling midterm vacancies and the regional 

designation for the States of Virginia 

and West Virginia. The Board ultimately 

recommended modifications to these 

Order provisions. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the information collection 

and recordkeeping requirements that are 

imposed by the Order have been 

approved previously under OMB 

control number 0581–0264. This 

proposed rule would impose no 

additional reporting and recordkeeping 

burden on domestic manufacturer and 

importers of softwood lumber. 

As with all Federal promotion 

programs, reports and forms are 

periodically reviewed to reduce 

information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. Finally, USDA has not 

identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

this proposed rule. 

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. 

Regarding outreach efforts, these 

actions were discussed by the Board at 

meetings on May 7 and 8, 2013. The 

Board’s Executive Committee discussed 

these issues on January 7, June 3 and 10, 

and July 1, 2013. All of the Board’s 

meetings, including meetings held via 

teleconference, are open to the public 

and interested persons are invited to 

participate and express their views. 

We have performed this initial RFA 

analysis regarding the impact of this 

proposed action on small entities and 

we invite comments concerning 

potential effects of this action on small 

businesses. 

While this proposed rule set forth 

below has not received the approval of 

USDA, it has been determined that it is 

consistent with and would effectuate 

the purposes of the 1996 Act. 

A 30-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposal. Thirty days is deemed 

appropriate because this action needs to 

be in place no later than February 2014 

to allow sufficient time for the election 

process and appointments for the term 

of office beginning January 1, 2015. All 

written comments received in response 

to this proposed rule by the date 

specified will be considered prior to 

finalizing this action. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1217 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Advertising, Consumer 

information, Marketing agreements, 

Softwood Lumber promotion, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 1217 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 1217—SOFTWOOD LUMBER 

RESEARCH, PROMOTION, 

CONSUMER EDUCATION AND 

INDUSTRY INFORMATION ORDER 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 1217 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411–7425; 7 U.S.C. 

7401. 

■ 2. Amend § 1217.40 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a); 

■ b. Revising paragraphs (b)(1), (b)2) 

introductory text, (b)(2)(i), and (b)(2)(ii); 

■ c. Revising the introductory text to 

paragraph (c) and paragraphs (c)(2) and 

(c)(3) 

The changes to read as follows: 

§ 1217.40 Establishment and membership. 

(a) Establishment of the Board. There 

is hereby established a Softwood 

Lumber Board to administer the terms 

and provisions of this Order and 

promote the use of softwood lumber. 

The Board shall be composed of 

manufacturers for the U.S. market who 

manufacture and domestically ship or 

import 15 million board feet or more of 

softwood lumber in the United States 

during a fiscal period. Seats on the 

Board shall be apportioned based on the 

volume of softwood lumber 

manufactured and shipped within the 

United States by domestic 

manufacturers and the volume of 

softwood lumber imported into the 

United States. Seats on the Board shall 

also be apportioned based on size of 

operation within each geographic 

region, as specified in paragraphs 

(b)(1)(i), (b)(1)(ii), (b)(2)(i), and (b)(2)(ii) 

of this section. For purposes of this 

section, large means manufacturers for 

the U.S. market who account for the top 

two-thirds of the total annual volume of 

assessable softwood lumber and small 

means those who account for the 

remaining one-third of the total annual 

volume of assessable softwood lumber. 

If there are no eligible nominees for a 

large or small seat within a region, that 

seat may be filled by a nominee 

representing an eligible manufacturer 

for the U.S. market of any size. Should 

the size of a manufacturer for the U.S. 

market change during a member’s term 

of office, that member could serve for 

the remainder of the term. 

(b) * * * 

(1) Domestic manufacturers. Twelve 

members shall be domestic 

manufacturers from the following three 

regions: 

(i) Six members shall be from the U.S. 

South Region, which consists of the 

states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, 

Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North 

Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West 

Virginia. Of these six members, two 

must be large and four must be small; 

(ii) Five members shall be from the 

U.S. West Region, which consists of the 

states of Alaska, Arizona, California, 

Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, 

Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, 

Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, 

Washington and Wyoming. Of these five 

members, four must be large and one 

must be small; and 

(iii) One member shall be from the 

Northeast and Lake States Region, 

which consists of the states of 

Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, 

Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, 

Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 

Vermont, Wisconsin and all other parts 

of the United States not listed in 

paragraphs (b)(1)(i), (b)(1)(ii), or 

(b)(1)(iii) of this section. 

(2) Importers. Six members shall be 

importers who represent the following 

regions: 

(i) Four members shall import 

softwood lumber from the Canadian 

West Region, which consists of the 

provinces of British Columbia and 

Alberta. Of these four members, three 

must be large and one must be small; 

and 

(ii) Two members shall import 

softwood lumber from the Canadian 

East Region, which consists of the 

Canadian territories and all other 

Canadian provinces not listed in 

paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section that 

import softwood lumber into the United 

States. Of these two members, one must 

be large and one must be small. 

(iii) * * * 

(c) In each five-year period, but not 

more frequently than once in each threeyear period, the Board shall: 

(1) * * * 

(2) Review, based on a three-year 

average, the distribution of the size of 

operations within each region; and 

(3) If warranted, recommend to the 

Secretary the reapportionment of the 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
58960 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 25, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

Board membership to reflect changes in 

the geographical distribution of the 

volume of softwood lumber 

manufactured and shipped within the 

United States by domestic 

manufacturers and the volume of 

softwood lumber imported into the 

United States. The destination of 

volumes between regions and the 

distribution of the size of operations 

within regions shall also be considered. 

The number of Board members may also 

be changed. Any changes in Board 

composition shall be implemented by 

the Secretary through rulemaking. 

■ 3. Amend § 1217.41 by 

■ a. Revising the introductory text to 

paragraph (b); 

■ b. Revising paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), 

(b)(3), (b)(4), and (b)(5). 

The changes to read as follows: 

§ 1217.41 Nominations and appointments. 

(a) * * * 

(b) Subsequent nominations shall be 

conducted as follows: 

(1) The Board shall conduct outreach 

to all segments of the softwood lumber 

industry. Softwood lumber domestic 

manufacturers and importers may 

submit nominations to the Board. 

Subsequent nominees must 

domestically manufacture and/or import 

15 million board feet or more of 

softwood lumber per fiscal year; 

(2) Domestic manufacturers and 

importer nominees may provide the 

Board a short background statement 

outlining their qualifications to serve on 

the Board; 

(3) Nominees that are both a domestic 

manufacturer and an importer may seek 

nomination to the Board and vote in the 

nomination process as either a domestic 

manufacturer or an importer, but not 

both. Such nominees must domestically 

manufacture and import 15 million 

board feet or more of softwood lumber 

per fiscal year; 

(4) The names of domestic 

manufacturer nominees shall be placed 

on a ballot by region. The ballots along 

with the background statements shall be 

mailed to domestic manufacturers in 

each respective region for a vote. 

Domestic manufacturers who 

manufacture softwood lumber in more 

than one region may seek nomination 

and vote in one region of their choice. 

The votes shall be tabulated for each 

region with the nominee receiving the 

highest number of votes at the top of the 

list in descending order by vote. The top 

two candidates for each position shall 

be submitted to the Secretary; 

(5) The names of importer nominees 

shall be placed on a ballot by region. 

The ballots along with the background 

statements shall be mailed to importers 

in each respective region for a vote. 

Importers who import softwood lumber 

from more than one region may seek 

nomination and vote in one region of 

their choice. The votes shall be 

tabulated for each region with the 

nominee receiving the highest number 

of votes at the top of the list in 

descending order by vote. The top two 

candidates for each position shall be 

submitted to the Secretary. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Amend § 1217.43 by revising 

paragraph (c) to read as follows: 

§ 1217.43 Removal and vacancies. 

(a) * * * 

(b) * * * 

(c) If a position becomes vacant, 

nominations to fill the vacancy may be 

conducted using the nominations 

process set forth in § 1217.41(b) or the 

Board may nominate eligible persons. A 

vacancy will not be required to be filled 

if the unexpired term is less than six 

months. 

■ 5. Amend § 1217.70 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 1217.70 Reports. 

* * * * * 

(b) For domestic manufacturers, such 

information shall accompany the 

collected payment of assessments on a 

quarterly basis specified in § 1217.52. 

For importers who pay their 

assessments directly to the Board, such 

information shall accompany the 

payment of collected assessments 

within 30 calendar days after the end of 

the quarter in which the softwood 

lumber was imported. 

■ 6. Section 1217.108 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 1217.108 OMB control number. 

The control number assigned to the 

information collection requirement in 

this subpart by the Office of 

Management and Budget pursuant to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 4 

U.S.C. is OMB control number 0581– 

0264. 

Dated: September 17, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2013–22968 Filed 9–24–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2013–0793; Directorate 

Identifier 2012–NM–138–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; BAE 

SYSTEMS (OPERATIONS) LIMITED 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all BAE 

SYSTEMS (OPERATIONS) LIMITED 

Model BAe 146 series airplanes and 

Model Avro 146–RJ series airplanes. 

This proposed AD was prompted by 

reports of excess solder deposited 

during overhaul on the frangible plug of 

a fire extinguisher, which prevented the 

release of the extinguishant. This 

proposed AD would require a one-time 

inspection of certain engine and 

auxiliary power unit (APU) fire 

extinguishers to determine if the fire 

extinguishers are affected by excessive 

solder and corrective actions if 

necessary. We are proposing this AD to 

prevent the failure of a fire extinguisher 

to discharge, which reduces the ability 

of the fire protection system to 

extinguish fires in the engine or APU 

fire zones, possibly resulting in damage 

to the airplane and injury to the 

passengers. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by November 12, 

2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 

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

p.m., Monday through Friday, except 

Federal holidays. 

• For BAE SYSTEMS (OPERATIONS) 

LIMITED service information identified 

in this proposed AD, contact BAE 

SYSTEMS (OPERATIONS) LIMITED, 

Customer Information Department, 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS