This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

85819 

Vol. 88, No. 236 

Monday, December 11, 2023 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 989 

[Doc. No. AMS–SC–23–0062] 

Raisins Produced From Grapes Grown 

in California; Temporary Relaxation of 

Substandard and Maturity Dockage 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Interim rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule temporarily changes 

the substandard and maturity dockage 

requirements for raisins covered under 

the Federal marketing order for raisins 

produced from grapes grown in 

California (Order). For the 2023–2024 

crop year, the minimum requirements 

for substandard and maturity dockage in 

the marketing order’s handling 

regulations will be relaxed to 

accommodate raisins adversely 

impacted by severe weather conditions. 

DATES: Effective on December 12, 2023. 

Comments which are received by 

February 9, 2024, will be considered 

prior to the issuance of any final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Market 

Development Division, Specialty Crops 

Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, STOP 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: (202) 

720–8938; or via internet at: https://

www.regulations.gov. Comments should 

reference the document number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register. All comments 

submitted in response to this rule will 

be included in the record and will be 

made available to the public on the 

internet at the address provided above. 

Please be advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting the 

comments will be made public. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeremy Sasselli, Marketing Specialist, or 

Gary Olson, Chief, West Region Branch, 

Market Development Division, Specialty 

Crops Program, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (559) 487–5901 or Email: 

Jeremy.Sasselli@usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Richard Lower, 

Assistant to the Director, Market 

Development Division, Specialty Crops 

Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, STOP 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–8085, or Email: 

Richard.Lower@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, 

amends regulations issued to carry out 

a marketing order as defined in 7 CFR 

900.2(j). This rule is issued under 

Marketing Agreement and Order No. 

989, both as amended (7 CFR part 989), 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Order,’’ 

and the applicable provisions of the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674), 

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act.’’ The 

Committee locally administers the 

Order and is comprised of growers and 

handlers of raisins operating within the 

area of production, and a public 

member. 

The Agricultural Marketing Service 

(AMS) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

12866, 13563, and 14094. Executive 

Orders 12866, 13563, and 14094 direct 

agencies to assess costs and benefits of 

available regulatory alternatives and, if 

regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health 

and safety effects, distributive impacts, 

and equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, 

reducing costs, harmonizing rules, and 

promoting flexibility. Executive Order 

14094 directs agencies to conduct 

proactive outreach to engage interested 

and affected parties through a variety of 

means, such as through field offices, 

and alternative platforms and media. 

This action falls within a category of 

regulatory actions that the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

exempted from Executive Order 12866 

review. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 13175—Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments, which requires agencies 

to consider whether their rulemaking 

actions would have tribal implications. 

AMS has determined that this rule is 

unlikely to have substantial direct 

effects on one or more Indian tribes, on 

the relationship between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule is not intended to 

have a retroactive effect. 

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 the Department of Agriculture 

(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 no later than 

20 days after the date of the entry of the 

ruling. 

This interim rule temporarily relaxes 

the substandard and maturity dockage 

minimum requirements for incoming 

raisins covered under the Order for the 

2023–2024 crop year. Section 989.58 

requires natural condition raisins that 

do not meet the minimum requirements 

must be returned by handlers to 

producers, reconditioned by handlers at 

the producers’ expense, or disposed of 

in a non-normal outlet such as animal 

feed at a much-reduced producer price. 

Provided, that handlers may acquire 

natural condition raisins which exceed 

the tolerance established for maturity 

under a weight dockage system. Under 

the Order, handlers acquire raisins from 

producers under a weight dockage 

system and adjust the creditable fruit 

weight acquired according to the 


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percentage of substandard raisins in the 

lot and/or the percentage of raisins that 

fall below certain levels of maturity in 

the lot. Handler payments to producers, 

and the payment of handler 

assessments, are based on the creditable 

weight of raisins acquired by handlers. 

Due to unusual crop conditions created 

by extreme weather events which 

adversely affected the growing 

conditions of California raisin grape 

vines, producers and handlers in the 

industry are seeing a relatively high 

percentage of the 2023–2024 crop year 

deliveries of raisins fall outside the 

minimum requirements of the 

substandard and maturity dockage 

system. The situation is the result of 

unforeseen environmental factors that 

are showing effects on raisin grapes now 

after harvest and drying. The temporary 

relaxation of the substandard and 

maturity requirements effectuated by 

this interim rule is expected to mitigate 

the disruption of the marketing of 

California raisins caused by adverse 

environmental conditions on the 

California raisin industry and provide a 

cost savings for producers by reducing 

reconditioning and reinspection costs. 

Prior to the 2022–2023 winter, the 

raisin growing region in California 

suffered multiple years of extreme 

drought, which had long-term 

detrimental effects on California grape 

vineyards. Further, over the course of 

the 2022–2023 winter, temperatures 

across California were colder than 

average, rainfall in the San Joaquin 

Valley exceeded normal levels, and 

snowfall in the Sierra Nevada greatly 

exceeded normal levels, leading to one 

of the largest snowpacks on record. 

Additionally, in 2023 a series of intense 

storms brought rain onto the record 

snowpack, causing rapid snowmelt 

which had disastrous flooding effects in 

parts of the San Joaquin Valley, 

including the historic filling of the 

Tulare Lake Basin. However, the full 

effect of such severe weather conditions 

on raisin grape production only became 

apparent to producers when 

dehydrators began their grape 

dehydrating activities in mid to late 

August 2023. 

During its October 5, 2023, meeting, 

the Committee determined that rain and 

cold temperatures into late spring and 

early summer delayed crop maturity 

and that record rain and snowmelt 

created exceptionally high humidity 

levels throughout the production area, 

causing some bunch rot and mildew 

issues. In addition, hurricane Hillary 

perpetuated these conditions at the end 

of August 2023 by bringing unseasonal 

and substantial rainfall throughout the 

raisin growing region. The crop was also 

late by at least three weeks, and 

temperatures in September and into 

October were below average, which 

extended the raisin drying period and 

has delayed deliveries to handlers. 

Thus, raisins delivered to handlers by 

producers are failing to meet the Order’s 

minimum requirements. This is evident 

by incoming inspections reported to the 

Committee since the beginning of the 

2023–2024 crop year (August 1) having 

shown an increase of approximately 160 

percent in off-grade natural condition 

raisins over the average of the past 4 

years (29.1 percent versus 11.2 percent). 

All other varieties of raisins have also 

shown a 155 percent increase in offgrade over the previous 4-year average 

(26.0 percent versus 10.2 percent). 

Relaxing the limits for the 2023–2024 

crop year will reduce the number of 

failing lots of raisins that must either be 

returned by handlers to producers, 

reconditioned by handlers at the 

producers’ expense, or disposed of 

through non-normal outlets. This rule 

will provide cost savings to producers 

by minimizing reconditioning and 

reinspection costs and avoid further 

delays affecting producer deliveries in 

the 2023–2024 crop year. The 

Committee unanimously recommended 

this action during its October 5, 2023, 

meeting. 

Section 989.58(a) of the Order 

provides authority for the establishment 

of incoming grade, quality, and 

condition requirements for natural 

condition raisins that are delivered from 

producers to handlers. This section also 

contains authority for handlers to 

acquire natural condition raisins which 

fall outside the tolerance established for 

maturity, which includes substandard 

raisins, under a weight dockage system. 

Section 989.701 of the Order 

establishes the minimum grade and 

condition standards for natural 

condition raisins. Product that does not 

meet those requirements is considered 

substandard. Handlers may acquire 

product that is determined to be 

substandard under a weight dockage 

system. The regulations delineating the 

Order’s weight dockage system are 

contained in §§ 989.212 and 989.213. 

Under those provisions, handler 

acquisitions of raisins, and payments to 

producers for such raisins, are adjusted 

according to the percentage of 

substandard raisins in each lot and/or 

the percentage of raisins that fall below 

certain levels of maturity of each lot. 

Product that does not meet the 

minimum requirements under the 

weight dockage system is considered 

off-grade and must be returned to 

producers, reconditioned, or disposed of 

in an eligible non-normal market outlet 

that does not compete with standard 

raisins. 

Tolerances for Substandard Raisins 

Section 989.701 of the Order’s 

regulations specifies the minimum 

quality requirements for natural 

condition raisins. Lots of raisins may 

contain a maximum percentage, 

depending on varietal type, of 

substandard raisins (raisins that show 

development less than that 

characteristic of raisins prepared from 

fairly well-matured grapes). 

Specifically, lots of Natural (sun-dried) 

Seedless, Monukka, Other Seedless, 

Dipped Seedless, Oleate and Related 

Seedless, Other Seedless-Sulfured, and 

Golden Seedless raisins may contain no 

more than 5 percent, by weight, of 

substandard raisins. Lots of Muscat, 

Sultana, and Zante Currant raisins may 

contain no more than 12 percent, by 

weight, of substandard raisins. 

Dockage System for Substandard 

Raisins 

Section 989.212 provides that 

handlers may acquire, under an 

agreement with a producer, raisins that 

fall outside the tolerance for 

substandard raisins specified in 

§ 989.701. Specifically, handlers may 

acquire any lot of Natural (sun-dried) 

Seedless, Golden Seedless, Dipped 

Seedless, Monukka, Other Seedless, and 

Other Seedless-Sulfured raisins which 

contain from 5.1 through 17.0 percent, 

by weight, of substandard raisins under 

a weight dockage system. A handler 

may also acquire, subject to prior 

agreement, any lot of Muscat (including 

other raisins with seeds), Sultana, and 

Zante Currant raisins containing from 

12.1 through 20.0 percent, by weight, of 

substandard raisins under a weight 

dockage system. The creditable weight 

of each lot of raisins acquired by 

handlers under the substandard dockage 

system is obtained by multiplying the 

applicable net weight of the lot of 

raisins by the applicable dockage factor 

from the tables in § 989.212. The 

dockage factor reduces the weight of the 

raisin lot by an amount approximating 

the weight of the raisins needed to be 

removed for the remainder of the lot to 

meet minimum grade requirements after 

processing and packing. The weight 

determined in this manner represents 

the creditable weight of the raisins 

which is used as a basis for applicable 

handler assessments and handler 

payments to producers for product 

received. However, those raisins failing 

to meet the established substandard 

tolerance levels (17.0 or 20.0 percent, 

depending on varietal type) must be 

returned to the producer or 


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reconditioned by the handler (at the 

producer’s expense) to bring the lot up 

to acceptable quality standards or 

disposed of in an eligible non-normal 

market outlet that does not compete 

with standard raisins. 

Because of the adverse crop 

conditions described above, the 

industry producers and handlers are 

dealing with a relatively high 

percentage of the 2023 crop (marketed 

over the 2023–2024 crop year) that is 

falling outside the limits of the 

substandard dockage systems when 

delivered to handlers. Further, the 

Committee has reported that, to date, 

approximately 29.1 percent of natural 

condition raisins delivered to handlers, 

and approximately 26.0 percent of all 

other varieties of raisins, have been offgrade, requiring reworking or 

disposition into non-normal market 

outlets. In comparison, the average 

percentages for off-grade deliveries for 

the 4 years prior to the 2023–2024 crop 

year shows approximately 11.2 percent 

and 10.2 percent, respectively. 

The Committee recommended that the 

allowable maximum percentage of 

substandard raisins in producer 

deliveries that can be acquired under 

the dockage system be increased, from 

17.0 to 21.0 percent for Natural (sundried) Seedless, Golden Seedless, 

Dipped Seedless, Monukka, Other 

Seedless, and Other Seedless-Sulfured 

raisins, and from 20.0 to 25.0 percent for 

Muscat (including other raisins with 

seeds), Sultana, and Zante Currant 

raisins. Lots containing more than 21.0 

or 25.0 percent, depending on varietal 

type, of substandard raisins will be 

considered off-grade and require 

reconditioning before they can be 

acquired by handlers. This rule makes 

appropriate changes to § 989.212 to 

incorporate the Committee’s 

recommendations. The changes will 

apply for the 2023–2024 crop year only. 

Increasing the percentage allowed for 

substandard raisins in incoming fruit is 

expected to reduce the number of failed 

lots of raisins returned by handlers to 

producers or reconditioned by handers 

at the producers’ expense or disposed of 

in a non-normal outlet such as animal 

feed at a much-reduced producer price. 

Under the relaxation, handlers will be 

able to acquire more lots of raisins upon 

first inspection and not experience the 

potential delay of waiting for failing lots 

to be reconditioned. The ability to 

acquire more raisins upon first 

inspection will help handlers better 

meet the needs of the market and save 

producers the cost of reconditioning and 

reinspecting failed fruit that would 

otherwise have passed incoming 

inspections and be received by 

handlers. 

Tolerance for Maturity 

Section 989.701 of the Order’s 

regulations specifies that lots of certain 

varietal types of natural condition 

raisins must contain a minimum 

percentage of raisins that are wellmatured or reasonably well-matured. 

Specifically, lots of Natural (sun-dried) 

Seedless, Golden Seedless, Dipped 

Seedless, Monukka, Other Seedless, and 

Other Seedless-Sulfured raisins must 

contain at least 50 percent, by weight, 

of raisins that are well-matured or 

reasonable well-matured, or what is 

commonly referred to by the industry as 

the ‘‘B or better’’ maturity standard. 

Dockage System for Maturity 

Section 989.213 provides that 

handlers may acquire, under an 

agreement with a producer, raisins 

falling outside the tolerance for maturity 

specified in § 989.701. Specifically, 

handlers may acquire any lot of Natural 

(sun-dried) Seedless, Golden Seedless, 

Dipped Seedless, Monukka, Other 

Seedless, Other Seedless-Sulfured 

raisins which contain from 35.0 to 49.9 

percent, by weight, of well-matured or 

reasonable well-matured raisins under a 

weight dockage system. The dockage 

system is applied similarly to the 

substandard dockage system previously 

described. The creditable weight of each 

lot of raisins acquired by handlers under 

the maturity dockage system is obtained 

by multiplying the applicable net 

weight of the lot of raisins by the 

applicable dockage factor in the tables 

in § 989.213. The dockage factor reduces 

the weight of the raisins needed to be 

removed for the remainder of the lot to 

meet minimum maturity requirements 

after processing and packing. The 

weight determined in this manner 

represents the creditable weight of the 

raisins which is used as a basis for 

payment of handler assessments and 

handler payments to producers for 

product received. Those raisins failing 

to meet the maturity tolerance level of 

35.0 percent are returned to the 

producer or reconditioned by the 

handler (at the producer’s expense) to 

bring the lot up to acceptable quality 

standards. If a lot of raisins is subject to 

both a maturity and substandard 

dockage factor, only the highest of the 

two dockage factors is applied, as stated 

in § 989.210(d). 

In addition, the maturity dockage 

system is divided into three categories 

depending on the percentage of wellmatured or reasonably well-matured 

raisins in the lot. The creditable fruit 

weight of raisins delivered by producers 

to handlers in the first category, which 

includes lots containing between 45.0 to 

49.9 percent well-matured or reasonably 

well-matured raisins, is reduced .05 

percent for each 0.1 percent the lot is 

below 50.0 percent down to 45.0 

percent. The creditable fruit weight of 

raisins delivered by producers to 

handlers in the second category, which 

includes lots containing between 40.0 to 

44.9 percent well-matured or reasonably 

well-matured raisins, is reduced 0.1 

percent for each 0.1 percent the lot is 

below 44.9 percent down to 40.0 

percent. The creditable fruit weight of 

raisins delivered by producers to 

handlers in the third category, which 

includes lots containing between 35.0 to 

39.9 percent well-matured or reasonably 

well-matured raisins is reduced 0.15 

percent for each 0.1 percent the lot is 

below 39.9 percent down to 35.0 

percent. Applicable handler 

assessments and producer payments for 

product received are reduced 

accordingly. Because of the adverse crop 

conditions described above, the 

industry predicts that a relatively high 

percentage of the 2023 crop will fall 

below the 35.0 percent tolerance level 

for maturity when product is delivered 

to handlers. So far this crop year, 

approximately 29.1 percent of natural 

condition raisins have been off-grade 

and require reconditioning to enter the 

market. In addition, approximately 26.0 

percent of all other varieties have been 

off-grade. 

The Committee recommended that the 

minimum allowable level for maturity 

of raisins delivered by producers that 

can be acquired under the dockage 

system be reduced, for the 2023–2024 

crop year only, from 35.0 to 30.0 percent 

under a fourth category in the 

regulation. The Committee also 

recommended that the creditable fruit 

weight of raisin deliveries in this fourth 

category created for the 2023–2024 crop 

year, or lots containing between 30.0 to 

34.9 percent well-matured or reasonably 

well-matured raisins, be reduced by 0.2 

percent for each 0.1 percent the lot is 

below 34.9 percent down to 30.0 

percent. Applicable handler 

assessments and producer payments for 

product received will be reduced 

accordingly. Lots containing 29.9 

percent or less raisins which are wellmatured or reasonably well-matured 

raisins will be considered off-grade and 

require reconditioning before they can 

be acquired by handlers. A new 

paragraph (e) is added to § 989.213 for 

this fourth category and applies only to 

product handled during the 2023–2024 

crop year. 

Similar to relaxing the requirements 

under the substandard dockage system, 


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reducing the minimum allowable level 

for maturity for the 2023–2024 crop year 

is expected to reduce the number of 

failed lots of raisins returned by 

handlers to producers or reconditioned 

by handlers at the producers’ expense or 

disposed of in non-normal outlets. 

Under this relaxation, handlers will be 

able to acquire more lots of raisins upon 

first inspection and not continue to 

experience further delay waiting for 

failed lots to be reconditioned and 

reinspected. The ability to acquire more 

raisins upon first inspection will help 

handlers better meet the needs of the 

market and save producers the cost of 

reconditioning failed fruit that would 

otherwise have been acquired by 

handlers under the weight dockage 

system. In addition, the industry has 

indicated that there is strong market 

demand for raisins and requiring a large 

percentage of the crop to be 

reconditioned and reinspected will 

hinder the handlers’ ability to fulfill that 

demand, disrupting the orderly 

marketing of California raisins. Further, 

the cost of reconditioning and 

reinspection is expected to be passed on 

to the consumer. This rule will allow 

better movement of product through 

market channels and is expected to 

reduce costs for producers, handlers, 

and possibly consumers. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), AMS has considered 

the economic impact of this interim rule 

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 

businesses 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. 

There are approximately 1,700 

producers of California raisins and 

approximately 17 handlers subject to 

regulation under the Order. Small 

agricultural producers of raisins are 

defined by the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) as those having 

annual receipts equal to or less than 

$4.0 million (NAICS code 111332, 

Grape Vineyards) and small agricultural 

service firms are defined as those whose 

annual receipts are equal to or less than 

$34.0 million (NAICS code 115114, 

Postharvest Crop Activities) (13 CFR 

121.201). 

Using USDA National Agricultural 

Statistics Service (NASS) data, the 2022 

season average value of utilized 

production of California processed 

raisin-type grapes (most of which are 

dried into raisins) is $376.6 million. 

Dividing that figure by 1,700 producers 

yields an annual average revenue per 

producer of $221,530, well below the 

SBA large farm size threshold of $4.0 

million. Therefore, in terms of average 

annual sales of processed raisin-type 

grapes, the majority of California raisin 

producers may be classified as small 

entities. 

To make a similar computation for 

handlers, the first step is to estimate a 

representative handler price received 

per pound for packaged raisins. Recent 

USDA purchases under the Commodity 

Procurement Program provide such an 

estimate. For the most recent raisin crop 

year used by the RAC (August 2022–July 

2023) the average price paid for 

packaged raisins purchased by the 

USDA for feeding programs was $1.56 

per pound. For that time period, the 

RAC provided a list of quantities 

delivered by handlers. When multiplied 

by the $1.56 price per pound, the results 

showed that 5 handlers had annual 

raisin receipts greater than $34.0 

million, the SBA threshold level for a 

large handler. The remaining 12 

handlers out of 17 are small handlers, 

using the SBA criterion. 

This rule relaxes the substandard and 

maturity dockage requirements 

specified in §§ 989.212 and 989.213, 

respectively, of the Order’s handling 

regulations. These sections allow 

handlers to acquire raisins from 

producers that do not meet the Order’s 

minimum quality requirements under a 

weight dockage system. Under the 

system, handlers adjust their payments 

to producers for product received, and 

the payment of Order assessments, 

according to the percentage of 

substandard raisins in the lot and/or the 

percentage of raisins falling below 

certain levels of maturity. Because of 

extreme weather issues which adversely 

affected the growing conditions of the 

raisin grape vines for the 2023 crop, the 

industry predicts that a high percentage 

of the 2023–2024 crop year delivers by 

producers to handlers will continue to 

fall outside the current limits of the 

dockage systems in the handling 

regulations. Relaxing the minimum 

requirements under the dockage systems 

is expected to reduce the number of lots 

of raisins returned by handlers to 

producers or reconditioned by handlers 

at the producers’ expense or disposed of 

in a non-normal outlet such as animal 

feed at a much-reduced producer price. 

Relaxing the dockage limits for the 

2023–2024 crop year will allow 

handlers to acquire more lots of raisins 

that would otherwise fail specified 

tolerances for substandard raisins and 

maturity. Thus, fewer lots are expected 

to be returned to producers for 

reconditioning. Under the revised 

requirements, transportation costs for 

hauling raisins to and from the 

handler’s premises, estimated at $24 per 

ton one way, for reconditioning and 

reinspection may be eliminated. 

Producers are also expected to save on 

reconditioning costs. Producer costs for 

reconditioning raisins falling below 

certain maturity levels (usually a ‘‘wash 

and dry’’ process) are estimated at 

$275–$300 per ton. Producers may also 

save on reinspection costs at $15.50 per 

ton because more of their raisins will 

meet the relaxed incoming substandard 

and maturity requirements upon first 

inspection. In addition, producers 

whose lots of raisins fall into the 

extended dockage limits for substandard 

raisins will not have to incur $60 per 

ton in costs for ‘‘dry reconditioning’’ 

expenses. 

Relaxing the dockage limits may 

cause handlers to incur some additional 

costs; however, such costs are minimal 

when considering the alternative, that is 

to receive significantly less product for 

the 2023–2024 crop year and to not 

meet market demand. Thus, the benefits 

of this rule outweigh such costs. While 

the incoming quality requirements are 

relaxed, the outgoing quality 

requirements under the Order will 

remain unchanged. The burden of 

removing substandard raisins or raisins 

falling below certain levels of maturity 

will be shifted from producers to 

handlers. However, although handlers 

will have to undertake the additional 

burden of cleaning up the fruit, handlers 

are better prepared than producers to 

manage the lower quality raisins 

efficiently and economically because 

they already have the processing 

equipment designed to remove the 

undesirable fruit. Moreover, without 

this rule handlers would likely have less 

fruit available to meet market needs. 

The Committee considered several 

alternatives to the recommended action. 

An Administrative Subcommittee 

(Subcommittee) convened on October 3, 

2023, to discuss the current crop 

situation and to submit remediation 

recommendations to the full Committee. 

At the meeting, the Subcommittee 

discussed increasing the allowable 

amount of substandard fruit from 17.0 to 

25.0 percent for Natural (sun-dried) 

Seedless, Golden Seedless, Dipped 

Seedless, Monukka, Other Seedless, and 

Other Seedless-Sulfured. However, 


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many industry members felt that the 

25.0 percent was too high for the current 

conditions in the market, and ultimately 

the Subcommittee approved 

recommending a maximum 21.0 percent 

allowable tolerance for those varieties of 

substandard incoming fruit. The 

Subcommittee also considered whether 

to maintain the dockage for maturity for 

percentages between 30 and 35 percent 

at 0.15 percent or to increase it. There 

were also discussions regarding revising 

the tolerance for mold under the quality 

requirements. The majority of the 

Subcommittee did not favor any 

changes for mold tolerances. Ultimately, 

the Subcommittee voted to recommend 

to the Committee the changes as 

contained herein, and the full 

Committee subsequently voted 

unanimously to recommend this action 

to AMS. 

The Committee’s meetings are widely 

publicized throughout the production 

area. The raisin industry and all 

interested persons are invited to attend 

the meetings and participate in 

Committee deliberations on all issues. 

The Subcommittee meeting on October 

3, 2023, and subsequent full Committee 

meeting on October 5, 2023, were each 

open to the public where any interested 

parties was able to express views on this 

issue. In addition, interested persons are 

invited to submit comments on this 

interim rule, including the regulatory 

and information collection impacts of 

this action on small businesses. 

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 OMB and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, 

Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No 

changes in those requirements are 

necessary as a result of this action. 

Should any changes become necessary, 

they would be submitted to OMB for 

approval. 

This interim rule would not impose 

any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large California raisin 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. 

AMS has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this interim rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: https://

www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/ 

moa/small-businesses. Any questions 

about the compliance guide should be 

sent to Richard Lower at the previously 

mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendations 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, USDA has 

determined that this interim rule is 

consistent with and will effectuate the 

purposes of the Act. 

A 60-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this interim rule. All written 

comments timely received will be 

considered before a final determination 

is made on this interim rule. 

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) Raisin producers are facing 

an unexpected hardship based on 

unusual crop conditions created by 

unforeseen extreme weather events that 

affected the growing conditions of grape 

vines, causing a high percentage of the 

2023–2024 crop year deliveries of 

raisins to fall outside the minimum 

requirements of the substandard and 

maturity dockage system. The effects of 

the unusual combination of weatherrelated issues did not show its 

detrimental effects on the raisin grapes 

until the harvest and drying process 

during mid to end of August 2023. (2) 

Relaxing the limits for the 2023–2024 

crop year will reduce the number of 

failing lots of raisins that must be 

reconditioned (or disposed of), thus 

providing relief to producers of the costs 

they would pay to recondition and 

reinspect and helps to avoid further 

disruptions to the orderly marketing of 

California raisins from the 2023–2024 

crop that are currently being delivered 

to handlers. (3) Handlers are incurring 

costs for storing raisins that are tagged 

as off-grade because they fail to meet the 

current dockage system limits. Handlers 

would, however, meet the relaxed 

dockage limits and are looking for 

current-year relief to these unforeseen 

issues. (4) Handlers are in immediate 

need of raisins to meet their seasonal 

market demand. (5) This action relaxes 

requirements currently in effect. (6) 

Producers and handlers are aware of 

this action which was unanimously 

recommended by the Committee at a 

public meeting on October 5, 2023, and 

need no preparation time to comply. 

And finally, (7) 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 989 

Grapes, Marketing agreements, 

Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service amends 7 CFR part 989 as 

follows: 

PART 989—RAISINS PRODUCED 

FROM GRAPES GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 989 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. In § 989.212, revise paragraph (a) 

and the notes following paragraphs (b) 

and (c) to read as follows: 

§ 989.212 Substandard dockage. 

(a) General. Subject to prior agreement 

between handler and tenderer, Natural 

(sun-dried) Seedless, Golden Seedless, 

Dipped Seedless, Monukka, Other 

Seedless, and Other Seedless-Sulfured 

raisins containing from 5.1 through 17.0 

percent, by weight, of substandard 

raisins may be acquired by a handler 

under a weight dockage system: 

Provided, That, for the 2023–2024 crop 

year, such raisins containing from 5.1 

through 21.0 percent, by weight, of 

substandard raisins may be acquired by 

a handler under a weight dockage 

system. A handler may also, subject to 

prior agreement, acquire as standard 

raisins any lot of Muscat (including 

other raisins with seeds), Sultana, and 

Zante Currant raisins containing from 

12.1 through 20.0 percent, by weight, of 

substandard raisins under a weight 

dockage system: Provided, That, for the 

2023–2024 crop year, a handler may 

acquire such raisins containing from 

12.1 through 25.0 percent, by weight, of 

substandard raisins under a weight 

dockage system. The creditable weight 

of each lot of raisins acquired under the 

substandard dockage system shall be 

obtained by multiplying the net weight 

of the lot of raisins by the applicable 

dockage factor from the appropriate 

dockage table prescribed in paragraph 

(b) or (c) of this section. 


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85824 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 236 / Monday, December 11, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

(b) * * * 

Note to paragraph (b): Percentages in 

excess of the last percentage shown in the 

table shall be expressed in the same 

increments as the foregoing, and the dockage 

factor for each such increment shall be .001 

less than the dockage factor for the preceding 

increment. Deliveries in excess of 17.0 

percent would be off-grade; therefore, the 

dockage factor does not apply: Provided, 

That, for the 2023–2024 crop year, deliveries 

in excess of 21.0 percent would be off-grade; 

therefore, the dockage factor does not apply. 

(c) * * * 

Note to paragraph (c): Percentages in 

excess of the last percentage shown in the 

table shall be expressed in the same 

increments as the foregoing, and the dockage 

factor for each increment shall be .001 less 

than the dockage factor for the preceding 

increment. Deliveries in excess of 20.0 

percent would be off grade; therefore, the 

dockage factor does not apply. Provided, 

That, for the 2023–2024 crop year, deliveries 

in excess of 25.0 percent would be off-grade; 

therefore, the dockage factor does not apply. 

■ 3. In § 989.213, revise paragraph (a) 

and add a new paragraph (e) to read as 

follows: 

§ 989.213 Maturity Dockage. 

(a) General. Subject to prior agreement 

between handler and tenderer, Natural 

(sun-dried) Seedless, Golden Seedless, 

Dipped Seedless, Monukka, Other 

Seedless, and Other Seedless-Sulfured 

raisins containing from 35.0 percent 

through 49.9 percent, by weight, of wellmatured or reasonably well-matured 

raisins may be acquired by a handler 

under a weight dockage system. 

Provided, That, for the 2023–2024 crop 

year, such raisins containing from 30.0 

through 49.9 percent, by weight, of wellmatured or reasonably well-matured 

raisins may be acquired by a handler 

under a weight dockage system. The 

creditable weight of each lot of raisins 

acquired under the maturity dockage 

system shall be obtained by multiplying 

the net weight of the lot of raisins by the 

applicable dockage factor from the 

dockage table prescribed in paragraphs 

(b), (c), (d), and (e) of this section. 

* * * * * 

(e) For the 2023–2024 crop year, 

maturity dockage table applicable to lots 

of Natural (sun-dried) Seedless, Golden 

Seedless, Dipped Seedless, Monukka, 

Other Seedless, and Other SeedlessSulfured raisins which contain 30.0 

percent through 34.9 percent wellmatured or reasonably well-matured 

raisins: 

Percent well-matured or 

reasonably well-matured 

Dockage 

factor 

34.9 ............................................... .8480 

34.8 ............................................... .8460 

Percent well-matured or 

reasonably well-matured 

Dockage 

factor 

34.7 ............................................... .8440 

34.6 ............................................... .8420 

34.5 ............................................... .8400 

34.4 ............................................... .8380 

Note to paragraph (e): Percentages less 

than the last percentage shown in the table 

shall be expressed in the same increments as 

the foregoing, and the dockage factor for each 

such increment shall be .002 less than the 

dockage factor for the preceding increment. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27095 Filed 12–8–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Parts 50, 52, and 100 

[NRC–2023–0097] 

Regulatory Guide: Damping Values for 

Seismic Design of Nuclear Power 

Plants 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final guide; issuance. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) is issuing Revision 2 

to Regulatory Guide (RG), 1.61, 

‘‘Damping Values for Seismic Design of 

Nuclear Power Plants.’’ This RG 

provides guidance on damping values 

that the NRC staff finds acceptable for 

use in the seismic response analysis of 

seismic Category I nuclear power plant 

structures, systems, and components. 

The specified damping values are 

intended for elastic dynamic seismic 

analysis where energy dissipation is 

accounted for by viscous damping. 

DATES: Revision 2 to RG 1.61 is available 

on December 11, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID 

NRC–2023–0097 when contacting the 

NRC about the availability of 

information regarding this document. 

You may obtain publicly available 

information related to this document 

using any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and search 

for Docket ID NRC–2023–0097. Address 

questions about Docket IDs in 

Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 

telephone: 301–415–0624; email: 

Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical 

questions, contact the individuals listed 

in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this document. 

• NRC’s Agencywide Documents 

Access and Management System 

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly 

available documents online in the 

ADAMS Public Documents collection at 

https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/ 

adams.html. To begin the search, select 

‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For 

problems with ADAMS, please contact 

the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR) 

reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, at 

301–415–4737, or by email to 

PDR.Resource@nrc.gov. The ADAMS 

accession number for each document 

referenced (if it is available in ADAMS) 

is provided the first time that it is 

mentioned in this document. 

• NRC’s PDR: The PDR, where you 

may examine and order copies of 

publicly available documents, is open 

by appointment. To make an 

appointment to visit the PDR, please 

send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov 

or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415– 

4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern 

time (ET), Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

Revision 2 to RG 1.61 and the 

regulatory analysis may be found in 

ADAMS under Accession Nos. 

ML23284A272 and ML22273A041, 

respectively. 

Regulatory guides are not 

copyrighted, and NRC approval is not 

required to reproduce them. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marcos Rolon Acevedo, Office of 

Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 

301–415–2208; email: Marcos.Rolon@

nrc.gov and Edward O’Donnell, Office of 

Nuclear Regulatory Research, telephone: 

301–415–3317; email: 

Edward.ODonnell@nrc.gov. Both are 

staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission, Washington, DC 20555– 

0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion 

The NRC is issuing a revision in the 

NRC’s ‘‘Regulatory Guide’’ series. This 

series was developed to describe 

methods that are acceptable to the NRC 

staff for implementing specific parts of 

the agency’s regulations, to explain 

techniques that the staff uses in 

evaluating specific issues or postulated 

events, and to describe information that 

the staff needs in its review of 

applications for permits and licenses. 

Revision 2 to RG 1.61 was issued with 

a temporary identification of Draft 

Regulatory Guide, DG–1364. RG 1.61, 

Revision 1, specifies the damping values 

that the NRC staff considers acceptable 

for complying with the agency’s 

regulations for seismic analysis. This 

revision of the RG (Revision 2) provides 


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