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

71272

Vol. 65, No. 231

Thursday, November 30, 2000

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Chapter I

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

7 CFR Chapter VIII

[Docket Number FGIS–2000–001a]

RIN 0580–AA73

Request for Public Comments on How

USDA Can Best Facilitate the

Marketing of Grains, Oilseeds, Fruits,

Vegetables, and Nuts in Today’s

Evolving Marketplace

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service;

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed

rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The United States Department

of Agriculture (USDA) invites comments

from producers, handlers, processors,

food manufacturers, exporters,

consumers, scientists, industry

representatives, and other interested

persons on how USDA can best

facilitate the marketing of grains,

oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, and nuts in

a market that includes both crops

derived from biotechnology and other

crops. USDA is seeking comment on

current and anticipated market

practices, and on the feasibility of and

need for USDA’s involvement in quality

assurance or other programs to facilitate

the marketing of these products.

This action is part of the

Administration’s biotechnology

initiative announced last May. Its

purpose is to lend order to the

development of voluntary identity

preservation and product segregation

procedures to the extent they emerge

from the private sector. (In the context

of this notice, biotechnology refers to

the use of recombinant DNA technology

to alter or move genetic material for a

plant to exhibit a desired trait.)

Modern biotechnology may present

new marketing opportunities as well as

challenges. As biotechnology offers the

possibility of accelerating the

development of value-added crops, such

as high oleic soybeans and betacarotene-rich rice, producers as well as

others in the marketing system may

have an interest in maintaining the

identity of the value-added crops. Based

on consumer preferences and our

trading partners’ requirements, some

food companies are already buying raw

materials that are not derived from

biotechnology, or requiring their

suppliers to avoid use of biotechnologyderived varieties or identify them as

such. This has resulted in some

segments of the market differentiating

biotechnology derived crops from other

crops from farm to supermarket. In this

evolving marketplace, USDA is

exploring how it can continue to foster

the marketing of U.S. grains, oilseeds,

fruits, vegetables, and nuts.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before February 28, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments on

this notice to Richard Hardy, GIPSA,

USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, Room 0757–S, Washington, DC

20250–3650. Comments may also be

sent by fax to (202) 720–2459 or filed

via the Internet through the GIPSA

homepage at www.usda.gov/gipsa.

It is our intention to have all

comments on this advance notice of

proposed rulemaking (ANPRM),

whether mailed, faxed, or submitted via

the Internet, available for viewing on the

GIPSA homepage at www.usda.gov/

gipsa in a timely manner.

Comments submitted in response to

this ANPRM will also be available for

viewing in room 0757–S from 9 a.m. to

12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday through Friday (except official

Federal holidays) (7 CFR 1.27). Persons

wanting to visit the USDA South

Building to view comments received in

response to this proposal are requested

to make an appointment in advance by

calling (202) 720–4848.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marianne Plaus, Assistant to the Deputy

Administrator, Federal Grain Inspection

Service, GIPSA, 202–690–3460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

action has been determined to be

significant for purposes of Executive

Order 12866, and therefore, has been

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget.

Accurate, reliable information on the

quality, quantity, and condition of

products being traded fosters the

efficient marketing of agricultural

commodities. Such information helps

buyers know that they have received

what they paid for and that suppliers

receive due compensation. USDA

facilitates the marketing of many

products by making such information

available through a variety of programs.

USDA’s grade standards for grains,

oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, and nuts

provide a common language for trade by

defining products and ranges for quality

factors. The market uses the standards

to measure the value or establish the

price of agricultural commodities.

USDA’s grading and inspection services

determine the quality and condition of

commodities. These determinations are

performed in accordance with

applicable standards or product

specifications using approved

methodologies, and can be applied at

any point in the marketing chain. The

current testing technology for quality

attributes, such as oil content for high

oil corn, is rapid (usually taking less

than 2 minutes) and reliable, yielding

consistent results. In addition, USDA

issues certificates describing the quality

and condition of the graded products

that are accepted as prima facie

evidence in all Federal courts. U.S.

grade standards, and the various grading

and testing services offered by USDA,

verify that the seller’s product meets

specified requirements, and that

customers get the quality products they

expect.

In addition, USDA administers a

variety of audit-based certification

programs in lieu of end-item testing.

Under these programs, USDA audits a

supplier’s ability to meet system

performance requirements or criteria

that are based on nationally and

internationally accepted standards and

guidelines that have been validated by

USDA.

USDA also carries out programs that

combine testing, certification, and

quality assurance processes. For

example, USDA’s seed program

includes procedures and standards used

by seed certifying agencies during the

production and processing of the seed

they certify for varietal purity.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 231 / Thursday, November 30, 2000 / Proposed Rules 71273

The introduction of commodities

derived from biotechnology may result

in new opportunities and challenges,

both for USDA, the Federal government

as a whole, and American agriculture.

Some consumers have expressed, for a

variety of reasons, a preference for foods

that are not bioengineered or do not

contain bioengineered foods as

ingredients. Further, some countries

have established or are considering

establishing labeling requirements for

bioengineered foods. These market

developments are prompting some food

companies to differentiate crops derived

from biotechnology from other crops in

the food production system.

Furthermore, as biotechnology offers the

possibility of accelerating the

development of value-added crops, such

as high oleic soybeans and betacarotene-rich rice, producers as well as

others in the marketing system may

have an interest in maintaining the

identity of value-added crops.

The cost and complexity of

differentiating crops derived from

biotechnology from other crops varies

by crop and the infrastructure

supporting the marketing of each crop.

Differentiation of crops derived from

biotechnology from other crops requires

analytical testing and information

systems that can effectively and

efficiently track and manage the

complex logistics involved with

preserving the identity of specific crops

through the marketing process. The

market’s ability to supply a specific crop

may hinge on a number of

considerations: The potential market

size and value, the cost of differentiating

the specific crop from other crops, and

the market’s ability to preserve the crop

identity at sufficient purity levels.

In the grain and oilseed markets, some

companies are using traditional

segregation practices to market valueadded commodities. Others are using

more costly and complicated identity

preservation (IP) processes. Food

companies are developing quality

assurance processes involving various

levels of testing and product tracking,

which differ by company, customer

needs, and crop, to source and deliver

specified crops from the farm to the

supermarket. In some instances,

independent organizations are

marketing services to review and verify

the performance of these quality

assurance processes.

USDA is issuing this advance notice

of proposed rulemaking to invite

comments from all interested persons

on how USDA can best facilitate the

marketing of grains, oilseeds, fruits,

vegetables, and nuts in today’s evolving

marketplace. USDA is seeking comment

on current market needs and practices,

and the feasibility and desirability of

USDA programs and services to

facilitate the marketing of these

products. All interested persons are

encouraged to comment on the

following issues related to this notice:

• In light of changes in the

marketplace brought about by

biotechnology, what specific programs

or processes are being used to market

grains, oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, and

nuts in the domestic, export, and import

markets? Please be specific, and include

information on obstacles encountered in

marketing these products.

• What additional costs and benefits

are generally associated with the

practices being used to market grains,

oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, or nuts?

Please provide details and quantifiable

cost and benefit estimates.

• Would a set of U.S. standards upon

which to base IP or other marketing

systems facilitate market development?

If so, are there any specific national or

international standards or guidelines

that should serve as the basis for the

U.S. standards? What role should USDA

have in establishing these standards?

• As more certifying companies and

organizations evolve to review and

verify the performance of food company

IP systems, should USDA have a role in

the accreditation of these certifying

companies and organizations? Would a

USDA accreditation of these certifying

companies and organizations serve to

facilitate marketing?

• USDA is in the process of

developing a program for accrediting

qualified commercial and public

laboratories for the analytical detection

of grains and oilseeds derived from

biotechnology. Should USDA expand

this program for other commercialized

crops? Should USDA include

laboratories outside the United States in

the accreditation program? If so, how

would this help facilitate the marketing

of U.S. crops?

• Should USDA provide, for a fee,

direct product certification for crops

derived from biotechnology based on an

audit-based quality assurance process?

Should the same be done for other

crops?

• Should USDA provide direct

analytical detection services and

certification for crops derived from

biotechnology? Should the same be

done for other crops?

• If USDA involvement (e.g.,

standards, certifying agent verification,

direct certification, testing, etc.) is

necessary, at what point of the

marketing system should such

involvement begin and end?

• How should a fee structure be

determined for such services?

• Should such involvement be

limited to U.S.-produced crops or

expanded to imported crops?

• Should USDA establish definitions

of crops derived from biotechnology or

for crops not derived from

biotechnology as part of the current U.S.

quality grades and standards? If so, what

technical capabilities, resources, data,

etc., would USDA require?

USDA welcomes your comments on

these and other relevant issues related

to the marketing of grains, oilseeds,

fruits, vegetables, and nuts in today’s

evolving marketplace.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 71 et seq. and 7 U.S.C.

1621 et seq.

Dated: November 20, 2000.

James R. Baker,

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration.

Michael D. Fernandez,

Associate Administrator, Agricultural

Marketing Service.

[FR Doc. 00–30140 Filed 11–29–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–U

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Immigration and Naturalization Service

8 CFR Parts 3 and 240

[INS No. 2083–00; AG Order No. 2337–2000]

RIN 1115–AF87

Delegation of Authority to the

Immigration and Naturalization Service

To Terminate Deportation Proceedings

and Initiate Removal Proceedings

AGENCY: Immigration and Naturalization

Service, Justice, and Executive Office for

Immigration Review, Justice.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: Section 309(c)(3) of the Illegal

Immigration Reform and Immigrant

Responsibility Act of 1996 permits the

Attorney General to terminate certain

deportation proceedings and initiate

removal proceedings. This rule

delegates this authority to the

Immigration and Naturalization Service

(Service).

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before January 29, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written

comments, in triplicate, to the Director,

Policy Directives and Instructions

Branch, Immigration and Naturalization

Service, 425 I Street, NW., Room 5307,

Washington, DC 20536. To ensure

proper handling, please reference INS

number 2083–00 on your