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

16998 

Vol. 80, No. 61 

Tuesday, March 31, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 925 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–14–0106; FV15–925–2] 

Grapes Grown in a Designated Area of 

Southeastern California; Increased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

implement a recommendation from the 

California Desert Grape Administrative 

Committee (Committee) to increase the 

assessment rate for the 2015 and 

subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0200 

to $0.0250 per 18-pound lug of grapes 

handled. The Committee locally 

administers the marketing order and is 

comprised of producers and handlers of 

grapes grown and handled in a 

designated area of southeastern 

California. Assessments upon grape 

handlers are used by the Committee to 

fund reasonable and necessary expenses 

of the program. The fiscal period began 

on January 1 and ends December 31. 

The assessment rate would remain in 

effect indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

April 15, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed rule. 

Comments must be sent to the Docket 

Clerk, Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

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

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

Comments should reference the docket 

number and the date and page number 

of this issue of the Federal Register and 

will be available for public inspection in 

the Office of the Docket Clerk during 

regular business hours, or can be viewed 

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

comments submitted in response to this 

proposed rule will be included in the 

record and will be made available to the 

public. Please be advised that the 

identity of the individuals or entities 

submitting the comments will be made 

public on the internet at the address 

provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathie Notoro, Marketing Specialist, or 

Martin Engeler, Regional Director, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or Email: 

Kathie.Notoro@ams.usda.gov or 

Martin.Engeler@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jeffrey Smutny, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed rule is issued under Marketing 

Order No. 925 (7 CFR part 925), 

regulating the handling of grapes grown 

in a designated area of southeastern 

California, hereinafter referred to as the 

‘‘order.’’ The order is effective under the 

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

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

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Act.’’ 

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this proposed rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

12866, 13563, and 13175. 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. Under the marketing 

order now in effect, grape handlers in a 

designated area of southeastern 

California are subject to assessments. 

Funds to administer the order are 

derived from such assessments. It is 

intended that the assessment rate as 

proposed herein would be applicable to 

all assessable grapes beginning on 

January 1, 2015, and continue until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

section 608c(15)(A) of the Act, any 

handler subject to an order may file 

with USDA a petition stating that the 

order, any provision of the order, or any 

obligation imposed in connection with 

the order is not in accordance with law 

and request a modification of the order 

or to be exempted therefrom. 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 not later than 

20 days after the date of the entry of the 

ruling. 

This proposed rule would increase 

the assessment rate established for the 

Committee for the 2015 and subsequent 

fiscal periods from $0.0200 to $0.0250 

per 18-pound lug of grapes handled. 

The grape order provides authority for 

the Committee, with the approval of 

USDA, to formulate an annual budget of 

expenses and collect assessments from 

handlers to administer the program. The 

members of the Committee are 

producers and handlers of grapes grown 

in a designated area of southeastern 

California. They are familiar with the 

Committee’s needs and with the costs of 

goods and services in their local area 

and are thus in a position to formulate 

an appropriate budget and assessment 

rate. The assessment rate is formulated 

and discussed in a public meeting. 

Thus, all directly affected persons have 

an opportunity to participate and 

provide input. 

For the 2014 and subsequent fiscal 

periods, the Committee recommended, 

and the USDA approved, an assessment 

rate that would continue in effect from 

fiscal period to fiscal period unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

USDA based upon recommendation and 

information submitted by the 

Committee or other information 

available to USDA. 

The Committee met on October 30, 

2014, and unanimously recommended 

2015 expenditures of $135,500, a 

contingency reserve fund of $9,500, and 

an assessment rate of $0.0250 per 18- 

pound lug of grapes handled. In 

comparison, last year’s budgeted 

expenditures were $110,000. The 

Committee recommended a crop 

estimate of 5,800,000 18-pound lugs, 

which is higher than the 5,500,000 18- 

pound lugs handled last year. The 

Committee also recommended carrying 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 61 / Tuesday, March 31, 2015 / Proposed Rules 16999 

over a financial reserve of $40,000, 

which would increase to $49,500 if the 

contingency fund is not expended. The 

assessment rate of $0.0250 per 18-pound 

lug of grapes handled recommended by 

the Committee is $0.0050 higher than 

the $0.0200 rate currently in effect. The 

higher assessment rate, applied to 

shipments of 5,800,000 18-pound lugs, 

would generate $145,000 in revenue and 

be sufficient to cover the anticipated 

expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2015 fiscal period include $15,500 for 

research, $17,000 for general office 

expenses, $62,750 for management and 

compliance expenses, $25,000 for 

research and preparation of materials 

such as the Committee’s annual 

marketing policy statement, and $9,500 

for a contingency reserve. The $15,500 

research project is a continuation of a 

vine study in progress by the University 

of California, Riverside. In comparison, 

major expenditures for the 2014 fiscal 

period included $15,500 for research, 

$22,000 for general office expenses, and 

$62,500 for management and 

compliance expenses. Overall 2015 

expenditures include an increase in 

management and compliance expenses 

and a decrease in general office 

expenses, and additional funds for a 

contingency reserve. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by 

evaluating several factors, including 

estimated shipments for the 2015 

season, budgeted expenses, and the 

level of available financial reserves. The 

Committee determined that the $0.0250 

assessment rate would generate 

$145,000 in revenue to cover the 

budgeted expenses of $135,500, and a 

contingency reserve fund of $9,500. 

Reserve funds by the end of 2015 are 

projected to be $40,000 if the $9,500 

added to the contingency fund is 

expended or $49,500 if it is not 

expended. Both amounts are well 

within the amount authorized under the 

order. Section 925.41 of the order 

permits the Committee to maintain 

approximately one fiscal period’s 

expenses in reserve. 

The proposed assessment rate would 

continue in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated by 

USDA based upon a recommendation 

and information submitted by the 

Committee or other available 

information. 

Although this assessment rate would 

be in effect for an indefinite period, the 

Committee would continue to meet 

prior to or during each fiscal period to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations for 

modification of the assessment rate. The 

dates and times of Committee meetings 

are available from the Committee or 

USDA. Committee meetings are open to 

the public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

USDA would evaluate the Committee’s 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking would be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2015 budget and those for 

subsequent fiscal periods would be 

reviewed and, as appropriate, approved 

by USDA. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

proposed 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 14 handlers 

of southeastern California grapes who 

are subject to regulation under the 

marketing order and about 41 grape 

producers in the production area. Small 

agricultural service firms are defined by 

the Small Business Administration (13 

CFR 121.201) as those having annual 

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

small agricultural producers are defined 

as those whose annual receipts are less 

than $750,000. Eleven of the 14 

handlers subject to regulation have 

annual grape sales of less than 

$7,000,000, according to USDA Market 

News Service and Committee data. In 

addition, information from the 

Committee and USDA’s Market News 

indicates that at least 10 of 41 producers 

have annual receipts of less than 

$750,000. Thus, it may be concluded 

that a majority of the grape handlers 

regulated under the order and about 10 

of the producers could be classified as 

small entities under the Small Business 

Administration’s definitions. 

This proposed rule would increase 

the assessment rate established for the 

Committee and collected from handlers 

for the 2015 and subsequent fiscal 

periods from $0.0200 to $0.0250 per 18- 

pound lug of grapes. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2015 

expenditures of $135,500, a contingency 

reserve fund of $9,500, and an 

assessment rate of $0.0250 per 18-pound 

lug of grapes handled. The proposed 

assessment rate of $0.0250 is $0.0050 

higher than the 2014 rate currently in 

effect. The quantity of assessable grapes 

for the 2015 season is estimated at 

5,800,000 18-pound lugs. Thus, the 

$0.0250 rate should generate $145,000 

in income. In addition, reserve funds at 

the end of the year are projected to be 

$49,500, which is well within the 

order’s limitation of approximately one 

fiscal period’s expenses. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2015 fiscal period include $15,500 for 

research, $17,000 for general office 

expenses, $62,750 for management and 

compliance expenses, $25,000 for 

research and preparation of materials 

such as the Committee’s annual 

marketing policy statement, and $9,500 

for the contingency reserve. In 

comparison, major expenditures for the 

2014 fiscal period included $15,500 for 

research, $22,000 for general office 

expenses, and $62,500 for management 

and compliance expenses. Overall 

expenditures included an increase in 

management and compliance expenses 

and a decrease in general office 

expenses, and funding of a contingency 

reserve. 

Prior to arriving at this budget, the 

Committee considered alternative 

expenditures and assessment rates, to 

include not increasing the $0.0200 

assessment rate currently in effect. 

Based on a crop estimate of 5,800,000 

18-pound lugs, the Committee 

ultimately determined that increasing 

the assessment rate to $0.0250 would 

generate sufficient funds to cover 

budgeted expenses. Reserve funds at the 

end of the 2015 fiscal period are 

projected to be $40,000 if the $9,500 

contingency fund is expended or 

$49,500 if it is not expended. These 

amounts are well within the amount 

authorized under the order. 

A review of historical crop and price 

information, as well as preliminary 

information pertaining to the upcoming 

fiscal period, indicates that the producer 

price for the 2014 season averaged about 

$22.00 per 18-pound lug of California 

grapes handled. If the 2015 producer 

price is similar to the 2014 price, 

estimated assessment revenue as a 

percentage of total estimated producer 

revenue would be 0.11 percent for the 

2015 season ($0.0250 divided by $22.00 

per 18-pound lug). 

This action would increase the 

assessment obligation imposed on 

handlers. While assessments impose 


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17000 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 61 / Tuesday, March 31, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

some additional costs on handlers, the 

costs are minimal and uniform on all 

handlers. Some of the additional costs 

may be passed on to producers. 

However, these costs would be offset by 

the benefits derived from the operation 

of the marketing order. In addition, the 

Executive Subcommittee and the 

Committee’s meetings were widely 

publicized throughout the grape 

production area and all interested 

persons were invited to attend and 

participate in Committee deliberations 

on all issues. Like all Committee 

meetings, the October 30, 2014, meeting 

was a public meeting and all entities, 

both large and small, were able to 

express views on this issue. Finally, 

interested persons are invited to submit 

comments on this proposed rule, 

including the regulatory and 

informational 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 the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0189. No 

changes in those requirements as a 

result of this action are necessary. 

Should any changes become necessary, 

they would be submitted to OMB for 

approval. 

This proposed rule would impose no 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

California grape 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. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this action. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Jeffrey Smutny 

at the previously-mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

A 15-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rule. Fifteen days is 

deemed appropriate because: (1) The 

2015 fiscal period began on January 1, 

2015, and the order requires that the 

rate of assessment for each fiscal period 

apply to all assessable grapes handled 

during such fiscal period; (2) the 

Committee needs to have sufficient 

funds to pay its expenses, which are 

incurred on a continuous basis; and (3) 

handlers are aware of this action, which 

was unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at a public meeting and is 

similar to other assessment rate actions 

issued in past years. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 925 

Grapes, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 925 is proposed to 

be amended as follows: 

PART 925—GRAPES GROWN IN A 

DESIGNATED AREA OF 

SOUTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 925 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 925.215 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 925.215 Assessment rate. 

On and after January 1, 2015, an 

assessment rate of $0.0250 per 18-pound 

lug is established for grapes grown in a 

designated area of southeastern 

California. 

Dated: March 26, 2015. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–07370 Filed 3–30–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2015–0675; Directorate 

Identifier 2014–NM–213–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: We propose to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Airbus Model A330–200, –200 

Freighter, and –300 series airplanes; and 

all Airbus Model A340–200, –300, –500, 

and –600 series airplanes. This 

proposed AD was prompted by reports 

of cracks at certain frames of the 

forward cargo door. This proposed AD 

would require a detailed inspection for 

cracking of certain forward cargo doors, 

and repair if necessary. We are 

proposing this AD to detect and correct 

cracking at certain frames, which could 

result in the loss of structural integrity 

of the forward cargo door. 

DATES: We must receive comments on 

this proposed AD by May 15, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, 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 service information identified in 

this proposed AD, contact Airbus SAS, 

Airworthiness Office—EAL, 1 Rond 

Point Maurice Bellonte, 31707 Blagnac 

Cedex, France; telephone +33 5 61 93 36 

96; fax +33 5 61 93 45 80; email 

airworthiness.A330-A340@airbus.com; 

Internet http://www.airbus.com. You 

may view this referenced service 

information at the FAA, Transport 

Airplane Directorate, 1601 Lind Avenue 

SW., Renton, WA. For information on 

the availability of this material at the 

FAA, call 425–227–1221. 

Examining the AD Docket 

You may examine the AD docket on 

the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov by searching for 

and locating Docket No. FAA–2015– 

0675; or in person at the Docket 

Management Facility between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. The AD docket 

contains this proposed AD, the 

regulatory evaluation, any comments 

received, and other information. The 

street address for the Docket Operations 

office (telephone 800–647–5527) is in 

the ADDRESSES section. Comments will 

be available in the AD docket shortly 

after receipt. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Vladimir Ulyanov, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, 


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