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. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

10411

Vol. 62, No. 45

Friday, March 7, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Office of the Secretary

7 CFR Part 20

Export Sales Reporting for

Sunflowerseed Oil

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule adds

sunflowerseed oil to the list of

commodities subject to the export sales

reporting requirements of 7 CFR Part 20.

Exporters of sunflowerseed oil will be

required to report their sales for export

each week. Summary information

collected will be published in

compilation form providing more

complete coverage of the oilseed export

industry and additional high quality upto-date information required in making

export projections.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 7, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas B. McDonald, Jr., Chief, Export

Sales Reporting Branch, Trade and

Economic Analysis Division, Foreign

Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250–

1025, (202) 720–3273, FAX (202) 690–

3275.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

This rule is issued in conformance

with Executive Order 12866. It has been

determined that it is not a ‘‘significant

regulatory action’’ rule because it will

not:

(1) Have an annual effect on the

economy of $100 million or more;

(2) Adversely effect in a material way

the economy, a sector of the economy,

productivity, competition, jobs, the

environment, public health or safety, or

State, local, or tribal governments or

communities;

(3) Create any serious inconsistencies

or otherwise interfere with any action

taken or planned by another agency;

(4) Alter the budgetary impact of

entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan

programs or rights and obligations of

recipients thereof; or

(5) Raise novel legal or policy issues

arising out of legal mandates, the

President’s priorities, or principles set

forth in Executive Order No. 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

It has been determined that this rule

will not have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities as

defined in the Regulatory Flexibility

Act, Public Law 96–534 (5 U.S.C. 601 et

seq.). The time and expense of

complying with this final rule is

negligible. In addition, data reported

under this regulation are maintained as

part of the normal course of an export

contracting business. A copy of this rule

has been sent to the Chief Counsel,

Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business

Administration.

Executive Order 12372

This rule is not subject to the

provisions of Executive Order 12372,

which requires intergovernmental

consultation with state and local

officials. See the Notice related to 7 CFR

part 3015, subpart V, published at 46 FR

29115 (June 24, 1983).

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed in

accordance with Executive Order 12988,

Civil Justice Reform. This rule would

have pre-emptive effect with respect to

any state and local laws, regulations, or

policies which conflict with such

provisions or otherwise impeded their

full implementation. This rule would

not have retroactive effect. This rule

does not require administrative

proceedings before parties may file suit

in court.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule involves the collection of

information. FAS uses Forms FAS–97,

FAS–98, FAS–99, and FAS–100 for this

collection of information. OMB has

assigned control number 0551–0007 to

these forms and has approved the

current information collection activity

through March 31, 1998.

Background

Section 602 of the Agricultural Trade

Act of 1978, as amended, requires the

reporting of information pertaining to

the export of certain specified

agricultural commodities and other

agricultural commodities that may be

designated by the Secretary of

Agriculture. These reporting

requirements are implemented by the

Foreign Agricultural Service. Individual

reports collected under the export sales

reporting program are confidential and

are only to be released in compilation

form each week following the week of

reporting. Reporting under 7 CFR part

20 is mandatory. Any person who

knowingly fails to make a report shall be

fined not more than $25,000 or

imprisoned for not more that 1 year, or

both. On July 23, 1996, the Department

published a proposed rule that would

have required exporters of

sunflowerseeds and sunflowerseed oil

to report information pursuant to 7 CFR

part 20.

Comments were received from four

companies involved in the export of

sunflowerseed and one trade

association. All of the commentors

opposed the reporting of sunflowerseed

used for confectionary purposes. Their

opposition was based on the fact that

confectionary sunflowerseeds are of a

special quality. Also, contracts in the

confectionary sunflowerseed industry

are typically for small amounts, often

one container (18.144 metric tons).

Further, comments suggested that the

decline in export activity for the oil-type

sunflowerseed indicates that there is not

a current need for export reporting for

this item.

The trade association and one

exporting firm suggested that only

exports of sunflowerseed oil should be

included in the reporting requirement.

The justification for this request was to

insure that adequate stocks of

sunflowerseed oil are available to cover

export sales. In previous years,

sunflowerseed oil export sales were

publicly announced via the Sunflower

Oil Assistance Program (SOAP).

However, that program has not been

implemented during the last two years,

and some other source of information

was desirable.

The Department agrees with these

suggestions and that the addition of

sunflowerseed oil under the mandatory

reporting program will provide more
10412 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 45 / Friday, March 7, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

complete coverage of this export

industry and provide additional highquality up-to-date information required

in making export projections. These

projections are used by private industry

as well as the government in making

economic decisions concerning the

orderly flow of U.S. agricultural

commodities in the domestic and export

markets. On the other hand, the

relatively small volume of exports of

confectionary sunflowerseeds and

sunflowerseeds for crushing does not

justify the burden on the exporters

reporting their export sales and related

information.

Lists of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 20

Agricultural commodities, Exports,

Reporting.

Final Rule

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 20 is

amended as follows:

1. The authority citation for part 20

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 5712.

2. Appendix 1 to 7 CFR part 20 is

amended by adding the following entry

after the entry for ‘‘Linseed oil,

including raw, boilded’’ under the

indicated column headings:

APPENDIX 1.—COMMODITIES SUBJECT TO REPORTS, UNITS OF MEASURE TO BE USED IN REPORTING, AND BEGINNING

AND ENDING DATES OF MARKETING YEARS

Commodity to be reported

Unit of measure

to be used in

reporting

Beginning of

marketing year

End of

marketing

year

* * * * * * *

Sunflowerseed Oil-including: crude (including degummed), once refined, sunflowerseed salad

oil (including refined and further processed by bleaching, deodorizing or winterizing), hydrogenated.

......do ............... Oct. 1 ............... Sept. 30.

* * * * * * *

Signed at Washington, D.C. February 24,

1997.

August Schumacher, Jr.

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service.

[FR Doc. 97–5095 Filed 3–6–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 96–102–1]

Asian Longhorned Beetle; Quarantine

Regulations

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: We are quarantining a small

area in the boroughs of Brooklyn and

Queens, NY, and a small area in the

vicinity of Amityville, NY, because of

infestation of the Asian longhorned

beetle and restricting the interstate

movement of regulated articles from

these quarantined areas. These actions

are necessary on an emergency basis to

prevent the artificial spread of this plant

pest from infested areas in the State of

New York to noninfested areas of the

United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective February

28, 1997. Consideration will be given

only to comments received on or before

May 6, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 96–102–1, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 96–102–1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA,

room 1141, South Building, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Ronald P. Milberg, Operations Officer,

Program Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700

River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD

20737-1236, (301) 734–5255.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

We are amending the ‘‘Domestic

Quarantine Notices’’ in 7 CFR part 301

by adding a new subpart 301.51, ‘‘Asian

Longhorned Beetle’’ (referred to below

as ‘‘the regulations’’). These regulations

quarantine a small area in the

Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, NY,

and a small area in the vicinity of

Amityville, NY, because of Asian

longhorned beetle and restrict the

interstate movement of regulated

articles from the quarantined areas.

The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB)

(Anoplophora glabripennis), native to

China, Japan, Korea, and the Isle of

Hainan, is a destructive pest of

hardwood trees. It is known to attack

healthy trees of maple (including

Norway, sugar, silver, red, and others),

horse chestnut, poplar, willow, elm,

locust, mulberry, chinaberry, apple,

cherry, pear, and citrus. It may also

attack other species of hardwood trees.

ALB bores into the heartwood of host

trees, eventually killing the host trees.

Immature beetles bore into tree trunks

and branches, causing heavy sap flow

from wounds and sawdust

accumulation at tree bases. They feed on

and over-winter in the interior of the

trees. Adult beetles emerge in the spring

and summer months from large, round

holes approximately 3⁄8-inch in diameter

(about the size of a dime) that they bore

through the trunks of trees. After

emerging, adult beetles fly for 2 to 3

days, when they feed and mate. Adult

females then lay eggs in grooves that

they make on the branches of trees. A

new generation of ALB is produced each

year.

First detected in the United States in

August 1996, ALB has been found in

hardwood trees in an area in the

boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, NY,

and in the vicinity of Amityville, NY. In

these locations, the beetle appears to

prefer maple and horse chestnut trees.

However, nursery stock, logs, green

lumber, firewood, stumps, roots,

branches, and debris of a half an inch

or more in diameter are also subject to

infestation. Therefore, if this pest moves

into the hardwood forests of the

northeastern United States, severe

economic impact to the nursery and