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

12577

Vol. 62, No. 51

Monday, March 17, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 28

[CN–97–001]

Revision of User Fees for 1997 Crop

Cotton Classification Services to

Growers

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) is proposing to reduce

user fees for cotton producers for 1997

crop cotton classification services under

the Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act

in accordance with the formula

provided in the Uniform Cotton

Classing Fees Act of 1987. The 1996

user fee for this classification service

was $1.50 per bale. This proposal would

reduce the fee for the 1997 crop to $1.40

per bale. The proposed reduction in fees

resulted from increased efficiency in

classing operations. The fee is sufficient

to recover the costs of providing

classification services, including costs

for administration, supervision, and

development and maintenance of

standards.

DATES: Comments must be received by

April 16, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments and inquiries

should be addressed to Lee Cliburn,

Cotton Division, AMS, USDA, room

2641–S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington,

DC 20090–6456. Comments will be

available for public inspection during

regular business hours at the above

office in Rm. 2641-South Building, 14th

& Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lee

Cliburn, 202–720–2145.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

proposed rule has been determined to

be not significant for purposes of

Executive Order 12866, and it has not

been reviewed by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. It is not intended to

have retroactive effect. This rule would

not preempt any state or local laws,

regulations, or policies unless they

present an irreconcilable conflict with

this rule. There are no administrative

procedures which must be exhausted

prior to any judicial challenge to the

provisions of this rule.

The Administrator, Agricultural

Marketing Service (AMS), has

considered the economic impact of this

proposal on small entities pursuant to

the requirements set forth in the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5

U.S.C. 601 et seq.). It has been

determined that the implementation of

this proposed rule would not have a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small businesses.

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

disproportionately burdened. There are

an estimated 40,000 cotton growers in

the U.S. who voluntarily use the AMS

cotton classing services annually, and

the majority of these cotton growers are

small businesses under the criteria

established by the Small Business

Administration (13 CFR § 121.601). The

Administrator of AMS has certified that

this action will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities as defined in

the RFA because:

(1) The fee reduction reflects a

decrease in the cost-per-unit currently

borne by those entities utilizing the

services (the 1996 user fee for

classification services was $1.50 per

bale; the fee for the 1997 crop would be

reduced to $1.40 per bale; the 1997 crop

is estimated at 17,587,000 bales);

(2) The cost reduction will not affect

competition in the marketplace; and

(3) The use of classification services is

voluntary.

In compliance with OMB regulations

(5 CFR part 1320) which implement the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1980

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information

collection requirements contained in the

provisions to be amended by this

proposed rule have been previously

approved by OMB and were assigned

OMB control number 0581–0009 under

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

It is anticipated that the proposed

changes, if adopted, would be made

effective July 1, 1997, as provided by the

Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act.

Fees for Classification Under the Cotton

Statistics and Estimates Act of 1927

The user fee charged to cotton

producers for High Volume Instrument

(HVI) classification services under the

Cotton Statistics and Estimates Act (7

U.S.C. 473a) was $1.50 per bale during

the 1996 harvest season as determined

by using the formula provided in the

Uniform Cotton Classing Fees Act of

1987, as amended by Public Law 102–

237. The fees cover salaries, costs of

equipment and supplies, and other

overhead costs, including costs for

administration, supervision, and

development and maintenance of cotton

standards.

This proposed rule establishes the

user fee charged to producers for HVI

classification at $1.40 per bale during

the 1997 harvest season.

Public Law 102–237 amended the

formula in the Uniform Cotton Classing

Fees Act of 1987 for establishing the

producer’s classification fee so that the

producer’s fee is based on the prevailing

method of classification requested by

producers during the previous year. HVI

classing was the prevailing method of

cotton classification requested by

producers in 1996. Therefore, the 1997

producer’s user fee for classification

service is based on the 1996 base fee for

HVI classification.

The fee was calculated by applying

the formula specified in the Uniform

Cotton Classing Fees Act of 1987, as

amended by Public Law 102–237. The

1996 base fee for HVI classification

exclusive of adjustments, as provided by

the Act, was $2.04 per bale. A two

percent, or four cents per bale increase

due to the implicit price deflator of the

gross domestic product added to the

$2.04 would result in a 1997 base fee of

$2.08 per bale. The formula in the Act

provides for the use of the percentage

change in the implicit price deflator of

the gross national product (as indexed

for the most recent 12-month period for

which statistics are available). However,

this has been replaced by the gross

domestic product by the Department of

Commerce as a more appropriate

measure for the short-term monitoring

and analysis of the U.S. economy.

The number of bales to be classed by

the United States Department of
12578 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 51 / Monday, March 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules

Agriculture from the 1997 crop is

estimated at 17,587,000. The 1997 base

fee was decreased 15 percent based on

the estimated number of bales to be

classed (one percent for every 100,000

bales or portion thereof above the base

of 12,500,000, limited to a maximum

adjustment of 15 percent). This

percentage factor amounts to a 31 cents

per bale reduction and was subtracted

from the 1997 base fee of $2.08 per bale,

resulting in a fee of $1.77 per bale.

With a fee of $1.77 per bale, the

projected operating reserve would be

41.93 percent. The Act specifies that the

Secretary shall not establish a fee

which, when combined with other

sources of revenue, will result in a

projected operating reserve of more than

25 percent. Accordingly, the fee of $1.77

must be reduced by 37 cents per bale,

to $1.40 per bale, to provide an ending

accumulated operating reserve for the

fiscal year of 25 percent of the projected

cost of operating the program. This

would establish the 1997 season fee at

$1.40 per bale.

Accordingly, § 28.909, paragraph (b)

would be revised to reflect the reduction

in the HVI classification fees.

As provided for in the Uniform Cotton

Classing Fees Act of 1987, as amended,

a five cent per bale discount would

continue to be applied to voluntary

centralized billing and collecting agents

as specified in § 28.909 (c).

Growers or their designated agents

would continue to incur no additional

fees if only one method of receiving

classification data was requested. The

fee for each additional method of

receiving classification data in § 28.910

would remain at five cents per bale, and

it would be applicable even if the same

method was requested. The fee in

§ 28.910 (b) for an owner receiving

classification data from the central

database would remain at five cents per

bale, and the minimum charge of $5.00

for services provided per monthly

billing period would remain the same.

The provisions of § 28.910 (c)

concerning the fee for new classification

memoranda issued from the central

database for the business convenience of

an owner without reclassification of the

cotton will remain the same.

The fee for review classification in

§ 28.911 would be reduced from $1.50

per bale to $1.40 per bale.

The fee for returning samples after

classification in § 28.911 would remain

at 40 cents per sample.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 28

Administrative practice and

procedures, Cotton, Cotton samples,

Grades, Market news, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Standards,

Staples, Testing, Warehouses.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR Part 28 is proposed to

be amended as follows:

PART 28—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for Part 28

would continue to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 471–476.

2. Section 28.909, paragraph (b)

would be revised to read as follows:

§ 28.909 Costs.

* * * * *

(b) The cost of High Volume

Instrument (HVI) cotton classification

service to producers is $1.40 per bale.

* * * * *

3. In Section 28.911, the last sentence

of paragraph (a) would be revised to

read as follows:

§ 28.911 Review classification.

(a) * * * The fee for review

classification is $1.40 per bale.

* * * * *

Dated: March 10, 1997.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–6648 Filed 3–14–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE: 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 71

[Airspace Docket No. 97–AGL–7]

Modification of Class E Airspace;

Manitowish, WI, Manitowish Waters

Airport

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This notice proposes to

modify Class E airspace at Manitowish,

WI. A Global Positioning System (GPS)

standard instrument approach

procedure (SIAP) to Runway 32 has

been developed for Manitowish Waters

Airport. Controlled airspace extending

upward from 700 to 1200 feet above

ground level (AGL) is needed to contain

aircraft executing the approach. The

intended affect of this proposal is to

provide segregation of aircraft using

instrument approach procedures in

instrument conditions from other

aircraft operating in visual weather

conditions.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before April 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Send comments on the

proposal in triplicate to: Federal

Aviation Administration, Office of the

Assistant Chief Counsel, AGL–7, Rules

Docket No. 97–AGL–7, 2300 East Devon

Avenue, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018.

The official docket may be examined

in the Office of the Assistant Chief

Counsel, Federal Aviation

Administration, 2300 East Devon

Avenue, Des Plaines, Illinois. An

informal docket may also be examined

during normal business hours at the Air

Traffic Division, Operations Branch,

Federal Aviation Administration, 2300

East Devon Avenue, Des Plaines,

Illinois.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John A. Clayborn, Air Traffic Division,

Operations Branch, AGL–530, Federal

Aviation Administration, 2300 East

Devon Avenue, Des Plaines, Illinois

60018, telephone (847) 294–7568.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments Invited

Interested parties are invited to

participate in this proposed rulemaking

by submitting such written data, views,

or arguments as they may desire.

Comments that provide the factual basis

supporting the views and suggestions

presented are particularly helpful in

developing reasoned regulatory

decisions on the proposal. Comments

are specifically invited on the overall

regulatory, aeronautical, economic,

environmental, and energy-related

aspects of the proposal.

Communications should identify the

airspace docket number and be

submitted in triplicate to the address

listed above. Commenters wishing the

FAA to acknowledge receipt of their

comments on this notice must submit

with those comments a self-addressed,

stamped postcard on which the

following statement is made:

‘‘Comments to Airspace Docket No. 97–

AGL–7.’’ The postcard will be date/time

stamped and returned to the

commenter. All communications

received on or before the specified

closing date for comments will be

considered before taking action on the

proposed rule. The proposal contained

in this notice may be changed in light

of comments received. All comments

submitted will be available for

examination in the Rules Docket, FAA,

Great Lakes Region, Office of the

Assistant Chief Counsel, 2300 East

Devon Avenue, Des Plaines, Illinois,

both before and after the closing date for

comments. A report summarizing each

substantive public contact with FAA

personnel concerned with this

rulemaking will be filed in the docket.