20054 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 /Thursday, April 23, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

one mobile vendor and six stores/

markets. The number of these entities

that meet the U.S. Small Business

Administration’s (SBA) definition of a

small entity is unknown, since the

information needed to make that

determination (i.e., each entity’s gross

receipts or number of employees) is not

currently available. However, it is

reasonable to assume that most of the

seven entities are small in size, since the

overwhelming majority of businesses in

Florida, as well as the rest of the United

States, are small entities by SBA

standards.

We believe that few, if any, of the

seven entities will be significantly

affected by the quarantine action taken

in this interim rule because few of these

types of entities move regulated articles

outside the State of Florida during the

normal course of their business. Nor do

consumers of products purchased from

these type of entities generally move

those products interstate. The effect on

the small entities that do move

regulated articles interstate from the

quarantined area will be minimized by

the availability of various treatments

that, in most cases, will allow those

small entities to move regulated articles

interstate with very little additional

costs. Also, many of these types of small

entities sell other items in addition to

regulated articles, so the effect, if any,

of the interim rule should be minimal.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12372

This program/activity is listed in the

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

under No. 10.025 and is subject to

Executive Order 12372, which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part

3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State

and local laws and regulations that are

inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) does not

require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court

challenging this rule.

National Environmental Policy Act

An environmental assessment and

finding of no significant impact have

been prepared for this rule. The site

specific environmental assessment and

programmatic Medfly environmental

impact statement provide a basis for our

conclusion that implementation of

integrated pest management to achieve

eradication of the Medfly would not

have a significant impact on human

health and the natural environment.

Based on the finding of no significant

impact, the Administrator of the Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service has

determined that an environmental

impact statement need not be prepared.

The environmental assessment and

finding of no significant impact were

prepared in accordance with: (1) The

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2)

Regulations of the Council on

Environmental Quality for

implementing the procedural provisions

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3)

USDA regulations implementing NEPA

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part

372).

Copies of the environmental

assessment and finding of no significant

impact are available for public

inspection 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 copies are requested

to call ahead on (202) 690–2817 to

facilitate entry into the reading room. In

addition, copies may be obtained by

writing to the individual listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule contains no information

collection or recordkeeping

requirements under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.).

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

Agricultural commodities,

Incorporation by reference, Plant

diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Transportation.

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is

amended as follows:

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE

NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 301

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150bb, 150dd,

150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and 164–167; 7 CFR

2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

2. In § 301.78–3, paragraph (c) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 301.78–3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) The areas described below are

designated as quarantined areas:

Florida

Dade County. That portion of Dade

County in Hialeah bounded by a line

beginning at the intersection of LeJeune

Road (East 8th Avenue) and East 33rd

Street; then south along LeJeune Road

(East 8th Avenue) (including both sides

of LeJeune Road) to Northwest 36th

Street (State Highway 948); then west

along Northwest 36th Street (State

Highway 948) to the east side of

Palmetto Expressway (State Highway

826); then north along the east side of

Palmetto Expressway (State Highway

826) to the section line between sections

2 and 11, T. 53 S., R. 40 E. (on a line

with West 37th Street); then east along

the section line between sections 2 and

11, T. 53 S., R. 40 E., to its continuation

as West 37th Street; then east along

West 37th Street to West 4th Avenue;

then south along West 4th Avenue to

West 33rd Street; then east along West

33rd Street (including both sides of

West 33rd Street) to its continuation as

East 33rd Street; then east along East

33rd Street (including both sides of East

33rd Street) to the point of beginning.

Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of

April 1998.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98–10794 Filed 4–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

7 CFR Parts 800 and 810

United States Standards for Rye

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Grain Inspection, Packers

and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA)

is revising the United States Standards

for Rye to certificate dockage to the

nearest tenth of a percent. The current

method of dockage certification rounds

the actual dockage percentage down to

the nearest whole percent. This method

may result in understating the level of

dockage up to 0.99 percent on the

certificate. Certification of dockage to

the nearest tenth of a percent is more

precise than the current method and

should enhance the marketability of

U.S. rye traded in the domestic and

export markets. This change requires the

establishment of new inspection

tolerances or breakpoints, as

appropriate.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 /Thursday, April 23, 1998 /Rules and Regulations 20055

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

George Wollam, GIPSA, USDA, Room

0623–S, Stop 3649, Washington, D.C.,

20250–3649; FAX (202) 720–4628; or Email gwollam@fgisdc.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Executive Order 12866

The Department of Agriculture is

issuing this rule in conformance with

Executive Order 12866.

Executive Order 12988

This final rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This action is not

intended to have a retroactive effect.

The United States Grain Standards Act,

(ACT) as amended, provides in section

87g that no state or subdivision may

require or impose any requirements or

restrictions concerning the inspection,

weighing, or description of grain under

the Act. Otherwise, this final rule will

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.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

GIPSA has determined that this final

rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities, as defined in

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601 et seq.). Most users of the official

inspection and weighing services and

those entities that perform these

services do not meet the requirements

for small entities. Further, the

regulations are applied equally to all

entities.

The rye industry, including

producers, handlers, exporters and

processors, are the primary users of the

U.S. Standards for Rye and utilize the

official standards as a common trading

language to market rye.

The rye industry in the United States

is regional in nature, concentrated

primarily in the upper midwest area.

There are an estimated 10 processors of

rye, utilizing a crop produced on

approximately 355,000 acres in the

United States. The average annual

production of rye for the period 1988

through 1997 was 10,045,000 bushels.

No rye has been officially inspected for

export from the United States for several

years.

The current method of dockage

certification rounds the actual dockage

percentage down to the nearest whole

percent. This method may result in

understating the level of dockage up to

0.99 percent on the certificate.

Certification of dockage to the nearest

tenth of a percent is more precise than

the current method and should enhance

the marketability of U.S. rye traded in

the domestic and, potentially, export

markets. The potential benefits of

revising the dockage certification

procedure to report rye dockage to the

nearest tenth of a percent include a

more accurate description of the raw

grain and the potential to improve

pricing efficiency within the market.

Certification to the nearest tenth of a

percent is also more precise. A

corresponding change will be made to

the inspection tolerances or break

points, as appropriate.

Further, the rye industry already

trades on dockage reported in tenths of

a percent. Therefore, small entities

should experience no significant

economic impact from the change.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the provisions of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3504), the information

collection requirements contained in

Part 800 have been previously approved

by the Office of Management and

Budget under control number 0580–

0013.

Background

On December 17, 1997, GIPSA

published in the Federal Register (62

FR 66036) a proposal to revise the

United States Standards for Rye to

certificate dockage to the nearest tenth

of a percent. Dockage consists primarily

of dust, chaff, small weed seeds, very

small pieces of broken rye, and coarse

grains larger than rye. Domestic

handlers and millers usually remove

dockage during grain cleaning and may

use it as animal feed. Foreign buyers use

dockage in a variety of ways. Some use

the dockage in animal feed, others mill

the dockage with the rye, and some

remove and discard the dockage.

In the current Official United States

Standards for Grain (7 CFR Part 810),

the percentage of rye dockage is

certified by rounding down to the

nearest 1.0 percent (7 CFR 810.104 (b)).

For example, for 0.0 to 0.99 percent, no

dockage is reported on the certificate,

1.00 to 1.99 percent is reported as 1.0

percent dockage, 2.00 to 2.99 is reported

as 2.0 percent dockage, and so forth. A

domestic handler/processor had

questioned the adequacy of the current

dockage certification method, asserting

that the actual dockage is almost always

understated. Further, the handler/

processor suggested that the current

U.S. Standards for Rye are not relevant,

as the domestic rye industry trades on

a dockage basis expressed in tenths of

a percent and not whole percents.

Changing the current reporting and

certification procedure to the nearest

tenth percent on official inspection

certificates will more accurately and

precisely state dockage content in rye.

Further, this action should also promote

pricing efficiency.

GIPSA also proposed to amend the

inspection plan tolerances, or

breakpoints, based on this change.

Shiplots, unit trains, and lash barge lots

are inspected with a statistically based

inspection plan. Inspection tolerances,

commonly referred to as ‘‘breakpoints,’’

are used to determine acceptable

quality. This change requires the

establishment of a new breakpoint that

reflects the greater accuracy to which

rye dockage will be calculated and

reported.

Therefore, GIPSA is revising the

current breakpoint for rye dockage

which is listed in Table 14 of section

800.86(c)(2). Specifically, GIPSA will

change the breakpoint from 0.32 to 0.2.

Comment Review

During the 60-day comment period,

GIPSA received four comments: One

from a rye miller in the upper midwest;

two from grain handling associations;

and one from a State Department of

Agriculture.

The comment from the rye miller

stated that the change would strengthen

the integrity of the rye standards as it

made sense given that rye is a cereal

grain, it was appropriate that the U.S.

rye dockage standard be the same as the

wheat standard. One grain handling

association stated that the change was

consistent with current marketing

practices and long overdue. They

encouraged GIPSA to implement the

change at the earliest feasible time. The

other grain handling association did not

object to the proposed change and stated

that the change would make dockage

procedures for rye consistent with

wheat. The State Department of

Agriculture commented that certifying

rye dockage to the nearest tenth of a

percent will provide a truer picture of

what is actually in the lot of rye and

should, therefore, be helpful for

marketing purposes.

On the basis of these comments and

other available information, GIPSA

decided to revise the rye standards as

proposed.

Final Action

GIPSA is revising § 800.86, Inspection

of shiplot, unit train, and lash barge

grain in single lots, paragraph (c)(2)

Table 14, by changing the breakpoint for

dockage in rye from 0.32 to 0.2.
20056 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 /Thursday, April 23, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

GIPSA also is amending the Official

United States Standards for Grain,

Subpart A—General Provisions,

§ 810.104, Percentages, by revising

paragraph (b), Recording. This change

requires rye dockage to be determined

and reported in whole and tenths of a

percent to the nearest tenth of a percent.

Pursuant to Section 4(b)(1) of the

United States Grain Standards Act, as

amended (7 U.S.C. 76(b)(1)), no

standards established or amendments or

revocations of standards are to become

effective less than one calendar year

after promulgation unless, in the

judgement of the Secretary, the public

health, interest, or safety require that

they become effective sooner. Pursuant

to that section of the Act, the revisions

will become effective June 1, 1999. This

effective date will coincide with the

beginning of the 1999 crop year and

facilitate the marketing of rye.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 800

Administrative practice and

procedure, Exports, Grain.

7 CFR Part 810

Exports, Grain.

For reasons set out in the preamble,

7 CFR Part 800 and 7 CFR Part 810 are

amended as follows:

PART 800—GENERAL REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for Part 800

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.)

2. Section 800.86(c)(2) is amended by

revising the entry for ‘‘Dockage’’ in

Table 14 to read as follows:

§ 800.86 Inspection of shiplot, unit trains,

and lash barge grain in single lots.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(2) * * *

TABLE 14—BREAKPOINTS (BP) FOR RYE SPECIAL GRADES AND FACTORS

Special grade

or factor Grade limit Breakpoint

* * * * * * *

Dockage ........................................................................................................................ As specified by contract or load order

grade.

0.2

* * * * *

PART 810—OFFICIAL UNITED STATES

STANDARDS FOR GRAIN

3. The authority citation for Part 810

continues to read as follows:

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.)

4. Section 810.104 is amended by

revising the first three sentences of

paragraph (b) to read as follows:

§ 810.104 Percentages.

* * * * *

(b) Recording. The percentage of

dockage in flaxseed and sorghum is

reported in whole percent with fractions

of a percent being disregarded. Dockage

in barley and triticale is reported in

whole and half percent with a fraction

less than one-half percent being

disregarded. Dockage in wheat and rye

is reported in whole and tenth percents

to the nearest tenth percent. * * *

Dated: April 14, 1998.

James R. Baker,

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration.

[FR Doc. 98–10768 Filed 4–22–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 932

[Docket No. FV98–932–1 FR]

Olives Grown in California; Increased

Assessment Rate

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This rule increases the

assessment rate established for the

California Olive Committee (Committee)

under Marketing Order No. 932 for the

1998 and subsequent fiscal years from

$14.99 to $17.10 per ton of assessable

olives. The Committee is responsible for

local administration of the marketing

order which regulates the handling of

olives grown in California.

Authorization to assess olive handlers

enables the Committee to incur

expenses that are reasonable and

necessary to administer the program.

The fiscal year began on January 1 and

ends December 31. The assessment rate

will remain in effect indefinitely unless

modified, suspended, or terminated.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 24, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Diane Purvis, Marketing Assistant, or J.

Terry Vawter, Marketing Specialist,

California Marketing Field Office, Fruit

and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA,

2202 Monterey Street, Suite 102B,

Fresno, California 93721; telephone:

(209) 487–5901, Fax: (209) 487–5906; or

George Kelhart, Technical Advisor,

Marketing Order Administration

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

AMS, USDA, room 2525–S, PO Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090–6456;

telephone: (202) 720–2491, Fax: (202)

205–6632. Small businesses may request

information on compliance with this

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber,

Marketing Order Administration

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs,

AMS, USDA, room 2525–S, PO Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090–6456;

telephone: (202) 720–2491, Fax: (202)

205–6632.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule

is issued under Marketing Agreement

No. 148 and Order No. 932, both as

amended (7 CFR part 932), regulating

the handling of olives grown in

California, hereinafter referred to as the

‘‘order.’’ The marketing agreement and

order are 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

(Department) is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice

Reform. Under the marketing order now

in effect, California olive handlers are

subject to assessments. Funds to

administer the order are derived from

such assessments. It is intended that the

assessment rate as issued herein will be