43038 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 920 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–08–0085; FV08–920–3 

IR] 

Kiwifruit Grown in California; Changes 

to District Boundaries 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule removes the grower 

district boundaries contained in the 

administrative rules and regulations of 

the kiwifruit marketing orders (order). 

The order regulates the handling of 

kiwifruit grown in California and is 

administered locally by the Kiwifruit 

Administrative Committee (committee). 

This rule makes necessary changes to 

the order’s administrative rules and 

regulations to make them consistent 

with the recently amended order. 

DATES: Effective August 1, 2010; 

comments received by September 21, 

2010 will be considered prior to 

issuance of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938, or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

should reference the document number 

and the date and page number of this 

issue of the Federal Register and will be 

made available for public inspection at 

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 

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: 

Laurel May or Kathleen M. Finn, 

Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938; or E-mail: 

Laurel.May@ams.usda.gov or 

Kathy.Finn@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Antoinette 

Carter, Marketing Order Administration 

Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or E-mail: 

Antoinette.Carter@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

920, as amended (7 CFR part 920), 

regulating the handling of kiwifruit 

grown in 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 rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. 

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. A 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 rule revises the administrative 

rules and regulations contained in the 

order. The change will bring the 

regulations into conformance with 

recent amendments to the order 

removing language that is inconsistent 

with the amended order. The 

amendments and this change to the 

order’s administrative rules and 

regulations were recommended by the 

committee and were submitted to USDA 

on August 15, 2008. 

Section 920.12 of the order defines 

the boundaries of the grower districts 

into which the production area is 

divided. Section 920.31(l) authorizes the 

committee to redefine the district 

boundaries, with the approval of the 

Secretary, as appropriate to reflect shifts 

of kiwifruit production within the 

production area. Section 920.131 was 

added to the order’s rules and 

regulations in 1995 (60 FR 7432; 

February 8, 1995) to specify updated 

district boundaries that reflected 

industry production trends at that time. 

California kiwifruit growers recently 

voted to amend the order by redefining 

the districts into which the production 

area is divided. Section § 920.12, which 

previously provided for eight grower 

districts, will be amended effective 

August 1, 2010 (75 FR 37288; June 29, 

2010). The amendment to § 920.12 

provides that the California production 

area will be divided into three grower 

districts: District 1, to include Butte, 

Sutter, and Yuba Counties; District 2, to 

include Tulare County; and District 3, to 

include all other California counties not 

included in Districts 1 and 2. At that 

time, § 920.131, which specifies the 

boundaries for eight grower districts, 

will be inconsistent with the amended 

§ 920.12. For this reason, this rule 

removes § 920.131 from the order’s rules 

and regulations, effective August 1, 

2010. 

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 

action 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 

business subject to such actions so that 

small businesses will not be unduly or 

disproportionately burdened. Marketing 

orders issued pursuant to the Act, and 

rules issued thereunder, are unique in 

that they are brought about through 

group action of essentially small entities 

acting on their own behalf. 

Small agricultural service firms, 

which include handlers regulated under 

the order, have been defined by the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

(13 CFR 121.201) as those having annual 

receipts of less than $7,000,000. Small 

agricultural growers have been defined 

as those with annual receipts of less 

than $750,000. 

There are approximately 30 handlers 

of kiwifruit subject to regulation under 

the order and approximately 220 

growers of kiwifruit in the regulated 

area. Information provided by the 

committee indicates that the majority of 

California kiwifruit handlers and 

growers would be considered small 

entities according to the SBA’s 

definition. 

The order regulates the handling of 

kiwifruit grown in the state of 

California. At the time the order was 

promulgated, kiwifruit acreage was 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 141 / Friday, July 23, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 43039 

more widespread throughout California 

and there were many more growers 

involved in kiwifruit production. The 

order originally provided for eight 

grower districts within the production 

area, with one membership seat 

apportioned to each district, and an 

additional seat reallocated annually to 

each of the three districts with the 

highest production in the preceding 

year. The structure was designed to 

afford equitable representation for all 

districts on the committee. 

Planted acreage has been gradually 

concentrated into two main regions in 

recent years. That, and the decline in 

the number of growers over time, 

prompted consolidation of the districts 

and reallocation of grower member seats 

through the formal rulemaking process. 

Under the amended order, the 

production area will be divided into 

three grower districts, and committee 

membership will be allocated 

proportionately among the districts 

based upon the previous five years’ 

average production for each district. 

These changes are expected to better 

reflect the current composition of the 

industry. 

This rule removes § 920.131 from the 

order’s administrative rules and 

regulations, effective August 1, 2010. 

The section specifies the boundaries for 

eight grower districts. As such, it will be 

inconsistent with the amended § 920.12, 

which provides the boundaries for three 

grower districts. 

The changes in this interim rule are 

necessary to conform with amendments 

to the order, which will become 

effective on August 1, 2010. No 

alternatives to this action are deemed 

appropriate. 

Regarding the impact of this action on 

the affected entities, both large and 

small entities are expected to benefit 

from the change. The revision in this 

interim rule provides consistency 

between the amended marketing order 

and its administrative rules and 

regulations. The order amendment is 

expected to ensure that the interests of 

all large and small entities are 

represented appropriately during 

committee deliberations. 

Committee meetings in which 

regulatory recommendations and other 

decisions are made are open to the 

public. All members are able to 

participate in committee deliberations, 

and each committee member has an 

equal vote. Others in attendance at 

meetings are also allowed to express 

their views. 

At committee meetings held on 

January 30, 2008, April 22, 2008, and 

July 9, 2008, the committee voted 

unanimously to recommend amending 

the order by revising the grower districts 

into which the production area is 

divided. The committee’s 

recommendations were submitted to 

AMS on August 15, 2008. Growers 

approved the amendment to redefine 

district boundaries in a referendum held 

in March 2010. The amendment will 

become effective August 1, 2010. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on large or small kiwifruit 

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. 

Finally, interested persons are invited 

to submit comments on this interim 

rule, including the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at the following Web site: 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/

ams.fetchTemplate

Data.do?template=TemplateN&page=

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Antoinette 

Carter at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

This rule invites comments on 

changes to the administrative rules and 

regulations currently prescribed under 

the marketing order for California 

kiwifruit. Any comments received will 

be considered prior to finalization of 

this rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

committee’s recommendations and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect, and that good cause 

exists for effectuating this rule on 

August 1, 2010, because: (1) August 1, 

2010 is the beginning of the fiscal 

period and amendments to the order’s 

district boundary provision will become 

effective on that date; (2) this action is 

necessary to make the order’s 

administrative rules and regulations 

consistent with the amended order; and 

(3) this rule provides a 60-day comment 

period, and any written comments 

received will be considered prior to any 

finalization of this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 920 

Kiwifruit, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 920 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 920—KIWIFRUIT GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 920 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

§ 920.131 [Removed] 

■ 2. Section 920.131 is removed. 

Dated: July 20, 2010. 

Rayne Pegg, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–18087 Filed 7–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 924 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–10–0054; FV10–924–2 

IR] 

Fresh Prunes Grown in Designated 

Counties in Washington and in 

Umatilla County, OR; Suspension of 

Reporting and Assessment 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule suspends the 

reporting and assessment requirements 

prescribed under the WashingtonOregon fresh prune marketing order. 

The marketing order regulates the 

handling of fresh prunes grown in 

designated counties in Washington and 

in Umatilla County, Oregon, and is 

administered locally by the WashingtonOregon Fresh Prune Marketing 

Committee (Committee). On June 1, 

2010, the Committee unanimously voted 

to terminate Marketing Order No. 924. 

Since the only regulatory actions 

currently in effect are the reporting and 

assessment requirements, the 

Committee included a recommendation 

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