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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

18621 

Vol. 74, No. 78 

Friday, April 24, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 959 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–09–0012; FV09–959–1 

IFR] 

Onions Grown in South Texas; Change 

in Regulatory Period 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim final rule with request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule revises the 

regulatory period during which 

minimum grade, size, quality, and 

maturity requirements are in effect for 

onions grown in South Texas under 

Marketing Order No. 959 (order). The 

previous regulatory period for South 

Texas onions was March 1 to July 15 of 

each year. The new regulatory period 

ends on June 4. Prior to this change, 

onions subject to order requirements 

from June 5 to July 15 were present in 

the market at the same time as onions 

produced in other areas of the United 

States not regulated under Federal 

marketing orders. Changing the ending 

date of the regulatory period to June 4 

relaxes the regulatory requirements for 

onions covered under the order, and 

will enable producers and handlers to 

compete more effectively in the 

marketplace, and therefore, promote the 

orderly marketing of onions. The South 

Texas Onion Committee (Committee), 

which locally administers the order, 

unanimously recommended the change. 

DATES: Effective April 25, 2009; 

comments received by June 23, 2009 

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 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 

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: 

Belinda G. Garza, Regional Manager, 

Texas Marketing Field Office, Marketing 

Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 

Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA; 

Telephone: (956) 682–2833, Fax: (956) 

682–5942, or e-mail: 

Belinda.Garza@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, 

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: 

Jay.Guerber@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

959, as amended (7 CFR part 959), 

regulating the handling of onions grown 

in South Texas, 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. This rule will 

not preempt any State or local laws, 

regulations, or policies, unless they 

present an irreconcilable conflict with 

this rule. 

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, which was unanimously 

recommended by the Committee, revises 

the regulatory period during which 

minimum grade, size, quality, and 

maturity requirements are in effect for 

onions grown under the order in South 

Texas. This change is intended to enable 

producers and handlers to compete 

more effectively in the marketplace, and 

therefore, promote the orderly 

marketing of onions. 

Section 959.52(b) of the order 

authorizes the establishment of grade, 

size, quality, maturity, or pack 

regulations for all varieties of onions 

within the production area during any 

period in any or all portions of the 

production area. Section 959.52(c) 

authorizes the modification, suspension, 

or termination of regulations. Section 

959.60 provides that whenever onions 

are regulated pursuant to § 959.52, or at 

other times when recommended by the 

Committee and approved by the 

Secretary, such onions shall be 

inspected by the Federal or Federal– 

State Inspection Service. 

Section 959.110 of the order’s 

administrative rules and regulations 

apportions 35 South Texas counties 

between two onion-growing areas 

known as District 1, consisting of 19 

counties designated as the Coastal 

Bend–Lower Valley area, and District 2, 

consisting of 16 counties designated as 

the Laredo–Winter Garden area. 

Section 959.322 of the order’s rules 

and regulations provides that the 

handling of South Texas onions shall be 

subject to specified grade, size, and 

inspection requirements. That section 

also prescribes the time period during 

which such regulatory requirements for 


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18622 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 78 / Friday, April 24, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

South Texas onions are in effect. Prior 

to this action, the regulatory period 

during which regulations were in effect 

ran from March 1 to July 15, annually 

(see 72 FR 49136). 

During a public meeting held on 

December 15, 2008, the Committee 

unanimously recommended changing 

the ending date of the regulatory period 

for onions from July 15 to May 31. Upon 

further consideration, the Committee 

unanimously recommended, through a 

follow-up mail vote completed on 

January 28, 2009, changing the ending 

date to June 4. 

Prior to the 2007 marketing season, 

the regulatory period was from March 1 

through June 4. At that time, the 

regulatory period did not completely 

cover the full South Texas production 

season and onion shipments occurring 

after June 4 were not subject to order 

requirements. The early and mid-season 

crop is produced in District 1 of the 

production area, which generally 

accounts for about 90 percent of the 

total. The remaining crop, 

approximately 10 percent, is produced 

in District 2, and is shipped during the 

latter part of the season. 

In 2007, based on a Committee 

recommendation, the ending date of the 

regulatory period was extended from 

June 4 to July 15. The Committee 

believed that extending the ending date 

from June 4 to July 15 would provide 

the consumer with higher-quality 

onions for a longer period of time 

because the entire production area 

would be regulated throughout its 

shipping period. Extending the ending 

date of regulation also resulted in 

additional assessment revenue being 

collected by the Committee, since 

assessments are based on inspection 

certificates. 

After two seasons’ experience, District 

2 producers and handlers requested the 

Committee to reconsider the extension 

of the regulatory period. According to 

the Committee, extending the regulatory 

period from June 4 to July 15 in 2007 

resulted in the South Texas onion 

industry competing in the market 

directly with lower-quality onions 

shipped from other areas of the United 

States not regulated under Federal 

marketing orders. Onion prices are 

usually quite low during this period and 

these unregulated areas have a 

competitive advantage over District 2. 

Ending grade, size, quality, and maturity 

requirements on June 4, rather than July 

15, relaxes regulation on District 2 

shippers and helps them compete in the 

market with shippers from nonregulated production areas. 

The Committee also recommended 

continuing inspection of onions through 

July 15. To identify the quality and 

quantity of onions being shipped in the 

latter part of the season, the Committee 

will continue assessing all South Texas 

onion shipments. Collecting 

assessments for the entire season will 

provide a consistent funding source for 

Committee operations and programs, 

and will help to ensure that all handlers 

pay an equitable share of assessments. 

Section 8e of the Act provides that 

when certain domestically produced 

commodities, including onions, are 

regulated under a Federal marketing 

order, imports of that commodity must 

meet the same or comparable grade, 

size, quality, and maturity requirements. 

This action will have no impact on the 

import regulation for onions. 

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 in order 

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. 

Currently, there are approximately 84 

producers of onions in the production 

area and approximately 31 handlers 

subject to regulation under the order. 

Small agricultural producers are defined 

by the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) (13 CFR 121.201) as those having 

annual receipts of less than $750,000. 

Small agricultural service firms are 

defined as those having annual receipts 

of less than $7,000,000. 

Most of the South Texas handlers are 

vertically integrated corporations 

involved in producing, shipping, and 

marketing onions. For the 2007–08 

marketing year, the industry’s 31 

handlers shipped onions produced on 

10,978 acres with the average and 

median volume handled being 202,245 

and 176,551 fifty-pound equivalents, 

respectively. In terms of production 

value, total revenues for the 31 handlers 

were estimated to be $174.7 million, 

with average and median revenues 

being $5.64 million and $4.92 million, 

respectively. 

The South Texas onion industry is 

characterized by producers and 

handlers whose farming operations 

generally involve more than one 

commodity, and whose income from 

farming operations is not exclusively 

dependent on the production of onions. 

Alternative crops provide an 

opportunity to utilize many of the same 

facilities and equipment not in use 

when the onion production season is 

complete. For this reason, typical onion 

producers and handlers either produce 

multiple crops or alternate crops within 

a single year. 

Based on the SBA’s definition of 

small entities, the Committee estimates 

that all of the 31 handlers regulated by 

the order would be considered small 

entities if only their onion revenues are 

considered. However, revenues from 

other farming enterprises could result in 

a number of these handlers being above 

the $7,000,000 annual receipt threshold. 

All of the 84 producers may be 

classified as small entities based on the 

SBA definition if only their revenue 

from onions is considered. 

This rule shortens the ending date of 

the order’s regulatory period for Texas 

onions shipped to the fresh market from 

July 15 to June 4 of each year. This 

action, which was unanimously 

recommended by the Committee, 

shortens the regulatory period during 

which minimum grade, size, quality, 

and maturity requirements are in effect 

for onions grown under the order. 

Authorization to implement such 

regulations is provided in § 959.52(b) of 

the order. Regulatory requirements 

authorized under this section are 

provided in § 959.322. 

This action provides that fresh onion 

shipments from the South Texas onion 

production area meet minimum grade, 

size, quality, and maturity requirements 

from March 1 through June 4 of each 

year. Inspection requirements will 

continue through July 15. The previous 

regulations require that onions grown in 

the production area meet order 

requirements from March 1 through July 

15 of each year. Prior to the 2007 

marketing season, the regulatory period 

was from March 1 through June 4. In 

2007, the regulatory period was 

extended from June 4 to July 15. The 

Committee believed that applying 

quality requirements for a longer time 

period was necessary to accommodate 

an extended growing season. 

After two seasons’ experience, District 

2 producers and handlers requested that 

the Committee reconsider the previous 

regulatory extension. Onions subject to 

quality requirements under the order 

from June 5 to July 15 have been 

competing in the market with nonregulated onions from growing areas 

outside the order. Relaxing the 

requirements by changing the ending 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 78 / Friday, April 24, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 18623 

date of the regulatory period back to 

June 4 relieves District 2 handlers of the 

resulting inequity and enables them to 

be more competitive with shippers from 

other production areas. 

Under the order, the Committee 

collects assessments from handlers 

based on inspection of onions to be 

shipped to market. The Committee’s 

recommendation to continue the 

inspection requirement to July 15 will 

allow the Committee to continue to 

collect assessments through the end of 

the season. This revenue will continue 

to be used by the Committee to fund its 

operations, including consistent funding 

for onion promotion and research 

projects under the order. 

One alternative to this action would 

be to not change the regulatory period 

back to June 4. However, the Committee 

believes that leaving the quality 

requirements in place for the entire 

season would not be as beneficial for 

those shipping onions in the latter part 

of the season. 

This rule will not impose any 

additional reporting or recordkeeping 

requirements on either small or large 

onion 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. In addition, USDA has 

not identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap or conflict with 

this rule. 

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. 

Further, the Committee’s meeting was 

widely publicized throughout the South 

Texas onion industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations. All Committee meetings 

are public meetings and all entities, 

both large and small, are able to express 

their views. Finally, interested persons 

are invited to submit comments on this 

interim final 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: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

fv/moab.html. Any questions about the 

compliance guide should be sent to Jay 

Guerber at the previously mentioned 

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section. 

This rule invites comments on a 

change to the regulatory period under 

the South Texas onion marketing order. 

Any comments received will be 

considered prior to finalization of this 

rule. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

Committee’s recommendation, and 

other information, it is found that this 

interim final 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 not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) This rule relaxes regulatory 

requirements on handlers; (2) this rule 

should be implemented as soon as 

possible since the South Texas onion 

regulatory period begins March 1; (3) 

the Committee unanimously 

recommended these changes; and (4) 

this rule provides a 60-day comment 

period and any comments received will 

be considered prior to finalization of 

this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 959 

Marketing agreements, Onions, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

■ For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 959 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 959—ONIONS GROWN IN 

SOUTH TEXAS 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 959 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. In § 959.322, the introductory text 

is revised to read as follows: 

During the period beginning March 1 

and ending June 4, no handler shall 

handle any onions, including onions for 

peeling, chopping, and slicing, unless 

they comply with paragraphs (a) 

through (c) or (d) or (e) of this section; 

except that onions handled during the 

period June 5 through July 15 shall 

comply with paragraphs (c) or (d) or (e) 

of this section. 

* * * * * 

Dated: April 20, 2009. 

Robert C. Keeney, 

Acting Associate Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–9378 Filed 4–23–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE BOARD 

12 CFR Part 910 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE 

AGENCY 

12 CFR Part 1202 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise 

Oversight 

12 CFR Part 1703 

RIN 2590–AA05 

Freedom of Information Act 

Implementation 

AGENCIES: Federal Housing Finance 

Agency; Federal Housing Finance 

Board; Office of Federal Housing 

Enterprise Oversight. 

ACTION: Final rule; technical 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: On January 15, 2009, the 

Federal Housing Finance Agency 

(FHFA) published a final rule 

implementing the Freedom of 

Information Act (FOIA). This technical 

rulemaking will delete the FOIA rules 

promulgated by the FHFA’s predecessor 

agencies, the Federal Housing Finance 

Board (FHFB) and Office of Federal 

Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). 

It also will remove now obsolete 

references in the FHFA rule to the FHFB 

and OFHEO. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 26, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Janice Kaye, Chief FOIA Officer, 

janice.kaye@fhfa.gov, 202–343–1514, 

Federal Housing Finance Agency, 1700 

G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552. 

The telephone number for the 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) is 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Effective July 30, 2008, Division A of 

the Housing and Economic Recovery 

Act of 2008 (HERA), Public Law No. 

110–289, 122 Stat. 2654 (2008), titled 

the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory 

Reform Act of 2008, created the Federal 

Housing Finance Agency as an 

independent agency of the Federal 

Government. HERA transferred 

supervisory and oversight 

responsibilities over the Federal 

National Mortgage Association (Fannie 

Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 

Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the 

Federal Home Loan Banks (collectively, 


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