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

38590 

Vol. 86, No. 138 

Thursday, July 22, 2021 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1218 

[Document Number AMS–SC–21–0022] 

Blueberry Promotion, Research and 

Information Order; Change in 

Membership, Nomination Procedures 

and Term of Office 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposal invites 

comments on changes in membership of 

the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council 

(Council) under the Blueberry 

Promotion, Research and Information 

Order (Order), by removing the firsthandler member and alternate position 

and adding two exporter member and 

alternate positions. Conforming changes 

would be made to the nomination 

procedures. In addition, the proposal 

would allow members and alternates to 

remain in office until a successor is 

appointed. The Council administers the 

Order with oversight by the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 20, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed rule. All 

comments must be submitted through 

the Federal e-rulemaking portal at 

http://www.regulations.gov and should 

reference the document number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register. All comments 

submitted in response to this proposed 

rule will be included in the rulemaking 

record and will be made available to the 

public. Please be advised that the 

identity of the individuals or entities 

submitting comments will be made 

public on the internet at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeanette Palmer, Marketing Specialist, 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 

1406–S, Stop 0244, Washington, DC 

20250–0244; telephone: (202) 720–5976; 

or electronic mail: Jeanette.Palmer@

usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposal is issued under the Order (7 

CFR part 1218). The Order is authorized 

under the Commodity Promotion, 

Research, and Information Act of 1996 

(1996 Act) (7 U.S.C. 7411–7425). 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts and equity). 

Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the 

importance of quantifying both costs 

and benefits, reducing costs, 

harmonizing rules and promoting 

flexibility. This action falls within a 

category of regulatory actions that the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) exempted from Executive Order 

12866 review. 

Executive Order 13175 

This action has been reviewed in 

accordance with the requirements of 

Executive Order 13175, Consultation 

and Coordination with Indian Tribal 

Governments. AMS has assessed the 

impact of this proposed rule on Indian 

tribes and determined that this rule 

would not have tribal implications that 

require consultation under Executive 

Order 13175. AMS hosts a quarterly 

teleconference with tribal leaders where 

matters of mutual interest regarding the 

marketing of agricultural products are 

discussed. Information about the 

proposed changes to the regulations will 

be shared during an upcoming quarterly 

call, and tribal leaders will be informed 

about the proposed revisions to the 

regulation and the opportunity to 

submit comments. AMS will work with 

the USDA Office of Tribal Relations to 

ensure meaningful consultation is 

provided as needed with regards to this 

change to the Order. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposal has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. It is not intended to 

have retroactive effect. Section 524 of 

the 1996 Act (7 U.S.C. 7423) provides 

that it shall not affect or preempt any 

other Federal or State law authorizing 

promotion or research relating to an 

agricultural commodity. 

Under section 519 of the 1996 Act (7 

U.S.C. 7418), a person subject to an 

order may file a written petition with 

USDA stating that an order, any 

provision of an order, or any obligation 

imposed in connection with an order, is 

not established in accordance with the 

law, and request a modification of an 

order or an exemption from an order. 

Any petition filed challenging an order, 

any provision of an order, or any 

obligation imposed in connection with 

an order, shall be filed within two years 

after the effective date of an order, 

provision, or obligation subject to 

challenge in the petition. The petitioner 

will have the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. Thereafter, USDA will 

issue a ruling on the petition. The 1996 

Act provides that the district court of 

the United States for any district in 

which the petitioner resides or conducts 

business shall have the jurisdiction to 

review a final ruling on the petition, if 

the petitioner files a complaint for that 

purpose not later than 20 days after the 

date of the entry of USDA’s final ruling. 

Background 

This proposal invites comments on 

changes in the Council’s membership 

under the Order. The Council 

administers the Order with oversight by 

USDA. Under the program, assessments 

are collected from domestic producers 

and importers and used for research and 

promotion projects designed to increase 

the demand for highbush blueberries. 

This proposed action would remove the 

first-handler member and alternate 

position and add two exporter member 

and alternate positions. This would help 

ensure that the Council reflects the 

distribution of domestic blueberry 

production and imports into the United 

States (U.S.) Conforming changes would 

be made to the nomination procedures. 

This proposal would also allow 

members and alternates to remain in 

office until a successor is appointed. 

This change would permit the Council 

to continue administration of the Order 

should appointments be delayed beyond 

the specified term of office. The two 

actions were unanimously 


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recommended by the Council at its 

meetings on November 18, 2020 and 

June 9, 2021. 

Change in Membership 

Section 1218.40(a) of the Order 

currently specifies that the Council be 

comprised of no more than 20 members 

and alternates appointed by the 

Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary). 

Twelve of the 20 members and 

alternates are producers. One producer 

member and alternate are from each of 

the following regions within the U.S.: 

Region #1 Western Region; Region #2 

Midwest Region; Region #3 Northeast 

Region; and Region #4 Southern Region. 

One producer member and alternate are 

from each of the top eight blueberry 

producing states, based upon the 

average of the total tons produced over 

the previous three years. Currently, 

these states include California, Florida, 

Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, North 

Carolina, Oregon, and Washington. 

Of the remaining eight Council 

members and alternates, four members 

and alternates are importers. Two 

members and alternates must be an 

exporter, defined in § 1218.40(a)(4) as a 

blueberry producer currently shipping 

blueberries into the U.S. from the two 

largest foreign blueberry production 

areas, based on a three-year average 

(currently Chile and Canada). One 

member and alternate must be a first 

handler, defined in § 1218.40(a)(5) as a 

U.S. based independent or cooperative 

organization which is a producer/ 

shipper of domestic blueberries. Finally, 

one member and alternate must 

represent the public. The public 

member representation on research and 

promotion boards is optional as 

provided for in the 1996 Act. 

Section 1218.40(b) of the Order 

specifies that, at least once every five 

years, the Council will review the 

geographical distribution of the 

production of blueberries in the United 

States and the quantity of imports. The 

review is conducted through an audit of 

state crop production figures and 

Council assessment records. If 

warranted, the Council will recommend 

to the Secretary that its membership be 

altered to reflect changes in the 

geographical distribution of domestic 

blueberry production and the quantity 

of imports. 

The Council met on November 18, 

2020 and then again on June 9, 2021, to 

review domestic production data, 

import data, and assessment data for the 

past three years (2017–2019). This data 

is summarized in Table 1 below: 

TABLE 1—U.S. AND IMPORT QUANTITIES AND ASSESSMENT DATA

Year 

U.S. crop— 

utilized 

production 1

(1,000 lbs) 

Imports 

(1,000 lbs) 2

Domestic 

(U.S.) 

assessments 3

Import 

assessments 3

2017 ................................................................................................................. 512,740 398,190 $3,968,438 $3,577,559 

2018 ................................................................................................................. 562,300 473,073 4,263,177 4,229,333 

2019 ................................................................................................................. 673,050 579,181 5,172,055 5,040,722 

3-year average ................................................................................................. 582,697 483,481 4,467,890 4,282,538 

Sources: 1 NASS; 2 U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 3 Council Financial Audit Records 2019–2020. 

As shown in Table 1, the quantity of 

imported blueberries, as well as import 

assessments collected, has increased in 

recent years. 

In that time, there has been a 

substantial increase of imported product 

from both Peru and Mexico, with Peru 

exports into the U.S. surpassing Canada 

in 2019, as shown in Table 2. 

TABLE 2—QUANTITY OF BLUEBERRIES FROM FOREIGN PRODUCTION AREAS

Foreign blueberry production areas shipping into the United States 

Quantity 

(1,000 lbs) 

2017 2018 2019 3-year 

average 

Chile ................................................................................................................. 162,932 181,951 164,872 169,918 

Canada ............................................................................................................ 111,979 110,755 142,425 121,720 

Peru ................................................................................................................. 41,516 82,273 154,288 92,692 

Mexico .............................................................................................................. 54,212 72,537 93,840 73,530 

Argentina .......................................................................................................... 26,099 23,581 22,130 23,937 

All Other Countries .......................................................................................... 1,451 1,976 1,627 1,685 

Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

In 2015, the Council, after reviewing 

import and domestic production and 

assessment data, recommended changes 

to the membership; one such change 

included adding an additional exporter 

seat. At that time, data indicated 

considerable increased imports from 

Chile. The addition of the second 

exporter member allowed exporters 

from both Chile and Canada, the two 

countries shipping the greatest volume 

of blueberries into the U.S., to be 

represented on the Council. The Council 

took a similar approach when reviewing 

and recommending this proposed 

change in membership. It recognized the 

significant volume of imports from Peru 

and Mexico, discussing the need to add 

representatives from those production 

areas to the Council. Given the decision 

to try to maintain its current size and 

based on the data reviewed, it 

concluded it was important to have 

foreign producer representation similar 

to the structure of the state producer 

representation. Therefore, it 

recommended the addition of two 

exporter members. Four exporter 

member positions would provide the 

four largest foreign producing areas 

importing into the U.S., which 

represents ninety-five percent of the 

total volume of blueberries imported 


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1Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2019 Summary. 

into the U.S., a voice on the Council. 

This would realign the Council’s 

membership to better reflect the 

distribution of domestic production and 

the quantity of imports into the U.S. 

The Council conducts nominations 

two out of every three years. The 

Council is currently conducting 

nominations for seven member and 

alternate positions (year-one cycle) 

whose three-year term of office begins 

January 1, 2022, ending December 31, 

2024. These include the four regional 

producer members, one exporter 

member, one importer member, the 

public member, and respective 

alternates. The Council will conduct 

nominations in 2022 for 13 member and 

alternate positions (year-two cycle) 

whose three-year term of office begins 

January 1, 2023, ending December 31, 

2025. This would include one member 

from each of the top eight producing 

states, three importer members, one 

exporter member, the first-handler 

member, and respective alternates. To 

help ensure a smooth transition, while 

aligning with the Council’s nomination 

schedule, the term of office for the 

recommended additional exporter 

member positions would begin January 

1, 2023. Therefore, solicitation for the 

two additional exporter position 

nominees would be included in the 

nominations scheduled to be conducted 

in 2022. Since the first-handler member 

position is being replaced by one of the 

exporter positions, nominations for this 

position would not be conducted during 

the 2022 solicitation period. The firsthandler member and alternate member 

positions would terminate December 31, 

2022. 

USDA has recommended that the 

initial term of office for the two 

additional exporter positions would be 

two years, instead of the prescribed 

three-year term of office for all Council 

member and alternate positions. The 

additional two exporter member and 

alternate term of office would begin 

January 1, 2023, ending December 31, 

2024. As noted above, the Council 

conducts nominations two out of every 

three years, with seven positions to be 

filled in year one, and thirteen in year 

two. With including the nominations for 

the exporter positions in the year-two 

cycle, total positions to be filled would 

be 14 of the 21-member Council. Having 

an initial two-year term would align 

these two additional exporter positions 

with the year-one nomination cycle, 

reestablishing the distribution between 

the two nomination cycles. Year-one 

nomination cycle would include 

solicitation for nine positions: Four 

regional producer member positions, 

one importer member position, three 

exporter member positions, one public 

member position, and respective 

alternates. The year-two nomination 

cycle would include solicitation for 12 

positions: One member from each of the 

top eight producing states, three 

importer members, one exporter 

member, and respective alternates. 

The 2022, 20-member Council would 

consist of one producer member from 

each of the four regions (Western, 

Midwest, Northeast, Southern), one 

producer member from each of the top 

eight producing states, four importer 

members, two exporter members, firsthandler member, public member, and 

respective alternates. 

The 2023 and subsequent 21-member 

Council would consist of one producer 

member from each of the four regions 

(Western, Midwest, Northeast, 

Southern), one producer member from 

each of the top eight producing states, 

four importer members, four exporter 

members, one public member, and 

respective alternates. 7 CRF 1218.40 

would be revised accordingly. 

Nomination Procedures 

Section 1218.41 establishes the 

procedures for nominations to obtain 

Council nominees for appointment by 

the Secretary. Section 1218.41(c) 

provides for the nomination process for 

importer, exporter, first-handler, and 

public member and alternate positions. 

Section 1218.41(d) requires producer, 

handlers, and importer nominees to be 

compliant with the order provisions 

regarding payment of assessments and 

filing of reports. With the replacement 

of the first-handler position with two 

exporter positions, references to firsthandler member would be removed 

from these sections. 

Term of Office 

Section 1218.42 provides that Council 

nominations and appointments will take 

place in two out of every three years, 

with each term of office ending on 

December 31, and new terms of office 

beginning January 1. The Council 

recommended allowing members and 

their alternates to remain in office until 

a successor is appointed. Currently, if 

successors are not appointed by the 

January 1 date, those positions remain 

vacant until the successors are named. 

The Order requires a minimum of 11 

members to hold a Council meeting. For 

the nomination year with 12 positions 

expiring, if not appointed by the January 

1 start date, the Council would be 

unable to meet until such appointments 

were made. This could cause a lapse in 

the Council’s ability to properly 

administer the provisions of the Order. 

Allowing members to serve until their 

successor is appointed would allow the 

Council to continue administration 

should appointments be delayed beyond 

the specified term of office. This change 

is similar to authority provided for in 

other research and promotion orders. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Analysis 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 U.S.C. 601– 

612), AMS is required to examine the 

impact of the proposed rule on small 

entities. Accordingly, AMS has 

considered the economic impact of this 

action on such entities. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions so 

that small businesses will not be 

disproportionately burdened. The Small 

Business Administration defines, in 13 

CFR part 121, small agricultural 

producers as those having annual 

receipts of no more than $1,000,000 and 

small agricultural service firms (first 

handlers and importers) as those having 

annual receipts of no more than $30 

million. 

There are approximately 1,547 

domestic producers, 71 first handlers 

and 271 importers of highbush 

blueberries covered under the program. 

Dividing the highbush blueberry crop 

value for 2019, $919 million,1 by the 

number of producers (1,547) yields an 

average annual producer revenue 

estimate of $594,053. It is estimated that 

in 2019, about 99 percent of the first 

handlers shipped under $30 million 

worth of highbush blueberries. Based on 

2019 U.S. Border and Customs 

(Customs) data, it is estimated that over 

99 percent of the importers shipped 

under $30 million worth of highbush 

blueberries. Based on the foregoing, the 

majority of producers, first handlers and 

importers may be classified as small 

entities. We do not have information 

concerning the number of exporters and 

their size. Comments providing any 

information or data concerning 

exporters are requested. 

Regarding value of the commodity, as 

mentioned above, based on 2019 NASS 

data, the value of the domestic highbush 

blueberry crop was about $919 million. 

According to Customs data, the value of 

2019 imports was about $1.04 billion. 

It is not anticipated that this action 

would impose additional costs on 

industry members. Eligible producers, 

importers and exporters interested in 

serving on the Council would have to 

complete a background questionnaire. 

Those requirements are addressed later 

in this proposal. 


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This proposal invites comments on 

revising §§ 1218.40, 1218.41 and 

1218.42 of the Order regarding Council 

membership, nominations, and term of 

office, respectively. The Council 

administers the Order with oversight by 

USDA. Under the program, assessments 

are collected from domestic producers 

and importers and used for research and 

promotion projects designed to increase 

the demand for highbush blueberries. 

The proposed action would remove the 

first-handler and alternate position and 

add two exporter member and alternate 

positions. This would help ensure that 

the Council reflects the distribution of 

domestic blueberry production and 

imports into the U.S. Conforming 

changes would be made to the 

nomination procedures. This proposal 

would also allow members and 

alternates to remain in office until a 

successor is appointed. This change 

would allow the Council to continue 

administration of the Order should 

appointments be delayed beyond the 

specified term of office. Authority for 

this action is provided in §§ 1218.40(b) 

and 1218.47(m) of the Order and section 

7414 of the 1996 Act. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

Chapter 35), the information collection 

and recordkeeping requirements that are 

imposed by the Order have been 

approved previously under OMB 

control number 0581–0093 and 0505– 

0001. Eligible producers, importers, 

exporters, first-handler, and public 

members interested in serving on the 

Council are required to complete a 

background questionnaire (Form AD– 

755) to verify their eligibility. Adding an 

exporter member and alternate member 

to the Council would require four 

additional exporters to submit 

background forms (AD–755) to USDA, 

once every three years, in order to be 

considered for appointment to the 

Council. The Secretary requires two 

names to be submitted for each open 

seat on the Council. The public 

reporting burden is estimated to 

increase the total burden hours by less 

than one hour. This additional burden 

would be included in the existing 

information collection approved for use 

under OMB control number 0581–0093. 

In addition, serving on the Council is 

optional, and the burden of submitting 

the background form would be offset by 

the benefits of additional representation 

on the Council. 

The previously approved background 

questionnaire would be revised 

eliminating the first-handler section. It 

would impose an increase of the total 

reporting and recordkeeping burden 

hours by less than one hour on 

blueberry producers, importers, or 

exporters. 

As with all Federal promotion 

programs, reports and forms are 

periodically reviewed to reduce 

information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. USDA has not 

identified any relevant Federal rules 

that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 

this proposed rule. 

Regarding alternatives, the Council 

has been discussing its membership and 

potential changes to reflect the 

distribution of domestic production and 

imports for the past few years. The 

Council’s Executive Committee met to 

formulate and consider various options. 

One option was to replace two of the 

four regional producer positions, with 

the exporter positions, reallocating the 

two regions as East and West, with one 

position for each region. Another option 

considered was to eliminate the firsthandler and public member positions; 

reallocate the regions to East and West, 

with one position for each region; and 

add two importer positions and two 

exporter positions. The Council also 

considered maintaining the status quo. 

It concluded, upon reviewing the 

domestic production and import 

statistics, that it was important to have 

foreign producer representation from 

the top four countries importing 

highbush blueberries into the U.S. 

represented on the Council. Thus, the 

Council recommended revising the 

Order to remove the first-handler and 

alternate position and add two exporter 

member and alternate positions. 

Regarding outreach efforts, this action 

was discussed by the Council at 

meetings in October 2018, as well as by 

the Council and committees in 2019 and 

2020. The Council met in November 

2020 and in June 2021 and unanimously 

made its recommendation. All of the 

Council’s meetings are open to the 

public and interested persons are 

invited to participate and express their 

views. 

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 or citizen access 

to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

We have performed this initial RFA 

analysis regarding the impact of the 

proposed action on small entities and 

we invite comments concerning the 

potential effects of this action. 

USDA has determined that this 

proposed rule is consistent with and 

would effectuate the purpose of the 

1996 Act. 

A 60-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposal. All written comments 

received in response to this proposed 

rule by the date specified will be 

considered prior to finalizing this 

action. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1218 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Advertising, Blueberry 

promotion, Consumer information, 

Marketing agreements, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 1218 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 1218—BLUEBERRY 

PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND 

INFORMATION ORDER 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 1218 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411–7425; 7 U.S.C. 

7401. 

■ 2. In § 1218.40, paragraph (a) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 1218.40 Establishment and membership. 

(a) Establishment of the U.S. 

Highbush Blueberry Council. There is 

hereby established a U.S. Highbush 

Blueberry Council, hereinafter called 

the Council, shall be comprised of no 

more than 20 members and alternates 

for the 2022 Council, and comprised of 

no more than 21 members and alternates 

for the 2023 Council and each 

subsequent Council, appointed by the 

Secretary from nominations as follows: 

(1) The 2022 Council shall be 

comprised of: 

(i) One producer member and 

alternate from each of the following 

regions: 

(A) Region #1 Western Region (all 

states from the Pacific east to the 

Rockies): Alaska, Arizona, California, 

Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, 

Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, 

Washington, and Wyoming. 

(B) Region #2 Midwest Region (all 

states east of the Rockies to the Great 

Lakes and south to the Kansas/Missouri/ 

Kentucky state line): Illinois, Indiana, 

Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North 

Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and 

Wisconsin. 

(C) Region #3 Northeast Region (all 

states east of the Great Lakes and North 

of the North Carolina/Tennessee state 

line): Connecticut, Delaware, New York, 

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, 

Washington, DC, and West Virginia. 


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(D) Region #4 Southern Region (all 

states south of the Virginia/Kentucky/ 

Missouri/Kansas state line and east of 

the Rockies): Alabama, Arkansas, 

Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, 

South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. 

(ii) One producer member and 

alternate from each of the top eight 

blueberry producing states, based on the 

average of the total tons produced over 

the previous three years. Average 

tonnage will be based upon production 

and assessment figures generated by the 

Council. 

(iii) Four importers and alternates. 

(iv) Two exporters and alternates will 

be filled by foreign blueberry producers 

currently shipping blueberries into the 

United States from the two largest 

foreign blueberry production areas, 

respectively, based on a three-year 

average. 

(v) One first-handler member and 

alternate shall be filled by a United 

States based independent or cooperative 

organization which is a producer/ 

shipper of domestic blueberries. 

(vi) One public member and alternate. 

The public member and alternate public 

member may not be a blueberry 

producer, handler, importer, exporter, 

or have a financial interest in the 

production, sales, marketing or 

distribution of blueberries. 

(2) The 2023 and subsequent Council 

shall be composed of: 

(i) One producer member and 

alternate from each of the following 

regions: 

(A) Region #1 Western Region (all 

states from the Pacific east to the 

Rockies): Alaska, Arizona, California, 

Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, 

Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, 

Washington, and Wyoming. 

(B) Region #2 Midwest Region (all 

states east of the Rockies to the Great 

Lakes and south to the Kansas/Missouri/ 

Kentucky state line): Illinois, Indiana, 

Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North 

Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and 

Wisconsin. 

(C) Region #3 Northeast Region (all 

states east of the Great Lakes and North 

of the North Carolina/Tennessee state 

line): Connecticut, Delaware, New York, 

Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, 

Washington, DC, and West Virginia. 

(D) Region #4 Southern Region (all 

states south of the Virginia/Kentucky/ 

Missouri/Kansas state line and east of 

the Rockies): Alabama, Arkansas, 

Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, 

South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. 

(ii) One producer member and 

alternate from each of the top eight 

blueberry producing states, based on the 

average of the total tons produced over 

the previous three years. Average 

tonnage will be based upon production 

and assessment figures generated by the 

Council. 

(iii) Four importers and alternates. 

(iv) Four exporters and alternates will 

be filled by foreign blueberry producers 

currently shipping blueberries into the 

United States from the four largest 

foreign blueberry production areas, 

respectively, based on a three-year 

average. 

(v) One public member and alternate. 

The public member and alternate public 

member may not be a blueberry 

producer, handler, importer, exporter, 

or have a financial interest in the 

production, sales, marketing or 

distribution of blueberries. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 1218.41, paragraphs (c) and (d) 

are revised to read as follows: 

§ 1218.41 Nominations and appointments. 

* * * * * 

(c) Nominations for the importer, 

exporter, and public member positions 

will be made by the Council. Two 

nominees for each member and each 

alternate position will be recommended 

to the Secretary for consideration. Other 

qualified persons interested in serving 

in these positions but not recommended 

by the Council will be designated by the 

Council as additional nominees for 

consideration by the Secretary. 

(d) Producer and importer nominees 

must be in compliance with the Order’s 

provisions regarding payment of 

assessments and filing of reports. 

Further, producers and importers must 

produce or import, respectively, 2,000 

pounds or more of highbush blueberries 

annually. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Section 1218.42 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 1218.42 Term of office. 

Council members and alternates will 

serve for a term of three years and be 

able to serve a maximum of two 

consecutive terms. A Council member 

may serve as an alternate during the 

years the member is ineligible for a 

member position. When the Council is 

first established, the state 

representatives, first-handler member, 

and their respective alternates will be 

assigned initial terms of three years. 

Regional representatives, the importer 

member, the exporter member, public 

member, and their alternates will serve 

an initial term of two years. Thereafter, 

each of these positions will carry a full 

three-year term. Council nominations 

and appointments will take place in two 

out of every three years. Each term of 

office will end on December 31, with 

new terms of office beginning on 

January 1. Council members and 

alternates shall serve during the term of 

office for which they have been 

appointed and qualified, and until their 

successors are appointed. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15161 Filed 7–21–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[EERE–2017–BT–STD–0048] 

RIN 1904–AE85 

Energy Conservation Program: 

Definition of Showerhead 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

and public meeting. 

SUMMARY: In this notice of proposed 

rulemaking (‘‘NOPR’’), the U.S. 

Department of Energy (‘‘DOE’’) proposes 

to revise the current definition of 

‘‘showerhead’’ adopted in the December 

16, 2020 final rule (‘‘December 2020 

Final Rule’’) by reinstating the prior 

definition of ‘‘showerhead.’’ This 

reinstatement of the prior definition is 

consistent with the purposes of the 

Energy Policy and Conservation Act 

(‘‘EPCA’’). Further, DOE has tentatively 

determined that, in reinstating the prior 

definition of ‘‘showerhead,’’ all 

showerheads within a product 

containing multiple showerheads will 

be considered part of a single 

showerhead for determining compliance 

with the 2.5 gallons per minute (‘‘gpm’’) 

standard. In addition, DOE proposes to 

remove the current definition of ‘‘body 

spray’’ adopted in the December 2020 

Final Rule. Finally, DOE does not 

propose any changes to the definition of 

‘‘safety shower showerhead’’ adopted in 

the December 2020 Final Rule. DOE 

invites comment on all aspects of this 

proposal, including data and 

information to assist in evaluating 

whether the definition of ‘‘showerhead’’ 

from the October 2013 Final Rule 

should be reinstated, and announces a 

webinar to collect comments and data 

on its proposal. 

DATES: 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1