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

22142 

Vol. 87, No. 72 

Thursday, April 14, 2022 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 932 

[Doc. No. AMS–SC–21–0099; SC22–932–1 

PR] 

Olives Grown in California; Decreased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would 

implement a recommendation from the 

California Olive Committee (Committee) 

to decrease the assessment rate 

established for the 2022 fiscal year and 

subsequent fiscal years. The proposed 

assessment rate would remain in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

June 13, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed rule. 

Comments must be sent to the Docket 

Clerk electronically by Email: 

MarketingOrderComment@usda.gov or 

via the internet at: https://

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

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 

record and will be made available to the 

public and can be viewed at: https://

www.regulations.gov. 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: 

Kathie Notoro, Marketing Specialist, or 

Gary Olson, Regional Director, West 

Region Marketing Field Office, Market 

Development Division, Specialty Crops 

Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 

538–1672, or Email: Kathie.Notoro@

usda.gov or GaryD.Olson@usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Richard Lower, 

Market Development Division, Specialty 

Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, STOP 0237, 

Washington, DC 20250–0237; 

Telephone: (202) 720–2491, or Email: 

Richard.Lower@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553, proposes to amend regulations 

issued to carry out a marketing order as 

defined in 7 CFR 900.2(j). This proposed 

rule is issued under Marketing 

Agreement and Order No. 932, as 

amended (7 CFR part 932), regulating 

the handling of olives grown in 

California. Part 932 (referred to as 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 

Committee locally administers the 

Order and is comprised of producers 

and handlers of olives operating within 

the area of production, and one public 

member. 

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this proposed rule in 

conformance with 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 proposed action falls 

within a category of regulatory actions 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) exempted from Executive 

Order 12866 review. 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 13175— 

Consultation and Coordination with 

Indian Tribal Governments, which 

requires agencies to consider whether 

their rulemaking actions would have 

tribal implications. Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

unlikely to have substantial direct 

effects on one or more Indian tribes, on 

the relationship between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian tribes. 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. This proposed rule is 

not intended to have retroactive effect. 

Under the 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 would be applicable to 

all assessable olives beginning on 

January 1, 2022, and continue until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

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. Such 

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. 

The Order provides authority for the 

Committee, with the approval of USDA, 

to formulate an annual budget of 

expenses and collect assessments from 

handlers to administer the program. The 

members are familiar with the 

Committee’s needs and with the costs of 

goods and services in their local area 

and are thus in a position to formulate 

an appropriate budget and assessment 

rate. The assessment rate is formulated 

and discussed in a public meeting. 

Thus, all directly affected persons have 

an opportunity to participate and 

provide input. 

This proposed rule would decrease 

the assessment rate from $30.00 per ton 

of assessed olives, the rate that was 

established for the 2021 and subsequent 

fiscal years, to $16.00 per ton of 

assessed olives for the 2022 and 

subsequent fiscal years. The proposed 

lower rate is the result of the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 72 / Thursday, April 14, 2022 / Proposed Rules 22143 

significantly higher crop size in 2021 

(fruit that is marketed over the course of 

the 2022 fiscal year) and the need to 

reduce the Committee’s financial 

reserve. 

The Committee met on November 10, 

2021, and unanimously recommended 

2022 expenditures of $1,245,085 and an 

assessment rate of $16.00 per ton of 

assessed olives to fund necessary 

administrative expenses and to maintain 

a financial reserve within the limits 

prescribed under the Order. In 

comparison, last year’s budgeted 

expenditures were $1,151,831. The 

proposed assessment rate of $16.00 is 

$14.00 lower than the rate currently in 

effect. Producer receipts show a yield of 

43,336 tons of assessable olives from the 

2021 crop year, which is more than 

double the quantity of olives harvested 

in 2020. 

Olives harvested in 2021 will be 

marketed over the course of the 2022 

fiscal year, which begins on January 1, 

2022. The 43,336 tons of assessable 

olives from the 2021 crop would 

generate $693,376 in assessment 

revenue at the proposed assessment 

rate. The balance of funds needed to 

cover budgeted expenditures would 

come from interest income, Federal 

grants, and the Committee’s financial 

reserve. The 2022 fiscal year assessment 

rate decrease would be appropriate to 

ensure the Committee has sufficient 

revenue to fund the recommended 2022 

fiscal year budgeted expenditures while 

ensuring the funds in the financial 

reserve would be kept within the 

maximum permitted by § 932.40. 

The Order has a fiscal year and a crop 

year that are independent of each other. 

The crop year is a 12-month period that 

begins on August 1 of each year and 

ends on July 31 of the following year. 

The fiscal year is the 12-month period 

that begins on January 1 and ends on 

December 31 of each year. Olives are an 

alternate-bearing crop, with a small crop 

followed by a large crop. The Committee 

used the actual 2021 crop year receipts, 

in part, to determine the proposed 

assessment rate for the 2022 fiscal year. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2022 fiscal year includes $538,700 for 

program administration, $284,000 for 

marketing activities, $379,485 for 

research, and $42,900 for inspection. 

Budgeted expenses for these items 

during the 2021 fiscal year were 

$531,300, $238,000, $334,532, and 

$48,000, respectively. 

The Committee derived the 

recommended assessment rate by 

considering anticipated fiscal year 

expenses, actual olive tonnage received 

by handlers during the 2021 crop year, 

and the amount in the Committee’s 

financial reserve. Income derived from 

handler assessments and other revenue 

sources is expected to be adequate to 

cover budgeted expenses. The 

assessment rate proposed in this rule 

would continue in effect indefinitely 

unless modified, suspended, or 

terminated by USDA upon 

recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

available information. 

Although this assessment rate would 

be in effect for an indefinite period, the 

Committee would continue to meet 

prior to or during each fiscal year to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations for 

modification of the assessment rate. The 

dates and times of Committee meetings 

are available from the Committee or 

USDA. Committee meetings are open to 

the public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

USDA would evaluate Committee 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking would be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s budget for subsequent 

fiscal years would be reviewed and, as 

appropriate, approved by USDA. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), AMS has considered 

the economic impact of this proposed 

rule 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 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are approximately 800 

producers of olives in the production 

area and 2 handlers subject to regulation 

under the Order. Small agricultural 

producers are defined by the Small 

Business Administration (SBA) as those 

having annual receipts less than 

$1,000,000, and small agricultural 

service firms are defined as those whose 

annual receipts are less than 

$30,000,000 (13 CFR 121.201). 

Because of the large year-to-year 

variation in California olive production 

it is helpful to use two-year averages of 

seasonal average grower price when 

undertaking calculations relating to 

average grower revenue. The National 

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 

reported season average grower prices of 

olives utilized for canning for 2019 and 

2020 of $1,040 and $1,060 per ton, 

respectively. The two-year average price 

is $1,050. 

The appropriate quantities to consider 

are the annual assessable olive 

quantities, which were 20,020 tons in 

2020 and 43,336 tons in 2021. The twoyear average quantity was 31,678 tons. 

Multiplying 31,678 tons by the two-year 

average grower price of $1,050 yields a 

two-year average crop value of $33.262 

million. Dividing the crop value by the 

number of olive producers (800) yields 

calculated annual average producer 

revenue of $41,577, much less than 

SBA’s size standard of $1,000,000. 

Thus, the majority of olive producers 

may be classified as small entities. 

Dividing the $33.262 million crop 

value by two equals $16.631 million, 

which is the annual average producer 

crop value processed by each of the two 

handlers over the two-year period. 

Dividing the $30 million annual sales 

SBA size threshold for a large handler 

by the $16.631 crop value per handler 

yields an estimate of an 80 percent 

manufacturing margin for the two 

canners, on average, to be considered 

large handlers. A key question is 

whether 80 percent is a reasonable 

estimate of a manufacturing margin for 

the olive canning process. 

A review of economic literature on 

canned food manufacturing margins 

found no recent published estimates. A 

series of USDA, Economic Research 

Service reports on cost components of 

farm to retail price spreads, published 

in the late 1970s and early 1980s, found 

that margins above crop value for a 

canned vegetable product was in the 

range of 76 to 85 percent. Although the 

studies are not recent, a key observation 

is that canning technology has not 

changed significantly in that time 

period. Therefore, with the 80 percent 

margin estimate for the two olive 

handlers, the data indicates that they are 

right on the threshold of being large 

handlers ($30 million in annual sales), 

using two-year average data, and 

assuming that the two handlers are 

about the same size. In a large crop year, 

one or both handlers would be 

considered large handlers, depending 

on the proportion of the crop that each 

of the handlers processed. 

This proposal would decrease the 

assessment rate collected from handlers 

for the 2022 and subsequent fiscal years 

from $30.00 to $16.00 per ton of 

assessable olives. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2022 

expenditures of $1,245,085 and an 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
22144 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 72 / Thursday, April 14, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

assessment rate of $16.00 per ton. The 

recommended assessment rate of $16.00 

is $14.00 lower than the 2021 rate. The 

quantity of assessable olives harvested 

in the 2021 crop year is 43,336 tons as 

compared to 20,020 tons in 2020. Olives 

are an alternate-bearing crop, with a 

small crop followed by a large crop. 

Income derived from the $16.00 per ton 

assessment rate, along with interest 

income, Federal grants, and funds from 

the authorized reserve, should be 

adequate to meet this fiscal year’s 

budgeted expenditures. 

The Committee’s financial reserve is 

projected to be $1,990,000. The major 

expenditures recommended by the 

Committee for the 2022 fiscal year 

include $538,700 for program 

administration, $284,000 for marketing 

activities, $379,485 for research, and 

$42,900 for inspection. Budgeted 

expenses for these items during the 

2021 fiscal year were $531,300, 

$238,000, $334,531, and $48,000, 

respectively. The Committee deliberated 

on many of the expenses, weighed the 

relative value of various programs or 

projects, and decreased their expenses 

for marketing and research activities 

while increasing program 

administration. Overall, the 2022 budget 

of $1,245,085 is $93,254 more than the 

$1,151,831 budgeted for the 2021 fiscal 

year. 

Prior to arriving at this budget and 

assessment rate, the Committee 

considered information from various 

sources including the Committee’s 

Executive, Marketing, Inspection, and 

Research Subcommittees. Alternate 

expenditure levels were discussed by 

these groups, based upon the relative 

value of various projects to the olive 

industry and the increased olive 

production. The assessment rate of 

$16.00 per ton of assessable olives was 

derived by considering anticipated 

expenses, the high volume of assessable 

olives, the current balance in the 

monetary reserve, and additional 

pertinent factors. 

A review of NASS information 

indicates that the average producer 

price for the 2020 crop year was $1,060 

per ton and the quantity of assessable 

olives harvested in the 2021 crop year 

is 43,336 tons, which makes total 

producer revenue $45,936,160 ($1,060 

multiplied by 43,336 tons). Therefore, 

utilizing the assessment rate of $16.00 

per ton, the assessment revenue for the 

2022 fiscal year as a percentage of total 

producer revenue would be 

approximately 1.5 percent ($16.00 

multiplied by 43,336 tons divided by 

$45,936,160 multiplied by 100). 

This proposed action would decrease 

the assessment obligation imposed on 

handlers. Assessments are applied 

uniformly on all handlers, and some of 

the costs may be passed on to 

producers. However, decreasing the 

assessment rate would reduce the 

burden on handlers and may also 

reduce the burden on producers. 

The Committee’s meetings are widely 

publicized throughout the production 

area. The olive industry and all 

interested persons are invited to attend 

the meetings and participate in 

Committee deliberations on all issues. 

Like all Committee meetings, the 

November 10, 2021 meeting was public 

meeting and all entities, both large and 

small, were able to express views on 

this issue. In addition, interested 

persons are invited to submit comments 

on this proposed rule, including the 

regulatory and information collection 

impacts of this action on small 

businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

chapter 35), the Order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by OMB and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178 Vegetable 

and Specialty Crops. No changes in 

those requirements as a result of this 

action are necessary. Should any 

changes become necessary, they would 

be submitted to OMB for approval. 

This proposed rule would not impose 

any additional reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements on either 

small or large California olive 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. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this proposed rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: https://

www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/ 

moa/small-businesses. Any questions 

about the compliance guide should be 

sent to Richard Lower at the previously 

mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendations 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, USDA has 

determined that this proposed rule is 

consistent with and will effectuate the 

purposes of the Act. 

A 60-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposed rule. All written 

comments timely received will be 

considered before a final determination 

is made on this proposed rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 932 

Marketing agreements, Olives, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service proposes to amend 7 CFR part 

932 as follows: 

PART 932—OLIVES GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 932 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 932.230 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 932.230 Assessment rate. 

On and after January 1, 2022, an 

assessment rate of $16.00 per ton is 

established for California olives. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–07992 Filed 4–13–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2021–1017; Product 

Identifier AD–2021–00495–A] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; True Flight 

Holdings LLC Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal. 

SUMMARY: The FAA is withdrawing a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

that proposed to adopt a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for all True 

Flight Holdings LLC Model AA–1, AA– 

1A, AA–1B, AA–1C, AA–5, AA–5A, and 

AA–5B airplanes. The NPRM was 

prompted by the report of an accident 

of an airplane with bondline corrosion 

and delamination of the horizontal 

stabilizers. The NPRM proposed to 

require inspecting the wings, fuselage, 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1