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

53103 

Vol. 70, No. 172 

Wednesday, September 7, 2005 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

7 CFR Part 1435 

RIN 0560–AH37 

Transfer of Sugar Program Marketing 

Allocations 

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) proposes several 

changes to the sugar program 

regulations. First, CCC proposes to 

amend the regulations for transferring 

sugar marketing allocation when a mill 

closes and growers request to move their 

allocation. 

Second, CCC proposes imposing a 

regulatory deadline for the program’s 

information reporting requirements. The 

required monthly information would be 

due on the 20th of each month. 

Third, CCC proposes to amend the 

requirements for the maintenance and 

inspection of records to require each 

cane processor, cane refiner and beet 

processor to provide an annual report by 

a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) that 

verifies the company’s data submitted to 

CCC. 

DATES: Comments on this rule must be 

submitted by November 7, 2005 to be 

assured consideration. 

ADDRESSES: The Farm Service Agency 

(FSA) invites interested persons to 

submit comments on this proposed rule. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

E-mail: Send comments to 

sugar@wdc.usda.gov. 

Mail: Submit comments to: Director, 

Dairy and Sweeteners Analysis Group 

(DSAG), FSA, United States Department 

of Agriculture (USDA), STOP 0516, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0516. 

Fax: Submit comments by facsimile 

transmission to (202) 690–1480. 

Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver 

comments to the above address. 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

Comments may be inspected in the 

Office of the Director, DSAG, FSA, 

USDA, Room 3752–S South Building, 

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 

4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 

except holidays. A copy of this 

proposed rule is available on the DSAG 

Web site at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/ao/ 

epas/dsa.htm. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Barbara Fecso at (202) 720–4146, or via 

e-mail at barbara.fecso@wdc.usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact the USDA Target Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Annually, CCC establishes sugar 

marketing allotments at a level 

estimated to prevent sugar loan 

collateral forfeitures to CCC. CCC 

establishes the overall allotment 

quantity, beet sugar and cane sugar 

allotments, State cane sugar allotments, 

and marketing allocations for processors 

marketing sugar domestically processed 

from sugar beets and domesticallyproduced sugarcane. If a processing mill 

closes, growers who delivered sugar 

beets or sugarcane to that mill may 

request a transfer of a portion of the 

closed mill’s marketing allocation to 

another mill that reflects their 

production history at the closed mill. 

CCC proposes to amend the 

regulations at 7 CFR 1435.308 to 

provide for an orderly and transparent 

method of distributing allocation to 

successor mills after growers have 

petitioned the Executive Vice President, 

CCC, to transfer allocation when their 

mill closes. CCC is proposing to use a 

formula to distribute the closed mill’s 

allocation that will calculate grower 

shares based on the grower’s 

contribution to the mill’s allocation. 

Since the formula that determines a 

mill’s allocation is different in the beet 

sector and among the cane states, the 

formula CCC will use to transfer 

allocation of closed mills will reflect 

these differences. 

Since the enactment of the Farm 

Security and Rural Investment Act of 

2002 (2002 Act), (Pub. L. 107–171), the 

only processing facilities to have closed 

have been cane processing facilities in 

Louisiana. The procedure used then to 

transfer allocations, while not explicit 

in the sugar program regulations, 

reflected the two main components of 

the cane marketing allocation formula, 

(1) past production history, which is a 

fixed value, and (2) current year 

production, known as the ‘‘ability to 

market,’’ a value that changed from year 

to year. CCC published an amendment 

to the regulations on September 13, 

2004 (69 FR 35061), which fixed the 

‘‘ability to market’’ factor in the 

allocation formula for each mainland 

cane State and cane processor until the 

program expires in 2008, under the 2002 

Act. The other components of the 

mainland cane marketing allocation 

formulas were already fixed on the basis 

of historical production. 

When two Louisiana mills announced 

they would not reopen for the 2005 

crop, issues arose such as whether to 

allow growers with production history 

at the closed mill to petition if they had 

not delivered cane to the mill in the 

preceding year. There was also debate 

over which years to consider in the 

transfer formula, given that the ‘‘ability 

to market’’ change to the regulation had 

added more crop years in the allocation 

formula. In the end, CCC and successor 

mills were able to negotiate transfer 

shares that satisfied all parties. CCC 

considered allowing successor mills the 

opportunity to negotiate a distribution 

of allocation from the closed mill in the 

proposed rule. However, no mill can be 

expected to take less than it would 

under a formula, so CCC did not 

propose that option under this proposed 

rule. While the closure of cane mills 

precipitated this proposed rule, it 

applies to all beet and cane processors. 

The second change CCC proposes is to 

include a due date in the information 

reporting provisions in 7 CFR 1435.200. 

This section requires every sugar beet 

processor, sugarcane processor, cane 

sugar refiner, and importer of sugar, 

syrup, and molasses to report to CCC, on 

a monthly basis, information necessary 

to administer the sugar programs. CCC 

established an informal reporting due 

date of the 20th of each month in 1991, 

which would be incorporated in the 

regulations. The chronic lateness of 

some reporters in recent times has 

delayed processing and analysis of all 

data, which is detrimental to the sound 

53104 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 7, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

administration of the Sugar Program. 

The civil penalties provisions in section 

156h(4) of the Federal Agriculture 

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, 

as amended (7 U.S.C. 7272(h)(4)) and 7 

CFR 1435.201 allow CCC to assess a 

civil penalty of no more than $10,000 to 

reporters who willfully fail or refuse to 

furnish the information, or who 

willfully furnish false data. CCC will 

consider a reporter to have willfully 

failed to provide the information and 

subject to penalty, if CCC does not 

receive the data by the 20th of the 

month. 

The final proposal would require each 

reporting entity to have an independent 

third party verify each company’s data 

submitted to CCC. CCC will require an 

Agreed-upon Procedures engagement, 

conducted by an independent Certified 

Public Accountant (CPA), to analyze the 

company data annually. The provisions 

of 7 CFR 1435.3, Maintenance and 

inspection of records give CCC, as well 

as any other U.S. Government agency, 

the right of access to the premises of any 

sugar beet processor, sugarcane 

processor, cane sugar refiner, importer 

of sugars, syrups, and molasses, or of 

any other person having custody of 

records that the examining agency 

deems necessary to verify compliance 

with this part’s requirements. Since this 

information is necessary to determine 

whether a processor is in compliance 

with sugar marketing allotment program 

requirements, CCC proposes to require 

that an independent CPA conduct a 

yearly agreed-upon procedures 

engagement of each reporter to validate 

their materials balance. CCC will 

provide the procedures to be followed 

by each independent CPA. 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant under Executive Order 

12866 and has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The requirements of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601—602) do 

not apply to this rule because CCC is not 

required to publish a notice of proposed 

rulemaking for the subject of this rule. 

Nonetheless, CCC has determined that 

this rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities and a 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was not 

performed. 

Environmental Assessment 

The environmental impacts of this 

rule have been considered under the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

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

regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 

1500–1508), and regulations of the Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) of the Department 

of Agriculture (USDA) for compliance 

with NEPA, 7 CFR part 799. An 

environmental evaluation was 

completed and the proposed action has 

been determined not to have the 

potential to significantly impact the 

quality of the human environment and 

no environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement is 

necessary. A copy of the environmental 

evaluation is available for inspection 

and review upon request. 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed in 

accordance with Executive Order 12988, 

Civil Justice Reform. In accordance with 

this Executive Order: (1) All State and 

local laws and regulations that are in 

conflict with this rule will be 

preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will 

be given to this rule; and (3) 

administrative proceedings in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 11 must be 

exhausted before seeking judicial 

review. 

Executive Order 12372 

This program is not subject to 

Executive Order 12372, which requires 

intergovernmental consultation with 

State and local officials. See the notice 

related to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V, 

published at 48 FR 29115 (June 24, 

1983). 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This rule contains no Federal 

mandates, as defined under title II of the 

UMRA, for State, local, and tribal 

governments or the private sector. Thus, 

this rule is not subject to the 

requirements of sections 202 and 205 of 

UMRA. 

Executive Order 13132 

The policies contained in this rule do 

not have any substantial direct effect on 

States, on the relationship between the 

national government and the States, or 

on the distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Nor does this rule 

impose substantial direct compliance 

costs on State and local governments. 

Therefore, consultation with the States 

is not required. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Under 7 U.S.C 7991(c)(2)(A) these 

regulations may be promulgated and the 

program administered without regard to 

chapter 5 of title 44 of the United States 

Code (the Paperwork Reduction Act). 

Accordingly, these regulations and the 

forms and other information collection 

activities needed to administer the 

provisions authorized by these 

regulations are not subject to review by 

the Office of Management and Budget 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act 

CCC is committed to compliance with 

the Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act (GPEA) and the Freedom to E-File 

Act, which require Government 

agencies in general, and the FSA in 

particular, to provide the public the 

option of submitting information or 

transacting business electronically to 

the maximum extent possible. Because 

of the nature of the forms and other 

information collection activities 

required for this program, they are not 

fully implemented in a way that would 

allow the public to conduct business 

with CCC electronically. Accordingly, at 

this time, all forms and information 

required to be submitted under this rule 

may be submitted to CCC by mail or 

FAX. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1435 

Loan programs—agriculture, Price 

support programs, Reporting and 

Recordkeeping requirements, and Sugar. 

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 1435 is 

proposed to be amended as follows: 

PART 1435—SUGAR PROGRAM 

1. The authority citation continues to 

read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1359aa—1359jj and 

7272 et seq.; 15 U.S.C. 714b and 714c. 

2. In § 1435.200 revise paragraph (a), 

redesignate paragraph (g) as paragraph 

(h), and add new paragraph (g) to read 

as follows: 

§ 1435.200 Information reporting. 

(a) Every sugar beet processor, 

sugarcane processor, cane sugar refiner, 

and importer of sugar, syrup, and 

molasses shall report, by the 20th of 

each month, on CCC-required forms, its 

imports and receipts, processing inputs, 

production, distribution, stocks and 

other information necessary to 

administer the sugar programs. If the 

20th of the month falls on a weekend or 

a Federal holiday, the report shall be 

made by the next business day. 

* * * * * 

(g) By November 20 of each year, each 

sugar beet processor, sugarcane 

processor, sugarcane refiner, and 

importer of sugars, syrups, and molasses 

will submit to CCC a report, as specified 

by CCC, from an independent Certified 

Public Accountant that reviews its 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 7, 2005 / Proposed Rules 53105 

information submitted to CCC during 

the previous October 1 through 

September 30 period. 

* * * * * 

3. Revise § 1435.308(a) to read as 

follows: 

§ 1435.308 Transfer of allocation, new 

entrants. 

(a) If a sugar beet or sugarcane 

processing facility is closed and the 

growers that delivered their crops to the 

closed facility elect to deliver their 

crops to another processor, the growers 

may petition the Executive Vice 

President, CCC, to transfer their share of 

the allocation from the processor that 

closed the facility to their new 

processor. If CCC determines to transfer 

the allocations, it will distribute the 

closed mill’s allocation based on the 

contribution of the growers’ production 

history to the closed mill’s allocation. 

CCC may grant the allocation transfer 

upon: 

(1) Written request by a grower to 

transfer allocation, 

(2) Written approval of the processing 

company that will accept the additional 

deliveries, and 

(3) Evidence satisfactory to CCC that 

the new processor has the capacity to 

accommodate the production of 

petitioning growers. 

* * * * * 

Signed in Washington, DC, on August 18, 

2005. 

James R. Little, 

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 05–17684 Filed 9–6–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise 

Oversight 

12 CFR Chap. XVII 

Notice of Regulatory Review 

AGENCY: Office of Federal Housing 

Enterprise Oversight, HUD. 

ACTION: Request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Office of Federal Housing 

Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) is issuing 

notice of a regulatory review that will be 

conducted in accordance with the 

process set forth in OFHEO Policy 

Guidance titled, ‘‘Regulatory Review,’’

which was issued on April 2, 2001 (Doc. 

#: PG–01–001) (Policy Guidance). 

OFHEO will review its regulations to 

consider whether existing regulations 

have become inefficient or create 

unwarranted burden, and will identify 

possible revisions where such 

conditions are found. OFHEO is seeking 

public comment on its regulations for 

consideration in the regulatory review. 

DATES: Written comments on this Notice 

must be received no later than 

November 7, 2005. For additional 

information, see SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit your 

comments to this Notice by any of the 

following methods: 

• U.S. Mail, United Parcel Post, 

Federal Express, or Other Mail Service: 

The mailing address for comments is: 

David A. Felt, Acting General Counsel, 

Attention: Comments/Notice of 

Regulatory Review, Office of Federal 

Housing Enterprise Oversight, Fourth 

Floor, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, 

DC 20552. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: The hand 

delivery address is: David A. Felt, 

Acting General Counsel, Attention: 

Comments/Notice of Regulatory Review, 

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise 

Oversight, Fourth Floor, 1700 G Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20552. The 

package should be logged at the Guard 

Desk, First Floor, between 9 a.m. and 5 

p.m. on business days. 

• E-mail: Comments to David A. Felt, 

Acting General Counsel, may be sent by 

e-mail at RegComments@OFHEO.gov. 

Please include the title, Notice of 

Regulatory Review, in the subject line of 

the message. 

Instructions: OFHEO requests that 

comments to this Notice include a 

reference to the title, Notice of 

Regulatory Review. OFHEO further 

requests that comments submitted in 

hard copy also be accompanied by the 

electronic version in Microsoft() Word 

or in portable document format (PDF) 

on 3.5′′ disk. Please see the section, 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, below, for 

additional information on the posting 

and viewing of comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Felt, Acting General Counsel, 

telephone (202) 414–3750 (not a toll-free 

number); or Tina Dion, Associate 

General Counsel, telephone (202) 414–

3838 (not a toll-free number); Office of 

Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, 

Fourth Floor, 1700 G Street, NW., 

Washington, DC 20552. The telephone 

number for the Telecommunications 

Device for the Deaf is (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Federal Housing Enterprises 

Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, Title 

XIII of Pub. L. 102–550, empowers the 

Director of OFHEO to undertake 

rulemaking and such other actions as 

the Director determines to be 

appropriate to oversee the activities and 

operations of Freddie Mac and Fannie 

Mae (the Enterprises). In the course of 

exercising such authority, the Director 

has promulgated regulations and issued 

guidelines and supervisory policies. 

OFHEO’s Policy Guidance 

http://www.ofheo.gov/ 

News.asp?formmode=Regulations 

creates a process for routine review and, 

where appropriate, revision of 

regulations by OFHEO. Such a process 

provides for planned reviews of the 

regulatory infrastructure and for 

considering information under uniform 

criteria that assists in determinations of 

whether an unnecessary burden exists. 

Once a review is completed, the 

Director will determine what steps may 

be necessary to relieve any unnecessary 

burden, including amendment to or 

repeal of existing regulations or 

issuance of less formal guidance. 

The General Counsel, as the OFHEO 

Regulatory Policy Officer, is charged 

with undertaking the regulatory review 

and reporting findings and 

recommendations to the Director. The 

review process will be conducted by the 

Office of General Counsel, under the 

direction of the General Counsel, and 

will include internal consultation with 

other OFHEO offices and staff, guidance 

provided by the Director, as well as 

consideration of public comments. A 

review and report of findings and 

recommendations will be provided to 

the Director on a timely basis. The 

report of findings and recommendations 

will be privileged and confidential. 

Notably, the regulatory review to be 

conducted by the Office of the General 

Counsel under the Policy Guidance is 

not a formal or informal rulemaking 

proceeding under the Administrative 

Procedure Act and creates no right of 

action against OFHEO. Moreover, the 

determination of OFHEO to conduct or 

not to conduct a review of a regulation 

and any determination, finding, or 

recommendation resulting from any 

review under the Policy Guidance are 

not final agency actions and, as such, 

are not subject to judicial review. 

Regulations Under Review; Criteria 

The regulations of OFHEO that are 

subject to the regulatory review 

described in this Notice are codified in 

Title 12, Chapter XVII, Subchapters A, 

C, and D, Parts 1700–1780 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (CFR). The 

regulations are listed in the CFR as 

follows: