Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 66 / Friday, April 4, 2008 / Notices 18491 

activity, you must follow, as 

appropriate, the procedures described in 

the Antidiscrimination Laws and 

Whistleblower Protection Laws sections 

or, if applicable, the administrative or 

negotiated grievance procedures in 

order to pursue any legal remedy. 

Disciplinary Actions 

Under the existing laws, each agency 

retains the right, where appropriate, to 

discipline a Federal employee for 

conduct that is inconsistent with 

Federal Antidiscrimination and 

Whistleblower Protection Laws up to 

and including removal. If OSC has 

initiated an investigation under 5 U.S.C. 

1214, however, according to 5 U.S.C. 

1214(f), agencies must seek approval 

from the Special Counsel to discipline 

employees for, among other activities, 

engaging in prohibited retaliation. 

Nothing in the No FEAR Act alters 

existing laws or permits an agency to 

take unfounded disciplinary action 

against a Federal employee or to violate 

the procedural rights of a Federal 

employee who has been accused of 

discrimination. 

Additional Information 

For further information regarding the 

No FEAR Act regulations, refer to 5 CFR 

724. You may also contact the USAID 

Office of Equal Opportunity Programs 

(EOP). Additional information regarding 

Federal antidiscrimination, 

whistleblower protection and retaliation 

laws can be found at the EEOC Web site 

http://www.eeoc.gov and the OSC Web 

site http://www.osc.gov. 

Existing Rights Unchanged 

Pursuant to section 205 of the No 

FEAR Act, neither the Act nor this 

notice creates, expands or reduces any 

rights otherwise available to any 

employee, former employee or applicant 

under the laws of the United States, 

including the provisions of law 

specified in 5 U.S.C. 2302(d). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa 

M. Lawler by telephone at (202) 712–

0111; by FAX at (202) 216–3370; or by 

e-mail at llawler@usaid.gov. 

Dated: March 28, 2008. 

Jessalyn L. Pendarvis, 

Director, Office of Equal Opportunity 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. E8–6990 Filed 4–3–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6116–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–TM–08–0021; TM–08–04] 

Notice of Meeting of the National 

Organic Standards Board 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, the Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) is announcing a 

forthcoming meeting of the National 

Organic Standards Board (NOSB). 

DATES: The meeting dates are Tuesday, 

May 20, 2008, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; 

Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 8 a.m. to 5 

p.m.; and Thursday, May 22, 2008, 8 

a.m. to 5 p.m. Requests from individuals 

and organizations wishing to make oral 

presentations at the meeting are due by 

the close of business on May 5, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place 

at The Holiday Inn Inner Harbor Hotel, 

301 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 

21201. 

• Requests for copies of the NOSB 

meeting agenda, may be sent to Ms. 

Valerie Frances, Executive Director, 

NOSB, USDA–AMS–TMP–NOP, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., Room 4008–

So., Ag Stop 0268, Washington, DC 

20250–0268. The NOSB meeting agenda 

and proposed recommendations may 

also be viewed at http:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/nop. 

• Comments on proposed NOSB 

recommendations may be submitted by 

May 5, 2008 in writing to Ms. Frances 

at either the postal address above or via 

the internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov only. The 

comments should identify Docket No. 

AMS–TM–08–0021. It is our intention 

to have all comments to this notice 

whether they are submitted by mail or 

the internet available for viewing on the 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site. 

• Requests to make an oral 

presentation at the meeting may also be 

sent by May 5, 2008 to Ms. Valerie 

Frances at the postal address above, by 

email at valerie.frances@usda.gov, via 

facsimile at (202) 205–7808, or phone at 

(202) 720–3252. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Valerie Frances, Executive Director, 

NOSB, National Organic Program 

(NOP), (202) 720–3252, or visit the NOP 

Web site at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

nop. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

2119 (7 U.S.C. 6518) of the Organic 

Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), 

as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) 

requires the establishment of the NOSB. 

The purpose of the NOSB is to make 

recommendations about whether a 

substance should be allowed or 

prohibited in organic production or 

handling, to assist in the development 

of standards for substances to be used in 

organic production, and to advise the 

Secretary on other aspects of the 

implementation of the OFPA. The 

NOSB met for the first time in 

Washington, DC, in March 1992, and 

currently has six subcommittees 

working on various aspects of the 

organic program. The committees are: 

Compliance, Accreditation, and 

Certification; Crops; Handling; 

Livestock; Materials; and Policy 

Development. 

In August of 1994, the NOSB 

provided its initial recommendations for 

the NOP to the Secretary of Agriculture. 

Since that time, the NOSB has 

submitted 154 addenda to its 

recommendations and reviewed more 

than 327 substances for inclusion on the 

National List of Allowed and Prohibited 

Substances. The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) published its final 

National Organic Program regulation in 

the Federal Register on December 21, 

2000, (65 FR 80548). The rule became 

effective April 21, 2001. 

In addition, the OFPA authorizes the 

National List of Allowed and Prohibited 

Substances and provides that no 

allowed or prohibited substance would 

remain on the National List for a period 

exceeding 5 years unless the exemption 

or prohibition is reviewed and 

recommended for renewal by the NOSB 

and adopted by the Secretary of 

Agriculture. This expiration is 

commonly referred to as sunset of the 

National List. The National List appears 

at 7 CFR Part 205, Subpart G. 

The principal purposes of the NOSB 

meeting are to provide an opportunity 

for the NOSB to receive an update from 

the USDA/NOP and hear progress 

reports from NOSB committees 

regarding work plan items and proposed 

action items. The last meeting of the 

NOSB was held on November 28–30, 

2007 in Arlington, VA. 

At its last meeting, the Board 

recommended the addition of 3 

materials to the National List § 205.601 

for use in crops and § 205.605 for use in 

handling. In addition, the Board also 

nearly completed the sunset review 

process for 11 of the 13 materials for use 

in crops and handling which are due to 

expire on November 3, 2008 and 

November 4, 2008. Of these 11 

materials, there are 9 substances for use 

in crops and handling placed on the 

National List on November 3, 2003, and 


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18492 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 66 / Friday, April 4, 2008 / Notices 

are scheduled to expire on November 3, 

2008. Four substances for use in 

handling were placed on the National 

List on November 4, 2003, and are 

scheduled to expire on November 4, 

2008. They will be making final 

recommendations on these 11 materials 

at this meeting. Two forms of Tartaric 

acid, for use in handling in § 205.605(a) 

and (b) for which the Board has not 

completed its review, were placed on 

the National List on November 3, 2003, 

and are scheduled to expire on 

November 3, 2008. The sunset review 

process for these two forms of Tartaric 

acid must be concluded no later than 

November 3, 2008. If renewal is not 

concluded by this date, the use or 

prohibition of these 2 forms of Tartaric 

acid will no longer be in compliance 

with the National Organic Program. 

The Policy Development Committee 

will present recommendations regarding 

revisions to the NOSB Policy and 

Procedures Manual and the Guide for 

new NOSB members as well as discuss 

their on-going collaboration with the 

NOP to review the NOP responses to 

prior NOSB recommendations. 

The Compliance, Accreditation, and 

Certification Committee and the Crops 

Committee will jointly present their 

recommendation offering guidance for 

accredited certifying agents regarding 

annual commercial availability 

determinations for organic seed 

sourcing by farmers under § 205.204. 

The Crops Committee will present 

recommendations on the materials 

Tetracycline, Cheesewax, Dextrin, and 

Sorbitol octanoate petitioned for use on 

§ 205.601. The Committee will also 

present their recommendations on the 

continued use or prohibition of Copper 

sulfate, Ozone gas, Peracetic acid, and 

EPA List 3—Inerts of unknown toxicity, 

with their respective annotations and 

limitations. These exemptions are due 

to expire on November 3, 2008, from 

§ 205.601. The Committee will also 

present their recommendation on the 

continued use or prohibition of Calcium 

chloride for use as a brine-sourced foliar 

spray. Calcium chloride is otherwise 

considered a prohibited natural 

substance in § 205.602 and is also due 

to expire on November 3, 2008. 

The Crops Committee and the 

Livestock Committee will jointly 

present their recommendation on the 

development of standards for organic 

aquatic plants in organic aquaculture. 

The Livestock Committee will present 

its recommendation on the material 

Fenbendazole petitioned for use in 

§ 205.603. The Committee will present 

its recommendations on the petition to 

remove the expiration date of October 

21, 2008 on the following three 

substances: DL–Methionine, DL–

Methionine–Hydroxy Analog; and DL–

Methionine–Hydroxy Analog Calcium—

for use only in organic poultry 

production in § 205.603. The Committee 

will also present recommendations on 

the use of fish feed and open net pens 

in regards to the development of organic 

aquaculture standards for finfish. 

The Handling Committee will present 

their recommendations on the materials 

Sodium chlorite, acidified and Calcium, 

derived from seaweed petitioned for 

inclusion in § 205.605 for use in organic 

products. The Committee will present 

their recommendations on the 24 

materials Black Pepper, Buck Hull 

Powder, Camu Camu Extract, Caramel 

Color, Chinese Thistle Daisy Extract, 

Chlorella algae, Codonopsis Root 

Extract, Dumontiacae algae, Ginger Root 

Extract, Jujube Fruit Extract, Kombu 

seaweed, Ligusticum Root Extract, 

Marsala Cooking Wine, Oatbran, Okra, 

Pectin, low methoxy, non-amidated, 

Peony Root Extract, Polygala Root 

Extract, Polygonum Root Extract, Poria 

Fungus Extract, Rehmannia Extract, 

Sherry Cooking Wine, Tangerine Peel 

Extract, and Tragacanth Gum petitioned 

for inclusion in § 205.606 for use in 

organic products depending on final 

commercial availability determinations 

performed by accredited certifying 

agents. 

The Handling Committee will present 

their recommendations on the 

continued use or prohibition of the 

material exemptions in § 205.605(a) 

which is Agar-agar and due to expire on 

November 3, 2008, and Animal 

enzymes, Calcium sulfate, and Glucono 

delta-lactone, with their respective 

annotations and limitations, due to 

expire on November 4, 2008. The 

Committee will also present their 

recommendations on the continued use 

or prohibition of the material exemption 

in § 205.605(b) which is Cellulose with 

its respective annotations and 

limitations, due to expire on November 

4, 2008. They will also present their 

recommendations on the continued use 

or prohibition of the material 

exemptions for the two forms of Tartaric 

acid in § 205.605(a) and (b) which are 

due to expire on November 3, 2008. 

The Meeting is Open to the Public. 

The NOSB has scheduled time for 

public input for Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 

from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 

21, 2008, from 3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m., and 

Thursday, May 22, 2008, from 8 a.m. to 

9:30 a.m. Individuals and organizations 

wishing to make oral presentations at 

the meeting may forward their requests 

by mail, facsimile, email, or phone to 

Valerie Frances as listed in ADDRESSES

above. Individuals or organizations will 

be given approximately 5 minutes to 

present their views. All persons making 

oral presentations are requested to 

provide their comments in writing. 

Written submissions may contain 

information other than that presented at 

the oral presentation. Anyone may 

submit written comments at the 

meeting. Persons submitting written 

comments are asked to provide 30 

copies. 

Interested persons may visit the 

NOSB portion of the NOP Web site at 

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop to view 

available meeting documents prior to 

the meeting, or visit http:// 

www.regulations.gov to submit and view 

comments as provided for in ADDRESSES

above. Documents presented at the 

meeting will be posted for review on the 

NOP Web site approximately 6 weeks 

following the meeting. 

Dated: April 1, 2008. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 08–1097 Filed 4–1–08; 4:21pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Agricultural Library; Notice of 

Intent To Seek Approval To Collect 

Information 

AGENCY: USDA, Agricultural Research 

Service, National Agricultural Library. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–13) and Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR 

Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 

1995), this notice announces the 

National Agricultural Library’s intent to 

request renewal for information 

collection relating to existing nutrition 

education materials (i.e. recipes and 

cookbooks) targeting low-income and 

Food Stamp Program-eligible persons. 

This voluntary form gives Food Stamp 

Nutrition Education (FSNE) providers 

the opportunity to share resources that 

they have developed or used. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by 65 days after date of 

publication in the Federal Register to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments 

concerning this notice to Gina Hundley 

Gomez, Technical Information 

Specialist, Food and Nutrition 

Information Center, National 

Agricultural Library, 10301 Baltimore 

Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705–2351, 


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