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

19861

Vol. 61, No. 87

Friday, May 3, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 1005, 1007, 1011 and 1046

[Docket No. AO–388–A9, et al.; DA–96–08]

Milk in the Carolina and Certain Other

Marketing Areas; Notice of Hearing on

Proposed Amendments to Tentative

Marketing Agreements and Orders

7 CFR

part Marketing area Docket No.

1005 Carolina .................... AO–388–A9

1007 Southeast ................. AO–366–A38

1011 Tennessee Valley ..... AO–251–A40

1046 Louisville-LexingtonEvansville.AO–123–A67

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing on

proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: A public hearing is being held

in response to industry requests to

amend four Southeastern Federal milk

marketing orders. One proposal would

provide transportation credits for bulk

milk that is imported into these markets

for fluid use. Mid-America Dairymen,

Inc., the proponent of the proposed

amendments, has requested that this

issue be handled on an emergency basis.

A second proposal by Milkco, Inc., and

Hunter Farms, Inc., would specify, in

each of the four orders, those costs

which are the responsibility of the plant

operator and that may not, accordingly,

be passed on to producers in any

manner.

DATES: The hearing will convene at 9:00

a.m. on May 15, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at

the Sheraton Airport Plaza Hotel, 3315

South I–85 at Bill Graham Parkway,

Charlotte, North Carolina, 28208.

(Telephone: 704/392–1200).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Nicholas Memoli, Marketing Specialist,

Order Formulation Branch, USDA/

AMS/Dairy Division, Room 2971, South

Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington,

DC 20090–6456, (202) 690–1932.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

administrative action is governed by the

provisions of sections 556 and 557 of

Title 5 of the United States Code and,

therefore, is excluded from the

requirements of Executive Order 12866.

Notice is hereby given of a public

hearing to be held at the Sheraton

Airport Plaza Hotel, 3315 South I–85 at

Bill Graham Parkway, Charlotte, North

Carolina, 28208 beginning at 9:00 a.m.,

on May 15, 1996, with respect to

proposed amendments to the tentative

marketing agreements and to the orders

regulating the handling of milk in the

Carolina and certain other marketing

areas.

The hearing is called pursuant to the

provisions of the Agricultural Marketing

Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7

U.S.C. 601–674), and the applicable

rules of practice and procedure

governing the formulation of marketing

agreements and marketing orders (7 CFR

Part 900).

The purpose of the hearing is to

receive evidence with respect to the

economic and marketing conditions

which relate to the proposed

amendments, hereinafter set forth, and

any appropriate modifications thereof,

to the tentative marketing agreements

and to the orders.

Evidence also will be taken to

determine whether emergency

marketing conditions exist that would

warrant omission of a recommended

decision under the rules of practice and

procedure (7 CFR 900.12(d)) with

respect to proposal number one. Since

this proposal will be handled on an

emergency basis, it is necessary to

provide interested parties with less than

15 days notice of the public hearing to

ensure that the proposed amendments,

if found to be appropriate, will be

effective by July 1, 1996.

Actions under the Federal milk order

program are subject to the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96–354). This

Act seeks to ensure that, within the

statutory authority of a program, the

regulatory and informational

requirements are tailored to the size and

nature of small businesses. For the

purpose of the Act, a dairy farm is a

‘‘small business’’ if it has an annual

gross revenue of less than $500,000, and

a dairy products manufacturer is a

‘‘small business’’ if it has fewer than 500

employees. Most parties subject to a

milk order are considered as a small

business. Accordingly, interested parties

are invited to present evidence on the

probable regulatory and informational

impact of the hearing proposals on

small businesses. Also, parties may

suggest modifications of these proposals

for the purpose of tailoring their

applicability to small businesses.

The amendments to the rules

proposed herein have been reviewed

under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. They are not intended to

have a retroactive effect. If adopted, the

proposed amendments would not

preempt any state or local laws,

regulations, or policies, unless they

present an irreconcilable conflict with

this rule.

The Agricultural Marketing

Agreement Act provides that

administrative proceedings must be

exhausted before parties may file suit in

court. Under section 8c(15)(A) of the

Act, any handler subject to an order may

file with the Secretary 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 the law and requesting

a modification of an order or to be

exempted from the order. A handler is

afforded the opportunity for a hearing

on the petition. After a hearing, the

Secretary 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 its principal place of business, has

jurisdiction in equity to review the

Secretary’s ruling on the petition,

provided a bill in equity is filed not

later than 20 days after the date of the

entry of the ruling.

Interested parties who wish to

introduce exhibits should provide the

Presiding Officer at the hearing with

four copies of such exhibits for the

Official Record. Also, it would be

helpful if additional copies are available

for the use of other participants at the

hearing.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Parts 1005,

1007, 1011, and 1046

Milk marketing orders.

The authority citation for 7 CFR Parts

1005, 1007, 1011, and 1046 continues to

read as follows:
19862 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 87 / Friday, May 3, 1996 / Proposed Rules

PARTS 1005, 1007, 1011, 1046—

[AMENDED]

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

The proposed amendments, as set

forth below, have not received the

approval of the Secretary of Agriculture.

Proposed by Mid-America Dairymen,

Inc.

Proposal No. 1: Amend 7 CFR Parts

1005, 1007, 1011, and 1046 as follows:

a. Amend § 10XX.61 of each order by

redesignating paragraph (a)(4) as

paragraph (a)(5), paragraph (a)(5) as

paragraph (a)(6), paragraph (b)(5) as

paragraph (b)(6), paragraph (b)(6) as

paragraph (b)(7), and adding new

paragraphs (a)(4) and (b)(5) to read as

follows:

* * * * *

(a) * * *

(4) Deduct the amount by which the

amount due to be paid from the Hauling

Credit Balancing Fund pursuant to

§ 10XX.82 exceeds the available balance

in the Hauling Credit Balancing Fund

pursuant to § 10XX.80.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(5) Deduct the amount by which the

amount due to be paid from the Hauling

Credit Balancing Fund pursuant to

§ 10XX.82 exceeds the available balance

in the Hauling Credit Balancing Fund

pursuant to § 10XX.80.

* * * * *

b. Add new §§ 10XX.80, 10XX.81, and

10XX.82 to each order to read as

follows:

§ 10XX.80 Hauling credit balancing fund.

The market administrator shall

maintain a separate fund known as the

Hauling Credit Balancing Fund into

which he shall deposit the payments

made pursuant to the hauling credit

balancing adjustment specified in

§ 10XX.82; Provided, That the market

administrator shall offset the payment

due to a handler against payments due

from such handler.

§ 10XX.81 Payments to the hauling credit

balancing fund.

(a) On or before the 12th day after the

end of the month, each handler shall

pay to the market administrator the

value, if any, of the hauling credit

balancing adjustment determined by

multiplying the pounds of Class I milk

assigned pursuant to § 10XX.44 by $0.03

per hundredweight hauling credit

balancing adjustment; Provided, That

for any of the months of July through

December in which the balance in the

Hauling Credit Balancing Fund for the

second preceding month is less than the

total value of the hauling credit

balancing adjustments applicable for the

previous six months, then the hauling

credit balancing adjustment shall be

$0.06 per hundredweight; Provided

Further, That for any of the months of

January through June the hauling credit

balancing adjustment shall be zero for

any month in which the balance in the

Hauling Credit Balancing Fund for the

second preceding month is greater than

the total value of the hauling credit

balancing adjustments applicable during

the previous six months.

(b) On or before the 13th day after the

end of the month, the market

administrator shall credit the Hauling

Credit Balancing Fund, from the

Producer Settlement Fund, any amount

deducted pursuant to § 10XX.61 (a)(4) or

(b)(5).

§ 10XX.82 Payments from the hauling

credit balancing fund.

On or before the 13th day after the

end of each of the months of July

through December, and any other month

in which the classification of producer

milk allocated to Class I pursuant to

§ 10XX.44 exceeds 80 percent, subtract

the amount obtained by multiplying the

pounds of bulk fluid milk products that

were transferred to the handler’s pool

plant from an other order plant and

allocated to Class I milk, by a rate equal

to 3.9 cents per hundredweight for each

10 miles or fraction thereof less any

difference (positive only) between the

Class I differential applicable at the

receiving plant less the Class I

differential applicable at the shipping

plant. Provided, That payments may be

assigned to any cooperative association

which provides written notice to the

market administrator prior to the date

payment is due.

Proposed by Milkco, Inc., and Hunter

Farms, Inc.

Proposal No. 2: Amend § 10XX.73 of

7 CFR Parts 1005, 1007, 1011, and 1046

by adding a new paragraph (e) to read

as follows:

§ 10XX.73 Payments to producers and to

cooperative associations.

* * * * *

(e) A handler may not reduce its

obligations hereunder to producers or

cooperatives by permitting producers or

cooperatives to provide ‘‘services which

are the responsibility of the handler.

The services which are the

responsibilities of the handler are:

(1) Preparation of producer payroll;

(2) Conduct of screening tests of

tanker loads of milk required by duly

constituted regulatory authorities before

milk may be transferred to the plant’s

holding tanks and any other tanker load

tests required to establish the quantity

and quality of milk received; and

(3) Any services for processing of raw

milk or marketing of packaged milk by

the handler.

Proposed by the Dairy Division,

Agricultural Marketing Service

Proposal No. 3: Make such changes as

may be necessary to make the entire

marketing agreements and the orders

conform with any amendments thereto

that may result from this hearing.

Copies of this notice of hearing and

the orders regulating the aforesaid

marketing areas may be inspected at or

procured from the Hearing Clerk, Room

1083, South Building, United States

Department of Agriculture, Washington,

DC 20250, or from the following market

administrators: Sue L. Mosley, Market

Administrator, P.O. Box 1208, Norcross,

GA 30091–1208 (Tel: 770/448–1194); or

Arnold M. Stallings, Market

Administrator, P.O. Box 18030,

Louisville, KY 40261–0030 (Tel: 502–

499–0040).

Copies of the transcript of testimony

taken at the hearing will not be available

for distribution through the Hearing

Clerk’s Office. If you wish to purchase

a copy, arrangements may be made with

the reporter at the hearing.

From the time that a hearing notice is

issued and until the issuance of a final

decision in a proceeding, Department

employees involved in the decisionmaking process are prohibited from

discussing the merits of the hearing

issues on an ex parte basis with any

person having an interest in the

proceeding. For this particular

proceeding, the prohibition applies to

employees in the following

organizational units:

Office of the Secretary of Agriculture;

Office of the Administrator, Agricultural

Marketing Service;

Office of the General Counsel;

Dairy Division, Agricultural Marketing

Service (Washington office); and

Offices of the Market Administrators of

the orders involved in this

proceeding.

Procedural matters are not subject to

the above prohibition and may be

discussed at any time.

Dated: May 1, 1996.

Lon Hatamiya,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–11170 Filed 5–2–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P