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

20754

Vol. 61, No. 90

Wednesday, May 8, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 911 and 944

[Docket No. FV96–911–2PR]

Limes Grown in Florida and Imported

Limes; Change in Regulatory Period

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This proposal invites

comments on proposed changes to the

regulatory period currently prescribed

under the lime marketing order and the

lime import regulations. The marketing

order regulates the handling of limes

grown in Florida and is administered

locally by the Florida Lime

Administrative Committee (committee).

This rule would modify language in

both the domestic and import

regulations to change the regulatory

period to January 1 through May 31,

from its current continuous, year round,

implementation. This proposed rule is

in response to changes in the market,

rising costs of production and the cost

of replanting in the aftermath of

Hurricane Andrew. By reducing the

regulatory period and its associated

costs, this rule should decrease industry

expenses. The changes in import

requirements are necessary under

section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing

Agreement Act of 1937.

DATES: Comments must be received by

June 7, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this proposal. Comments

must be sent in triplicate to the Docket

Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division,

AMS, USDA, room 2525–S, P.O. Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090–6456,

FAX Number (202) 720–5698. All

comments should reference the docket

number and the date and page number

of this issue of the Federal Register and

will be available for public inspection in

the Office of the Docket Clerk during

regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Aleck Jonas, Southeast Marketing Field

Office, Marketing Order Administration

Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box

2276, Winter Haven, Florida 33883;

telephone: (941) 299–4770; or Britthany

Beadle, Marketing Order Administration

Branch, F&V, AMS, USDA, room 2522–

S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC

20090–6456: telephone: (202) 720–3923.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

proposal is issued under Marketing

Agreement and Marketing Order No.

911 (7 CFR part 911), as amended,

regulating the handling of limes,

hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘order.’’

This 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.’’

This proposed rule is also issued

under section 8e of the Act, which

provides that whenever certain

specified commodities, including limes,

are regulated under a Federal marketing

order, imports of these commodities

into the United States are prohibited

unless they meet the same or

comparable grade, size, quality, or

maturity requirements as those in effect

for the domestically produced

commodities.

The Department of Agriculture

(Department) is issuing this rule in

conformance with Executive Order

12866.

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. This proposed rule is

not intended to have retroactive effect.

This proposal will not preempt any

State or local laws, regulations, or

policies, unless they present an

irreconcilable conflict with this rule.

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 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

law and request a modification of the

order or to be exempted therefrom. A

handler is afforded the opportunity for

a hearing on the petition. After the

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 his or her principal

place of business, has jurisdiction in

equity to review the Secretary’s ruling

on the petition, provided an action is

filed not later than 20 days after date of

the entry of the ruling.

There are no administrative

procedures which must be exhausted

prior to any judicial challenge to the

provisions of import regulations issued

under section 8e of the Act.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),

the Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS) has considered the economic

impact of this proposed rule on small

entities.

The purpose of the RFA is to fit

regulatory actions to the scale of

business subject to such actions in order

that small businesses will not be unduly

or disproportionately burdened.

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the

Act, and rules issued thereunder, are

unique in that they are brought about

through group action of essentially

small entities acting on their own

behalf. Thus, both statutes have small

entity orientation and compatibility.

Import regulations issued under the Act

are based on those established under

Federal marketing orders.

There are approximately 10 handlers

subject to regulation under the order

and about 30 producers of Florida limes.

There are approximately 35 importers of

limes. Small agricultural service firms,

which include lime handlers and

importers, have been defined by the

Small Business Administration (13 CFR

121.601) as those whose annual receipts

are less than $5,000,000, and small

agricultural producers are defined as

those whose annual receipts are less

than $500,000. A majority of these

handlers, producers, and importers may

be classified as small entities.

This proposed rule invites comments

on a change to the regulatory period

currently prescribed under the Florida

lime marketing order. This rule would

modify language in the order’s rules and

regulations to change the regulatory

period from its current continuous, year

round, implementation to January 1

through May 31. This change was

recommended by the committee on a

vote of 6 supporting and 4 against.

Section 911.48 of the lime marketing

order provides authority to issue

regulations establishing specific pack,
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 90 / Wednesday, May 8, 1996 / Proposed Rules 20755

container, grade and size requirements.

These requirements are specified under

§§ 911.311, 911.329 and 911.344.

Section 911.51 requires inspection and

certification that these requirements are

met. Currently, there is no regulatory

period stated in the order, and the

regulations are applied on a continuous

year-round basis.

There is general agreement in the

industry for the need to reduce costs

and increase grower returns under the

current market conditions. The

committee made this recommendation

to decrease industry expenses by

reducing the regulatory period and its

associated costs. Prior to Hurricane

Andrew, there were approximately

6,500 producing acres of limes in the

production area. Currently, there are

approximately 1,500 acres of producing

lime trees in the production area.

Growers are expending approximately

$2,500 per acre to plant new groves and

replant lost ones. They are also

spending approximately $1,500 per acre

per year to maintaining new groves of

young trees which will not produce fruit

for several years, thus, giving no return

for investment. During the 1991–1992

season prior to Hurricane Andrew,

assessments were collected on 1,682,677

bushels. In the 1993–1994 and the

1994–1995 seasons after the storm,

assessments were collected on 228,455

bushels and 283,977 bushels

respectively. Lost income from reduced

volume and the costs of replanting and

maintaining groves, with no immediate

monetary return, has caused the

industry to seek cost saving measures.

Historically, the June 1 through

December 31 time period is a time when

fruit is plentiful, prices are low, and the

overall quality of the crop is good for

both domestic and imported supplies.

The committee maintains that under

these abundant and good quality fruit

conditions, competition and market

demand will keep quality standards

high. Conversely, during the time

period, January 1 through May 31, past

seasons have shown that for both

domestic and imported fruit, skins are

thicker, the juice content is lower and

supplies of fruit are limited. Because the

temptation to ship poor quality is

greater under these high demand and

low supply conditions, the committee

believes regulations are necessary to

prevent poor quality fruit from entering

and damaging the lime market.

Therefore, the committee believes that

for the period June 1 through December

31, pack, container, grade and size

regulations can be ended. Competition

under good quality and high supply

conditions should protect the consumer

from poor quality fruit entering the

market during the proposed deregulated

period. The application of regulations

from January 1 through May 31, will

insure uniform quality throughout the

year.

Growers, handlers and importers

should benefit from the reduced costs of

no regulations, such as no inspection

fees during the deregulated period.

Committee expenses should also be

reduced by requiring fewer meetings

and less compliance monitoring.

Reporting requirements are not affected

by this change and will continue to be

collected year-round.

One alternative to the proposed rule

was to leave the regulations in place

year-round. This alternative was

rejected by the committee because the

need to take some action was

considered necessary under the current

market conditions. It was argued that

when these regulations were put in

place, the quality of both the domestic

and imported lime supply varied

greatly. Over the years, improved

agricultural practices have produced a

consistent high quality lime supply.

This is particularly true during the June

through December time period. The

majority of committee members believe

that the regulations are unnecessary

when there is such a large supply of

high quality fruit.

Another alternative raised was to

terminate the marketing order. Although

seriously considered, committee

members rejected the idea under

arguments that during the January

through May time period when supplies

are reduced and juice content of all

limes is lower, poor quality fruit could

enter the market. Consumer

dissatisfaction with poor quality limes

could lead to product rejection and

substitution with lemons, causing a lost

market share. This proposed rule

represents a compromise of the two

alternatives presented. The committee

believes that this change will provide

the consumer with quality fruit

throughout the year, while reducing

industry costs.

Section 8e of the Act provides that

when certain domestically produced

commodities, including limes, are

regulated under a Federal marketing

order, imports of that commodity must

meet the same or comparable grade,

size, quality, and maturity requirements.

Since this rule would change the

regulatory period under the domestic

handling regulations, a corresponding

change to the import regulations must

also be considered.

Minimum grade and size

requirements for limes imported into

the United States are currently in effect

under § 944.209 (7 CFR 944.209). This

proposed rule would modify language

in the import regulations to change the

regulatory period from its current

continuous, year round, implementation

to January 1 through May 31. This rule

would result in relaxed import

requirements because the lime import

regulations would not be in effect

during the months of June through

December. This could result in reduced

costs to importers.

Mexico is the largest importer of limes

into the United States. During the 1994–

95 season, Mexico imported 6,075,685

bushels into the United States, while all

other import sources shipped a

combined total of 201,053 bushels

during the same time period. The

majority of Mexican imports enter the

United States between June 1 and

December 31, the proposed deregulated

period covered in this rule.

In accordance with section 8e of the

Act, the United States Trade

Representative has concurred with the

issuance of this proposed rule, as it

pertains to limes imported into the

United States.

Based on available information, the

Administrator of the AMS has

determined that this action would not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

A 30-day comment period is provided

to allow interested persons to respond

to this proposal. All written comments

timely received will be considered

before a final determination is made on

this matter.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 911

Limes, Marketing agreements,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

7 CFR Part 944

Avocados, Food grades and standards,

Grapefruit, Grapes, Imports, Kiwifruit,

Limes, Olives, Oranges.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR parts 911 and 944 are

proposed to be amended as follows:

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 911 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

PART 911—LIMES GROWN IN

FLORIDA

§ 911.311 [Amended]

2. In § 911.311, paragraph (a),

introductory text, is amended by

removing the words ‘‘No handler’’ and

adding in its place the words ‘‘From

January 1 through May 31 of each

season, no handler’’.
20756 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 90 / Wednesday, May 8, 1996 / Proposed Rules

§ 911.329 [Amended]

3. In § 911.329, paragraph (a) is

amended by removing the words ‘‘No

handler’’ and adding in its place the

words ‘‘From January 1 through May 31

of each season, no handler’’.

§ 911.344 [Amended]

4. In § 911.344, paragraph (a), is

introductory text, is amended by

removing the words ‘‘No handler’’ and

adding in its place the words ‘‘From

January 1 through May 31 of each

season, no handler’’

PART 944—FRUITS, IMPORT

REGULATIONS

5. In § 944.209, paragraph (a) is

revised to read as follows:

§ 944.209 Lime Import Regulation 10.

(a) Applicability to imports. Pursuant

to section 8e of the act and Part 944–

Fruits; Import Regulations, the

importation into the United States from

January 1 through May 31 of any limes

is prohibited unless such limes meet the

minimum grade and size requirements

specified in § 911.344 Florida Lime

Regulation 43.

* * * * *

Dated: May 2, 1996.

Robert C. Keeney,

Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 96–11460 Filed 5–7–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

7 CFR Parts 924 and 944

[Docket No. FV95–924–1PR]

Fresh Prunes Grown in Washington

and Oregon: Proposed Handling

Requirement Revision; Fruits; Import

Regulations; Proposed Fresh Prune

Import Requirements

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would

change the effective period of the

handling regulations in effect for

shipments of fresh prunes grown in

specified counties of Washington and in

Umatilla County, Oregon under

Marketing Order No. 924 to coincide

with the domestic shipping season. This

proposed rule would also establish

grade, size, and quality requirements for

prune variety plums (fresh prunes)

imported into the United States. The

proposed import requirements would be

issued pursuant to the authority in

section 8e of the amended Agricultural

Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.

DATES: Comments must be received by

June 7, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this proposal. Comments

should be sent in triplicate to the Docket

Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division,

AMS, USDA, room 2525–S, PO Box

96456, Washington, DC 20090–6456 or

by FAX at (202) 720–5698. All

comments should reference the docket

number and the date and page number

of this issue of the Federal Register and

will be available for public inspection in

the office of the Docket Clerk during

regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Britthany E. Beadle, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, AMS, USDA,

PO Box 96456, room 2526–S,

Washington, DC 20090–6456; telephone:

(202) 720–5127; or Teresa Hutchinson,

Northwest Marketing Field Office, AMS,

USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, room

369, Portland, Oregon 97204; telephone:

(503) 326–2725.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

proposed rule is issued under Marketing

Order No. 924 (7 CFR part 924), as

amended, regulating the handling of

fresh prunes grown in specified

counties of Washington and in Umatilla

County, Oregon, hereinafter referred to

as the order. 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.

This proposed rule is also issued

under section 8e of the Act, which

provides that whenever certain

specified commodities, including plums

or fresh prunes, are regulated under a

Federal marketing order, imports of

these commodities into the United

States are prohibited unless they meet

the same or comparable grade, size,

quality, or maturity requirements as

those in effect for the domestically

produced commodities. The Secretary

has determined that the minimum

grade, quality, and size requirements for

fresh prunes imported into the United

States should be the same as those

established for fresh prunes grown in

Washington and Umatilla County,

Oregon, under Marketing Order No. 924.

The Department of Agriculture

(Department) is issuing this proposed

rule in conformance with Executive

Order 12866.

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. This action is not

intended to have retroactive effect. This

proposed rule will not preempt any

State or local laws, regulations, or

policies, unless they present an

irreconcilable conflict with this rule.

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 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

law and request a modification of the

order or to be exempted therefrom. A

handler is afforded the opportunity for

a hearing on the petition. After the

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 his or her principal

place of business, has jurisdiction in

equity to review the Secretary’s ruling

on the petition, provided an action is

filed not later than 20 days after date of

the entry of the ruling.

There are no administrative

procedures which must be exhausted

prior to any judicial challenge to the

provisions of import regulations issued

under section 8e of the Act.

Pursuant to the requirements set forth

in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA),

the Agricultural Marketing Service

(AMS) has considered the economic

impact of this proposed rule on small

entities.

The purpose of the RFA is to fit

regulatory actions to the scale of

business subject to such actions in order

that small businesses will not be unduly

or disproportionately burdened.

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the

Act, and rules issued thereunder, are

unique in that they are brought about

through group action of essentially

small entities acting on their own

behalf. Thus, both statutes have small

entity orientation and compatibility.

Import regulations issued under the Act

are based on those established under

Federal marketing orders.

There are approximately 5 handlers

subject to regulation under the order

and about 350 producers of WashingtonOregon fresh prunes. There are no

known importers of fresh prunes. Small

agricultural service firms, which

include fresh prune handlers and

importers, have been defined by the

Small Business Administration (13 CFR

121.601) as those whose annual receipts

are less than $5,000,000, and small

agricultural producers are defined as

those whose annual receipts are less

than $500,000. A majority of these

handlers and producers may be

classified as small entities.

Most of the prune variety plums (fresh

prunes) grown in the United States are

produced in certain counties in

Washington and in Umatilla County,

Oregon. Such fresh prunes are regulated

under the order which establishes