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[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 91 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21155-21156]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11468]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration

Opportunity to Comment on the Applicants for the Lubbock (TX) 
Region

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration 
(GIPSA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: GIPSA is asking for comments on the applicants for designation 
to provide official services in the Lubbock, Texas, region currently 
assigned to Amarillo Grain Exchange, Inc. (Amarillo).

DATE: Comments must be postmarked, or sent by telecopier (FAX) or 
electronic mail by June 7, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted in writing to Janet M. Hart, 
Chief, Review Branch, Compliance Division, GIPSA, USDA, Room 1647 South 
Building, P.O. Box 96454, Washington, DC 20090-6454. SprintMail users 
may respond to [A:ATTMAIL,O:USDA,ID:A36JHART]. ATTMAIL and FTS2000MAIL 
users may respond to !A36JHART. Telecopier (FAX) users may send 
comments to the automatic telecopier machine at 202-690-2755, 
attention: Janet M. Hart. All comments received will be made available 
for public inspection at the above address located at 1400 Independence 
Avenue, S.W., during regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janet M. Hart, telephone 202-720-8525.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    This action has been reviewed and determined not to be a rule or 
regulation as defined in Executive Order 12866 and Departmental 
Regulation 1512-1; therefore, the Executive Order and Departmental 
Regulation do not apply to this action.
    In the March 13, 1996, Federal Register (61 FR 10313), GIPSA 
announced that Amarillo had asked that their designation be amended to 
remove the Lubbock region consisting of the Texas counties of Andrews, 
Borden, Cochran, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, El Paso, Gaines, Garza, 
Hockley, Howard, Kent, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mitchell, Scurry, Terry, 
and Yoakum Counties, Texas, and the parts of Hale and Lamb Counties, 
Texas, assigned to Amarillo. GIPSA also asked persons interested in 
providing official services in the Lubbock, Texas, region to submit an 
application for designation. Applications were due by April 10, 1996. 
Farwell and Plainview, the only applicants, each applied for 
designation to serve mutually exclusive parts of the Lubbock area. 
Farwell applied for the Texas counties of Cochran, Hockley, and that 
part of Lamb county not already assigned to them. Plainview applied for 
that portion of Hale county not currently assigned to them, and the 
entire counties of Andrews, Borden, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Gaines, 
Garza, Howard, Kent, Lubbock, Lynn, Scurry, Martin, Mitchell, Terry, 
and Yoakum.
    The counties that Farwell and Plainview applied for comprise all of 
the Lubbock region except for El Paso county. Accordingly, if 
Amarillo's designation is amended, there would be no official agency 
designated to serve El Paso county, Texas. Persons needing official 
services in El Paso county would have to contact the GIPSA Wichita 
Field Office to obtain official services.
    GIPSA, in the March 13, 1996 Federal Register, also asked for 
comments on the need for official services in the Lubbock area. 
Although there were no comments, GIPSA, based on all the information 
available, including discussions with some grain companies in the 
Lubbock area, believes that there

[[Page 21156]]

is sufficient need for service to designate the applicants.
    GIPSA is publishing this notice to provide interested persons the 
opportunity to present comments concerning the applicants and the need 
for official services. Commenters are encouraged to submit reasons and 
pertinent data for support or objection to the designation of these 
applicants and the need for official services. All comments must be 
submitted to the Compliance Division at the above address.
    Comments and other available information will be considered in 
making a final decision. GIPSA will publish notice of the final 
decision in the Federal Register, and GIPSA will send the applicants 
written notification of the decision.

    Authority: Pub. L. 94-582, 90 Stat. 2867, as amended (7 U.S.C. 
71 et seq.)

    Dated: April 29, 1996
Neil E. Porter
Director, Compliance Division
[FR Doc. 96-11468 Filed 5-8-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-EN-F
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