This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

54781 

Vol. 73, No. 185 

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–AMS–08–0083; TM–08–12] 

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 Monday, 

November 17, 2008, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; 

Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 8 a.m. to 

5 p.m.; and Wednesday, November 19, 

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 November 3, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place 

at the Savoy Suites Hotel, 2505 

Wisconsin Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20007. 

• 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 

November 3, 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–AMS–08–0083. 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 November 3, 2008 to Ms. Valerie 

Frances at the postal address above, by 

e-mail 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 158 addenda to its 

recommendations and reviewed more 

than 333 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 NOSB meeting 

was held on May 20–22, 2008, in 

Baltimore, MD. 

At its last meeting, the Board 

recommended the addition of 6 

materials with one on the National List 

§ 205.601 for use in crops, with one on 

§ 205.603 for use in livestock, and with 

four on § 205.606 for use in handling. 

The Board recommended a 2-year 

extension of the expiration date to 

October 21, 2010, on the following three 

substances: DL-Methionine, DLMethionine-Hydroxy Analog; and DLMethionine-Hydroxy Analog Calcium— 

for use only in organic poultry 

production on § 205.603. 

In addition, the Board completed the 

sunset review process for 13 materials 

for use in crops and handling which are 

due to expire on November 3, 2008, and 

November 4, 2008. Of these 13 

materials, there are 11 substances for 

use in crops and handling placed on the 

National List on November 3, 2003, and 

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. The Board recommended the 

renewal of all 13 of the exemptions and 

prohibitions on the National List (along 

with any restrictive annotations). 

At this meeting, 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 ongoing collaboration with the NOP to 

review the NOP responses to prior 

NOSB recommendations. 

The Policy Development and the 

Materials Committees will present their 

joint recommendation on the 

procedures for assessing the need for 

and requesting third party technical 

reviews of materials petitioned for 

inclusion on or prohibition from the 

National List, or for materials which are 

due to expire under the sunset review 

process. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
54782 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 23, 2008 / Notices 

The Materials Committee will present 

its recommendation to remove materials 

tabled by the Board since 1992 from the 

table, allowing them to be eligible for 

possible reconsideration for inclusion 

on or prohibition from the National List. 

The Compliance, Accreditation, and 

Certification Committee will present 

their recommendations for use as 

guidance by accredited certifying agents 

on the certification of operations with 

multiple production units, sites, and 

facilities and for the labeling of products 

certified as 100 percent organic. 

The Compliance, Accreditation, and 

Certification and the Crops Committees 

will jointly present their 

recommendation offering guidance for 

accredited certifying agents regarding 

annual commercial availability 

determinations for the sourcing of 

organic seed by farmers under 

§ 205.204. 

The Crops Committee will present 

recommendations on the materials: 

Tetracycline (Oxytetracycline 

hydrochloride), Sorbitol octanoate, 

Pelargonic acid, and Ammonium salts of 

fatty acids petitioned for use on 

§ 205.601. 

The Livestock Committee will present 

recommendations on the use of fish feed 

and open net pens in regards to the 

development of organic aquaculture 

standards for finfish, and will present 

recommendations in regards to the 

development of organic aquaculture 

standards for bivalves. 

The Handling Committee will present 

their recommendations on the materials: 

Sodium chlorite, acidified, Calcium, 

derived from seaweed, Propionic acid, 

and Ethylene—for use in pears, 

petitioned for inclusion in § 205.605 for 

use in organic products. The Committee 

will present their recommendations on 

the materials: Black Pepper Extract, 

Buck Hull Powder, Dried Orange Pulp, 

Chlorella algae, Dumontiacae algae, 

petitioned for inclusion in § 205.606 for 

use in organic products depending on 

final commercial availability 

determinations performed by accredited 

certifying agents. The committee will 

also present their recommendation in 

regards to the development of organic 

standards for pet food. 

The meeting is open to the public. 

The NOSB has scheduled time for 

public input for Monday, November 17, 

2008, from 10:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 

Tuesday, November 18, 2008, from 3:15 

p.m. to 5 p.m. Individuals and 

organizations wishing to make oral 

presentations at the meeting may 

forward their requests by mail, 

facsimile, e-mail, 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: September 17, 2008. 

Lloyd C. Day, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–22149 Filed 9–22–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Research Service 

Notice of Intent To Grant Exclusive 

License 

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Agricultural Research Service, intends 

to grant to Gary W. Clem Inc. d/b/a 

ALMACO of Nevada, Iowa, an exclusive 

license to U.S. Patent No. 6,147,503, 

‘‘Method For The Simultaneous And 

Independent Determination Of Moisture 

Content And Density Of Particulate 

Materials From Radio-Frequency 

Permittivity Measurements’’, issued on 

November 14, 2000. 

DATES: (Federal Register) Comments 

must be received within thirty (30) days 

of the date of publication of this Notice 

in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to: USDA, 

ARS, Office of Technology Transfer, 

5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Rm. 4–1174, 

Beltsville, Maryland 20705–5131. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: June 

Blalock of the Office of Technology 

Transfer at the Beltsville address given 

above; telephone: 301–504–5989. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Government’s patent rights in 

this invention are assigned to the United 

States of America, as represented by the 

Secretary of Agriculture. It is in the 

public interest to so license this 

invention as Gary W. Clem Inc. d/b/a 

ALMACO of Nevada, Iowa has 

submitted a complete and sufficient 

application for a license. The 

prospective exclusive license will be 

royalty-bearing and will comply with 

the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 

209 and 37 CFR 404.7. The prospective 

exclusive license may be granted unless, 

within thirty (30) days from the date of 

this published Notice, the Agricultural 

Research Service receives written 

evidence and argument which 

establishes that the grant of the license 

would not be consistent with the 

requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 

37 CFR 404.7. 

Richard J. Brenner, 

Assistant Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–22196 Filed 9–22–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0102] 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Approval of an Information Collection; 

Importation of Christmas Cactus and 

Easter Cactus in Growing Media from 

the Netherlands and Denmark 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Extension of approval of an 

information collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service’s intention to 

request an extension of approval of an 

information collection associated with 

regulations for the importation of 

Christmas cactus and Easter cactus in 

growing media from the Netherlands 

and Denmark. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before November 

24, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2008-0102 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES