This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

49087 

Vol. 82, No. 204 

Tuesday, October 24, 2017 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 983 

[Docket No. AMS–SC–17–0048; SC17–983– 

2 IR] 

Pistachios Grown in California, 

Arizona, and New Mexico; Decreased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule implements a 

recommendation from the 

Administrative Committee for 

Pistachios (Committee) for a decrease in 

the assessment rate established for the 

2017–18 and subsequent production 

years from $0.0010 to $0.0001 per 

pound of assessed weight pistachios 

handled under the marketing order 

(order). The Committee locally 

administers the order and is comprised 

of producers and handlers of pistachios 

operating within the area of production, 

and a public member. Assessments 

upon pistachio handlers are used by the 

Committee to fund reasonable and 

necessary expenses of the program. The 

production year begins September 1 and 

ends August 31. The assessment rate 

will remain in effect indefinitely unless 

modified, suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Effective October 24, 2017. 

Comments received by December 26, 

2017, will be considered prior to 

issuance of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order and Agreement Division, 

Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938; or internet: http://

www.regulations.gov. 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, or can be viewed at: 

http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments submitted in response to this 

rule will be included in the record and 

will be made available to the public. 

Please be advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting 

comments will be made public on the 

internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Peter R. Sommers, Marketing Specialist, 

or Jeffrey Smutny, Regional Director, 

California Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Specialty Crops Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559) 487– 

5901, Fax: (559) 487–5906, or Email: 

PeterR.Sommers@ams.usda.gov or 

Jeffrey.Smutny@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Richard Lower, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Specialty Crops Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Richard.Lower@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Agreement 

and Order No. 983, both as amended (7 

CFR part 983), regulating the handling 

of pistachios grown in California, 

Arizona, and New Mexico, 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.’’ 

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Orders 

13563 and 13175. 

This rule does not meet the definition 

of a significant regulatory action 

contained in section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866 and is not subject to review 

by the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB). Additionally, because 

this rule does not meet the definition of 

a significant regulatory action, it does 

not trigger the requirements contained 

in Executive Order 13771. See OMB’s 

Memorandum titled ‘‘Interim Guidance 

Implementing Section 2 of the Executive 

Order of January 30, 2017, titled 

‘Reducing Regulation and Controlling 

Regulatory Costs’ ’’ (February 2, 2017). 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. Under the order now in effect, 

California, Arizona, and New Mexico 

pistachio handlers are subject to 

assessments. Funds to administer the 

order are derived from such 

assessments. It is intended that the 

assessment rate as issued herein will be 

applicable to all assessable pistachios 

beginning September 1, 2017, and 

continue until amended, suspended, or 

terminated. 

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 USDA 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. Such 

handler is afforded the opportunity for 

a hearing on the petition. After the 

hearing, USDA 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 to 

review USDA’s ruling on the petition, 

provided an action is filed not later than 

20 days after the date of the entry of the 

ruling. 

This rule decreases the assessment 

rate established for the Committee for 

the 2017–18 and subsequent production 

years from $0.0010 to $0.0001 per 

pound of assessed weight pistachios. 

The order provides authority for the 

Committee, with the approval of USDA, 

to formulate an annual budget of 

expenses and collect assessments from 

handlers to administer the program. The 

members of the Committee are 

producers and handlers of California, 

Arizona, and New Mexico pistachios. 

The Committee also has a public 

member and an alternate public member 

who have no proprietary involvement 

with the industry. The producers and 

handlers are familiar with the 

Committee’s needs and with the costs 

for goods and services in their local area 

and are thus in a position to formulate 

an appropriate budget and assessment 

rate. The assessment rate is formulated 

and discussed in a public meeting. 


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Thus, all directly affected persons have 

an opportunity to participate and 

provide input. 

For the 2016–17 and subsequent 

production years, the Committee 

recommended, and USDA approved, an 

assessment rate that would continue in 

effect from production year to 

production year unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated by USDA 

upon recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

information available to USDA. 

The Committee met on July 10, 2017, 

and unanimously recommended 2017– 

18 expenditures of $672,900, and met 

again on August 1, 2017, to deliberate 

and recommend the 2017–18 

assessment rate. At that time, the 

Committee recommended an assessment 

rate of $0.0001 per pound of assessed 

weight pistachios by majority vote. In 

comparison, last year’s budgeted 

expenditures were $922,500, and the 

assessment rate was $0.0010 per pound 

of pistachios. The assessment rate of 

$0.0001 is $0.0009 lower than the rate 

currently in effect. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2017–18 production year include 

$351,000 for salaries and benefits, 

$125,000 for research, and $80,400 for 

general and administrative expenses. 

Budgeted expenses for these items in 

the 2016–17 production year were 

$351,000, $375,000, and $80,000, 

respectively. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by dividing 

anticipated expenses by expected 

shipments of California, Arizona, and 

New Mexico pistachios. Pistachio 

shipments for the production year are 

estimated at 550 million pounds which 

should provide $55,000 in assessment 

income. Income derived from handler 

assessments, along with interest income, 

California Pistachio Research Board 

(CPRB) management income, and funds 

from the Committee’s authorized 

reserve, will be adequate to cover 

budgeted expenses. Funds in the reserve 

will be kept within the maximum limit 

permitted by the order, which is 

approximately two production years’ 

budgeted expenses as stated in 

§ 983.74(a)(2). 

The assessment rate established in 

this rule will continue in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated by USDA 

upon recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

available information. 

Although this assessment rate is 

effective for an indefinite period, the 

Committee will continue to meet prior 

to or during each production year to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations for 

modification of the assessment rate. The 

dates and times of Committee meetings 

are available from the Committee or 

USDA. Committee meetings are open to 

the public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

USDA will evaluate Committee 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking will be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2017–18 production year 

budget and those for subsequent 

production years will be reviewed and, 

as appropriate, approved by USDA. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

rule on small entities. Accordingly, 

AMS has prepared this initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

businesses subject to such actions in 

order that small businesses will not be 

unduly or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are 18 handlers subject to 

regulation under the order and 

approximately 1,236 producers of 

pistachios in the production area. The 

Small Business Administration defines 

small agricultural service firms as those 

whose annual receipts are less than 

$7,500,000 and small agricultural 

producers as those having annual 

receipts less than $750,000 (13 CFR 

121.201). 

Based on Committee data, it is 

estimated that about 50 percent of the 

handlers annually ship less than 

$7,500,000 worth of pistachios. Nine of 

the 18 (50 percent) regulated handlers 

received enough pistachios at an 

average price of $2.50 per pound to be 

considered large handlers, leaving the 

percentage of small handlers at 50 

percent. 

The National Agricultural Statistics 

Service (NASS) 2012 data on pistachio 

farm size indicates that there were 1,305 

pistachio farms, of which 945, or 72 

percent, were less than 100 acres. NASS 

2016 annual production data indicates 

that the per-acre production of 

pistachios was 3,750 pounds. At an 

average value of $1.68 per pound, each 

acre of pistachios could return $6,300. 

In order for a producer to have $750,000 

in annual receipts, the producer would 

have to have at least 119 acres. Thus, 

the majority of handlers and producers 

in the production area may be classified 

as small entities. 

This rule decreases the assessment 

rate established for the Committee and 

collected from handlers for the 2017–18 

and subsequent production years from 

$0.0010 to $0.0001 per pound of 

pistachios handled. The Committee 

unanimously recommended 2017–18 

expenditures of $672,900, and 

recommended an assessment rate of 

$0.0001 per pound of assessed weight 

pistachios, by majority vote. The new 

assessment rate is $0.0009 lower than 

the rate currently in effect. The quantity 

of assessable pistachios for the 2017–18 

production year is estimated at 550 

million pounds. Thus, the $0.0001 rate 

should provide $55,000 in assessment 

income. Income derived from handler’s 

assessments, along with interest income, 

CPRB management income, and funds 

from the Committee’s authorized 

reserve, will be adequate to cover 

expenses for the 2017–18 production 

year. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2017–18 production year include 

$351,000 for salaries and benefits, 

$125,000 for research, and $80,400 for 

general and administrative expenses. 

Budgeted expenses for these items in 

the 2016–17 production year were 

$351,000, $375,000, and $80,000, 

respectively. 

The assessment rate decrease is 

necessary to ensure the Committee’s 

financial reserve remains within the 

limit specified under the order. 

In addition, the Committee had 

funded research pertaining to Sterile 

Insect Technology (SIT) for Navel 

Orangeworm control during the 2016– 

2017 production year. Beginning with 

the 2017–18 production year, the CPRB 

will fully fund the SIT research, 

removing that financial burden from the 

committee. For this reason, the 

Committee recommended decreasing 

the assessment rate from $0.0010 to 

$0.0001, by majority vote. The income 

generated from the lower assessment 

rate combined with interest income, 

CPRB management income, and funds 

from the financial reserve should 

provide sufficient income to cover 

anticipated 2017–18 expenses and 

maintain the financial reserve within 

the limit specified under the order. 

Prior to arriving at this budget and 

assessment rate, the Committee 

considered information from various 

sources. Alternative expenditure levels 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 24, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 49089 

were discussed, based upon the relative 

value of various activities to the 

pistachio industry. The Committee 

ultimately determined that the 2017–18 

production year expenses of $672,900 

were prudent, and the assessment 

income provided by the reduced rate, 

interest income, CPRB management 

income, and funds from the financial 

reserve, would permit the Committee to 

meet its expenses, while not adding to 

the financial reserve. 

According to data from NASS, the 

season average producer price was $3.29 

per pound of assessed weight pistachios 

in 2015 and $1.68 per pound in 2016. 

A review of historical and preliminary 

information pertaining to the upcoming 

production year indicates that the 

producer revenue for the 2017–18 

production year could range between 

$924,000,000 and $1,809,500,000. 

Therefore, the estimated assessment 

revenue for the 2017–18 production 

year as a percentage of total producer 

revenue could range between 0.00003 

and 0.00006 percent. 

This action decreases the assessment 

obligation imposed on handlers. 

Assessments are applied uniformly on 

all handlers, and some of the costs may 

be passed on to producers. However, 

decreasing the assessment rate reduces 

the burden on handlers, and may reduce 

the burden on producers. Additionally, 

the Committee’s meetings were widely 

publicized throughout the California, 

Arizona, and New Mexico pistachio 

industry, and all interested persons 

were invited to attend the meetings and 

encouraged to participate in Committee 

deliberations on all issues. Like all 

Committee meetings, the July 10, 2017, 

and August 1, 2017, meetings were 

public meetings and all entities, both 

large and small, were able to express 

views on this issue. Finally, interested 

persons are invited to submit comments 

on this interim rule, including the 

regulatory and informational impacts of 

this action on small businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by OMB and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0215, 

‘‘Vegetable and Specialty Crop 

Marketing Orders.’’ No changes in those 

requirements as a result of this action 

are necessary. Should any changes 

become necessary, they would be 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

This action imposes no additional 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on either small or large California, 

Arizona, and New Mexico pistachio 

handlers. As with all Federal marketing 

order programs, reports and forms are 

periodically reviewed to reduce 

information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/ 

rules-regulations/moa/small-businesses. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Richard Lower 

at the previously mentioned address in 

the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendation 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, it is hereby found 

that this rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because handlers are aware of this rule, 

which was recommended at a public 

meeting. This interim rule provides for 

a 60-day comment period, and all 

comments timely received will be 

considered prior to finalization of this 

rule. The decreased assessment rate is 

necessary to fund reasonable and 

necessary expenses of the program, 

while keeping the funds in the reserve 

within the maximum limit permitted by 

the order. Moreover, the decreased 

assessment rate reduces the economic 

burden on handlers. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 983 

Marketing agreements, Pistachios, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 983 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 983—PISTACHIOS GROWN IN 

CALIFORNIA, ARIZONA, AND NEW 

MEXICO 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 983 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

§§ 983.1 through 983.92 [Designated as 

Subpart A] 

■ 2. Designate §§ 983.1 through 983.92 

as subpart A and add a heading for 

subpart A to read as follows: 

Subpart A—Order Regulating Handling 

[Subpart Redesignated as Subpart B 

and Amended] 

■ 3. Redesignate ‘‘Subpart—Rules and 

Regulations’’ as subpart B and revise the 

heading to read as follows: 

Subpart B—Administrative 

Requirements 

[Subpart Redesignated as Subpart C] 

■ 4. Redesignate ‘‘Subpart—Assessment 

Rate’’ as subpart C. 

■ 5. Section 983.253 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 983.253 Assessment rate. 

On and after September 1, 2017, an 

assessment rate of $0.0001 per pound is 

established for California, Arizona, and 

New Mexico pistachios. 

Dated: October 16, 2017. 

Bruce Summers, 

Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22711 Filed 10–23–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

12 CFR Part 34 

[Docket No. OCC–2017–0024] 

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 

12 CFR Part 225 

[Docket No. OP–1577] 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

12 CFR Part 323 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 722 

Temporary Exceptions to the Financial 

Institutions Reform, Recovery, and 

Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) 

Appraisal Requirements in Areas 

Affected by Severe Storms and 

Flooding Related to Hurricanes 

Harvey, Irma, and Maria 

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, Treasury (OCC); Board of 


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