[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1905]


[Federal Register: January 28, 1994]


                                                    VOL. 59, NO. 19

                                           Friday, January 28, 1994
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1210

RIN 0581-AB08
[FV-93-705PR]


Watermelon Research and Promotion Plan; Rules and Regulations; 
Realignment of Districts

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would change the boundaries of five of the 
seven districts established under the Watermelon Research and Promotion 
Plan (Plan) to apportion membership on the National Watermelon 
Promotion Board (Board). This action is necessary to reflect shifts in 
production since the original districts were established. The Plan 
requires the periodic realignment of the districts based on shifts in 
production to ensure equitable representation of producers and handlers 
on the Board.

DATES: Comments must be received by February 28, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposed rule to: Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable 
Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2535-S, Washington, DC 20090-
6456. Three copies of all written materials should be submitted, and 
they will be made available for public inspection in the Office of the 
Docket Clerk during regular working hours. All comments should 
reference the docket number of this issue of the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sonia N. Jimenez, Research and 
Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 
96456, room 2535-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone (202) 720-
9916.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule is issued under the 
Watermelon Research and Promotion Plan (Plan) (7 CFR part 1210). The 
Plan is authorized under the Watermelon Research and Promotion Act (7 
U.S.C. 4901-4916), hereinafter referred to as the Act.
    The Department is issuing this proposed rule in conformance with 
Executive Order 12866.
    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil 
Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. This 
rule would 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 1650 of the Act, a 
person subject to the Plan may file a petition with the Secretary 
stating that the Plan or any provision of the Plan, or any obligation 
imposed in connection with the Plan, is not in accordance with law and 
requesting a modification of the Plan or an exemption from the Plan. 
The petitioner is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the 
petition. After such hearing, the Secretary will make a ruling on the 
petition. The Act provides that the district courts of the United 
States in any district in which a person who is a petitioner resides or 
carries on business are vested with jurisdiction to review the 
Secretary's ruling on the petition, if a complaint for that purpose is 
filed within 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service 
(AMS) has considered the economic impact of this 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.
    There are approximately 750 watermelon handlers and 5,000 
watermelon producers in the contiguous 48 States of the United States 
who are subject to the Plan. Small agricultural service firms are 
defined by the Small Business Administration [13 CFR 121.601] as those 
having annual receipts of less than $3,500,000 and small agricultural 
producers are defined as those having annual receipts of less than 
$500,000. The majority of watermelon handlers and producers may be 
classified as small entities.
    The Administrator of AMS has determined that this action would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

Paperwork Reduction

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (40 U.S.C. 
chapter 35), the information collection requirements contained in the 
Plan have previously been approved by the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) and assigned OMB number 0581-0093, except for the Board 
nominee background statement form which is assigned OMB number 0505-
0001. This action adds no additional reporting burden.

Background

    Under the Plan, the National Watermelon Promotion Board (Board) 
administers a nationally coordinated program of research, development, 
advertising, and promotion designed to strengthen the watermelon's 
position in the market place and to establish, maintain, and expand 
markets for domestic watermelons. This program is financed by 
assessments on all producers, except those persons engaged in the 
growing of less than five acres of watermelons, and handlers of 
watermelons. The Plan specifies that handlers are responsible for 
collecting and submitting both the producer and handler assessments to 
the Board, reporting their handling of watermelons, and maintaining 
records necessary to verify their reportings.
    Membership on the Board is determined on the basis of two producers 
and two handlers for each of seven districts established under the 
Plan. The districts are required to have approximately equal annual 
production volume. The initial (and current) districts were based on a 
three-year average production derived from U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) Crop Production Annual Summary Reports for 1979, 
1980, and 1981.
    These districts are:
    District #1--South Florida, including all areas south of State 
Highway 50.
    District #2--North Florida, including all areas north of State 
Highway 50.
    District #3--The States of Alabama and Georgia.
    District #4--The States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North 
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, 
Virginia, and West Virginia.
    District #5--The States of Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, 
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri, 
Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, 
and Wisconsin.
    District #6--The State of Texas.
    District #7--The States of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, 
Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
    The Plan provides that two years after its effective date (June 8, 
1989) and at least every five years thereafter, the Board should review 
the districts to determine whether realignment of districts is 
necessary.
    When making such reviews, the Plan specifies that the Board should 
consider such factors as the most recent three-year USDA production 
reports or Board assessment reports, if USDA production reports are 
unavailable, shifts and trends in quantities of watermelons produced, 
and any other relevant factors.
    The Plan further specifies that, as a result of such reviews, the 
Board may realign the districts subject to the approval of the 
Secretary. Any such alignment should be recommended by the Board at 
least six months prior to the date of the call for nominations and 
should become effective at least 30 days prior to such date.
    In accordance with the Plan, the Board appointed a subcommittee to 
review production and assessment collections in the current districts. 
During the review, the subcommittee used USDA and State production and 
marketing reports, as well as data derived from Board assessment 
reports and field notes. The subcommittee focused on information 
collected between 1990 and 1992.
    After reviewing the available information, the subcommittee 
recommended that the boundaries of Districts 3 through 7 be changed and 
that Districts 1 and 2 remain unchanged. In order for each district to 
represent approximately 3 million hundredweights of annual watermelon 
production, the subcommittee's recommendation would: move Mississippi 
from District 5 to District 3; move Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee 
from District 5 to District 4; move Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, 
Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California north of San Luis Obispo, 
Kern, and San Bernadino counties from District 7 to District 5; move 
Arkansas and Louisiana from District 5 to District 6; and move New 
Mexico from District 5 to District 7.
    The subcommittee's recommendation was approved by the Board's 
executive committee, and the full Board voted by mail ballot. In the 
mail ballot, 19 members voted ``yes,'' 4 members voted ``no,'' and 5 
members did not return a ballot.
    Therefore, this proposal would realign the districts as follows:
    District #1--South Florida, including all areas south of State 
Highway 50.
    District #2--North Florida, including all areas north of State 
Highway 50.
    District #3--The States of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
    District #4--The States of Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, 
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New 
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
    District #5--The States of California--north of San Luis Obispo, 
Kern, and San Bernardino counties, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, 
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, 
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and 
Wyoming.
    District #6--The States of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
    District #7--The State of Arizona, the remainder of the State of 
California, including San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino 
counties, and the State of New Mexico.
    The Board has recommended that the new districts become effective 
for the three-year term of office which begins on January 1, 1995. If 
adopted, this proposal would affect the eligibility of three current 
Board members and could necessitate Board member nomination meetings 
for Districts 4, 5, 6, and 7 in spring 1994. In the normal cycle of 
nominating approximately one-third of the Board members each year, 
spring 1994 nomination meetings were already planned for Districts 2 
and 3.
    In addition, if this proposal is adopted, it will be necessary to 
make a conforming change to Sec. 1210.401. Section 1210.401 currently 
states that the districts are defined in Sec. 1210.320 of the Plan. 
Since, this rule would define new district boundaries in a new 
Sec. 1210.501, this rule would also change Sec. 1210.401(b) to reflect 
this new section number.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1210

    Advertising, Agricultural practice and procedure, Agricultural 
research, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Watermelons.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 1210, chapter XI of 
title 7 is proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 1210--WATERMELON RESEARCH AND PROMOTION PLAN

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 1210 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4901-4916.

    2. In Sec. 1210.401(b), the words ``1210.320'' in the last sentence 
are revised to read ``1210.501''.
    3. A new Sec. 1210.501 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 1210.501  Realignment of districts.

    Pursuant to Sec. 1210.320(c) of the Plan, the districts shall be as 
follows:
    District #1--South Florida, including all areas south of State 
Highway 50.
    District #2--North Florida, including all areas north of State 
Highway 50.
    District #3--The States of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
    District #4--The States of Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, 
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New 
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
    District #5--The States of California--north of San Luis Obispo, 
Kern, and San Bernardino counties, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, 
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, 
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and 
Wyoming.
    District #6--The States of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
    District #7--The State of Arizona, the remainder of the State of 
California, including San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino 
counties, and the State of New Mexico.

    Dated: January 20, 1994.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-1905 Filed 1-27-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P