[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4919]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 4, 1994]


                                                    VOL. 59, NO. 43

                                              Friday, March 4, 1994
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1004

[Docket No. AO-160-A71; DA-93-30]

 

Milk in the Middle Atlantic Marketing Area; Hearing on Proposed 
Amendments to Tentative Marketing Agreement and Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public hearing on proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This hearing is being held to consider proposals to amend the 
Middle Atlantic milk marketing order. The proposals would amend 
provisions dealing with pooling qualifications for distributing plants 
and cooperative reserve processing plants, producer milk diverted to 
nonpool plants, and the qualification of pool plants under more than 
one Federal order. Two of the proposals would authorize the market 
administrator to adjust pool plant qualification standards and producer 
milk diversion limits to reflect changes in marketing conditions.

DATES: The hearing will convene at 9 a.m. local time on May 3, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at the Holiday Inn-Independence 
Mall, 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106, telephone 
(215) 923-8660.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gino M. Tosi, Marketing Specialist, 
USDA/AMS/Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, room 2971, South 
Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, (202) 720-7183.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This administrative action is governed by 
the provisions of Sections 556 and 557 of Title 5 of the United States 
Code and, therefore, is excluded from the requirements of Executive 
Order 12866.
    Notice is hereby given of a public hearing to be held at the 
Holiday Inn-Independence Mall, 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania 19106, telephone (215) 923-8660, beginning at 9 a.m. on 
May 3, 1994, with respect to proposed amendments to the tentative 
marketing agreement and to the order regulating the handling of milk in 
the aforesaid marketing area.
    The hearing is called pursuant to the provisions of the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674), and the applicable rules of practice and procedure governing the 
formulation of marketing agreements and marketing orders (7 CFR part 
900).
    The purpose of the hearing is to receive evidence with respect to 
the economic and marketing conditions which relate to the proposed 
amendments, hereinafter set forth, and any appropriate modifications 
thereof, to the tentative marketing agreement and to the order.
    Actions under the Federal milk order program are subject to the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354). This Act seeks to ensure 
that, within the statutory authority of a program, the regulatory and 
information requirements are tailored to the size and nature of small 
businesses. For the purpose of the Act, a dairy farm is a ``small 
business'' if it has an annual gross revenue of less than $500,000, and 
a dairy products manufacturer is a ``small business'' if it has fewer 
than 500 employees. Most parties subject to a milk order are considered 
as a small business. Accordingly, interested parties are invited to 
present evidence on the probable regulatory and informational impact of 
the hearing proposals on small businesses. Also, parties may suggest 
modifications of these proposals for the purpose of tailoring their 
applicability to small business.
    The amendments to the rules proposed herein have been reviewed 
under Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice Reform. They are not 
intended to have a retroactive effect. If adopted, the proposed 
amendments would not preempt any state or local laws, regulations, or 
policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with these 
rules.
    The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted 
before parties may file suit in court. Under Sec. 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 the law and requesting a modification of an order or to be 
exempted from the order. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a 
hearing on the petition. After a 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 
its principal place of business, has jurisdiction in equity to review 
the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is 
filed not later than 20 days after date of the entry of the ruling.
    Interested parties who wish to introduce exhibits should provide 
the Presiding Officer at the hearing with 6 copies of such exhibits for 
the Official Record. Also, it would be helpful if additional copies are 
available for the use of other participants at the hearing.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1004

    Milk marketing orders.

    The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1004 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Secs. 1-19, 48 Stat. 31 as amended; 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

    The proposed amendments, as set forth below, have not received the 
approval of the Secretary of Agriculture.

Proposed by Pennmarva Dairymen's Federation, Inc.

Proposal No. 1

    Amend Sec. 1004.7(a)(1) to exclude milk diverted as producer milk 
by either the plant operator or by a cooperative association from 
receipts used to calculate pool distributing plant qualification.

Proposal No. 2

    Delete Sec. 1004.7(a)(4), so that a plant changing from regulation 
under Order 4 to regulation under another Federal order will not be 
exempt from the provisions of Sec. 1004.7(a)(3).

Proposal No. 3

    Delete Sec. 1004.7(f)(2) to leave the determination of which order 
should regulate a plant with route disposition in more than one Federal 
milk order to the provisions of Sec. 1004.7(f)(1).

Proposal No. 4

    Change from 30 percent to 25 percent the percentage of a 
cooperative association's member milk that must be transferred from a 
cooperative-operated reserve processing plant to, or physically 
received from member producers at, pool distributing plants if the 
reserve processing plant is to qualify as a pool plant.

Proposal No. 5

    Add a new paragraph Sec. 1004.7(g) to allow the market 
administrator to increase or decrease the required percentage 
disposition or shipping requirements for pool qualification of 
distributing, supply or reserve processing plants at the market 
administrator's own initiative or at the request of interested parties.

Proposal No. 6

    Amend Sec. 1004.12(d) to more clearly define the pooling 
requirements for producer deliveries to pool plants and the status of 
producers whose marketing is interrupted by compliance with health 
regulations.

Proposal No. 7

    Amend Sec. 1004.12(d)(2)(i) to increase the permissible percentage 
of nonpool deliveries of member milk by a cooperative or federation of 
cooperative associations from a maximum of 50 percent of total volume 
of member milk to a maximum percentage of 55 percent.

Proposal No. 8

    Add a new paragraph Sec. 1004.12(g) to authorize the market 
administrator to increase or reduce the applicable shipping percentages 
of Sec. 1004.12(d)(2) (i) and (ii).

Proposed by Johanna Dairies Incorporated

Proposal No. 9

    Amend Sec. 1004.12(d)(2)(ii) to increase the permissible percentage 
of nonpool deliveries for nonmember milk from a maximum of 40 percent 
of the total nonmember milk to a maximum percentage of 45 percent.

Proposed by Dairy Division, Agricultural Marketing Service

Proposal No. 10

    Make such changes as may be necessary to make the entire marketing 
agreement and order conform with any amendments thereto that may result 
from this hearing.
    Copies of this notice of hearing and the order may be procured from 
the Market Administrator of the Middle Atlantic marketing area, or from 
the Hearing Clerk, room 1083, South Building, United States Department 
of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, or may be inspected there.
    Copies of the transcript of testimony taken at the hearing will not 
be available for distribution through the Hearing Clerk's Office. If 
you wish to purchase a copy, arrangements may be made with the reporter 
at the hearing.
    From the time that a hearing notice is issued and until the 
issuance of a final decision in a proceeding, Department employees 
involved in the decisional process are prohibited from discussing the 
merits of the hearing issues on an ex parte basis with any person 
having an interest in the proceeding. For this particular proceeding, 
the prohibition applies to employees in the following organizational 
units:

Office of the Secretary of Agriculture,
Office of the Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service,
Office of the General Counsel,
Dairy Division, Agricultural Marketing Service (Washington office 
only),
Office of the Market Administrator, Middle Atlantic Marketing Area.

    Procedural matters are not subject to the above prohibition and may 
be discussed at any time.

    Dated: February 25, 1994.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-4919 Filed 3-3-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-M