[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 145 (Friday, July 28, 1995)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 38767-38768] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 95-18593] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service 7 CFR Part 1137 [DA-95-21] Milk in the Eastern Colorado Marketing Area; Notice of Proposed Suspension of Certain Provisions of the Order AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Proposed suspension of rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This document invites written comments on a proposal to suspend certain performance standards of the Eastern Colorado Federal milk order. The suspension was requested by Mid-America Dairymen, Inc., a cooperative association that supplies milk for the market's fluid needs. The suspension was requested to prevent uneconomic milk movements that otherwise would be required to maintain pool status for milk of producers who have been historically associated with the order. DATES: Comments are due no later than August 17, 1995. ADDRESSES: Comments (two copies) should be filed with the USDA/AMS/ Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, Room 2968, South Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clifford M. Carman, Marketing Specialist, USDA/AMS/Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, Room 2968, South Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, (202) 720-9368. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) requires the Agency to examine the impact of a proposed rule on small entities. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service has certified that this proposed action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Such action would lessen the regulatory impact of the order on certain milk handlers and would tend to ensure that dairy farmers would continue to have their milk priced under the order and thereby receive the benefits that accrue from such pricing. [[Page 38768]] The Department is issuing this proposed rule in conformance with Executive Order 12866. This proposed suspension has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have a retroactive effect. If adopted, this proposed rule will not preempt any state or local laws, regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable conflict with the rule. The Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601- 674), 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 the Secretary a petition stating that the order, any provisions of the order, or any obligation imposed in connection with the order is not in accordance with law and requesting a modification of the 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 the date of the entry of the ruling. Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the provisions of the Act, the suspension of the following provisions of the order regulating the handling of milk in the Eastern Colorado marketing area is being considered: 1. For the months of September 1, 1995, through February 29, 1996: In Sec. 1137.7(b), the second sentence is amended by suspending the words ``plant which has qualified as a'' and ``of March through August''; and 2. For the months of September 1, 1995, through August 31, 1996: In Sec. 1137.12(a)(1), the first sentence is amended by suspending the words ``from whom at least three deliveries of milk are received during the month at a distributing pool plant''; and in the second sentence ``30 percent in the months of March, April, May, June, July, and December and 20 percent in other months of'', and the word ``distributing''. All persons who want to send written data, views or arguments about the proposed suspension should send two copies to USDA/AMS/Dairy Division, Order Formulation Branch, Room 2971, South Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, by the 20th day after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The period for filing comments is limited to 20 days because a longer period would not provide the time needed to complete the required procedures before the requested suspension is to be effective. All written submissions made pursuant to this notice will be made available for public inspection in the Dairy Division during normal business hours (7 CFR 1.27(b)). Statement of Consideration The proposed rule would suspend certain portions of the pool plant and producer definitions of the Eastern Colorado order. The proposed suspension would make it easier for handlers to qualify milk for pooling under the order. The proposed suspension was requested by Mid-America Dairyman, Inc. (Mid-Am), a cooperative association that has pooled milk of dairy farmers on the Eastern Colorado order for several years. Mid-Am has requested the suspension to prevent the uneconomic and inefficient movement of milk for the sole purpose of pooling the milk of producers who have been historically associated with the Eastern Colorado order. Mid-Am requests, for the months of September 1995 through February 1996, the removal of the restriction on the months when automatic pool plant status applies for supply plants. Mid-Am also proposes that, for the months of September 1995 through August 1996, the touch-base requirement not apply and the diversion allowance for cooperatives be raised. These provisions have been suspended previously in order to maintain the pool status of producers who have historically supplied the fluid needs of Eastern Colorado distributing plants. Mid-Am states that the marketing conditions that justified the prior suspensions continue to exist. Mid-Am asserts that they have made a commitment to meet the fluid milk requirements of distributing plants if the suspension request is granted. Without the suspension, Mid-Am contends that it will be necessary to ship milk from distant farms to Denver-area bottling plants to qualify milk for pooling. The distant milk will displace locally-produced milk that would then have to be shipped from the Denver area to manufacturing plants located in outlying areas. In addition, Mid-Am maintains that ample supplies of locally- produced milk that can be delivered directly to distributing plants will be available to meet the market's fluid needs without requiring shipments from supply plants. Mid-Am also claims that neither the elimination of the touch-base requirement for producers nor the increase in the amount of milk that can be diverted to nonpool plants by a cooperative should jeopardize the needs of the market's fluid processors. Accordingly, it may be appropriate to suspend the aforesaid provisions for the time periods stated. List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1137 Milk marketing orders. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 1137 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674. Dated: July 24, 1995. Lon Hatamiya, Administrator. [FR Doc. 95-18593 Filed 7-27-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P