[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 21, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43186-43188]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21211]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 163 / Wednesday, August 21, 1996 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 43186]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 929

[Docket No. FV-96-929-2PR]


Cranberries Grown in the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, 
Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York; Change in 
Reporting Requirements

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This proposal invites comments on a change to the reporting 
requirements currently prescribed under the cranberry marketing order. 
This rule also announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) 
intention to request a revision to the currently approved information 
collection requirements issued under the marketing order. The marketing 
order regulates the handling of cranberries grown in 10 States and is 
administered locally by the Cranberry Marketing Committee (committee). 
This rule would allow the committee to collect receipt and inventory 
information from handlers on a different species of cranberries. This 
rule would provide more accurate information to the cranberry industry 
to be used in making marketing decisions.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 20, 1996. Pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, comments to the information collection burden 
must be received by October 21, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this proposal. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the 
Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, 
P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456, Fax # (202) 720-5698. All 
comments should reference the docket number and the date and page 
number of this issue of the Federal Register and will be made available 
for public inspection in the Office of the Docket Clerk during regular 
business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia A. Petrella or Kathleen M. 
Finn, Marketing Specialists, Marketing Order Administration Branch, 
F&V, AMS, USDA, room 2522-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456: 
telephone: (202) 720-1509, Fax # (202) 720-5698.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal is issued under Marketing 
Order No. 929 (7 CFR Part 929), as amended, regulating the handling of 
cranberries grown in 10 States, 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 (Department) is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
    This proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect. 
This proposal will 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 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 law and request a modification of the order or to be exempted 
therefrom. A handler is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the 
petition. After the 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 his or her 
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.
    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the AMS has considered the economic impact of this action 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. Marketing orders issued 
pursuant to the Act, and rules issued thereunder, are unique in that 
they are brought about through group action of essentially small 
entities acting on their own behalf. Thus, both statutes have small 
entity orientation and compatibility.
    There are approximately 25 handlers of cranberries who are subject 
to regulation under the marketing order and approximately 1,400 
producers of cranberries in the regulated area. Small agricultural 
service firms, which includes handlers, have been defined by the Small 
Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those having annual 
receipts of less than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are 
defined as those having annual receipts of less than $500,000. The 
majority of handlers and producers of cranberries may be classified as 
small entities. Interested persons are invited to submit information on 
the regulatory and informational impacts of this action on small 
businesses.
    Handlers are already required to complete a form four times a year 
reporting all regulated cranberries on hand for a specified period, all 
cranberries acquired and sold, and the new balance of cranberries on 
hand. This rule would necessitate adding data to this form requiring 
information on a new variety of cranberries not regulated under the 
order. The form has an estimated burden time of two hours. No 
additional burden time would be added to this form to acquire this 
information. In addition, because the industry relies on the 
comprehensive information provided by the committee, it is critical 
that the committee obtain accurate information. This information would 
be used in making marketing decisions and the additional burden on 
handlers, if any, would not be significant.
    Therefore, the AMS has determined that this action would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    This proposal invites comments on a change to the reporting 
requirements currently prescribed under the cranberry marketing order. 
This rule would allow the committee to collect receipt and inventory 
information from

[[Page 43187]]

handlers on a different species of cranberries. This rule would provide 
more accurate information to the cranberry industry to be used in 
making marketing decisions. The committee unanimously recommended the 
above change.
    This request for this information would be incorporated on the 
handler inventory report, a form already used by the committee. The 
request of this information should not constitute a significant burden 
on a business unit, large or small. Currently, the estimated reporting 
burden per response for the handler inventory report is two hours. The 
burden time will not change with the additional data request.
    Section 929.62(e) of the cranberry marketing order provides 
authority to require handlers to furnish to the committee information 
with respect to acquisitions and dispositions of cranberries. This 
section also provides authority to require handlers to file reports to 
the committee as to the quantity of cranberries handled by such handler 
during any designated period.
    Under the marketing order, cranberries are defined as all varieties 
of the fruit Vaccinium macrocarpon grown in the production area. In 
1995, the cranberry industry experienced a short crop coupled with 
increased demand. To replace the shortage of Vaccinium macrocarpon, 
handlers have supplemented their inventories with Vaccinium oxycoccus 
which is a European species of cranberry, recognized by the Food and 
Drug Administration as a cranberry. Because of the increase in volume 
of this species of cranberry, it is important to the cranberry industry 
to know the amount of Vaccinium oxycoccus that is being acquired and 
utilized by handlers.
    The order authorizes the committee to recommend limiting the 
quantities of cranberries which may be handled during any fiscal 
period. The Secretary would establish a volume regulation based on 
information received from the committee if the Secretary found that 
such regulation would effectuate the declared policy of the Act. The 
committee is considered by the industry as the source for comprehensive 
cranberry related data, primarily data relating to production, 
supplies, utilization and inventories. Therefore, it is critical to the 
committee to receive comprehensive information on cranberries.
    The committee would be able to use this information on Vaccinium 
oxycoccus when considering its decisions to implement volume regulation 
within the industry. Since this species is not regulated under the 
order, the committee would need to know the quantities and which 
handlers have acquired Vaccinium oxycoccus in order to keep the data on 
the non-regulated species separate and apart from the data on the 
regulated species, Vaccinium macrocarpon.
    Therefore, the committee recommended that section 929.105 be 
revised by adding a new subparagraph (c) that would require that 
handlers should also report on the same form as currently filed with 
the committee, the total quantity of Vaccinium oxycoccus cranberries 
the handler acquired and the disposition of such cranberries. Also, the 
handler would be required to report the respective quantities of 
Vaccinium oxycoccus cranberries and cranberry products held by the 
handler.
    The committee and its staff are responsible for keeping information 
on individual handlers' inventories and receipt confidential. 
Information gathered by the committee, including information relating 
to supplies of this non-regulated species of cranberries, would only be 
reported in the aggregate, along with other pertinent cranberry data.
    A 30-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to 
respond to this proposal. All written comments timely received will be 
considered before a final determination is made on this matter.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35), the AMS announces its intention to request a revision to a 
currently approved information collection for cranberries.
    Title: Cranberries Grown in the States of Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oregon, 
Washington, and Long Island in the State of New York, Marketing Order 
No. 929.
    OMB Number: 0581-0103.
    Expiration Date of Approval: March 31, 1998.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: The information collection requirements in this request 
are essential to carry out the intent of the Act, to provide the 
respondents the type of service they request, and to administer the 
program.
    This proposed rule would establish a requirement that each handler 
report four times a year, on a revised report provided by the 
committee, showing receipt and inventory information on a different 
species of cranberries. This information collection would provide more 
accurate information to the cranberry industry to be used in making 
marketing decisions.
    The information collected is used only by authorized 
representatives of the USDA, including AMS, Fruit and Vegetable 
Division regional and headquarters staff, and employees of the 
committee. Committee employees are the primary users of the information 
and AMS employees are the secondary users.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting for this proposed collection 
of information will not change the current form's estimated burden time 
of two hours.
    Respondents: Handlers of cranberries grown in the States of 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Long Island in the State 
of New York.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1083.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 4.
    Estimated Total Burden on Respondents: 874 hours.
    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the functioning of the cranberry marketing 
order and the USDA's oversight of the program; (2) the accuracy of the 
collection burden estimate and the validity of methodology and 
assumptions used in estimating the burden on respondents; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information requested; 
and (4) ways to minimize the burden, including use of automated or 
electronic technologies.
    Comments must be received by October 21, 1996. Comments should 
reference OMB No. 0581-0103 and the Cranberry Marketing Order No. 929, 
and be submitted to Kathleen M. Finn at the above address. All comments 
received will be available for public inspection during regular 
business hours at the same address. All responses to this note will be 
summarized and included in the request for OMB approval.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 929

    Marketing agreements, Cranberries, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 929 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:
    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 929 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

[[Page 43188]]

PART 929--CRANBERRIES GROWN IN THE STATES OF MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE 
ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW JERSEY, WISCONSIN, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, 
OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND LONG ISLAND IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK


Sec. 929.105  [Amended]

    2. Section 929.105 is amended in paragraph (b) by adding the words 
``and Vaccinium oxycoccus cranberries'' after the word ``cranberries'' 
everywhere the word appears and by adding the words ``and Vaccinium 
oxycoccus cranberry products'' after the words ``cranberry products.''

    Dated: August 14, 1996.
Robert C. Keeney,
Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.
[FR Doc. 96-21211 Filed 8-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P