[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 26 (Monday, February 9, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6498-6499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3285]


 ========================================================================
 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. 63, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 1998 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 6498]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 205

[TM-98-00-2]


National Organic Program; Extension of Comment Period on Proposed 
Rule

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of comment period on the National Organic Program 
proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is extending the 
public comment period on the proposed rule to establish a National 
Organic Program (NOP) from March 16, 1998 to April 30, 1998. This 
proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on December 16, 
1997.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on 
this proposal to: Eileen S. Stommes, Deputy Administrator, USDA-AMS-TM-
NOP, Room 4007 South Building, Ag Stop 0275, P.O. Box 96456, 
Washington, D.C. 20090-6456. Comments also may be sent by fax to (202) 
690-4632. Additionally, comments may be sent via the Internet through 
NOP's homepage at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop. See the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION for further details on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael I. Hankin, Senior Agricultural 
Marketing Specialist, USDA-AMS-TM-NOP, Room 2510 South Building, P.O. 
Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456; Telephone: (202) 720-3252; Fax: 
(202) 690-3924.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose

    A proposed rule to establish a NOP was published in the Federal 
Register (62 FR 65849) on December 16, 1997. The program is proposed 
under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, as amended (7 U.S.C. 
6501 et. seq.), which requires the establishment of national standards 
governing the marketing of certain agricultural products as organically 
produced to facilitate commerce in fresh and processed food that is 
organically produced and to assure consumers that such products meet 
consistent standards. This program would establish national standards 
for the organic production and handling of agricultural products, which 
would include a National List of synthetic substances approved for use 
in the production and handling of organically produced products. It 
also would establish an accreditation program for State officials and 
private persons who want to be accredited to certify farm, wild crop 
harvesting, and handling operations that comply with the program's 
requirements, and a certification program for farm, wild crop 
harvesting, and handling operations that want to be certified as 
meeting the program's requirements. The program additionally would 
include labeling requirements for organic products and products 
containing organic ingredients, and enforcement provisions. Further, 
the proposed rule provides for the approval of State organic programs 
and the importation into the United States of organic agricultural 
products from foreign programs determined to have requirements at least 
equivalent to those of the NOP.

Submission of Comments

    Comments may be submitted, electronically, in writing or by fax. 
Written comments submitted by regular mail and faxed comments should be 
identified with the National Organic Program Proposed Rule Docket 
Number: TMD-94-00-2. Multiple page comments submitted by regular mail 
should not be stapled or clipped to facilitate the timely scanning and 
posting of these comments to NOP homepage. Persons submitting written 
or faxed comments are requested to identify the topic and section 
number, if applicable, to which the comment refers: for example, for a 
comment regarding feed for organic livestock, reference Livestock and 
section 205.13. Topics should be selected from the following list: 
General, Proposed Effective Date, Regulatory Impact Assessment, 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Paperwork Reduction Act, Definitions, 
Applicability (section 205.3), Crops, Livestock, Handling, National 
List, Labeling, Certification, Accreditation, State Programs, Fees, 
Compliance, Appeals, and Equivalency.
    It is our intention to have all comments, whether mailed, faxed or 
submitted via the Internet, available for viewing the NOP homepage at 
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop in a timely manner. Comments submitted in 
response to this proposal will be available for viewing at USDA-AMS, 
Transportation and Marketing, Room 2945-South Building, 14th and 
Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C., from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 
and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except official 
Federal holidays). Persons wanting to visit Department of Agriculture, 
South Building to view comments received in response to this proposal 
are requested to make an appointment in advance by calling Martha 
Bearer at (202) 720-8037.

Reasons for Granting an Extension

    The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), an advisory board to 
the Secretary regarding the program, has requested an extension of the 
comment period. NOSB requested an extension to accommodate the timing 
of the next NOSB meeting, which NOSB intends to conduct during the week 
of March 16-20, 1998. The schedules of the individual members of NOSB 
prevented holding NOSB meeting prior to March 15. At the meeting, 
details of which will be announced shortly in the Federal Register, 
NOSB intends to review Committee reports and prepare NOSB comments to 
the proposed rule for submission to USDA.
    Others have also requested an extension of the comment period. 
These individuals and organizations include: State government 
officials, manufacturers, and a trade organization representing the 
organic industry. Examples of reasons given for requesting an extension 
of the comment period include the length and complexity of the proposed 
rule, and the time required for commenters to arrange and conduct 
listening sessions to obtain input from constituents who will be 
affected by the finial regulations.
    After careful consideration of the requests submitted to the 
Agency, AMS has decided to grant an extension of the

[[Page 6499]]

comment period for an additional 45 days, or until April 30, 1998. This 
extension of the comment period will provide interested persons a total 
of 135 days to review the proposed rule and submit comments. AMS 
believes that this 45 day extension will provide a sufficient period of 
time for all commenters so that a further extension would be 
unnecessary.
    Accordingly, AMS is extending the comment period on the NOP 
proposed rule until April 30, 1998.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6501-6522.

    Dated: February 5, 1998.
Eileen S. Stommes,
Deputy Administrator, Transportation and Marketing.
[FR Doc. 98-3285 Filed 2-5-98; 11:09 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P