[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 10, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60121-60123]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-25946]


 ========================================================================
 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. 65, No. 196 / Tuesday, October 10, 2000 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 60121]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 905 and 944

[Docket No. FV99-905-5 PR]


Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida 
and Imported Grapefruit; Clarification of Inspection Requirements

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule would clarify inspection requirements for shipments 
of Florida citrus and imports of grapefruit. The handling of citrus 
grown in Florida is regulated under a marketing order administered 
locally by the Citrus Administrative Committee (Committee). Grapefruit 
imports are subject to an import regulation issued under section 8e of 
the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937. This change would 
specify in the regulations undersize tolerances for Florida citrus and 
imported grapefruit that are currently applied by the inspection 
service, and would clarify the regulations. This change would also 
renumber citations in the domestic and import regulations to reflect 
revisions to the numbering of the United States Standards for Grades of 
Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 11, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments 
concerning this rule. Comments must be sent to the Docket Clerk, 
Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, 
AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; Fax: 
(202) 720-5698; or E-mail: [email protected]. 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: William G. Pimental, Marketing 
Specialist, Southeast Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order 
Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, P.O. 
Box 2276, Winter Haven, Florida 33883-2276; telephone: (863) 299-4770, 
Fax: (863) 299-5169; or George Kelhart, Technical Advisor, Marketing 
Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 
room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: 
(202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-5698.
    Small businesses may request information on complying with this 
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration 
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 
2525-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 
720-5698, or E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement No. 84 and Marketing Order No. 905, both as amended (7 CFR 
part 905), regulating the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, 
and tangelos grown in Florida, hereinafter referred to as the 
``order.'' The marketing agreement and order are effective under the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674), hereinafter referred to as the ``Act.''
    This proposed rule is also issued under section 8e of the Act, 
which provides that whenever certain specified commodities, including 
grapefruit, are regulated under a Federal marketing order, imports of 
these commodities into the United States are prohibited unless they 
meet the same or comparable grade, size, quality, or maturity 
requirements as those in effect for the domestically produced 
commodities.
    The Department of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in 
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive 
effect. This rule 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 to review the Secretary's 
ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not later than 20 
days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
    There are no administrative procedures which must be exhausted 
prior to any judicial challenge to the provisions of import regulations 
issued under section 8e of the Act.
    The order for Florida citrus provides for the establishment of 
minimum grade and size requirements with the concurrence of the 
Secretary. The minimum grade and size requirements are designed to 
provide fresh markets with fruit of acceptable quality and size, 
thereby maintaining consumer confidence for fresh Florida citrus. 
Maintaining confidence in the commodity shipped contributes to stable 
marketing conditions in the interest of growers, handlers, and 
consumers, and helps increase returns to Florida citrus growers.
    Section 905.52 of the order, in part, authorizes the Committee to 
recommend minimum grade and size requirements to the Secretary. Section 
905.306 specifies minimum grade and size requirements for different 
varieties of fresh Florida citrus. Such regulations may be modified, 
suspended, or terminated under Sec. 905.52. Section 905.53 specifies 
that whenever the handling of a variety of a type of fruit is regulated 
pursuant to Sec. 905.52, each handler who handles any such type of 
fruit shall, prior to such handling of any lot of such variety, cause 
the lot to be inspected by the Federal-State Inspection Service and 
certified as

[[Page 60122]]

meeting all applicable requirements of that regulation.
    This proposed rule would clarify inspection requirements for 
oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida and 
imported grapefruit. Current inspection procedures allow undersize 
tolerances for domestic shipments of Florida citrus failing to meet 
minimum size regulations under the order. These procedures also allow 
undersize tolerances for imported grapefruit failing to meet minimum 
size requirements established under the grapefruit import regulation. 
Specifically, these procedures allow for a 10 percent tolerance for 
undersize fruit in each lot and a 15 percent tolerance for undersize 
fruit in any individual sample. Undersize tolerances allow for 
variations to proper sizing and reduce handler packing costs. This 
change would specify these inspection procedures in the order's rules 
and regulations and in the grapefruit import regulation. The Committee 
unanimously recommended specifying the undersize tolerances for Florida 
citrus in the regulations at a meeting on April 6, 1999.
    Paragraph (c) of Sec. 905.306 currently references sections of the 
United States Standards for Grades of Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, 
and Tangelos Grown in Florida with the intention of providing 
tolerances for undersized fruit. However, the sections specified 
reference grade defects, not size tolerances. Therefore, specific 
undersize tolerances for Florida grown oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, 
and tangelos would be added to the text of the regulations.
    Paragraph (c) of Sec. 905.306 would be revised to allow for a 10 
percent tolerance for undersized fruit in each lot and a 15 percent 
tolerance for undersized fruit in any individual sample. Additionally, 
paragraph (c) of Sec. 944.106 of the grapefruit import regulation would 
also be revised to reference the undersize tolerances specified in 
paragraph (c) of Sec. 905.306 to recognize current inspection 
procedures.
    This rule would also renumber citations in the order to reflect the 
revised United States Standards for Grades of Oranges, Grapefruit, 
Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in Florida. Effective August 1, 1996, 
the various grade standards for Florida citrus were amended. Some 
sections of the amended standards were renumbered. This action would 
renumber some section references to the U.S. grade standards in 
Secs. 905.146 and 905.306 to bring them into conformity with the 
renumbered sections in the amended standards.
    Similar changes also would be made in paragraph (c) of Sec. 944.106 
of the grapefruit import regulation issued under section 8e of the Act. 
That section provides that when certain domestically produced 
commodities, including grapefruit, are regulated under a Federal 
marketing order, imports of that commodity must meet the same or 
comparable grade, size, quality, and maturity requirements. The 
grapefruit import regulation is based on the requirements issued under 
the marketing order for Florida citrus. Accordingly, a corresponding 
change to the grapefruit import regulation would be necessary.
    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the AMS has considered the economic impact of this action on 
small entities. Accordingly, AMS has prepared this initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis.
    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 the 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. Import regulations issued under 
the Act are based on those established under Federal marketing orders.
    There are approximately 100 Florida citrus handlers subject to 
regulation under the marketing order, about 11,000 Florida citrus 
producers in the regulated area, and about 25 grapefruit importers. 
Small agricultural service firms, which include handlers and importers, 
have been defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.201) 
as those whose annual receipts are less than $5,000,000, and small 
agricultural producers are defined as those whose annual receipts are 
less than $500,000.
    Based on the Florida Agricultural Statistics Service and Committee 
data for the 1998-99 season, the average annual f.o.b. price for fresh 
Florida citrus during the 1998-99 season was $8.66 per \4/5\ bushel 
carton for all shipments, and the total shipments for the 1998-99 
season were 63.6 million cartons of citrus. Using information provided 
by the Committee, about 60 percent of citrus handlers could be 
considered small businesses under the SBA definition, and the 
Department believes that the majority of Florida citrus producers and 
grapefruit importers may be classified as small entities.
    Section 905.52 of the order, in part, authorizes the Committee to 
recommend minimum grade and size requirements to the Secretary. Section 
905.306 specifies minimum grade and size requirements for different 
varieties of fresh Florida citrus. Section 905.53 specifies that 
whenever the handling of a variety of a type of fruit is regulated 
pursuant to Sec. 905.52, each handler who handles any such type of 
fruit shall, prior to such handling of any lot of such variety, cause 
the lot to be inspected by the Federal-State Inspection Service and 
certified as meeting all applicable requirements of that regulation.
    This proposed rule would clarify inspection requirements for 
oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida and 
imported grapefruit. Current inspection procedures allow for a 10 
percent tolerance for undersize fruit in each lot and a 15 percent 
tolerance for undersize fruit in any individual sample for both 
domestic and import shipments. This action would add to undersize 
tolerances to the order's rules and regulations and in the import 
regulation for grapefruit. This change would also renumber citations in 
the order to reflect revisions in the United States Standards for 
Grades of Oranges, Grapefruit, Tangerines, and Tangelos Grown in 
Florida made in August 1996. Similar changes would also be made to the 
grapefruit import regulation issued under section 8e of the Act.
    This rule would have a positive impact on affected entities. This 
action would enhance the understandability of the text of the 
regulations. The undersize tolerances allow for variations to proper 
sizing and reduce handler packing costs. Without such tolerances, more 
fruit would fail to meet minimum size requirements without 
reconditioning, and handler packing costs would increase accordingly. 
Thus, the tolerances help facilitate shipments of Florida citrus. The 
Committee unanimously recommended specifying the undersize tolerances 
for Florida citrus in the regulations at a meeting on April 6, 1999.
    During the period January 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999, 
imports of grapefruit totaled 19,400,000 pounds (approximately 456,470 
cartons). Recent yearly data indicate that imports from May through 
November are typically negligible. Future imports should not vary 
significantly from the 19,400,000 pounds. The Bahamas were the 
principal source of imported grapefruit, accounting for 93 percent of 
the total. Israel, Mexico, and Turkey supplied

[[Page 60123]]

remaining imports. Most imported grapefruit enters the United States 
from November through May.
    With regard to alternatives, this action offers the best 
alternative to achieve the intended purpose of clarifying the 
inspection requirements.
    This rule would not impose any additional reporting or 
recordkeeping requirements on either small or large Florida citrus 
handlers and importers. As with all Federal marketing order programs, 
reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information 
requirements and duplication by industry and public sectors. In 
addition, the Department has not identified any relevant Federal rules 
that duplicate, overlap or conflict with this rule. However, Florida 
citrus must meet the requirements specified in the U.S. standards for 
the various types of citrus grown in Florida issued under the 
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 through 1627).
    Further, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout 
the Florida citrus industry and all interested persons were invited to 
attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations. Like all 
Committee meetings, the April 6, 1999, meeting was a public meeting and 
all entities, both large and small, were able to express their views on 
this issue. Finally, interested persons are invited to submit 
information on the regulatory and informational impacts of this action 
on small businesses.
    A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and 
speciality crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at the 
following website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/moab.html. Any questions 
about the compliance guide should be sent to Jay Guerber at the 
previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section.
    In accordance with section 8e of the Act, the United States Trade 
Representative has concurred with the issuance of this proposed rule.
    A 60-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.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 905

    Grapefruit, Marketing agreements, Oranges, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Tangelos, Tangerines.

7 CFR Part 944

    Avocados, Food grades and standards, Grapefruit, Grapes, Imports, 
Kiwifruit, Limes, Olives, Oranges.

  

    For the reasons set forth above, 7 CFR Parts 905 and 944 are 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 905--ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINES, AND TANGELOS GROWN IN 
FLORIDA

    1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Parts 905 and 944 continues to 
read as follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 905.146, paragraph (c)(1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 905.146  Special purpose shipments.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) Such fruit meets the requirements of U. S. No. 2 Russet grade 
and those requirements of U. S. No. 1 grade relating to shape (form), 
as such requirements are set forth in the revised U. S. Standards for 
Grades of Florida Oranges and Tangelos (7 CFR 51.1140 through 51.1179), 
the revised Standards for Florida Tangerines (7 CFR 51.1810 through 
51.1837), or the revised U. S. Standards for Grades of Florida 
Grapefruit (7 CFR 51.750 through 51.784). Such fruit also meets 
applicable minimum size requirements in effect for domestic shipments 
of citrus fruits.
* * * * *
    4. In Sec. 905.306, paragraphs (c) and (d) are revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 905.306  Orange, Grapefruit, Tangerine and Tangelo Regulation.

* * * * *
    (c) Size tolerances. To allow for variations incident to proper 
sizing in the determination of minimum diameters as prescribed in 
Tables I and II, not more than 10 percent, by count, of the fruit in 
any lot of containers may fail to meet the minimum diameter size 
requirements, and not more than 15 percent, by count, in any individual 
sample may fail to meet the minimum diameter size requirements 
specified: Provided, That such tolerances for other than Navel and 
Temple oranges shall be based only on the oranges in the lot measuring 
2-14/16 inches or smaller in diameter.
    (d) Terms used in the marketing order including Improved No. 2 
grade for grapefruit, when used herein, mean the same as is given to 
the terms in the order; Florida No. 1 grade for Honey tangerines means 
the same as provided in Rule No. 20-35.03 of the Regulations of the 
Florida Department of Citrus, and terms relating to grade, except 
Improved No. 2 grade for grapefruit and diameter, shall mean the same 
as is given to the terms in the revised U.S. Standards for Grades of 
Florida Oranges and Tangelos (7 CFR 51.1140-51.1179), the revised U.S. 
Standards for Florida Tangerines (7 CFR 51.1810-51.1837), or the 
revised U.S. Standards for Grades of Florida Grapefruit (7 CFR 51.750-
51.784).

PART 944--FRUITS; IMPORT REGULATIONS

    5. In Sec. 944.106, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 944.106  Grapefruit import regulation.

* * * * *
    (c) Terms and tolerances pertaining to grade and size requirements, 
which are defined in the United States. Standards for Grades of Florida 
Grapefruit (7 CFR 51.750-51.784), and in Marketing Order No. 905 (7 CFR 
905.18 and 905.306), shall be applicable herein.
* * * * *

    Dated: October 3, 2000.
Robert C. Keeney,
Deputy Administrator, Fruit and Vegetable Programs.
[FR Doc. 00-25946 Filed 10-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P