[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 6, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13391-13393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5318]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 956

[Docket No. FV00-956-1 FIR]


Sweet Onions Grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast 
Washington and Northeast Oregon; Revision of Administrative Rules and 
Regulations

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting, as a 
final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule 
modifying the handler assessment and reporting requirements under the 
Walla Walla sweet onion marketing order. The marketing order regulates 
the handling of sweet onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley and is 
administered locally by the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee 
(Committee). For sweet onions handled during the period September 1 
through May 31 of each fiscal period, this rule continues in effect 
dates by which handlers must pay assessments and furnish reports to the 
Committee that reflect new cultural and storage practices that have 
extended the traditional mid-summer marketing season.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 5, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert J. Curry, Northwest Marketing 
Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and 
Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, suite 385, 
Portland, Oregon 97204-2807; telephone: (503) 326-2724, Fax: (503) 326-
7440; or George Kelhart, 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, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 
96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 
720-5698, or E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing 
Agreement and Order No. 956, as amended (7 CFR part 956), regulating 
the handling of sweet onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley of 
Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon, 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 rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule provides dates by which handlers must pay 
assessments and furnish reports to the Committee that reflect new 
cultural and storage practices for sweet onions handled during the 
period September 1 through May 31 of each fiscal period. 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

[[Page 13392]]

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.
    Section 956.41 of the order provides the Committee with the 
authority to establish an annual budget of expenditures and Sec. 956.42 
provides authority for the Committee to levy assessments upon handlers 
of Walla Walla sweet onions to provide adequate funds to defray such 
expenditures. Section 956.202 establishes the current assessment rate 
of $0.21 per 50-pound bag of Walla Walla sweet onions handled. Section 
956.42 also provides the Committee with the authority to impose an 
interest charge on any handler who fails to pay any assessment in a 
timely manner, and Sec. 956.142 of the order's administrative rules and 
regulations establishes the rate of interest and the dates such 
interest charges begin to accrue. Section 956.80 establishes the 
authority for the Committee to require handler reports, while 
Sec. 956.180 provides the rules and regulations necessary for the 
Committee to implement and administer such reporting requirements.
    For sweet onions handled on or after September 1, this rule 
continues in effect dates by which handlers must pay assessments and 
furnish reports to the Committee. These changes recognize new cultural 
and storage practices that have extended the traditional mid-summer 
marketing season. The changes provide dates by which handlers must pay 
assessments and submit reports on shipments made in September or later. 
This rule was unanimously recommended by the Committee on August 15, 
2000.
    Sections 956.142 (interest charges) and 956.180 (reports) were 
established in August 1996 to foster prompt assessment payments and to 
ensure that adequate funds would be available to cover budgeted 
expenses incurred by the Committee under the order. Section 956.180 
establishes reporting requirements for providing the Committee with 
statistical information regarding total industry shipments and is used 
as a basis for assessment collection. This information also is useful 
for the development of a budget and in making marketing and promotion 
plans for the upcoming season. Section 956.142 establishes assessment 
due dates and an interest charge of 1.5 percent per month on any 
handler who fails to pay his or her assessments within thirty days of 
the due date.
    Historically, Walla Walla sweet onions have been planted in the 
fall, then harvested and marketed from late June to early August. Due 
to the short shelf life of this, traditionally non-storage, summer 
onion, the marketing season has closely followed the annual harvest. 
However, recent changes in cultural and storage practices within the 
Walla Walla sweet onion industry are lengthening the marketing season 
for some of the sweet onions produced in the Walla Walla Valley. A few 
producers have been planting sweet onions in the spring, thereby 
extending the traditional mid-summer harvest into late summer or early 
fall. In addition, with the recent introduction of Controlled 
Atmosphere (CA) storage, the potential now exists for extending the 
marketing season further into the fall and early winter season.
    By extending the due dates for assessments and reports on sweet 
onions handled on or after September 1, this action provides Walla 
Walla sweet onion handlers more time to comply with these requirements. 
This will enable them to take advantage of the expanding marketing 
season. The Committee will continue to require that assessments be paid 
and reports submitted by September 1 for onions handled in June, July, 
and August.
    For assessments due on sweet onions handled prior to September 1, 
the monthly interest charge of 1.5 percent will continue to accrue 
after September 30. For assessments due on sweet onions handled during 
the period September 1 through May 31 of each fiscal period, interest 
charges will begin accruing 30 days after the handler's report of 
shipments is due.
    Handlers marketing their sweet onions prior to September 1 will 
continue to submit reports (Committee Form No. 1) showing weekly and 
seasonal totals by September 1, and assessments for their shipments to 
the Committee no later than September 30 to avoid late payment interest 
charges. For shipments during the period September 1 through May 31 of 
each fiscal period, handlers will submit a separate report, along with 
the appropriate assessment payment, for each monthly period that they 
continue to make shipments. Such reports will be due at the office of 
the Committee no later than 30 days following the end of the month in 
which shipments were made. Assessments will be due within thirty (30) 
days of the last day of the month in which the shipments are made. For 
example, a handler shipping Walla Walla sweet onions anytime during the 
month of September would furnish the shipment report to the Committee 
no later than October 30. In this example, the report would contain the 
number of 50-pound equivalents of Walla Walla sweet onions shipped by 
such handler during each week in September, along with the monthly 
total of shipments and a check for the appropriate assessment amount. 
This reporting and payment schedule continues for each monthly period 
Walla Walla sweet onions are handled after September 1.
    With the introduction of spring planting and CA storage for Walla 
Walla sweet onions and the associated extension of the traditional 
marketing season, this action is necessary to ensure that adequate 
Committee operating funds are obtained in a timely manner, that 
producers and handlers are treated equitably and have the needed 
flexibility to produce and market their crop as they desire, and that 
consumers have an extended season in which to purchase Walla Walla 
sweet onions.
    Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the 
economic impact of this action on small entities. Accordingly, the AMS 
has prepared this final 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.
    There are approximately 30 handlers of Walla Walla sweet onions who 
are subject to regulation under the order and approximately 60 sweet 
onion producers in the regulated production area. Small agricultural 
service firms are defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 
121.201) 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 Committee estimates that all of the handlers of Walla Walla 
sweet onions ship under $5,000,000 worth of sweet onions on an annual 
basis. In addition, based on acreage, production, and producer prices 
reported by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and the total 
number of onion producers in the regulated production area, the average 
gross annual producer revenue

[[Page 13393]]

from sweet onions was about $117,000 in 1999, the most recent year 
statistics are available. Based on this information, it can be 
concluded that the majority of Walla Walla sweet onion handlers and 
producers may be classified as small entities, excluding receipts from 
other sources.
    Based on authority in Secs. 956.42 and 956.80, the Committee 
unanimously recommended this action at a public meeting on August 15, 
2000. Specifically, for sweet onions handled on or after September 1, 
this rule continues in effect dates by which handlers must pay 
assessments (Sec. 956.142) and furnish reports (Sec. 956.180) to the 
Committee. These changes are being made to recognize new cultural and 
storage practices that extend the traditional mid-summer marketing 
season to mid-winter, and provide handlers more time to pay assessments 
and file reports on these later shipments.
    Regarding the impact of this action on affected entities, sweet 
onion handlers will not be forced into noncompliance with the order 
because they are now able to pay assessments and submit shipment 
reports later than was previously provided. When the previous deadlines 
were established, the Committee did not envision shipments being made 
in September or later. Walla Walla sweet onions have a relatively high 
market value, but generally must be harvested and sold within a short 
time period between late June and early August. With this extension in 
the marketing season, producers and handlers hope to increase their 
returns while providing consumers with unique, highly demanded sweet 
onions during a period of time when such onions were traditionally not 
available.
    The Committee estimated that during the 2000 marketing season only 
a limited amount of sweet onions would be handled on or after September 
1 and into early winter. The Committee has been informed, however, that 
an additional 1,300 acres of sweet onions may be planted for the 2001 
marketing season, with many of the onions possibly going into CA 
storage. Approximately 800 acres of Walla Walla sweet onions were 
planted for the 2000 season.
    The Committee discussed alternatives to the recommendation, 
including leaving the regulations unmodified. However, the Committee 
decided that it did not have the option of leaving the regulations 
unmodified because some handler assessment obligations are expected to 
accrue during the period September 1 through May 31 of each fiscal 
period. Another alternative discussed would have changed the 
regulations to require the submission of reports and assessments for 
the entire crop, regardless of when marketed, within 30 to 60 days of 
the date of shipment. The Committee rejected this option because it 
felt that the bulk of the Walla Walla sweet onion crop will continue to 
be marketed during the traditional mid-summer season, and it wants to 
ensure that an adequate income is received early in the fiscal period 
to offset expenditures. The fiscal period begins June 1 and ends May 
31.
    The Committee uses Form No. 1, Handler's Statement of Walla Walla 
Sweet Onion Shipments, for collecting assessments and statistical data. 
Prior to this action, this form was mailed to handlers in mid-August 
with the requirement that it be returned by September 1, and 
assessments were due within 30 days of September 1 to avoid imposition 
of the 1.5 percent per month interest charge. The Committee revised 
Form No. 1 to reflect the changes in handling practices and due dates.
    The Committee estimates that only two of the currently regulated 
handlers in the Walla Walla sweet onion production area may initially 
ship sweet onions on or after September 1. The Committee also estimates 
that the revised Form No. 1 will continue to take approximately 25 
minutes to complete. With only two handlers submitting reports on 
October 31 and possibly again on November 30, for example, the total 
additional burden on the industry for the information reporting 
requirements for sweet onions shipped on or after September 1 would 
approximate 100 minutes per year. Thus, while this rule will impose 
some additional reporting requirements, the burden is currently 
approved under OMB No. 0581-0078 by the Office of Management and Budget 
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35). The Agricultural Marketing Service has notified the Office 
of Management and Budget of this change in burden.
    As with all Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are 
periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and 
duplication by industry and public sector agencies. In addition, as 
noted in the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, the Department 
has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, 
or conflict with this rule.
    The Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout the Walla 
Walla sweet onion industry and all interested persons were invited to 
attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations on all 
issues. Like all Committee meetings, the August 15, 2000, meeting was a 
public meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to 
express views on this issue. Further, interested persons were invited 
to submit information on the regulatory and informational impacts of 
this action on small businesses.
    An interim final rule concerning this action was published in the 
Federal Register on October 16, 2000. A copy of the rule was mailed to 
Committee staff, who handled the distribution of copies to Committee 
members and sweet onion producers and handlers. In addition, the rule 
was made available through the Internet by the Office of the Federal 
Register. The rule provided a 60-day comment period that ended December 
15, 2000. No comments were received.
    A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and 
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: 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.
    After consideration of all relevant material presented, including 
the Committee's recommendation, and other information, it is found that 
finalizing the interim final rule, without change, as published in the 
Federal Register (65 FR 61080, October 16, 2000) will tend to 
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 956

    Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

PART 956--SWEET ONIONS GROWN IN THE WALLA WALLA VALLEY OF SOUTHEAST 
WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST OREGON

    Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 956 which 
was published at 65 FR 61080 on October 16, 2000, is adopted as a final 
rule without change.

    Dated: February 28, 2001.
Kenneth C. Clayton,
Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 01-5318 Filed 3-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P