[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53522-53523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20955]


 ========================================================================
 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. 67, No. 159 / Friday, August 16, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 53522]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1001

[Docket No. AO-14-A70; DA-02-01]


Milk in the Northeast Marketing Area; Supplemental Notice of 
Hearing on Proposed Amendments to Tentative Marketing Agreement and 
Order

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule; Supplemental notice of public hearing on 
proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document contains an additional proposal to be considered 
at a previously scheduled hearing to consider proposals that would 
amend certain pooling and related provisions of the Northeast Federal 
milk marketing order. The additional proposal seeks to amend the unit 
pooling provision by specifying that a secondary unit-pooled plant must 
be located within the marketing area and process at least 60 percent of 
total producer milk receipts as Class I or Class II products.

DATES: The hearing will convene at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 10, 
2002.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel 
Alexandria, 1900 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, VA 22314 Telephone: 703-
236-5900.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gino Tosi, Marketing Specialist, Order 
Formulation Branch, USDA/AMS/Dairy Programs, Room 2968, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 0231, Washington, DC 20250-0231, (202) 
690-1366, e-mail [email protected].
    Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special 
accommodations should contact Erik F. Rasmussen, Market Administrator, 
at 617-542-8966; e-mail: [email protected] prior to the hearing.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This administrative action is governed by 
the provisions of sections 556 and 557 of Title 5 of the United States 
Code, and therefore is excluded from the requirements of Executive 
Order 12866.
    This notice is supplemental to the notice of hearing which was 
issued on July 26, 2002, and published in the Federal Register on 
August 1, 2002 (67 FR 49887).
    Notice is hereby given that the aforesaid hearing will be held as 
scheduled at the Embassy Suites Hotel Alexandria, beginning at 8:30 
a.m., on September 10, 2002, with respect to proposed amendments 
previously announced and to the additional proposed amendment to the 
tentative marketing agreement and to the order regulating the handling 
of milk in the Northeast marketing area.
    The hearing is called pursuant to the provisions of the 
Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601-
674), and the applicable rules of practice and procedure governing the 
formulation of marketing agreements and marketing orders (7 CFR part 
900).
    The purpose of the hearing is to receive evidence with respect to 
the economic and marketing conditions which relate to the previously 
announced proposed amendments, and to the additional proposed amendment 
hereinafter set forth, and any appropriate modifications thereof, to 
the tentative marketing agreement and to the order.
    Evidence also will be taken to determine whether emergency 
marketing conditions exist that would warrant omission of a recommended 
decision under the rules of practice and procedure (7 CFR 900.12(d)) 
with respect to Proposals 1 through 14.
    Actions under the Federal milk order program are subject to the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). This Act seeks to 
ensure that, within the statutory authority of a program, the 
regulatory and informational requirements are tailored to the size and 
nature of small businesses. For the purpose of the Act, a dairy farm is 
a ``small business'' if it has an annual gross revenue of less than 
$750,000, and a dairy products manufacturer is a ``small business'' if 
it has fewer than 500 employees. Most parties subject to a milk order 
are considered as a small business. Accordingly, interested parties are 
invited to present evidence on the probable regulatory and 
informational impact of the hearing proposals on small businesses. 
Also, parties may suggest modifications of these proposals for the 
purpose of tailoring their applicability to small businesses.
    The previously proposed amendments and the additional amendment to 
the rules proposed herein have been reviewed under Executive Order 
12988, Civil Justice Reform. They are not intended to have a 
retroactive effect. If adopted, the previously proposed amendments and 
the additional amendment would not preempt any state or local laws, 
regulations, or policies, unless they present an irreconcilable 
conflict with this rule.
    The Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act provides that 
administrative proceedings must be exhausted before parties may file 
suit in court. Under section 8c(15)(A) of the Act, any handler subject 
to an order may request modification or exemption from such order by 
filing a petition with the Department stating that the order, any 
provision of the order, or any obligation imposed in connection with 
the order is not in accordance with the law. A handler is afforded the 
opportunity for a hearing on the petition. After a hearing, the 
Department 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 Department'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.
    Interested parties who wish to introduce exhibits should provide 
the Presiding Officer at the hearing with (4) copies of such exhibits 
for the Official Record. Also, it would be helpful if additional copies 
are available for the use of other participants at the hearing.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1001

    Milk marketing orders.

PART 1001--[Amended]

    The authority citation for 7 CFR part 1001 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    The additional proposed amendment, as set forth below, has not 
received the approval of the Department.
    Submitted by New York State Dairy Foods, Inc.:

[[Page 53523]]

    Proposal No. 14:
    1. Amend Sec. 1001.7 by revising paragraphs (e)(1) and (e)(2), to 
read as follows:


Sec. 1001.7  Pool Plant.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (1) At least one of the plants in the unit qualifies as a pool 
distributing plant pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section;
    (2) Other plants in the unit must process at least 60 percent of 
monthly receipts of producer milk, including Cooperative 9(c) milk, 
only as Class I or Class II products and must be located in the 
Northeast marketing area, as defined in Sec. 1001.2, in a pricing zone 
providing the same or a lower Class I price than the price applicable 
at the distributing plant(s) included in the unit; and
* * * * *
    Copies of this supplemental notice of hearing and the order may be 
procured from the Market Administrator for the Northeast Marketing 
Area, or from the Hearing Clerk, Room 1083, South Building, United 
States Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250, or may be 
inspected there.
    Copies of the transcript of testimony taken at the hearing will not 
be available for distribution through the Hearing Clerk's Office. If 
you wish to purchase a copy, arrangements may be made with the reporter 
at the hearing.
    From the time that a hearing notice is issued and until the 
issuance of a final decision in a proceeding, Department employees 
involved in the decision-making process are prohibited from discussing 
the merits of the hearing issues on an ex parte basis with any person 
having an interest in the proceeding. For this particular proceeding, 
the prohibition applies to employees in the following organizational 
units:

Office of the Secretary of Agriculture
Office of the Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service
Office of the General Counsel
Dairy Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service (Washington office) and 
the Office of the Northeast Market Administrator

    Procedural matters are not subject to the above prohibition and may 
be discussed at any time.

    Dated: August 14, 2002.
Kenneth C. Clayton,
Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 02-20955 Filed 8-14-02; 11:38 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P