[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62949-62950]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25678]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[TM-02'06]


Notice of Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 
amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing a 
forthcoming meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).

DATES: The meeting dates are: October 19, 2002, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; 
and October 20, 2002, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Requests from individuals and 
organizations wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting are 
due by the close of business on October 9, 2002.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the Radisson Barcel[oacute] 
Hotel, Board Room, 2121 P Street, NW., Washington, DC. Requests to make 
an oral presentation at the meeting may be sent to Ms. Katherine Benham 
at USDA-AMS-TMD-NOP, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4008-So., Ag 
Stop 0268, Washington, DC 20250-0200. Requests to make an oral 
presentation at the meeting may also be sent electronically to Ms. 
Katherine Benham at [email protected], via telephone at (202) 
205-7806, or via facsimile at (202) 205-7808.
    The October NOSB meeting agenda is available at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop or from Ms. Katherine Benham at (202) 205-7806, 
preceding addresses or via telephone (202) 205-7806.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Mathews, Program Manager, 
National Organic Program, (202) 720-3252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2119 (7 U.S.C. 6518) of the Organic 
Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), as amended (7 U.S.C. Section 6501 
et seq.) requires the establishment of the NOSB. The purpose of the 
NOSB is to make recommendations about whether a substance should be 
allowed or prohibited in organic production or handling, to assist in 
the development of standards for substances to be used in organic 
production and to advise the Secretary on other aspects of the 
implementation of the OFPA. The NOSB met for the first time in 
Washington, DC, in March 1992, and currently has six committees working 
on various aspects of the organic program. The committees are: 
Accreditation, Crops, Livestock, Materials, International, and 
Processing.
    In August of 1994, the NOSB provided its initial recommendations 
for the National Organic Program (NOP) to the Secretary of Agriculture. 
Since that time, the NOSB has submitted 42 addenda to its 
recommendations and reviewed more than 241 substances for inclusion on 
the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. The last 
meeting of the NOSB was held on September 17-19, 2002, in Washington, 
DC.
    The Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its final National 
Organic Program regulation in the Federal Register on December 21, 2000 
(65 FR 80548). The rule became effective April 21, 2001.
    The principal purposes of the meeting are to provide an opportunity 
for the

[[Page 62950]]

NOSB to: Receive an update from the USDA/NOP, receive various committee 
reports, receive reports from the Materials Task Force and Composting 
Task Force, and review materials to determine if they should be 
included on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.
    The Materials Committee will report on current petitions' statuses, 
and report on EPA List 3 and 4 Inerts. The Materials Committee will 
also present for NOSB consideration 10 materials for possible inclusion 
on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. The 
Livestock Committee will present for NOSB consideration its 
recommendations on ``dairy herd replacements'', and the scope of review 
for excipients and other materials. The Processing Committee will 
discuss the ion exchange production process, present a recommendation 
for the scope of materials review, and present a recommendation for 
when handling becomes processing for producers and retailers. The Crops 
Committee will present its recommendations for hydroponic production, 
planting stock, and application of the 20% sodium nitrate annotation. 
The Accreditation Committee will report on the review of NOP 
accreditation procedures and present its recommendation for grower 
group certification criteria. Finally, the International Committee will 
discuss and present its recommendation on US/EU equivalency.
    Materials to be reviewed at the meeting by the NOSB are as follows:
    Crop Production: Potassium Silicate, Potassium Sulfate, 1,4 
Dimethylnaphthalene, and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT); and for 
Livestock Production: Mineral Oil, Calcium Propionate, Furosemide, 
Atropine, Flunixin, and Proteinated Chelates.
    For further information, see http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop. Copies of 
the NOSB meeting agenda can be requested from Ms. Katherine Benham by 
telephone at (202) 205-7806; or obtained by accessing the NOP Web site 
at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop.
    The meeting is open to the public. The NOSB has scheduled time for 
public input on Saturday, October 19, 2002, from 8:15 a.m. until 10:15 
a.m., and Sunday, October 20, 2002, from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m., at the 
Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 2121 P Street, NW., Washington, DC. Individuals 
and organizations wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting 
may make their requests via letter, telephone, e-mail or facsimile as 
set forth in the addresses section of this notice. While persons 
wishing to make a presentation, may also sign up at the door, advance 
registration will ensure that a person has the opportunity to speak 
during the allotted time period and will help the NOSB to better manage 
the meeting and to accomplish its agenda. Individuals or organizations 
will be given approximately 5 minutes to present their views. All 
persons making an oral presentation are requested to provide their 
comments in writing. Written submissions may contain information other 
than that presented at the oral presentation.
    Written comments must be submitted to Ms. Benham, prior to or after 
the meeting, at USDA-AMS-TMD-NOP, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 
4008-So., Ag Stop 0268, Washington, DC 20250-0200. Persons submitting 
written comments at the meeting are asked to provide 30 copies.
    Interested persons may visit the NOSB portion of the NOP Web site 
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop to view available documents prior to the 
meeting. Approximately 6 weeks following the meeting interested persons 
will be able to visit the NOSB portion of the NOP Web site to view 
documents from this meeting.

    Dated: October 3, 2002.
A.J. Yates,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 02-25678 Filed 10-8-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P