[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43116-43117]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14768]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Doc. No. TM-05-07]


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 Monday, August 15, 2005, 10:30 a.m. to 
5:30 p.m.; Tuesday, August 16, 2005, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and 
Wednesday, August 17, 2005, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Requests from individuals 
and organizations wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting 
are due by the close of business on July 25, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 
The Hillwood Room, 1330 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20024. 
Requests for copies of the NOSB meeting agenda, requests to make an 
oral presentation at the meeting, or written comments 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 via 
facsimile to Ms. Katherine Benham at (202) 205-7808 or electronically 
to Ms. Katherine Benham at Katherine.benham@ usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine E. Benham, Advisory Board 
Specialist, National Organic Program, (202) 205-7806.

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: 
Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification; Crops; Livestock; 
Materials; Handling; and Policy Development.
    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 69 addenda to its 
recommendations and reviewed more than 267 substances for inclusion on 
the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. The last 
meeting of the NOSB was held on February 28-March 3, 2005, 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 NOSB to receive an update from the USDA/NOP and hear progress 
reports from NOSB committees regarding work plan items and proposed 
action items. The NOSB will also review materials to determine if they 
should be included on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited 
Substances.
    The Policy Development Committee will discuss factors to be 
considered for the development of guidance regarding temporary 
variances for research. The committee will also discuss the future 
development of criteria and procedures to be used by the NOSB when 
reviewing substances petitioned for addition to or removal from 
205.606. The committee will present, for NOSB consideration, 
recommended changes to the Board Policies and Procedures Manual that 
include the following: (1) New materials approval and TAP review 
information; (2) sunset review process information; (3) procedures for 
handling questions and answers from the NOP; (4) decision tree process; 
(5) Chemistry 101 background information; and (6) formatting changes. 
Finally, the committee will submit, for NOSB consideration, its 
recommendations concerning the adoption of the collaboration policy 
document as presented by the NOP as an amendment to the Board Policy 
and Procedures Manual.
    The Certification, Accreditation, and Compliance Committee will 
present, for NOSB consideration, its recommendation on how to 
operationalize the process of Peer Review. The committee will present a 
draft statement concerning NOP's response to the American National 
Standards Institute (ANSI) report. It will also present, for NOSB 
consideration, a recommendation developed in cooperation with the 
Handling Committee that contains certification questions and answers 
related to retailers and private labelers.
    *COM019*The Livestock Committee will discuss the future development 
of apiculture standards (based on an existing NOSB recommendation). The 
committee will present, for NOSB consideration, its recommendations to 
provide guidance on requirements for access to pasture for ruminants 
and the addition of Sucrose Octanoate Esters to the National List for 
use in Apiculture Production.
    The Materials Committee will discuss priority items for the sunset 
review of substances identified by Crops, Livestock, Handling, and 
Materials Committee. The committee will also discuss possible revisions 
to the Federal Register Notice (65 FR 43259) that contains instructions 
for the submission of petitions to add substances to or remove 
substances from the National List. The committee will present 
recommendations to (1) restructure the National List of Allowed and 
Prohibited Substances to reflect the exemption

[[Page 43117]]

categories contained in OFPA; and (2) clarify the definition of 
``synthetic'' as it applies to substances petitioned for the addition 
to or removal from the National List.
    The Handling Committee will present, for NOSB consideration, a 
recommendation that provides guidance on determining the differences 
between agricultural products vs. non-agricultural substances.
    The Crops Committee will review and consider approving the 
following substances for crop production: Soy Protein Isolate, Ammonium 
Bicarbonate, Chitosan, and Sucrose Octonate Esters. The committee will 
also submit, for NOSB consideration, recommendations to consider (1) 
guidance on the allowed uses of Compost and Compost Tea, (2) revisions 
to the ``natural resource'' sections of the sample NOSB Organic Farm 
Plan; and (3) guidance on assessing commercial availability and 
equivalent varieties of organic seeds.
    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 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 Monday, August 15, 2005, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; and 
Wednesday, August 17, 2005, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Individuals and 
organizations wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting may 
forward their request by mail, facsimile, or e-mail to Katherine Benham 
at addresses listed in ADDRESSES above. While persons wishing to make a 
presentation may 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 may also be submitted at the meeting. 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 the meeting.

    Dated: July 21, 2005.
Kenneth C. Clayton,
Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 05-14768 Filed 7-21-05; 3:47 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P