[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 208 (Wednesday, October 28, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65972-65973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27448]


 ========================================================================
 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. 80, No. 208 / Wednesday, October 28, 2015 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 65972]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 1211

[Doc. No. AMS-FV-11-0074; PR-A1, A2, B and B2]


Hardwood Lumber and Hardwood Plywood Promotion, Research and 
Information Order; Termination of Rulemaking Proceeding

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Termination of proceeding.

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SUMMARY: This action terminates a rulemaking proceeding that proposed 
to establish a Hardwood Lumber and Hardwood Plywood Promotion, Research 
and Information Order (Order) under authority in the Commodity 
Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996 (1996 Act). The Order 
was proposed by the proponent group, the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC), 
and would have authorized a national research and promotion program for 
hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood. USDA issued a supplemental notice 
of proposed rulemaking in response to the extensive comments received. 
Based on comments received, outstanding substantive questions and 
significant proposed modifications from stakeholders, USDA is 
terminating the proceeding. Termination of this proceeding will remove 
ex parte communication prohibitions and allow USDA to engage fully with 
all interested parties to discuss and consider the evolving needs of 
the industry going forward.

DATES: This termination is made on October 29, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia A. Petrella, Promotion and 
Economics Division, Specialty Crops Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Room 1406-S, Stop 0244, Washington, DC 20250-
0244; Telephone: (301) 334-2891, Fax: (301) 334-2896, or Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Prior documents in this proceeding include: 
A proposed rule published in the Federal Register on November 13, 2013 
(78 FR 68298), which provided a 60-day comment period that ended on 
January 13, 2014. On January 16, 2014, a notice was published in the 
Federal Register that reopened and extended the comment period until 
February 18, 2014 (79 FR 2805). A supplemental notice of proposed 
rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on June 9, 2015 (80 FR 
32493). On July 1, 2015, a notice was published in the Federal Register 
that extended the comment period until September 7, 2015 (80 FR 37555).

Preliminary Statement

    In June 2011, USDA received a proposal for a national research and 
promotion program for hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood from the 
BRC. The BRC is a committee of 14 hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood 
industry leaders representing small and large manufacturers 
geographically distributed throughout the United States.
    The BRC proposed a program that would be financed by an assessment 
on hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood manufacturers and administered 
by a board of industry members selected by the Secretary. The purpose 
of the program would be to strengthen the position of hardwood lumber 
and hardwood plywood in the marketplace and maintain and expand markets 
for hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood.
    A proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on November 
13, 2013, which provided a 60-day comment period that ended on January 
13, 2014. On January 16, 2014, a notice was published in the Federal 
Register that reopened and extended the comment period until February 
18, 2014. In response to the proposed rule, USDA received over 900 
comments; a significant majority of the comments opposed the proposed 
program. In order to address the voluminous comments, USDA issued a 
supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on June 9, 2015, which 
reopened the comment period only with respect to specific issues. The 
comment period was extended until September 7, 2015, by a notice in the 
Federal Register on July 1, 2015. In response to the supplemental 
notice, USDA received over 300 comments; a majority of the comments 
continued to oppose the program. Based on all the comments received, 
outstanding substantive questions and significant proposed 
modifications to the proposed program from stakeholders, USDA is 
terminating the proceeding. This action also terminates the proposed 
rules on the referendum procedures.
    Termination of this proceeding will remove ex parte communication 
prohibitions and allow USDA to engage fully with all interested parties 
to discuss and consider the evolving needs of the industry going 
forward. Based on the above, USDA is terminating this rulemaking 
proceeding.

Regulatory Flexibility Act and Paperwork Reduction Act

    As part of the proceeding conducted for this rulemaking, the 
provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) and the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1955 (Pub. L. 104-13) were considered. 
Because this action terminates the underlying rulemaking proceeding, 
the economic conditions of small entities are not changed as a result 
of this action, nor have any compliance requirements changed. Also, 
this action does not provide for any new or changed reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements. Accordingly, all supporting forms for the 
proposed program will be withdrawn.

Termination of Proceeding

    In view of the foregoing, it is hereby determined that the 
proceeding proposing a national research and promotion program for 
hardwood lumber and hardwood plywood should be and is hereby 
terminated.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1211

    Administrative practice and procedure, Advertising, Consumer 
information, Marketing agreements, Hardwood lumber promotion, Hardwood 
plywood promotion, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7411-7425; 7 U.S.C. 7401.


[[Page 65973]]


    Dated: October 23, 2015.
Rex A. Barnes,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-27448 Filed 10-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P