[Federal Register: September 12, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 176)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 51990-51992]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12se07-3]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 981
[Docket No. AMS-FV-07-0051; FV07-981-2 FR]
Almonds Grown in California; Change in Requirements for
Interhandler Transfers of Almonds
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This rule revises the requirements for interhandler transfers
of almonds under the administrative rules and regulations of the
California almond marketing order (order). The order regulates the
handling of almonds grown in California and is administered locally by
the Almond Board of California (Board). This rule requires handlers who
transfer almonds to other handlers to report to the Board whether or
not the almonds were treated to achieve a 4-log reduction in Salmonella
bacteria (Salmonella). This action will help the Board track treated
and untreated almonds and facilitate administration of its mandatory
Salmonella treatment program.
DATES: Effective Date: September 13, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maureen T. Pello, Assistant Regional
Manager, or Kurt J. Kimmel, Regional Manager, California Marketing
Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and
Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, Telephone: (559) 487-5901, Fax: (559)
487-5906, or E-mail: Maureen.Pello@usda.gov, or Kurt.Kimmel@usda.gov.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202)
720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or E-mail: Jay.Guerber@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule is issued under Marketing
Order No. 981, as amended (7 CFR part 981), regulating the handling of
almonds grown in California, 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 (USDA) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive
effect. This final 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 USDA 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 a hearing on the petition.
After the hearing, USDA 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 USDA's ruling on the petition,
provided an action is filed not later than 20 days after the date of
the entry of the ruling.
This final rule revises the requirements for interhandler transfers
of almonds under the administrative rules and regulations of the order.
This rule require handlers who transfer almonds to other handlers to
report to the Board whether or not the almonds were treated to achieve
a 4-log reduction in Salmonella. A mandatory treatment program to
reduce the potential for Salmonella in almonds took effect in September
2007. This action will enable the Board to track treated and untreated
almonds and help facilitate administration of its mandatory treatment
program. This action was unanimously recommended by the Board at a
meeting on March 28, 2007.
Section 981.55 of the order provides authority for handlers to,
upon notice to and under supervision of the Board,
[[Page 51991]]
transfer almonds to another handler. Marketing order obligations
regarding volume regulation, when in effect, and assessments must be
fully met and may be divided between the participating handlers.
Section 981.455 requires handlers to report to the Board on ABC Form
No. 7, ``Interhandler Transfer of Almonds,'' information regarding
interhandler transfers. Paragraph (a) of that section currently
requires the following information: (1) Date of transfer; (2) the names
and plant locations of both the transferring and receiving handlers;
(3) the variety of almonds transferred; (4) whether the almonds are
shelled or unshelled; and (5) the name of the handler assuming reserve
and assessment obligations on the almonds transferred.
In August 2006, the Board recommended a mandatory treatment program
to reduce the potential for Salmonella in almonds. USDA engaged in
informal rulemaking to implement the program. A final rule was
published on March 30, 2007 (61 FR 15021). Beginning in September 2007,
handlers must subject their almonds to a process that achieves a 4-log
reduction in Salmonella prior to shipment. The program exempts
untreated almonds that are shipped to manufacturers in the U.S.,
Canada, and Mexico who agree to treat the almonds and untreated almonds
that are shipped outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
To help track treated and untreated almonds, the Board met in March
2007 and recommended revising the order's administrative rules and
regulations to require handlers to report to the Board whether or not
almonds transferred to other handlers were treated under the mandatory
treatment program. Handlers must include an identification number for
each lot transferred. This number may be a contract number or other
unique handler number that can identify the lot. Under the mandatory
Salmonella treatment program, handler records must provide the ability
to differentiate treated from untreated almonds (Sec. 981.442(b)(5)).
Requiring handlers to provide lot identification numbers on their
interhandler transfer forms complements this requirement. These changes
to the interhandler transfer requirements will help facilitate
administration of the mandatory Salmonella treatment program. Paragraph
(a) in Sec. 981.455 is revised accordingly.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the
economic impact of this rule on small entities. Accordingly, 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.
There are approximately 6,000 producers of almonds in the
production area and approximately 110 handlers subject to regulation
under the marketing order. Small agricultural producers are defined by
the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.201) as those having
annual receipts of less than $750,000, and small agricultural service
firms are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than
$6,500,000.
Data for the most recently completed crop year indicate that about
52 percent of the handlers shipped under $6,500,000 worth of almonds.
Dividing the average almond crop values for 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-
06 as reported by the National Agricultural Statistics Service ($2.105
billion) by the number of producers (6,000) yields an average annual
producer revenue estimate of about $350,000. Based on the foregoing,
about half of the handlers and a majority of almond producers may be
classified as small entities.
This rule revises Sec. 981.455(a) of the order's administrative
rules and regulations to require handlers who transfer almonds to other
handlers to report to the Board whether or not the almonds were treated
to achieve a 4-log reduction in Salmonella. A mandatory treatment
program to reduce the potential for Salmonella in almonds took effect
in September 2007. This action will help the Board track treated and
untreated almonds and help ensure the integrity of its mandatory
program. Authority for this change is provided in Sec. Sec. 981.55 of
the order.
Regarding the impact of this action on affected entities, it merely
requires handlers who transfer almonds to other handlers to indicate on
ABC Form No. 7, ``Interhandler Transfer of Almonds,'' whether or not
the almonds were treated to achieve a 4-log reduction in Salmonella.
Handlers must also include a lot identification number for each lot
transferred.
Regarding alternatives to this action, the Board considered not
requiring handlers to report whether their transferred almonds were
treated to achieve a 4-log reduction in Salmonella. However, this would
not allow the Board to track treated and untreated almonds. Thus, the
Board unanimously recommended revising the requirements regarding
interhandler transfers of almonds.
This action slightly modifies the reporting requirements for all
California almond handlers. All handlers must currently report their
interhandler transfers to the Board on ABC Form No. 7, ``Interhandler
Transfer of Almonds.'' This form had been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB No. 0581-0178, Vegetable and
Specialty Crops. This rule requires that two extra columns be added to
this form. One column allows handlers to indicate whether or not the
transferred almonds were treated to achieve a 4-log reduction in
Salmonella. The second column provides for inclusion of a lot
identification number for tracking purposes. In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the revised form has
been submitted to the OMB for approval. Once approved, this information
collection will be merged into OMB No. 0581-0178. It is estimated that
it will take a handler about 0.5 hour per response, and that 50
handlers will respond and submit the form five times per year. Thus,
the total annual reporting burden for the form is estimated at 125
hours per year.
AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to promote
the use of the Internet and other information technologies to provide
increased opportunities for citizen access to Government information
and services, and for other purposes.
USDA has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate,
overlap or conflict with this rule. As with all Federal marketing order
programs, reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce
information requirements and duplication by the industry and public
sector agencies.
Additionally, the meetings were widely publicized throughout the
California almond industry and all interested persons were invited to
attend the meetings and participate in deliberations on all issues. The
Board's Food Quality and Safety Committee discussed this issue on
January 30, 2007. The committee recommended the change to the Board on
March 28, 2007. Both of these meetings were public meetings and all
entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this
issue.
A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal
Register on June 8, 2007 (72 FR 31759).
[[Page 51992]]
Copies of the rule were also mailed or sent via facsimile to all almond
handlers. Finally, the proposal was made available through the Internet
by USDA and the Office of the Federal Register. A 60-day comment period
ending August 7, 2007, was provided for interested persons to respond
to the proposal.
One comment was received during the comment period in response to
the proposal. The commenter asked if the same rules and safeguards
apply to almonds imported from other countries. Almonds are not listed
in section 8e of Act. Thus, imported almonds are not subject to
comparable quality requirements as those in effect for the domestic
commodity.
Accordingly, no changes will be made to the rule as proposed, based
on the comment 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 matters presented, including
the information and recommendation submitted by the Board and other
available information, it is hereby found that this rule, as
hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of
the Act.
It is further found that good cause exists for not postponing the
effective date of this rule until 30 days after publication in the
Federal Register (5 U.S.C. 553) because mandatory compliance with the
Salmonella treatment program began September 1, 2007, and this rule
should be in place as soon as possible so the Board can track treated
and untreated almonds. Further, handlers are aware of this action,
which was unanimously recommended at a public meeting. Also, a 60-day
comment period was provided for in the proposed rule, and the comment
received was addressed herein.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 981
Almonds, Marketing agreements, Nuts, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 981 is amended as
follows:
PART 981--ALMONDS GROWN IN CALIFORNIA
0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 981 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
0
2. Section 981.455 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as
follows:
Sec. 981.455 Interhandler transfers.
(a) Transfers of almonds. Interhandler transfers of almonds
pursuant to Sec. 981.55 shall be reported to the Board on ABC Form 7.
The report shall contain the following information:
(1) Date of transfer;
(2) The names, and plant locations of both the transferring and
receiving handlers;
(3) The variety of almonds transferred;
(4) Whether the almonds are shelled or unshelled;
(5) The name of the handler assuming reserve and assessment
obligations on the almonds transferred;
(6) Whether the almonds had been treated to achieve a 4-log
reduction in Salmonella bacteria, pursuant to Sec. 981.442(b); and
(7) A unique handler identification number for each lot.
* * * * *
Dated: September 7, 2007.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 07-4490 Filed 9-10-07; 10:05 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P