Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado; Reestablishment of Membership on the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, Area No. 2, 9629-9631 [2013-02979]
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9629
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
Vol. 78, No. 28
Monday, February 11, 2013
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.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 948
[Doc. No. AMS–FV–12–0044; FV12–948–2
PR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado;
Reestablishment of Membership on the
Colorado Potato Administrative
Committee, Area No. 2
Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
This rule invites comments
on reestablishing the membership on
the Colorado Potato Administrative
Committee, Area No. 2 (Committee).
The Committee locally administers the
marketing order regulating the handling
of Irish potatoes grown in Colorado.
This rule would modify the Committee
membership structure by amending the
position allocated to a producer from
Conejos County. Beginning with the
2013–2014 term of office, such
designated Committee position would
be allocated to an eligible producer
operating in either Conejos or Costilla
County. This action is expected to
improve Committee representation for
producers from this sub-region of the
production area.
DATES: Comments must be received by
April 12, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments
concerning this rule. Comments must be
sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing
Order and Agreement Division, Fruit
and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA,
1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP
0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax:
(202) 720–8938; or Internet: https://
www.regulations.gov. All comments
should reference the document number
and the date and page number of this
issue of the Federal Register and will be
made available for public inspection in
the Office of the Docket Clerk during
regular business hours, or can be viewed
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SUMMARY:
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at: https://www.regulations.gov. All
comments submitted in response to this
rule will be included in the record and
will be made available to the public.
Please be advised that the identity of the
individuals or entities submitting the
comments will be made public on the
Internet at the address provided above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Barry Broadbent, Marketing Specialist,
or Gary Olson, Regional Director,
Northwest Marketing Field Office,
Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program,
AMS, USDA; Telephone: (503) 326–
2724, Fax: (503) 326–7440, or Email:
Barry.Broadbent@ams.usda.gov or
GaryD.Olson@ams.usda.gov.
Small businesses may request
information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Laurel May,
Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program,
AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington,
DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–
2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email:
Laurel.May@ams.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
proposal is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 97 and Marketing Order
No. 948, both as amended (7 CFR part
948), regulating the handling of Irish
potatoes grown in Colorado, 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 proposal has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended
to have retroactive effect.
The Act provides that administrative
proceedings must be exhausted before
parties may file suit in court. Under
§ 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
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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 proposal invites comments on
reestablishing the membership structure
of the Committee. This rule would
modify the current Committee
membership structure by amending the
position currently allocated to a
producer from Conejos County.
Beginning with the 2013–2014 term of
office, such designated Committee
position would be allocated to an
eligible producer operating in either
Conejos or Costilla County. This action
is expected to improve Committee
representation for producers from this
sub-region of the production area. This
change was unanimously recommended
by the Committee at a meeting held on
July 19, 2012.
Section 948.4 of the order divides the
State of Colorado into three areas of
regulation for marketing order purposes.
These areas include: Area No. 1,
commonly known as the Western Slope;
Area No. 2, commonly known as San
Luis Valley; and, Area No. 3, which
consists of the remaining producing
areas within the State of Colorado not
included in the definition of Area No.
1 or Area No. 2. Currently, the order
only regulates the handling of potatoes
produced in Area No. 2 and Area No. 3.
Regulation for Area No. 1 has been
suspended.
Section 948.50 of the order establishes
committees as administrative agencies
for each of the areas set forth under
§ 948.4. The reestablishment of areas,
subdivisions of areas, the distribution of
representation among the subdivision of
areas, or among marketing organizations
within the areas is authorized under
§ 948.53. Such reestablishment is made
by the Secretary upon the
recommendation of the affected area
committee. In recommending any such
changes, the area committee shall
consider, among other things, the
relative production and the geographic
locations of producing sections as they
would affect the efficiency of
administration of the order.
Section 948.150(a) of the order’s
administrative rules prescribes the Area
No. 2 Committee membership, as
reestablished under previous
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 28 / Monday, February 11, 2013 / Proposed Rules
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rulemaking actions, with nine producer
members and five handler members.
The nine producer positions are
designated to represent various subregions of the production area.
Currently, § 948.150(a)(3) specifically
dedicates one of those producer
positions to a producer from Conejos
County.
At its meeting on July 19, 2012, the
Committee unanimously recommended
modifying the Committee membership
structure by amending the position
allocated to a producer from Conejos
County. The Committee acknowledged
that the position has been increasingly
hard to fill as the number of potato
producers located in Conejos County
eligible to serve on the Committee has
declined. The Committee attributed the
decrease in the number of producers to
a number of issues in that area,
including competition from alternative
crops and industry consolidation.
The Committee believes that
allocating the position specified in
§ 948.150(a)(3) to a producer from either
Conejos or Costilla County, instead of
just from Conejos County, would
increase the pool of potential Committee
participants from that general subregion of the production area. Conejos
County and Costilla County adjoin each
other on the southern boundary of the
production area and share similar
climates, soils, production resources,
and marketing opportunities. Producers
from either of the two counties would
be able to adequately represent this subregion of the production area on the
Committee. Producers from Costilla
County are currently able to serve on the
Committee in the position allocated in
§ 948.150(a)(5). This position is
designated to a producer from all other
counties in the Area No. 2 production
area that do not have specified
representation as provided in
§ 948.150(a)(1) through (4). This change
is expected to increase the pool of
potential participants eligible to serve
on the Committee and to improve
representation for producers from both
Conejos and Costilla Counties. This
proposed action was unanimously
recommended by the full Committee.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to requirements set forth in
the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)(5
U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS) has
considered the economic impact of this
action on small entities. Accordingly,
AMS has prepared this initial regulatory
flexibility analysis.
The purpose of the RFA is to fit
regulatory actions to the scale of
business subject to such actions in order
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14:08 Feb 08, 2013
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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 80 handlers
of Colorado Area No. 2 potatoes subject
to regulation under the order and
approximately 180 producers in the
regulated production area. Small
agricultural service firms are defined by
the Small Business Administration (13
CFR 121.201) as those having annual
receipts of less than $7,000,000, and
small agricultural producers are defined
as those having annual receipts of less
than $750,000.
During the 2010–2011 marketing year,
the most recent full marketing year for
which statistics are available,
15,583,512 hundredweight of Colorado
Area No. 2 potatoes were inspected
under the order and sold into the fresh
market. Based on an estimated average
f.o.b. price of $12.75 per
hundredweight, the Committee
estimates that 71 Area No. 2 handlers,
or about 89 percent, had annual receipts
of less than $7,000,000. In view of the
foregoing, the majority of Colorado Area
No. 2 potato handlers may be classified
as small entities.
In addition, based on information
provided by the National Agricultural
Statistics Service, the average producer
price for Colorado fall potatoes for
2010–2011 was $9.37 per
hundredweight. The average annual
fresh potato revenue for each of the 180
Colorado Area No. 2 potato producers is
therefore calculated to be approximately
$811,208. Consequently, on average,
many of the Area No. 2 Colorado potato
producers may not be classified as small
entities.
This rule would reestablish the Area
No. 2 Committee membership structure
currently prescribed under § 948.150(a)
of the order by amending the position
allocated to a producer from Conejos
County (§ 948.150(a)(3)). Beginning with
the 2013–2014 term of office, such
designated Committee position would
be allocated to an eligible producer
operating in either Conejos or Costilla
County. Authority for this action is
contained in §§ 948.50 and 948.53.
At the meeting, the Committee
discussed the potential impact of this
change on handlers and producers. The
proposed change is expected to improve
Committee representation for producers
from this general sub-region of the
production area. Further, the proposed
modification is not anticipated to have
any financial or regulatory impact on
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the area’s potato producers or handlers.
Lastly, the benefits resulting from this
rule are not expected to be
disproportionately greater or less for
small handlers or producers than for
larger entities.
The Committee discussed alternatives
to this proposed change including
taking no immediate action, reviewing
the issue in the future, and
redesignating the Committee position to
be an at-large position that could be
filled by producers from across the
entire production area.
The Committee believes that
representation on the Committee by
producers from each of the sub-regions
of the production area is important for
the efficient administration of the order.
The Committee also feels that the
declining trend in the number of
producers in Conejos County is not
likely to be self-reversing. As such, the
Committee determined that there would
not be any benefit to delaying corrective
action to resolve this Committee
representation issue and readdressing it
in the future. In addition, the Committee
determined that changing the position
designated to a producer from Conejos
County into an at-large position could
jeopardize the representation for
producers from that southern subregion. As such, the Committee
concluded that both of the above
options would not be sufficiently
responsive to the current situation and
modifying the membership structure as
recommended is the best course of
action to take at this time.
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the order’s information
collection requirements have been
previously approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) and
assigned OMB No. 0581–0178. No
changes in those requirements as a
result of this action are necessary.
Should any changes become necessary,
they would be submitted to OMB for
approval.
This rule will not impose any
additional reporting or recordkeeping
requirements on either small or large
potato handlers. As with all Federal
marketing order programs, reports and
forms are periodically reviewed to
reduce information requirements and
duplication by industry and public
sector agencies.
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. In
addition, USDA has not identified any
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 28 / Monday, February 11, 2013 / Proposed Rules
relevant Federal rules that duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with this rule.
Further, the Committee’s meeting was
widely publicized throughout the
Colorado potato industry and all
interested persons were invited to
attend the meeting and participate in
Committee deliberations. Like all
Committee meetings, the July 19, 2012,
meeting was a public meeting and all
entities, both large and small, were able
to express their views on this issue.
Finally, interested persons are invited to
submit comments on this proposed rule,
including the regulatory and
informational impacts of this action on
small businesses.
A small business guide on complying
with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop
marketing agreements and orders may
be viewed at: www.ams.usda.gov/
MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide.
Any questions about the compliance
guide should be sent to Laurel May at
the previously mentioned address in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
A 60-day comment period is provided
to allow interested persons to respond
to this proposal. All written comments
timely received will be considered
before a final determination is made on
this matter.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 948
Marketing agreements, Potatoes,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, 7 CFR part 948 is proposed to
be amended as follows:
PART 948—IRISH POTATOES GROWN
IN COLORADO
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR
part 948 continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.
2. In § 948.150, paragraph (a)(3) is
revised to read as follows:
■
§ 948.150 Reestablishment of committee
membership.
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*
*
*
*
*
(a) * * *
(3) One (1) producer from either
Conejos or Costilla County.
*
*
*
*
*
Dated: February 5, 2013.
David R. Shipman,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. 2013–02979 Filed 2–8–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
10 CFR Part 430
[Docket No. EERE–2012–BT–STD–0047]
RIN 1904–AC88
Energy Efficiency Program for
Consumer Products: Energy
Conservation Standards for
Residential Boilers
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and
availability of the Framework
Document.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) is initiating the
rulemaking and data collection process
to consider amending the energy
conservation standards for residential
boilers. This rulemaking will satisfy the
statutory requirement for DOE to
conduct a second round of energy
conservation standards rulemaking for
residential boilers, and it will also fulfill
DOE’s statutory obligation to review
energy conservation standards within
six years after issuance of any final rule
establishing or amending a standard to
determine whether such standards
should be amended. After concluding
its initial review of the available
information and public comments, DOE
will publish either a notice of the
determination that standards do not
need to be amended, or a notice of
proposed rulemaking including new
proposed standards. To inform
interested parties and to facilitate this
process, DOE has prepared a Framework
Document that details the analytical
approach and scope of coverage for the
rulemaking, and identifies several issues
on which DOE is particularly interested
in receiving comments. DOE will hold
a public meeting to discuss and receive
comments on its planned analytical
approach and issues it will address in
this rulemaking proceeding. DOE
welcomes written comments and
relevant data from the public on any
subject within the scope of this
rulemaking. A copy of the Framework
Document is available at: https://
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
appliance_standards/residential/
furnaces_boilers.html.
DATES: Meeting: DOE will hold a public
meeting on Wednesday, March 13, 2013,
from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. directly after
the Residential Furnace and Boilers Test
Procedure NOPR Pubic Meeting in
Washington, DC. Additionally, DOE
plans to conduct the public meeting via
webinar. You may attend the public
SUMMARY:
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9631
meeting via webinar, and registration
information, participant instructions,
and information about the capabilities
available to webinar participants will be
published on DOE’s Web site at: https://
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
appliance_standards/residential/
furnaces_boilers.html. Participants are
responsible for ensuring that their
systems are compatible with the
webinar software.
DOE must receive requests to speak at
the public meeting before 4:00 p.m.,
Wednesday, February 27, 2013. DOE
must receive an electronic copy of the
statement with the name and, if
appropriate, the organization of the
presenter to be given at the public
meeting before 4:00 p.m., Wednesday,
March 6, 2013.
Comments: DOE will accept written
comments, data, and information
regarding the Framework Document
before and after the public meeting, but
no later than March 28, 2013.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be
held at the U.S. Department of Energy,
Forrestal Building, Room 8E–089, 1000
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–0121. Please
note that foreign nationals planning to
participate in the public meeting are
subject to advance security screening
procedures. If a foreign national wishes
to participate in the public meeting,
please inform DOE of this fact as soon
as possible by contacting Ms. Brenda
Edwards at (202) 586–2945 so that the
necessary procedures can be completed.
Please note that any person wishing to
bring a laptop computer into the
Forrestal Building will be required to
obtain a property pass. Visitors should
avoid bringing laptops, or allow an extra
45 minutes. As noted above, persons
may also attend the public meeting via
webinar.
Interested parties are encouraged to
submit comments electronically.
However, comments may be submitted
by any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal:
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• E-Mail:
ResBoilers2012STD0047@ee.doe.gov.
Include docket number EERE–2012–BT–
STD–0047 and/or regulatory
identification number (RIN) 1904–AC88
in the subject line of the message. All
comments should clearly identify the
name, address, and, if appropriate,
organization of the commenter. Submit
electronic comments in WordPerfect,
Microsoft Word, PDF, or ASCII file
format, and avoid the use of special
characters or any form of encryption.
• Postal Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards,
U.S. Department of Energy, Building
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 28 (Monday, February 11, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 9629-9631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02979]
========================================================================
Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 28 / Monday, February 11, 2013 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 9629]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 948
[Doc. No. AMS-FV-12-0044; FV12-948-2 PR]
Irish Potatoes Grown in Colorado; Reestablishment of Membership
on the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, Area No. 2
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This rule invites comments on reestablishing the membership on
the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee, Area No. 2 (Committee).
The Committee locally administers the marketing order regulating the
handling of Irish potatoes grown in Colorado. This rule would modify
the Committee membership structure by amending the position allocated
to a producer from Conejos County. Beginning with the 2013-2014 term of
office, such designated Committee position would be allocated to an
eligible producer operating in either Conejos or Costilla County. This
action is expected to improve Committee representation for producers
from this sub-region of the production area.
DATES: Comments must be received by April 12, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this rule. Comments must be sent to the Docket Clerk,
Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program,
AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC
20250-0237; Fax: (202) 720-8938; or Internet: https://www.regulations.gov. All comments should reference the document number
and the date and page number of this issue of the Federal Register and
will be made available for public inspection in the Office of the
Docket Clerk during regular business hours, or can be viewed at: https://www.regulations.gov. All comments submitted in response to this rule
will be included in the record and will be made available to the
public. Please be advised that the identity of the individuals or
entities submitting the comments will be made public on the Internet at
the address provided above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry Broadbent, Marketing Specialist,
or Gary Olson, Regional Director, Northwest Marketing Field Office,
Marketing Order and Agreement Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program,
AMS, USDA; Telephone: (503) 326-2724, Fax: (503) 326-7440, or Email:
Barry.Broadbent@ams.usda.gov or GaryD.Olson@ams.usda.gov.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Laurel May, Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, DC 20250-0237; Telephone: (202) 720-
2491, Fax: (202) 720-8938, or Email: Laurel.May@ams.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposal is issued under Marketing
Agreement No. 97 and Marketing Order No. 948, both as amended (7 CFR
part 948), regulating the handling of Irish potatoes grown in Colorado,
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 proposal has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule is not intended to have retroactive effect.
The Act provides that administrative proceedings must be exhausted
before parties may file suit in court. Under Sec. 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 proposal invites comments on reestablishing the membership
structure of the Committee. This rule would modify the current
Committee membership structure by amending the position currently
allocated to a producer from Conejos County. Beginning with the 2013-
2014 term of office, such designated Committee position would be
allocated to an eligible producer operating in either Conejos or
Costilla County. This action is expected to improve Committee
representation for producers from this sub-region of the production
area. This change was unanimously recommended by the Committee at a
meeting held on July 19, 2012.
Section 948.4 of the order divides the State of Colorado into three
areas of regulation for marketing order purposes. These areas include:
Area No. 1, commonly known as the Western Slope; Area No. 2, commonly
known as San Luis Valley; and, Area No. 3, which consists of the
remaining producing areas within the State of Colorado not included in
the definition of Area No. 1 or Area No. 2. Currently, the order only
regulates the handling of potatoes produced in Area No. 2 and Area No.
3. Regulation for Area No. 1 has been suspended.
Section 948.50 of the order establishes committees as
administrative agencies for each of the areas set forth under Sec.
948.4. The reestablishment of areas, subdivisions of areas, the
distribution of representation among the subdivision of areas, or among
marketing organizations within the areas is authorized under Sec.
948.53. Such reestablishment is made by the Secretary upon the
recommendation of the affected area committee. In recommending any such
changes, the area committee shall consider, among other things, the
relative production and the geographic locations of producing sections
as they would affect the efficiency of administration of the order.
Section 948.150(a) of the order's administrative rules prescribes
the Area No. 2 Committee membership, as reestablished under previous
[[Page 9630]]
rulemaking actions, with nine producer members and five handler
members. The nine producer positions are designated to represent
various sub-regions of the production area. Currently, Sec.
948.150(a)(3) specifically dedicates one of those producer positions to
a producer from Conejos County.
At its meeting on July 19, 2012, the Committee unanimously
recommended modifying the Committee membership structure by amending
the position allocated to a producer from Conejos County. The Committee
acknowledged that the position has been increasingly hard to fill as
the number of potato producers located in Conejos County eligible to
serve on the Committee has declined. The Committee attributed the
decrease in the number of producers to a number of issues in that area,
including competition from alternative crops and industry
consolidation.
The Committee believes that allocating the position specified in
Sec. 948.150(a)(3) to a producer from either Conejos or Costilla
County, instead of just from Conejos County, would increase the pool of
potential Committee participants from that general sub-region of the
production area. Conejos County and Costilla County adjoin each other
on the southern boundary of the production area and share similar
climates, soils, production resources, and marketing opportunities.
Producers from either of the two counties would be able to adequately
represent this sub-region of the production area on the Committee.
Producers from Costilla County are currently able to serve on the
Committee in the position allocated in Sec. 948.150(a)(5). This
position is designated to a producer from all other counties in the
Area No. 2 production area that do not have specified representation as
provided in Sec. 948.150(a)(1) through (4). This change is expected to
increase the pool of potential participants eligible to serve on the
Committee and to improve representation for producers from both Conejos
and Costilla Counties. This proposed action was unanimously recommended
by the full Committee.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA)(5 U.S.C. 601-612), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)
has considered the economic impact of this action on small entities.
Accordingly, AMS has prepared this initial 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 80 handlers of Colorado Area No. 2 potatoes
subject to regulation under the order and approximately 180 producers
in the regulated production area. Small agricultural service firms are
defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.201) as those
having annual receipts of less than $7,000,000, and small agricultural
producers are defined as those having annual receipts of less than
$750,000.
During the 2010-2011 marketing year, the most recent full marketing
year for which statistics are available, 15,583,512 hundredweight of
Colorado Area No. 2 potatoes were inspected under the order and sold
into the fresh market. Based on an estimated average f.o.b. price of
$12.75 per hundredweight, the Committee estimates that 71 Area No. 2
handlers, or about 89 percent, had annual receipts of less than
$7,000,000. In view of the foregoing, the majority of Colorado Area No.
2 potato handlers may be classified as small entities.
In addition, based on information provided by the National
Agricultural Statistics Service, the average producer price for
Colorado fall potatoes for 2010-2011 was $9.37 per hundredweight. The
average annual fresh potato revenue for each of the 180 Colorado Area
No. 2 potato producers is therefore calculated to be approximately
$811,208. Consequently, on average, many of the Area No. 2 Colorado
potato producers may not be classified as small entities.
This rule would reestablish the Area No. 2 Committee membership
structure currently prescribed under Sec. 948.150(a) of the order by
amending the position allocated to a producer from Conejos County
(Sec. 948.150(a)(3)). Beginning with the 2013-2014 term of office,
such designated Committee position would be allocated to an eligible
producer operating in either Conejos or Costilla County. Authority for
this action is contained in Sec. Sec. 948.50 and 948.53.
At the meeting, the Committee discussed the potential impact of
this change on handlers and producers. The proposed change is expected
to improve Committee representation for producers from this general
sub-region of the production area. Further, the proposed modification
is not anticipated to have any financial or regulatory impact on the
area's potato producers or handlers. Lastly, the benefits resulting
from this rule are not expected to be disproportionately greater or
less for small handlers or producers than for larger entities.
The Committee discussed alternatives to this proposed change
including taking no immediate action, reviewing the issue in the
future, and redesignating the Committee position to be an at-large
position that could be filled by producers from across the entire
production area.
The Committee believes that representation on the Committee by
producers from each of the sub-regions of the production area is
important for the efficient administration of the order. The Committee
also feels that the declining trend in the number of producers in
Conejos County is not likely to be self-reversing. As such, the
Committee determined that there would not be any benefit to delaying
corrective action to resolve this Committee representation issue and
readdressing it in the future. In addition, the Committee determined
that changing the position designated to a producer from Conejos County
into an at-large position could jeopardize the representation for
producers from that southern sub-region. As such, the Committee
concluded that both of the above options would not be sufficiently
responsive to the current situation and modifying the membership
structure as recommended is the best course of action to take at this
time.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35), the order's information collection requirements have been
previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and
assigned OMB No. 0581-0178. No changes in those requirements as a
result of this action are necessary. Should any changes become
necessary, they would be submitted to OMB for approval.
This rule will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping
requirements on either small or large potato handlers. As with all
Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are periodically
reviewed to reduce information requirements and duplication by industry
and public sector agencies.
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. In addition, USDA has not
identified any
[[Page 9631]]
relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this
rule.
Further, the Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout
the Colorado potato industry and all interested persons were invited to
attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations. Like all
Committee meetings, the July 19, 2012, meeting was a public meeting and
all entities, both large and small, were able to express their views on
this issue. Finally, interested persons are invited to submit comments
on this proposed rule, including the regulatory and informational
impacts of this action on small businesses.
A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and
specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at:
www.ams.usda.gov/MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. Any questions about
the compliance guide should be sent to Laurel May at the previously
mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
A 60-day comment period is provided to allow interested persons to
respond to this proposal. All written comments timely received will be
considered before a final determination is made on this matter.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 948
Marketing agreements, Potatoes, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 948 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 948--IRISH POTATOES GROWN IN COLORADO
0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 948 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.
0
2. In Sec. 948.150, paragraph (a)(3) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 948.150 Reestablishment of committee membership.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(3) One (1) producer from either Conejos or Costilla County.
* * * * *
Dated: February 5, 2013.
David R. Shipman,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-02979 Filed 2-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
