§ 1079.7 - Pool plant.

Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, pool plant means:

(a) Any plant (which, if qualified pursuant to this paragraph, shall be known as a “pool distributing plant”) that is approved by a duly constituted regulatory agency for the processing or packaging of Grade A milk and from which during the month:

(1) The total route disposition (excluding packaged fluid milk products received from other plants and filled milk) as a percent of the total Grade A fluid milk products received in bulk form at such plant or diverted therefrom by the plant operator is equal to 40 percent or more during each of the months of September through November and 35 percent or more during all other months;

(2) Not less than 15 percent of such receipts are disposed of as route disposition (except filled milk) in the marketing area; and

(3) A unit consisting of at least two plants operated by a handler shall be considered as one distributing plant for the purpose of meeting the requirements of this paragraph if:

(i) Fluid milk products are processed and packaged at each plant;

(ii) Each plant meets the requirements of paragraph (a)(2) of this section; and

(iii) The handler notified the market administrator in writing before the first day of the month that the plants should be considered as a unit. The unit shall continue from month to month thereafter without further notification. To add plants to the unit, to drop them, or to discontinue the unit, the handler shall notify the market administrator in writing on or before the first day of the month such change is to be made.

(b) Any plant (which, if qualified pursuant to this paragraph, shall be known as a “pool supply plant”) that is approved by a duly constituted regulatory agency for the handling of Grade A milk and from which during the month the volume of bulk fluid milk products transferred to pool distributing plants during each of the months of September through November is 35 percent or more and during each of the months of December through August is 30 percent or more of the total Grade A milk received at the plant from dairy farmers and handlers described in § 1079.9(c), including milk diverted therefrom by the plant operator pursuant to § 1079.13, subject to the following conditions:

(1) The shipping percentages of this paragraph may be increased or decreased up to 10 percentage points by the Director of the Dairy Division if he finds that such revision is necessary to result in needed shipments to pool distributing plants for Class I use, or to prevent uneconomic shipments, subject to the following conditions:

(i) Before making such a finding, the Director shall investigate the need for revision either on his own initiative or at the request of interested persons. If the investigation shows that a revision of the shipping percentage might be appropriate, he shall issue a notice stating that the revision is being considered and invite data, views, and arguments; and

(ii) No plant may qualify as a pool plant due to a reduction in the shipping percentage pursuant to this subparagraph unless it had been a pool supply plant during each of the immediately preceding three months.

(2) For plants located within the States of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, or that portion of Illinois north of Interstate 80, the shipping requirements of this paragraph may also be met in the following ways:

(i) A cooperative association that operates a supply plant may include as qualifying shipments its deliveries to pool distributing plants directly from farms of producers pursuant to § 1079.9(c);

(ii) A proprietary handler may include as qualifying shipments milk diverted pursuant to § 1079.13(d) to pool distributing plants;

(iii) The operator of a supply plant may include as qualifying shipments transfers of fluid milk products to distributing plants regulated under other Federal orders, except that credit for such transfers shall be limited to the amount of milk, including milk shipped directly from producers’ farms, delivered to pool distributing plants under this order; and

(iv) Two or more supply plants operated by the same handler or by one or more cooperative associations may qualify for pooling as a unit by meeting the applicable percentage requirements of this paragraph in the same manner as a single plant if the handler submits a written request to the market administrator prior to the first day of September requesting that such plants qualify as a unit for the period of September through August of the following year.

The request shall list the plants to be included in the unit in the sequence in which they shall qualify for pool plant status based on the minimum deliveries required. If the deliveries made are insufficient to qualify the entire unit for pooling, the plant last on the list shall be excluded from the unit, followed by the plant next-to-last on the list, and continuing in this sequence until remaining plants on the list have met the minimum shipping requirements. Each plant that qualifies as a pool plant within a unit shall continue each month as a plant in the unit through the following August unless the plant fails subsequently to qualify for pooling or the handler submits a written request to the market administrator prior to the first day of the month that the plant be deleted from the unit or that the unit be discontinued. Any plant that has been so deleted from the unit, or that has failed to qualify in any month, will not be part of the unit for the remaining months through August. No plant may be added in any subsequent month through the following August to a unit that qualifies in September.

(c) Any plant, except a plant included in a unit, that qualified as a pool plant in each of the immediately preceding three months on the basis of performance standards described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section.

(d) The term “pool plant” shall not apply to the following plants:

(1) A producer-handler plant;

(2) A governmental agency plant;

(3) A plant qualified as a pool plant pursuant to paragraph (a) in this section which also meets the pooling requirements of another Federal order and from which during the month a greater quantity of fluid milk products, except filled milk, was disposed of as route disposition, in such other marketing area and to pool plants qualified on the basis of route disposition in such other marketing area than was so disposed of from such plant in the Iowa marketing area as route disposition, or to pool plants qualified on the basis of route disposition, except that if such plant was subject to all the provisions of this part in the immediately preceding month, it shall continue to be subject to all the provisions of this part until the third consecutive month in which a greater proportion of its fluid milk products disposition, except filled milk, is made in the above described manner in such other marketing area, unless, notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph, it is regulated by such other order;

(4) A plant qualified as a pool plant pursuant to this section which also meets the pooling requirements of another Federal order and from which during the month a greater quantity of fluid milk products, except filled milk, was disposed of as route disposition in this marketing area, and to pool plants qualified on the basis of route disposition in this marketing area than was so disposed of in such other Federal order marketing area but which plant is, nevertheless, fully regulated under such other Federal order; and

(5) That portion of a plant that is physically separated from the Grade A portion of such plant, is operated separately, and is not approved by any regulatory agency for the receiving, processing, or packaging of any fluid milk product for Grade A disposition.