§ 1139.7 - Pool plant.

Pool plant means any plant, except a plant defined in § 1139.8, which meets the standards of one or more of the following paragraphs:

(a) A distributing plant from which not less than:

(1) 50 percent in any month of September through February, 45 percent of any month of March and April, and 40 percent in any month of May through August of the approved fluid milk products, except filled milk, received at such plant (excluding milk received at such plant from other order plants or dairy farms which is classified in Class II or Class III under this order and which is subject to the pricing and pooling provisions of any other order issued pursuant to the Act), are disposed of as route disposition; and

(2) 15 percent of such receipts are disposed of as route disposition in the marketing area during the month.

(3) If a handler operates more than one distributing plant, the combined receipts and fluid milk product dispositions of such plants may be used as the basis for qualifying all of the plants pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of this section, provided the handler so notifies the market administrator in writing before the last day of the month for which such consolidation is desired.

(b) A distributing plant that meets the following conditions:

(1) The plant is located in the marketing area;

(2) The plant meets the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section; and

(3) The principal activity of such plant is the processing and distribution of aseptically processed and packaged fluid milk products.

(c) A supply plant from which during the month not less than 50 percent of its approved milk receipts from dairy farmers is transferred to a pool distributing plant pursuant to paragraphs (a) or (b) of this section as fluid milk products. Any supply plant that has qualified as a pool plant in each of the immediately preceding months of August through February shall be a pool plant in each of the following months of March through July unless written request for nonpool status for any of such months is filed by the plant operator with the market administrator prior to the first day of the month the request is to be effective. A plant withdrawn from pool supply plant status may not be reinstated for any subsequent month of the March through July period unless it fulfills the transferring requirement of this paragraph for such month.

(d) Any manufacturing plant, or other plant not defined in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) of this section, located within the marketing area at which milk is received from producers and which is owned and operated by a cooperative association or federation which delivers at least 35 percent of its producer milk (including that in fluid milk products transferred from its own plant pursuant to this paragraph that is not in excess of the amount in producer milk actually received at such plant) to pool distributing plants during the current month or the 12-month period ending with the current month, if the cooperative association or federation requests pool plant status for such plant in writing before the first day of any month for which such status is to be effective.

(e) The pool plant performance standards in paragraphs (a)(1), (b), (c) or (d) of this section may be reduced or increased by 10 percentage points by the Director of the Dairy Division if that person finds such revision is necessary to assure orderly marketing and efficient handling of milk in the marketing area. Before making such a finding, the Director shall investigate the need for revision either at the Director's own initiative or at the request of interested persons. If the investigation shows that a revision might be appropriate, the Director shall issue a notice stating that the revision is being considered and invite data, views, and arguments.