[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 19 (Friday, January 28, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page ]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1905]
[Federal Register: January 28, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 19
Friday, January 28, 1994
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 1210
RIN 0581-AB08
[FV-93-705PR]
Watermelon Research and Promotion Plan; Rules and Regulations;
Realignment of Districts
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: This proposed rule would change the boundaries of five of the
seven districts established under the Watermelon Research and Promotion
Plan (Plan) to apportion membership on the National Watermelon
Promotion Board (Board). This action is necessary to reflect shifts in
production since the original districts were established. The Plan
requires the periodic realignment of the districts based on shifts in
production to ensure equitable representation of producers and handlers
on the Board.
DATES: Comments must be received by February 28, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments
concerning this proposed rule to: Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable
Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box 96456, room 2535-S, Washington, DC 20090-
6456. Three copies of all written materials should be submitted, and
they will be made available for public inspection in the Office of the
Docket Clerk during regular working hours. All comments should
reference the docket number of this issue of the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sonia N. Jimenez, Research and
Promotion Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box
96456, room 2535-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone (202) 720-
9916.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed rule is issued under the
Watermelon Research and Promotion Plan (Plan) (7 CFR part 1210). The
Plan is authorized under the Watermelon Research and Promotion Act (7
U.S.C. 4901-4916), hereinafter referred to as the Act.
The Department is issuing this proposed rule in conformance with
Executive Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. It is not intended to have retroactive effect. This
rule would 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 1650 of the Act, a
person subject to the Plan may file a petition with the Secretary
stating that the Plan or any provision of the Plan, or any obligation
imposed in connection with the Plan, is not in accordance with law and
requesting a modification of the Plan or an exemption from the Plan.
The petitioner is afforded the opportunity for a hearing on the
petition. After such hearing, the Secretary will make a ruling on the
petition. The Act provides that the district courts of the United
States in any district in which a person who is a petitioner resides or
carries on business are vested with jurisdiction to review the
Secretary's ruling on the petition, if a complaint for that purpose is
filed within 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule on small
entities.
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.
There are approximately 750 watermelon handlers and 5,000
watermelon producers in the contiguous 48 States of the United States
who are subject to the Plan. Small agricultural service firms are
defined by the Small Business Administration [13 CFR 121.601] as those
having annual receipts of less than $3,500,000 and small agricultural
producers are defined as those having annual receipts of less than
$500,000. The majority of watermelon handlers and producers may be
classified as small entities.
The Administrator of AMS has determined that this action would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Paperwork Reduction
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (40 U.S.C.
chapter 35), the information collection requirements contained in the
Plan have previously been approved by the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) and assigned OMB number 0581-0093, except for the Board
nominee background statement form which is assigned OMB number 0505-
0001. This action adds no additional reporting burden.
Background
Under the Plan, the National Watermelon Promotion Board (Board)
administers a nationally coordinated program of research, development,
advertising, and promotion designed to strengthen the watermelon's
position in the market place and to establish, maintain, and expand
markets for domestic watermelons. This program is financed by
assessments on all producers, except those persons engaged in the
growing of less than five acres of watermelons, and handlers of
watermelons. The Plan specifies that handlers are responsible for
collecting and submitting both the producer and handler assessments to
the Board, reporting their handling of watermelons, and maintaining
records necessary to verify their reportings.
Membership on the Board is determined on the basis of two producers
and two handlers for each of seven districts established under the
Plan. The districts are required to have approximately equal annual
production volume. The initial (and current) districts were based on a
three-year average production derived from U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) Crop Production Annual Summary Reports for 1979,
1980, and 1981.
These districts are:
District #1--South Florida, including all areas south of State
Highway 50.
District #2--North Florida, including all areas north of State
Highway 50.
District #3--The States of Alabama and Georgia.
District #4--The States of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont,
Virginia, and West Virginia.
District #5--The States of Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee,
and Wisconsin.
District #6--The State of Texas.
District #7--The States of Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana,
Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
The Plan provides that two years after its effective date (June 8,
1989) and at least every five years thereafter, the Board should review
the districts to determine whether realignment of districts is
necessary.
When making such reviews, the Plan specifies that the Board should
consider such factors as the most recent three-year USDA production
reports or Board assessment reports, if USDA production reports are
unavailable, shifts and trends in quantities of watermelons produced,
and any other relevant factors.
The Plan further specifies that, as a result of such reviews, the
Board may realign the districts subject to the approval of the
Secretary. Any such alignment should be recommended by the Board at
least six months prior to the date of the call for nominations and
should become effective at least 30 days prior to such date.
In accordance with the Plan, the Board appointed a subcommittee to
review production and assessment collections in the current districts.
During the review, the subcommittee used USDA and State production and
marketing reports, as well as data derived from Board assessment
reports and field notes. The subcommittee focused on information
collected between 1990 and 1992.
After reviewing the available information, the subcommittee
recommended that the boundaries of Districts 3 through 7 be changed and
that Districts 1 and 2 remain unchanged. In order for each district to
represent approximately 3 million hundredweights of annual watermelon
production, the subcommittee's recommendation would: move Mississippi
from District 5 to District 3; move Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee
from District 5 to District 4; move Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah,
Nevada, Washington, Oregon, and California north of San Luis Obispo,
Kern, and San Bernadino counties from District 7 to District 5; move
Arkansas and Louisiana from District 5 to District 6; and move New
Mexico from District 5 to District 7.
The subcommittee's recommendation was approved by the Board's
executive committee, and the full Board voted by mail ballot. In the
mail ballot, 19 members voted ``yes,'' 4 members voted ``no,'' and 5
members did not return a ballot.
Therefore, this proposal would realign the districts as follows:
District #1--South Florida, including all areas south of State
Highway 50.
District #2--North Florida, including all areas north of State
Highway 50.
District #3--The States of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
District #4--The States of Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana,
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
District #5--The States of California--north of San Luis Obispo,
Kern, and San Bernardino counties, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and
Wyoming.
District #6--The States of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
District #7--The State of Arizona, the remainder of the State of
California, including San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino
counties, and the State of New Mexico.
The Board has recommended that the new districts become effective
for the three-year term of office which begins on January 1, 1995. If
adopted, this proposal would affect the eligibility of three current
Board members and could necessitate Board member nomination meetings
for Districts 4, 5, 6, and 7 in spring 1994. In the normal cycle of
nominating approximately one-third of the Board members each year,
spring 1994 nomination meetings were already planned for Districts 2
and 3.
In addition, if this proposal is adopted, it will be necessary to
make a conforming change to Sec. 1210.401. Section 1210.401 currently
states that the districts are defined in Sec. 1210.320 of the Plan.
Since, this rule would define new district boundaries in a new
Sec. 1210.501, this rule would also change Sec. 1210.401(b) to reflect
this new section number.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1210
Advertising, Agricultural practice and procedure, Agricultural
research, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Watermelons.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, part 1210, chapter XI of
title 7 is proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 1210--WATERMELON RESEARCH AND PROMOTION PLAN
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 1210 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4901-4916.
2. In Sec. 1210.401(b), the words ``1210.320'' in the last sentence
are revised to read ``1210.501''.
3. A new Sec. 1210.501 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 1210.501 Realignment of districts.
Pursuant to Sec. 1210.320(c) of the Plan, the districts shall be as
follows:
District #1--South Florida, including all areas south of State
Highway 50.
District #2--North Florida, including all areas north of State
Highway 50.
District #3--The States of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi.
District #4--The States of Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana,
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
District #5--The States of California--north of San Luis Obispo,
Kern, and San Bernardino counties, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and
Wyoming.
District #6--The States of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.
District #7--The State of Arizona, the remainder of the State of
California, including San Luis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino
counties, and the State of New Mexico.
Dated: January 20, 1994.
Lon Hatamiya,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-1905 Filed 1-27-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
