98-3868. Notice of Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 7746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3868]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 17, 1998 / 
Notices

[[Page 7746]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service
[TM-98-00-3]


Notice of Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 
amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announces a 
forthcoming meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).

DATES: March 16, 1998, at 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; March 17, 1998, from 8 
a.m. to 5 p.m.; March 18, 1998, from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and March 19, 
1998, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the NOSB.
PLACE: Doubletree Hotel Ontario Airport, 222 N. Vineyard, Ontario, 
California 91764. Phone: [phone].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael I. Hankin, Senior Marketing 
Specialist, Room 2510 South Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
AMS, Transportation and Marketing, National Organic Program Staff, PO 
Box 96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456. Phone [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2119 (7 U.S.C. 6518) of the Organic 
Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) 
requires the establishment of the NOSB. The purpose of the NOSB is to 
assist in the development of standards for substances to be used in 
organic production and to advise the Secretary on any other aspects of 
the implementation of OFPA. The NOSB met for the first time in 
Washington, D.C., in March 1992 and currently has six committees 
working on various aspects of the program. The committees are: Crops 
Standards; Processing, Labeling and Packaging; Livestock Standards; 
Accreditation; Materials; and International Issues. In August 1994, the 
NOSB provided its initial recommendations for the National Organic 
Program (NOP) to the Secretary of Agriculture and since that time has 
submitted 30 addenda to the recommendations and reviewed more than 170 
substances for inclusion on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited 
Substances. The last meeting of the NOSB was held in September 1996, in 
Indianapolis, Indiana. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) published 
its proposed rule for the NOP in the Federal Register (62 FR 65849) on 
December 16, 1997. An extension of the comment period on the proposed 
rule was published in the Federal Register (63 FR 6498-6499) on 
February 9, 1998. The comment period has been extended until April 30, 
1998.

Purpose and Agenda

    The main purposes of this meeting are to provide an opportunity for 
the NOSB to listen to comments from interested persons regarding the 
proposed rule for the NOP, for the NOSB to review its Committee reports 
on the proposed rule, and for the NOSB to prepare comments on the 
proposed rule to be submitted to USDA. Minutes of the NOSB meeting, 
including minutes of oral presentations to the NOSB, will be included 
in the public record of comments for the proposed rule.
    A final agenda for this meeting will be available on March 2, 1998. 
Persons requesting copies of the final agenda should contact Ms. Karen 
Thomas at the above address or phone [phone].

Type of Meeting

    All meetings will be open to the public. Individuals and 
organizations wishing to provide oral presentations to the NOSB on 
issues related to the proposed rule should forward the request to Ms. 
Karen Thomas at the above address or by FAX to [phone] by March 
10, 1998, in order to be scheduled. The NOSB has scheduled time for 
public input on March 16, 1998, beginning at 1 p.m. and continuing 
until 5 p.m. While persons wishing to make a presentation may sign up 
at the door, advance registration will ensure an opportunity to speak 
during the allotted time period and will help the NOSB better manage 
the meeting and accomplish the agenda. It is our intention to give each 
individual or organization approximately 5 minutes to present orally 
their views on the key issues of concern. All persons making an oral 
presentation are asked also to provide their views in writing. Such 
written submissions may of course supplement the oral presentation with 
additional material. Attendees who do not wish to make an oral 
presentation are invited to submit written comments to the NOSB at this 
meeting. Those persons submitting written comments should provide 20 
copies to the NOSB. All such comments will be included in the minutes 
of the meeting and placed in the rulemaking record.

    Dated: February 9, 1998.
Eileen S. Stommes,
Deputy Administrator, Transportation and Marketing.
[FR Doc. 98-3868 Filed 2-13-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P