Olives Grown in California; Increased Assessment Rate

Published date08 April 2021
Citation86 FR 18216
Record Number2021-07218
SectionProposed rules
CourtAgricultural Marketing Service,Agriculture Department
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.
Proposed Rules Federal Register
18216
Vol. 86, No. 66
Thursday, April 8, 2021
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 932
[Doc. No. AMS–SC–20–0102; SC21–932–1
PR]
Olives Grown in California; Increased
Assessment Rate
AGENCY
: Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION
: Proposed rule.
SUMMARY
: This proposed rule would
implement a recommendation from the
California Olive Committee (Committee)
to increase the assessment rate
established for the 2021 and subsequent
fiscal years. The proposed assessment
rate would remain in effect indefinitely
unless modified, suspended, or
terminated.
DATES
: Comments must be received by
May 24, 2021.
ADDRESSES
: Interested persons are
invited to submit written comments
concerning this proposed rule.
Comments must be sent to the Docket
Clerk, Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Specialty Crops Program,
AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, STOP 0237, Washington,
DC 20250–0237; or internet: https://
www.regulations.gov. Comments should
reference the document number and the
date and page number of this issue of
the Federal Register and will be
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
:
Bianca Bertrand, Management and
Program Analyst, California Marketing
Field Office, or Andrew Hatch, Deputy
Director, Marketing Order and
Agreement Division, Specialty Crops
Program, AMS, USDA; Telephone: (559)
356–8202 or emails: BiancaM.Bertrand@
usda.gov or Andrew.Hatch@usda.gov.
Small businesses may request
information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Richard Lower,
Marketing Order and Agreement
Division, Specialty Crops Program,
AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, STOP 0237, Washington,
DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720–
2491, or email: Richard.Lower@
usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
: This
action, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553,
proposes to amend regulations issued to
carry out a marketing order as defined
in 7 CFR 900.2(j). This proposed rule is
issued under Marketing Agreement and
Order No. 932, as amended (7 CFR part
932), regulating the handling of olives
grown in California. Part 932 (referred to
as 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
Committee locally administers the
Order and is comprised of producers
and handlers of olives operating within
the production area.
The Department of Agriculture
(USDA) is issuing this proposed rule in
conformance with Executive Orders
13563 and 13175. This proposed rule
falls within a category of regulatory
actions that the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) exempted from
Executive Order 12866 review.
This proposed rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. Under the Order now in
effect, California olive handlers are
subject to assessments. Funds to
administer the Order are derived from
such assessments. It is intended that the
assessment rate would be applicable to
all assessable olives for the 2021 fiscal
year and continue until amended,
suspended, or terminated.
The Act provides that administrative
proceedings must be exhausted before
parties may file suit in court. Under
section 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. Such 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 no later than
20 days after the date of the entry of the
ruling.
This proposed rule would increase
the assessment rate from $15.00 per ton
of assessable olives, the rate that was
established for the 2020 and subsequent
fiscal years, to $30.00 per ton of
assessable olives for the 2021 and
subsequent fiscal years.
The Order authorizes the Committee,
with the approval of USDA, to formulate
an annual budget of expenses and
collect assessments from handlers to
administer the program. The members
are familiar with the Committee’s needs
and with the costs of goods and services
in their local area and are able to
formulate an appropriate budget and
assessment rate. The assessment rate is
formulated and discussed in a public
meeting and all directly affected persons
have an opportunity to participate and
provide input.
For the 2020 and subsequent fiscal
years, the Committee recommended,
and USDA approved, an assessment rate
of $15.00 per ton of assessable olives.
That assessment rate continues in effect
from fiscal year to fiscal year unless
modified, suspended, or terminated by
USDA upon recommendation and
information submitted by the
Committee or other information
available to USDA.
The Committee met on December 8,
2020, and unanimously recommended
expenditures of $1,151,832, and an
assessment rate of $30.00 per ton of
assessable olives handled for the 2021
and subsequent fiscal years. In
comparison, last year’s budgeted
expenditures were $1,035,406. The
proposed assessment rate of $30.00 is
$15.00 higher than the rate currently in
effect. Handlers received 23,193 tons of
assessable olives for the 2020 crop year.
This is substantially less than the
volume for the 2019 crop year, which
was 81,689 tons of assessable olives.
The Committee recommended
increasing the assessment rate due to
the smaller crop. The proposed
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 66 / Thursday, April 8, 2021 / Proposed Rules
assessment rate and funds from the
reserve would cover the Committee’s
budgeted expenses for the 2021 fiscal
year. Funds in the reserve are expected
to remain within the Order’s
requirement of no more than
approximately one fiscal year’s
budgeted expenses.
The Order has both a fiscal year and
a crop year that are independent of each
other. The crop year is a 12-month
period that begins on August 1 of each
year and ends on July 31 of the
following year. The fiscal year is the 12-
month period that begins on January 1
and ends on December 31 of each year.
Olives are an alternate-bearing crop,
with a small crop followed by a large
crop. For the Committee, the actual crop
year receipts, along with the proposed
budget, are used to determine the
assessment rate for the following fiscal
year. The Committee expects
fluctuations in the assessment rate,
given the alternate-bearing
characteristics of olives.
The major expenditures
recommended by the Committee for the
2021 fiscal year include $531,300 for
general administration expenses,
$48,000 for inspection expenses,
$334,532 for research, and $238,000 for
marketing expenses. Budgeted expenses
for these items for the 2020 fiscal year
were $631,300, $55,000, $225,606, and
$123,500 respectively.
The Committee derived the
recommended assessment rate by
considering anticipated fiscal year
expenses, actual olive tonnage received
by handlers during the 2020 crop year,
and the amount of funds available in the
authorized reserve. Income derived from
handler assessments, calculated at
$695,790 (23,193 tons assessable olives
multiplied by $30.00 assessment rate),
along with funds from the Committee’s
authorized reserve of $456,042, would
be adequate to cover budgeted expenses
of $1,151,832.
The assessment rate proposed in this
rule would continue in effect
indefinitely unless modified,
suspended, or terminated by USDA
upon recommendation and information
submitted by the Committee or other
available information.
Although this assessment rate would
be in effect for an indefinite period, the
Committee will continue to meet prior
to or during each fiscal year to
recommend a budget of expenses and
consider recommendations for
modification of the assessment rate. The
dates and times of Committee meetings
are available from the Committee or
USDA. Committee meetings are open to
the public and interested persons may
express their views at these meetings.
USDA would evaluate Committee
recommendations and other available
information to determine whether
modification of the assessment rate is
needed. Further rulemaking would be
undertaken as necessary. The
Committee’s 2021 fiscal year budget,
and those for subsequent fiscal years,
would be reviewed and, as appropriate,
approved by USDA.
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
proposed rule 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
businesses 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 800
producers of olives in the production
area and two handlers subject to the
regulation under the Order. Small
agricultural producers are defined by
the Small Business Administration
(SBA) as those having annual receipts of
less than $1,000,000, and small
agricultural service firms have been
defined as those whose annual receipts
are less than $30,000,000 (13 CFR
121.201).
According to the National
Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS),
the national average producer price for
olives for the 2020 crop year was
$791.00 per ton, and total assessable
volume for the 2020 crop year was
23,193 tons. The total 2020 value of the
olive crop was $18,345,663 (23,193 tons
times $791.00 per ton). Dividing the
crop value by the estimated number of
producers (800) yields an estimated
average receipt per producer of $22,932,
which classifies all olive producers as
small agricultural producers.
Based on information from the
Committee regarding the volume
handled by each handler, neither
handler can be classified as a small
agricultural service firm.
As noted above, the average price
received per ton by producers in the
preceding crop year was $791.00 per ton
of assessable olives. Given the total crop
received by handlers of 23,193 tons, the
total producer revenue is expected to be
$18,345,663. The total assessment
revenue is expected to be $695,790
(23,193 tons times $30.00 per ton).
Thus, the total assessment revenue
compared to total producer revenue is
0.038 percent.
This proposal would increase the
assessment rate collected from handlers
for the 2021 and subsequent fiscal years
from $15.00 to $30.00 per ton of
assessable olives. The Committee
unanimously recommended 2021
expenditures of $1,151,832 and an
assessment rate of $30.00 per ton of
assessable olives. The proposed
assessment rate of $30.00 per ton of
assessable olives is $15.00 higher than
the current rate. The volume of
assessable olives from the 2020 fiscal
year is 23,193 tons. Thus, the $30.00 per
ton assessment rate would provide
$695,790 in assessment income (23,193
tons assessable olives multiplied by
$30.00 assessment rate). Income derived
from handler assessments, along with
funds from the Committee’s authorized
reserve, would be adequate to cover
budgeted expenses for the 2021 fiscal
year.
The major expenditures
recommended by the Committee for the
2021 fiscal year include $531,300 for
general administration expenses,
$48,000 for inspection expenses,
$334,532 for research, and $238,000 for
marketing expenses. Budgeted expenses
for these items in the 2020 fiscal year
were $631,300, $55,000, $225,606, and
$123,500 respectively.
The Committee recommended
increasing the assessment rate to
provide adequate income to cover the
Committee’s budgeted expenses for the
2021 fiscal year while maintaining its
financial reserve within the
requirements of the Order.
Prior to arriving at this budget and
assessment rate recommendation, the
Committee received information from
its Executive, Marketing, and Research
subcommittees. At each subcommittee
meeting, the members discussed various
alternatives to both the assessment rate
and the programs under their purview.
The subcommittees deliberated the
alternatives relative to their needs and
the costs of the programs they oversee.
The Research subcommittee, for
example, discussed the production
research proposals, their relative values,
whether the costs associated with each
project was appropriate, whether the
project was appropriate in scale, and
whether the project met the industry’s
needs. These types of deliberations are
part of the annual discussion held by
each subcommittee. The subcommittees
then report their conclusions and
recommendations to the Committee.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 66 / Thursday, April 8, 2021 / Proposed Rules
Given all the information available to
the Committee and its own
deliberations, the Committee makes a
recommendation to USDA on the
assessment rate and the proposed
budget.
This proposed rule would increase
the assessment obligation imposed on
handlers. Assessments are applied
uniformly on all handlers, and some of
the costs may be passed on to
producers. However, these costs would
be offset by the benefits derived by the
operation of the Order.
The various subcommittees’ meetings
and the Committee’s meeting were
widely publicized throughout the
California olive industry. All interested
persons were invited to attend the
meetings and encouraged to participate
in any deliberations on all issues. Like
all meetings, the subcommittee meetings
held on November 5, 2020, and the full
Committee meeting held on December 8,
2020, were public meetings and all
entities, both large and small, were able
to express views on this issue.
Interested persons are invited to submit
comments on this proposed rule,
including the regulatory and
information collection impacts of this
action on small businesses.
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 OMB and
assigned OMB No. 0581–0178,
Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No
changes in those requirements would be
necessary as a result of this proposed
rule. Should any changes become
necessary, they would be submitted to
OMB for approval.
This proposed rule would not impose
any additional reporting or
recordkeeping requirements on either
small or large California olive 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.
USDA has not identified any relevant
Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or
conflict with this proposed rule.
A small business guide on complying
with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop
marketing agreements and orders may
be viewed at: https://
www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/
moa/small-businesses. Any questions
about the compliance guide should be
sent to Richard Lower at the previously
mentioned address in the
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT
section.
A 45-day comment period is provided
to allow interested persons to respond
to this proposed rule. All written
comments timely received will be
considered before a final determination
is made on this matter.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 932
Marketing agreements, Olives,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, 7 CFR part 932 is proposed to
be amended as follows:
PART 932—OLIVES GROWN IN
CALIFORNIA.
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR
part 932 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.
2. Section 932.230 is revised to read
as follows:
§ 932.230 Assessment rate.
On and after January 1, 2021, an
assessment rate of $30.00 per ton is
established for California olives.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–07218 Filed 4–7–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket No. FAA–2021–0267; Project
Identifier 2017–SW–110–AD]
RIN 2120–AA64
Airworthiness Directives; Bell Textron
Canada Limited (Type Certificate
Previously Held by Bell Helicopter
Textron Canada Limited) Helicopters
AGENCY
: Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION
: Notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM).
SUMMARY
: The FAA proposes to adopt a
new airworthiness directive (AD) for
Bell Textron Canada Limited (type
certificate previously held by Bell
Helicopter Textron Canada Limited)
(Bell) Model 429 helicopters. This
proposed AD was prompted by the
identification of certain parts needing
life limits and certification maintenance
requirement (CMR) tasks. This proposed
AD would require establishing life
limits and CMR tasks for various parts.
Depending on the results of the CMR
tasks, this proposed AD would require
corrective action. The FAA is proposing
this AD to address the unsafe condition
on these products.
DATES
: The FAA must receive comments
on this proposed AD by May 24, 2021.
ADDRESSES
: You may send comments,
using the procedures found in 14 CFR
11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Fax: (202) 493–2251.
Mail: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: Deliver to Mail
address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
For service information identified in
this proposed rule, contact Bell Textron
Canada Limited, 12,800 Rue de l’Avenir,
Mirabel, Quebec J7J1R4; telephone (450)
437–2862 or (800) 363–8023; fax (450)
433–0272; or at https://
www.bellcustomer.com. You may
review this service information at the
FAA, Office of the Regional Counsel,
Southwest Region, 10101 Hillwood
Pkwy., Room 6N–321, Fort Worth, TX
76177. For information on the
availability of this material at the FAA,
call (817) 222–5110.
Examining the AD Docket
You may examine the AD docket at
https://www.regulations.gov by
searching for and locating Docket No.
FAA–2021–0267; or in person at Docket
Operations between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays. The AD docket contains this
NPRM, the Transport Canada AD, any
comments received, and other
information. The street address for
Docket Operations is listed above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
: Matt
Fuller, AD Program Manager, General
Aviation & Rotorcraft Unit,
Airworthiness Products Section,
Operational Safety Branch, FAA, 10101
Hillwood Pkwy., Fort Worth, TX 76177;
telephone (817) 222–5110; email
matthew.fuller@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Comments Invited
The FAA invites you to send any
written relevant data, views, or
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