Onions Grown in South Texas and Imported Onions; Termination of Marketing Order 959 and Change in Import Requirements

• Published date: 05 August 2021
• Citation: 86 FR 42748
• Record Number: 2021-16495
• Section: Proposed rules
• Court: Agricultural Marketing Service

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

42748

Vol. 86, No. 148

Thursday, August 5, 2021

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Parts 959 and 980

[Docket No. AMS–SC–21–0003; SC21–959–

2 PR]

Onions Grown in South Texas and

Imported Onions; Termination of

Marketing Order 959 and Change in

Import Requirements

AGENCY

: Agricultural Marketing Service,

USDA.

ACTION

: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY

: This rule invites comments

on the proposed termination of the

Federal marketing order regulating the

handling of onions grown in South

Texas and the rules and regulations

issued thereunder. A corresponding

change would be made to the onion

import regulation as required under

section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing

Agreement Act of 1937.

DATES

: Comments must be received by

October 4, 2021.

ADDRESSES

: Interested persons are

invited to submit written comments

concerning this proposal. Comments

must be submitted to the Docket Clerk

electronically by Email:

MarketingOrderComment@usda.gov or

internet: http://www.regulations.gov. All

comments should reference the

document number and the date and

page number of this issue of the Federal

Register and can be viewed at: http://

www.regulations.gov. All comments

submitted in response to this proposal

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

:

Abigail Campos, Marketing Specialist,

or Christian D. Nissen, Regional

Director, Southeast Marketing Field

Office, Marketing Order and Agreement

Division, Specialty Crops Program,

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (863) 324–

3375, Fax: (863) 291–8614, or Email:

Abigail.Campos@usda.gov or

Christian.Nissen@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 the termination of regulations

issued to carry out a marketing order as

defined in 7 CFR 900.2(j). This proposed

rule is issued under Marketing Order

No. 959, as amended (7 CFR part 959),

regulating the handling of onions grown

in South Texas. Part 959 (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

South Texas Onion Committee

(Committee) locally administers the

Order and is comprised of producers

and handlers operating within the

production area.

This proposed rule is also issued

under section 8e of the Act (7 U.S.C.

608e–1), which provides whenever

certain specified commodities,

including onions, are regulated under a

Federal marketing order, imports of

theses commodities into the United

States are prohibited unless they meet

the same or comparable grade, size,

quality, or maturity requirements as

those in effect for the domestically

produced commodities.

The Department of Agriculture

(USDA) is issuing this proposed rule in

conformance with Executive Orders

12866 and 13563. Executive Orders

12866 and 13563 direct agencies to

assess all costs and benefits of available

regulatory alternatives and, if regulation

is necessary, to select regulatory

approaches that maximize net benefits

(including potential economic,

environmental, public health and safety

effects, distributive impacts and equity).

Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the

importance of quantifying both costs

and benefits, reducing costs,

harmonizing rules, and promoting

flexibility. This action 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 13175—

Consultation and Coordination with

Indian Tribal Governments, which

requires agencies to consider whether

their rulemaking actions would have

tribal implications. AMS has

determined that this proposed rule is

unlikely to have substantial direct

effects on one or more Indian tribes, on

the relationship between the Federal

Government and Indian tribes, or on the

distribution of power and

responsibilities between the Federal

Government and Indian tribes.

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This proposed rule is

not intended to have retroactive effect.

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 a marketing order

may file with USDA a petition stating

that the marketing order, any provision

of the marketing order, or any obligation

imposed in connection with the

marketing order is not in accordance

with law and request a modification of

the marketing order or to be exempted

therefrom. 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 (U.S.) 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

not later than 20 days after the date of

the entry of the ruling.

There are no administrative

procedures that must be exhausted prior

to any judicial challenge to the

provisions of import regulations issued

under section 8e of the Act.

The Order has been in effect since

1961 and provides the South Texas

onion industry with authority for grade,

size, quality, pack, and container

regulations, research, and promotion

programs, as well as authority for

inspection requirements. The Order also

authorizes reporting and recordkeeping

functions required for the operation of

the Order. The Order is locally

administered by the Committee and is

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 148 / Thursday, August 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules

funded by assessments imposed on

handlers.

This rule proposes termination of the

Order and the rules and regulations

issued thereunder. The Order regulates

the handling of onions grown in South

Texas. This action is based on the

results of a continuance referendum in

which producers failed to support the

continuation of the Order. USDA

believes termination of this program

would be appropriate as the Order is no

longer favored by industry producers.

Section 959.84(d) of the Order

provides that USDA shall conduct a

referendum within six years after the

establishment of the Order and every

sixth year thereafter to ascertain

whether continuance is favored by

producers. The section also states USDA

would consider termination of the Order

if less than two-thirds of the producers

voting in the referendum and producers

of less than two-thirds of the volume of

onions represented in the referendum

favor continuance. As required by the

Order, USDA held a continuance

referendum among South Texas onion

producers from September 21 through

October 13, 2020, to determine if they

favored continuation of the program.

Ballots were mailed to 71 producers

in the South Texas production area. For

the referendum, 23 valid ballots were

cast. The results show 57 percent of the

producers voting, who produced 53

percent of the volume represented in the

referendum, favored continuation of the

program. The Order failed to meet both

of the two-thirds criteria for

continuance, demonstrating a lack of the

producer support needed to carry out

the objectives of the Act.

Section 608c(16)(A) of the Act

provides that USDA terminate or

suspend the operation of any order

whenever the order or any provision

thereof obstructs or does not tend to

effectuate the declared policy of the Act.

Based on the foregoing, and pursuant to

§ 608c(16)(A) of the Act and §959.84 of

the Order, USDA is considering

termination of the Order. If USDA

decides to terminate the Order, trustees

would be appointed to conclude and

liquidate the affairs of the Committee

and would continue in that capacity

until discharged by USDA. In addition,

USDA would notify Congress of the

proposed termination of the Order not

later than 60 days before the Order is

terminated pursuant to § 608c(16)(A) of

the Act.

A notice announcing the results of the

referendum was issued on January 5,

2021. On March 15, 2021, USDA

suspended collection of assessments

under the Order while the proposed

termination of the program is being

processed by USDA. All other

provisions, including grade and size

requirements, remain in effect until the

Order is terminated.

Section 8e of the Act provides that

when certain domestically produced

commodities, including onions, are

regulated under a Federal marketing

order, imports of that commodity must

meet the same or comparable grade,

size, quality, and maturity requirements.

Because this proposed rule would

terminate regulations for domestically

produced onions, a corresponding

change to the imported regulations

would also be required.

Minimum grade, size, maturity, and

quality requirements for onions

imported into the United States are

established under § 980.117. Currently,

from March 10 through June 4 of each

marketing year, imported onions, not

including pearl and cipolline onions,

must comply with grade, size, quality,

and maturity requirements imposed

under the Order for South Texas onions.

From June 5 through March 9 of each

marketing year, and for the entire year

for pearl and cipolline onions, imported

onions are subject to the requirements of

Marketing Order 958, which regulate

onions handled in Idaho and Oregon.

This proposal would amend § 980.117

by removing the requirements based on

the Order for South Texas onions from

March 10 through June 4. The import

requirements for onions based on

Marketing Order 958 would remain in

effect from June 5 through March 9, and

for the entire year for pearl and

cipolline onions.

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 70 producers

of onions in the production area and

approximately 30 handlers subject to

regulation under the Order. There are 53

onion importers. 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 are defined as those having

annual receipts of less than $30,000,000

(13 CFR 121.201).

According to the National

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS),

the weighted producer price for South

Texas onions during the 2018–19 season

was around $9.09 per 50-pound

equivalent. The Committee reports total

onion shipments were approximately

4.2 million 50-pound equivalents. Using

the weighted average price and

shipment information, the total 2018–19

crop value is estimated at $38.2 million.

Dividing the crop value by the estimated

number of producers (70) yields an

estimated average receipt per producer

of $545,714, so the majority of

producers would have annual receipts

of less than $1,000,000.

The average handler price for South

Texas onions during the 2018–19 season

was approximately $11.00 per 50-pound

equivalent. Using the average price and

shipment information, the total 2018–19

handler crop value is estimated at $46.2

million. Dividing this figure by the

number of handlers (30) yields an

estimated average annual handler

receipts of $1.54 million, which is

below the SBA threshold for small

agricultural service firms. Thus, the

majority of onion producers and

handlers may be classified as small

entities.

Mexico, Peru, and Canada are the

major onion producing countries

exporting onions to the United States. In

2019, shipments of onions imported

into the United States totaled

approximately 543,343 metric tons.

Information from USDA’s Economic

Research Service indicates the dollar

value of imported onions was

approximately $431 million in 2019.

Using this value and the number of

importers (53), most importers would

have annual receipts of less than

$30,000,000 for onions.

This rule proposes termination of the

Order and the rules and regulations

issued thereunder, regulating the

handling of onions grown in South

Texas. Section 959.84(d) of the Order

requires USDA to conduct a referendum

every sixth year to ascertain whether

continuance is favored by producers.

USDA would consider termination of

the Order if less than two-thirds of the

producers voting in the referendum and

producers of less than two-thirds of the

volume of onions represented in the

referendum favor continuance. Based on

the results of a recent continuance

referendum, support for the Order failed

to meet the two-thirds requirement by

vote or volume indicating continuation

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 148 / Thursday, August 5, 2021 / Proposed Rules

of the program is no longer favored by

industry producers. Consequently,

USDA is considering termination of the

Order. Corresponding changes would

also be made to sections of the

requirements for onions imported into

the United States.

Marketing Orders provide industries

with tools to assist producers and

handlers in addressing challenges facing

the industry. These tools include:

Establishing minimum grade, size,

quality, and maturity requirements,

setting size, capacity, weight,

dimensions or pack of the containers,

collecting and publish market

information useful to growers and

handlers, conducting research and

promotions, and establishing volume

control requirements. Each Marketing

Order is different, with the industries

deciding the authorities needed and the

scope of their Marketing Order.

Marketing Orders are approved by

producers through referenda and

regulate handlers to ensure compliance

with all requirements. The authority of

a Marketing Order allows each industry

to create a local administrative

committee that is made up of growers

and/or handlers that work collectively

to solve industry problems.

Establishing minimum grade, size,

quality, and maturity requirements aims

to stabilize market conditions for fresh

fruit and vegetables. The goal of these

requirements is to help balance

consumer demands for high quality

products and in turn provide better

returns to producers for producing and

delivering more consistent, quality

products to the market. They are also

expected to promote repeat consumer

purchases and increase demand for a

high-quality product.

The Order has been in effect since

1961 and provides the South Texas

onion industry with authority for grade,

size, quality, pack, and container

regulations, research, and promotion

programs, as well as authority for

inspection requirements. The Order also

authorizes reporting and recordkeeping

functions required for the operation of

the Order. The Order is locally

administered by the Committee and is

funded by assessments imposed on

handlers.

As this change would terminate the

Order and all the rules and regulations

issued thereunder, the perceived

benefits correlated with the Order

would be lost. However, there would

also be savings by eliminating costs

associated with the Order, which

include the payment of assessments and

costs related to inspection.

A review of the referendum results

shows that producers failed to reach the

necessary threshold for the vote to pass

by either vote or by volume as specified

in the Order, indicating the benefits of

the program no longer outweigh the

costs to handlers and producers.

Although marketing order requirements

are applied to handlers, the costs of

such requirements are often passed on

to producers. Termination of the Order,

and the resulting regulatory relaxation,

could therefore be expected to reduce

costs for both producers and handlers.

Pursuant to section 8e of the Act, this

action would also modify the onion

import regulation (7 CFR 980.117). That

regulation currently specifies grade,

size, quality, and maturity requirements

based on those requirements established

under Marketing Order 959. With this

change, those requirements would no

longer be in effect from March 10

through June 4 of the marketing year.

While this change could benefit

importers through a reduction in costs,

the loss of grade and size requirements

both from the domestic production as

well as the imported product could

negatively impact the onion market.

An alternative to this action would be

to maintain the Order and its current

provisions. However, the Order requires

that a continuance referendum be

conducted every sixth year to determine

industry support for the program. The

results of a recently held producer

continuance referendum on the Texas

onion program indicated a lack of

producer support, indicating that the

Order no longer meets the needs of

producers and handlers. Therefore, this

alternative was rejected, and USDA is

considering terminating the Order.

This proposed rule is intended to

solicit input and other available

information from interested parties on

whether the Order should be

terminated. USDA will evaluate all

available information prior to making a

final determination on this matter.

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 OMB and

assigned OMB No. 0581–0178 Vegetable

and Specialty Crops. Termination of the

Order, and the reporting requirements

prescribed therein, would reduce the

reporting burden on South Texas onion

handlers by an estimated 1.83 hours per

handler. Handlers would no longer be

required to file forms with the

Committee, which is expected to reduce

industry expenses. This rule would not

impose any additional reporting or

recordkeeping requirements on either

small or large onion 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. In addition, USDA has

not identified any relevant Federal rules

that duplicate, overlap or conflict with

this rule.

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.

The producer referendum was well

publicized in the production area, and

referendum ballots were mailed to all

known producers. As such, producers of

South Texas onions had an opportunity

to indicate their continued support for

the Order. Further, interested persons

are invited to submit comments on this

proposed rule, including the regulatory

and information collection impacts of

this proposed action on small

businesses.

A small business guide on complying

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop

marketing agreements and orders may

be viewed at: http://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.

In accordance with section 8e of the

Act, the United States Trade

Representative has concurred with the

issuance of this proposed rule.

This rule invites comments on the

proposed termination of Marketing

Order 959, which regulates the handling

of onions grown in South Texas. A 60-

day comment period is provided to

allow interested persons to respond to

this proposal. All comments timely

received will be considered before a

final determination is made on this

matter. Termination of the Order

provisions would become effective only

after a 60-day notification to Congress as

required by law.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 959

Marketing agreements, Onions,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

7 CFR Part 980

Food grades and standards, Imports,

Marketing agreements, Onions, Potatoes,

Tomatoes.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 959 is proposed to

be removed and 7 CFR part 980 is

proposed to be amended as follows:

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PART 959—[REMOVED]

■1. Part 959 is removed.

PART 980—VEGETABLES; IMPORT

REGULATIONS

■2. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 980 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

■3. In § 980.117, revise paragraphs (a)

and (b) to read as follows:

§ 980.117 Import regulations; onions.

(a) Findings and determinations with

respect to onions.

(1) Under section 8e of the

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act

of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601–674),

it is hereby found that:

(i) Grade, size, quality, and maturity

regulations have been issued regularly

under Marketing Order No. 958, as

amended;

(ii) The marketing of onions can be

reasonably distinguished by the

seasonal categories, i.e., late summer

and early spring. The bulk of the late

summer crop is harvested and placed in

storage in late summer and early fall

and marketed over a period of several

months extending into the following

spring. But the onions harvested from

the early spring crop are generally

marketed as soon as the onions are

harvested. The marketing seasons for

these crops overlap;

(iii) Concurrent grade, size, quality,

and maturity regulations under the

marketing order are expected in future

seasons, as in the past.

(2) Therefore, it is hereby determined

that: Imports of onions during the June

5 through March 9 period, and the

entire year for imports of pearl and

cipolline varieties of onions, are in most

direct competition with the marketing of

onions produced in designated counties

of Idaho and Malheur County, Oregon,

covered by Marketing Order No. 958, as

amended (7 CFR part 958).

(b) Grade, size, quality, and maturity

requirements. On and after the effective

date hereof no person may import

onions as defined herein unless they are

inspected and meet the following

requirements: During the period June 5

through March 9 of each marketing year,

and the entire year for pearl and

cipolline onions, whenever onions

grown in designated counties in Idaho

and Malheur County, Oregon, are

regulated under Marketing Order No.

958, imported onions shall comply with

the grade, size, quality, and maturity

requirements imposed under that order.

* * * * *

Erin Morris,

Associate Administrator, Agricultural

Marketing Service.

[FR Doc. 2021–16495 Filed 8–4–21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 72

[NRC–2021–0052]

RIN 3150–AK63

List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage

Casks: NAC International NAC–UMS

®

Universal Storage System, Certificate

of Compliance No. 1015, Amendment

No. 8

AGENCY

: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION

: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY

: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) is proposing to

amend its spent fuel storage regulations

by revising the NAC International NAC–

UMS

®

Universal Storage System listing

within the ‘‘List of approved spent fuel

storage casks’’ to include Amendment

No. 8 to Certificate of Compliance No.

1015. Amendment No. 8 revises the

certificate of compliance to add the

storage of damaged boiling-water reactor

spent fuel, including higher enrichment

and higher burnup spent fuel; change

the allowable fuel burnup range; expand

the boiling-water reactor class 5 fuel

inventory that could be stored in the

cask; and revise definitions in the

technical specifications.

DATES

: Submit comments by September

7, 2021. Comments received after this

date will be considered if it is practical

to do so, but the NRC is able to ensure

consideration only for comments

received on or before this date.

ADDRESSES

: Submit your comments,

identified by Docket ID NRC–2021–

0052, at https://www.regulations.gov. If

your material cannot be submitted using

https://www.regulations.gov, call or

email the individuals listed in the

FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section of

this document for alternate instructions.

For additional direction on obtaining

information and submitting comments,

see ‘‘Obtaining Information and

Submitting Comments’’ in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section of

this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Bernard White, Office of Nuclear

Material Safety and Safeguards;

telephone: 301–415–6577; email:

Bernard.White@nrc.gov or James Firth,

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and

Safeguards; telephone: 301–415–6628,

email: James.Firth@nrc.gov. Both are

staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

:

Table of Contents:

I. Obtaining Information and Submitting

Comments

II. Rulemaking Procedure

III. Background

IV. Plain Writing

V. Availability of Documents

I. Obtaining Information and

Submitting Comments

A. Obtaining Information

Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2021–

0052 when contacting the NRC about

the availability of information for this

action. You may obtain publicly

available information related to this

action by any of the following methods:

•Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to

https://www.regulations.gov and search

for Docket ID NRC–2021–0052. Address

questions about NRC dockets to Dawn

Forder, telephone: 301–415–3407,

email: Dawn.Forder@nrc.gov. For

technical questions contact the

individuals listed in the

FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT

section of this

document.

•NRC’s Agencywide Documents

Access and Management System

(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly

available documents online in the

ADAMS Public Documents collection at

https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/

adams.html. To begin the search, select

‘‘Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.’’ For

problems with ADAMS, please contact

the NRC’s Public Document Room (PDR)

reference staff at 1–800–397–4209, 301–

415–4737, or by email to pdr.resource@

nrc.gov. For the convenience of the

reader, instructions about obtaining

materials referenced in this document

are provided in the ‘‘Availability of

Documents’’ section.

•Attention: The PDR, where you may

examine and order copies of public

documents, is currently closed. You

may submit your request to the PDR via

email at pdr.resource@nrc.gov or call 1–

800–397–4209 between 8:00 a.m. and

4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays.

B. Submitting Comments

Please include Docket ID NRC–2021–

0052 in your comment submission. The

NRC requests that you submit comments

through the Federal rulemaking website

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