Pears Grown in Oregon and Washington; Modification of the Handling Regulation
| Citation | 86 FR 15561 |
| Record Number | 2021-05926 |
| Published date | 24 March 2021 |
| Section | Rules and Regulations |
| Court | Agricultural Marketing Service |
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains regulatory documents having general
applicability and legal effect, most of which
are keyed to and codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations, which is published under
50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by
the Superintendent of Documents.
Rules and Regulations Federal Register
15561
Vol. 86, No. 55
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 927
[Doc. No. AMS–SC–20–0063; SC20–927–1
FR]
Pears Grown in Oregon and
Washington; Modification of the
Handling Regulation
AGENCY
: Agricultural Marketing Service,
USDA.
ACTION
: Final rule.
SUMMARY
: This final rule modifies the
handling regulation prescribed under
the Federal marketing order regulating
the handling of pears grown in Oregon
and Washington.
DATES
: Effective April 23, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
: Dale
Novotny, Marketing Specialist, or Gary
Olson, Regional Director, Northwest
Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order
and Agreement Division, Specialty
Crops Program, AMS, USDA;
Telephone: (503) 326–2724 or email:
DaleJ.Novotny@usda.gov or
GaryD.Olson@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,
amends regulations issued to carry out
a marketing order as defined in 7 CFR
900.2(j). This rule is issued under
Marketing Agreement and Order No.
927, as amended (7 CFR part 927),
regulating the handling of pears grown
in Oregon and Washington. Part 927
(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 Fresh Pear Committee
(Committee) locally administers the
Order and is comprised of growers and
handlers of pears operating within
Oregon and Washington, and a public
member.
The Department of Agriculture
(USDA) is issuing this final rule in
conformance with Executive Orders
13563 and 13175. This action falls
within a category of regulatory actions
that the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) exempted from Executive
Order 12866 review.
This final rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This final 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 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. 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 final rule modifies the handling
regulation prescribed under the
marketing order for pears grown in
Oregon and Washington. This action
decreases from 14 pounds to 13 pounds,
the maximum acceptable pressure for
early season Beurre D’Anjou variety
pears shipped throughout the
Continental United States and to Canada
during the period August 15 to
November 1. The maximum pressure for
Anjou pear shipments to Mexico during
this period remains at 14 pounds. In
addition, this action removes the
exemption from handling requirements
for Anjou pear shipments of 8,800
pounds or less. The Committee
recommended these actions at its May
26, 2020, meeting.
Section 927.51 authorizes the
Committee, with the approval of USDA,
to regulate the handling of pears grown
within the production area of Oregon
and Washington. Section 927.52
stipulates the prerequisites for
recommendations made by the
Committee with regards to the issuance,
modification, suspension, or
termination of handling regulations
established under the authority of
§ 927.51. Section 927.316 sets forth the
handling requirements for fresh Anjou
pears.
At its May 26, 2020, meeting, the
Committee recommended modification
of the handling regulation for the 2021–
2022 and subsequent fiscal periods. The
Committee’s recommendation was not
unanimous but met the requirements of
§ 927.52 for recommendations to modify
the Order’s handling regulation. For
recommendations to change the
handling regulations, the Committee
vote is weighted by volume. The Order
provision allocates Committee members
one vote for each 25,000 boxes of the
average quantity of such variety or
subvariety produced in their district and
shipped therefrom during the
immediately preceding three fiscal
periods. The provision further requires
that recommendations for changes to the
handling regulations shall be affirmed
by members representing no less than
80 percent of the volume of the variety
or subvariety affected. There were 397
votes cast at the meeting. The
Committee voted 343 (86 percent) in
favor of the recommendation, 48 votes
(12 percent) opposed, with 6 votes (2
percent) abstaining. The voters in
opposition expressed concern that the
modification of the handling regulation
could hamper total sales of early season
Anjou pears. The members abstaining
represented very little, if any, Anjou
production.
The Committee discussed the
modification of the handling regulation
specific to early season Anjou pears
several times in the past. The
Committee established a subcommittee
to talk with industry members and
researchers to weigh the benefits of
different regulatory options. Research
conducted using Committee funds has
demonstrated that Anjou pears
harvested at higher pressures tend to not
ripen properly. Most North American
consumers prefer a pear that will ripen
and be ready to eat quickly after
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
purchase. Lowering the maximum
pressure requirement by 1 pound, from
14 pounds to 13 pounds for the
Continental United States and Canada,
will help ensure consumers in those
areas consistently receive the product
they prefer. International market and
consumer research conducted for the
Committee has demonstrated that the
Mexican market is more receptive to a
firmer pear, which led to the decision to
leave the pressure at 14 pounds for early
season shipments to Mexico.
In addition, removing the 8,800
minimum quantity exemption will
ensure that even small shipments of
early season Anjou pears conform to the
maximum pressure requirements and
that all product shipped during this
period is of similar quality.
The Committee derived its
recommendation to modify the handling
regulation from lengthy discussions
with industry members at multiple
public meetings, from subcommittee
input, and from research conducted
using Committee funds.
This rule lowers the acceptable
pressure, from 14 pounds to 13 pounds,
of early season Anjou pear shipments
destined for the Continental United
States and Canada, and removes the
minimum quantity exemption for all
early season Anjou shipments. It is the
Committee’s determination that this
modification will increase consumer
preference for Anjou pears in the fresh
fruit market by delivering a better eating
experience and will provide increased
returns to handlers and growers.
Final 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
action on small entities. Accordingly,
AMS has prepared this final 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 838 growers
of pears for the fresh market in the
regulated area and approximately 32
handlers of pears who are subject to
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 most recent data
from the National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS), the national average
producer price for non-Bartlett fresh
pears for the 2017 marketing year (the
most current year for NASS pear data)
ranged from $748 to $788 per ton or
$16.46 to $17.34 per 44-pound standard
box. The Committee reported that for
the same full year of records, total
shipments of non-Bartlett pears for the
fresh market from the production area
were 11,875,202 boxes. Using the NASS
price range from the 2017 marketing
year, the total 2017 farm gate value of
the fresh, non-Bartlett pear crop could
therefore be estimated to be between
$195,465,825 and $205,916,003.
Dividing the crop value by the estimated
number of growers (838) yields an
estimated average receipt per producer
of between $233,253 and $245,723,
which is well below the SBA threshold
for small producers.
USDA Market News reported a freight
on board (FOB) average price (including
palletizing and cooling) of $24.45 per
44-pound bag or equivalent of pears
shipped in 2019. Multiplying this
average FOB price by the Committee
recorded total 2019 shipments of
13,811,500 44-pound bags of fresh pears
results in an estimated gross value of
fresh pear shipments of $337,691,175.
Dividing this figure by the number of
handlers (32) yields estimated average
annual handler receipts of $10,552,849,
which is below the SBA threshold for
small agricultural service firms.
Therefore, using the above data, the
majority of producers and handlers of
pears in the production area may be
classified as small entities.
This final rule decreases from 14
pounds to 13 pounds, the maximum
acceptable pressure for early season
Anjou variety pears shipped throughout
the Continental United States and to
Canada, during the period August 15 to
November 1. The maximum pressure for
Anjou pear shipments to Mexico during
this period remains unchanged at 14
pounds. In addition, this action removes
the handling requirement exemption for
early season Anjou pear shipments of
8,800 pounds or less. All other
requirements in the Order’s handling
regulations remain unchanged.
Authority for this action is contained in
§ 927.51.
This rule is expected to benefit the
growers, handlers, and consumers of
fresh pears. The Committee anticipates
that this modification will lead to
greater returns to handlers and growers
by encouraging repeat consumption of
fresh Anjou pears due to an improved
eating experience.
Prior to arriving at its
recommendation to modify the handling
regulation, the Committee discussed
various alternatives, including
maintaining the current handling
regulation, decreasing the acceptable
pressure further, shortening the
regulation period, and extending the
requirement to shipments to Mexico.
After several failed motions and much
deliberation, the Committee determined
that the recommended modification was
the most beneficial option for the
industry and consumers of pears.
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. 0581–0189, Fruit
Crops. No changes in those
requirements are necessary as a result of
this action. Should any changes become
necessary, they would be submitted to
OMB for approval.
This rule will not impose any
additional reporting or recordkeeping
requirements on either small or large
pear 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. USDA has not
identified any relevant Federal rules
that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with
this final 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 Committee’s May 26, 2020,
meeting was widely publicized
throughout the pear industry. All
interested persons were invited to
attend the meeting and encouraged to
participate in the deliberations on all
issues. Like all Committee meetings, the
meeting was a public meeting, and all
entities, both large and small, were able
to express their views on these issues.
A proposed rule concerning this
action was published in the Federal
Register on October 19, 2020 (85 FR
66283). Copies of the proposal were
provided by the Committee to its
members and handlers. The proposed
rule was made available through the
internet by USDA and the Office of the
Federal Register. A 60-day comment
period ending December 18, 2020, was
provided to allow interested persons to
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 24, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
respond to the proposal. Two comments
were received. One of the comments
favored this action, and the other was
not supportive of this rule.
The comment that supported the rule
did not address the merits of this action.
The comment not in favor of the rule
challenged the assumption—that these
changes affecting the ripening of Anjou
pears would increase sales—as being
without merit. This comment also
included that the removal of the
minimum quantity exemption for
shipments will affect small farmers. The
Committee-funded research showed that
fruits at lower pressures were ripening
properly; and following consumer
preferences, would lead to a better
eating experience, increased repeat
purchases, and increased sales of Anjou
pears. By removing the minimum
quantity exemption for shipments, all
Anjou pears are subjected to the new
regulation which will improve grower
returns including those to small farmers.
Accordingly, no changes will be made
to the rule as proposed.
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.
After consideration of all relevant
material presented, including the
information and recommendation
submitted by the Committee and other
available information, it is hereby found
that this rule will tend to effectuate the
declared policy of the Act.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 927
Marketing agreements, Pears,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, 7 CFR part 927 is amended as
follows:
PART 927—PEARS GROWN IN
OREGON AND WASHINGTON
■1. The authority citation for 7 CFR
part 927 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.
■2. Section 927.316 is revised to read
as follows:
§ 927.316 Handling regulation.
During the period August 15 through
November 1, no person shall handle any
fresh Beurre D’Anjou variety pears
unless such pears meet the following
requirements:
(a) Shipments of fresh Beurre D’Anjou
variety pears throughout the Continental
United States or to Canada shall have a
certification by the Federal-State
Inspection Service, issued prior to
shipment, showing that the core/pulp
temperature of such pears has been
lowered to 35 degrees Fahrenheit or less
and any such pears have an average
pressure test of 13 pounds or less.
(b) Shipments of fresh Beurre D’Anjou
variety pears to Mexico shall have a
certification by the Federal-State
Inspection Service, issued prior to
shipment, showing that the core/pulp
temperature of such pears has been
lowered to 35 degrees Fahrenheit or less
and any such pears have an average
pressure test of 14 pounds or less.
(c) The handler shall submit, or cause
to be submitted, a copy of the certificate
issued on the shipment to the Fresh
Pear Committee.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–05926 Filed 3–23–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
10 CFR Part 72
[NRC–2020–0274]
RIN 3150–AK57
List of Approved Spent Fuel Storage
Casks: TN Americas LLC Standardized
NUHOMS
®
Horizontal Modular Storage
System, Certificate of Compliance No.
1004, Renewed Amendment No. 17
AGENCY
: Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION
: Direct final rule.
SUMMARY
: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is amending its
spent fuel storage regulations by
revising the TN Americas LLC
Standardized NUHOMS
®
Horizontal
Modular Storage System listing within
the ‘‘List of approved spent fuel storage
casks’’ to include Renewed Amendment
No. 17 to Certificate of Compliance No.
1004. Because this amendment is
subsequent to the renewal of the TN
Americas LLC Standardized NUHOMS
®
Horizontal Modular System Certificate
of Compliance No. 1004 and, therefore,
subject to the Aging Management
Program requirements of the renewed
certificate, it is referred to as ‘‘Renewed
Amendment No. 17.’’ Renewed
Amendment No. 17 revises the
certificate of compliance technical
specifications to add Heat Load Zoning
Configurations 11–13 for the 61BTH
Type 2 dry shielded canister and change
the maximum assembly heat load from
1.2 kW to 1.7 kW. This amendment also
makes minor clarifications to the
certificate of compliance.
DATES
: This direct final rule is effective
June 7, 2021, unless significant adverse
comments are received by April 23,
2021. If this direct final rule is
withdrawn as a result of such
comments, timely notice of the
withdrawal will be published in the
Federal Register. 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. Comments received on this direct
final rule will also be considered to be
comments on a companion proposed
rule published in the Proposed Rules
section of this issue of the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES
: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
•Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2020–0274. 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.
•Email comments to:
Rulemaking.Comments@nrc.gov. If you
do not receive an automatic email reply
confirming receipt, then contact us at
301–415–1677.
•Mail comments to: Secretary, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001, ATTN:
Rulemakings and Adjudications Staff.
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
: Yen-
Ju Chen, Office of Nuclear Material
Safety and Safeguards; telephone: 301–
415–1018; email: Yen-Ju.Chen@nrc.gov
or Alexa Sieracki, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards;
telephone: 301–415–7509; email:
Alexa.Sieracki@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
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