[Federal Register: March 6, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 44)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 13391-13393]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06mr01-2]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
7 CFR Part 956
[Docket No. FV00-956-1 FIR]
Sweet Onions Grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast
Washington and Northeast Oregon; Revision of Administrative Rules and
Regulations
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Agriculture (Department) is adopting, as a
final rule, without change, the provisions of an interim final rule
modifying the handler assessment and reporting requirements under the
Walla Walla sweet onion marketing order. The marketing order regulates
the handling of sweet onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley and is
administered locally by the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee
(Committee). For sweet onions handled during the period September 1
through May 31 of each fiscal period, this rule continues in effect
dates by which handlers must pay assessments and furnish reports to the
Committee that reflect new cultural and storage practices that have
extended the traditional mid-summer marketing season.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 5, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert J. Curry, Northwest Marketing
Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and
Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, 1220 SW Third Avenue, suite 385,
Portland, Oregon 97204-2807; telephone: (503) 326-2724, Fax: (503) 326-
7440; or George Kelhart, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit
and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box 96456,
Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202) 720-
5698.
Small businesses may request information on complying with this
regulation by contacting Jay Guerber, Marketing Order Administration
Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Programs, AMS, USDA, room 2525-S, P.O. Box
96456, Washington, DC 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-2491, Fax: (202)
720-5698, or E-mail: Jay.Guerber@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing
Agreement and Order No. 956, as amended (7 CFR part 956), regulating
the handling of sweet onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley of
Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon, hereinafter referred to as
the ``order.'' 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 Department of Agriculture (Department) is issuing this rule in
conformance with Executive Order 12866.
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule provides dates by which handlers must pay
assessments and furnish reports to the Committee that reflect new
cultural and storage practices for sweet onions handled during the
period September 1 through May 31 of each fiscal period. This rule will
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 608c(15)(A) of the
Act, any handler subject to an order may file with the Secretary 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
[[Page 13392]]
a hearing on the petition. After the hearing the Secretary 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 the
Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided an action is filed not
later than 20 days after the date of the entry of the ruling.
Section 956.41 of the order provides the Committee with the
authority to establish an annual budget of expenditures and Sec. 956.42
provides authority for the Committee to levy assessments upon handlers
of Walla Walla sweet onions to provide adequate funds to defray such
expenditures. Section 956.202 establishes the current assessment rate
of $0.21 per 50-pound bag of Walla Walla sweet onions handled. Section
956.42 also provides the Committee with the authority to impose an
interest charge on any handler who fails to pay any assessment in a
timely manner, and Sec. 956.142 of the order's administrative rules and
regulations establishes the rate of interest and the dates such
interest charges begin to accrue. Section 956.80 establishes the
authority for the Committee to require handler reports, while
Sec. 956.180 provides the rules and regulations necessary for the
Committee to implement and administer such reporting requirements.
For sweet onions handled on or after September 1, this rule
continues in effect dates by which handlers must pay assessments and
furnish reports to the Committee. These changes recognize new cultural
and storage practices that have extended the traditional mid-summer
marketing season. The changes provide dates by which handlers must pay
assessments and submit reports on shipments made in September or later.
This rule was unanimously recommended by the Committee on August 15,
2000.
Sections 956.142 (interest charges) and 956.180 (reports) were
established in August 1996 to foster prompt assessment payments and to
ensure that adequate funds would be available to cover budgeted
expenses incurred by the Committee under the order. Section 956.180
establishes reporting requirements for providing the Committee with
statistical information regarding total industry shipments and is used
as a basis for assessment collection. This information also is useful
for the development of a budget and in making marketing and promotion
plans for the upcoming season. Section 956.142 establishes assessment
due dates and an interest charge of 1.5 percent per month on any
handler who fails to pay his or her assessments within thirty days of
the due date.
Historically, Walla Walla sweet onions have been planted in the
fall, then harvested and marketed from late June to early August. Due
to the short shelf life of this, traditionally non-storage, summer
onion, the marketing season has closely followed the annual harvest.
However, recent changes in cultural and storage practices within the
Walla Walla sweet onion industry are lengthening the marketing season
for some of the sweet onions produced in the Walla Walla Valley. A few
producers have been planting sweet onions in the spring, thereby
extending the traditional mid-summer harvest into late summer or early
fall. In addition, with the recent introduction of Controlled
Atmosphere (CA) storage, the potential now exists for extending the
marketing season further into the fall and early winter season.
By extending the due dates for assessments and reports on sweet
onions handled on or after September 1, this action provides Walla
Walla sweet onion handlers more time to comply with these requirements.
This will enable them to take advantage of the expanding marketing
season. The Committee will continue to require that assessments be paid
and reports submitted by September 1 for onions handled in June, July,
and August.
For assessments due on sweet onions handled prior to September 1,
the monthly interest charge of 1.5 percent will continue to accrue
after September 30. For assessments due on sweet onions handled during
the period September 1 through May 31 of each fiscal period, interest
charges will begin accruing 30 days after the handler's report of
shipments is due.
Handlers marketing their sweet onions prior to September 1 will
continue to submit reports (Committee Form No. 1) showing weekly and
seasonal totals by September 1, and assessments for their shipments to
the Committee no later than September 30 to avoid late payment interest
charges. For shipments during the period September 1 through May 31 of
each fiscal period, handlers will submit a separate report, along with
the appropriate assessment payment, for each monthly period that they
continue to make shipments. Such reports will be due at the office of
the Committee no later than 30 days following the end of the month in
which shipments were made. Assessments will be due within thirty (30)
days of the last day of the month in which the shipments are made. For
example, a handler shipping Walla Walla sweet onions anytime during the
month of September would furnish the shipment report to the Committee
no later than October 30. In this example, the report would contain the
number of 50-pound equivalents of Walla Walla sweet onions shipped by
such handler during each week in September, along with the monthly
total of shipments and a check for the appropriate assessment amount.
This reporting and payment schedule continues for each monthly period
Walla Walla sweet onions are handled after September 1.
With the introduction of spring planting and CA storage for Walla
Walla sweet onions and the associated extension of the traditional
marketing season, this action is necessary to ensure that adequate
Committee operating funds are obtained in a timely manner, that
producers and handlers are treated equitably and have the needed
flexibility to produce and market their crop as they desire, and that
consumers have an extended season in which to purchase Walla Walla
sweet onions.
Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the
economic impact of this action on small entities. Accordingly, the AMS
has prepared this final regulatory flexibility analysis.
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. 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. Thus, both statutes have small
entity orientation and compatibility.
There are approximately 30 handlers of Walla Walla sweet onions who
are subject to regulation under the order and approximately 60 sweet
onion producers in the regulated production area. Small agricultural
service firms are defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR
121.201) as those having annual receipts of less than $5,000,000, and
small agricultural producers are defined as those having annual
receipts of less than $500,000.
The Committee estimates that all of the handlers of Walla Walla
sweet onions ship under $5,000,000 worth of sweet onions on an annual
basis. In addition, based on acreage, production, and producer prices
reported by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, and the total
number of onion producers in the regulated production area, the average
gross annual producer revenue
[[Page 13393]]
from sweet onions was about $117,000 in 1999, the most recent year
statistics are available. Based on this information, it can be
concluded that the majority of Walla Walla sweet onion handlers and
producers may be classified as small entities, excluding receipts from
other sources.
Based on authority in Secs. 956.42 and 956.80, the Committee
unanimously recommended this action at a public meeting on August 15,
2000. Specifically, for sweet onions handled on or after September 1,
this rule continues in effect dates by which handlers must pay
assessments (Sec. 956.142) and furnish reports (Sec. 956.180) to the
Committee. These changes are being made to recognize new cultural and
storage practices that extend the traditional mid-summer marketing
season to mid-winter, and provide handlers more time to pay assessments
and file reports on these later shipments.
Regarding the impact of this action on affected entities, sweet
onion handlers will not be forced into noncompliance with the order
because they are now able to pay assessments and submit shipment
reports later than was previously provided. When the previous deadlines
were established, the Committee did not envision shipments being made
in September or later. Walla Walla sweet onions have a relatively high
market value, but generally must be harvested and sold within a short
time period between late June and early August. With this extension in
the marketing season, producers and handlers hope to increase their
returns while providing consumers with unique, highly demanded sweet
onions during a period of time when such onions were traditionally not
available.
The Committee estimated that during the 2000 marketing season only
a limited amount of sweet onions would be handled on or after September
1 and into early winter. The Committee has been informed, however, that
an additional 1,300 acres of sweet onions may be planted for the 2001
marketing season, with many of the onions possibly going into CA
storage. Approximately 800 acres of Walla Walla sweet onions were
planted for the 2000 season.
The Committee discussed alternatives to the recommendation,
including leaving the regulations unmodified. However, the Committee
decided that it did not have the option of leaving the regulations
unmodified because some handler assessment obligations are expected to
accrue during the period September 1 through May 31 of each fiscal
period. Another alternative discussed would have changed the
regulations to require the submission of reports and assessments for
the entire crop, regardless of when marketed, within 30 to 60 days of
the date of shipment. The Committee rejected this option because it
felt that the bulk of the Walla Walla sweet onion crop will continue to
be marketed during the traditional mid-summer season, and it wants to
ensure that an adequate income is received early in the fiscal period
to offset expenditures. The fiscal period begins June 1 and ends May
31.
The Committee uses Form No. 1, Handler's Statement of Walla Walla
Sweet Onion Shipments, for collecting assessments and statistical data.
Prior to this action, this form was mailed to handlers in mid-August
with the requirement that it be returned by September 1, and
assessments were due within 30 days of September 1 to avoid imposition
of the 1.5 percent per month interest charge. The Committee revised
Form No. 1 to reflect the changes in handling practices and due dates.
The Committee estimates that only two of the currently regulated
handlers in the Walla Walla sweet onion production area may initially
ship sweet onions on or after September 1. The Committee also estimates
that the revised Form No. 1 will continue to take approximately 25
minutes to complete. With only two handlers submitting reports on
October 31 and possibly again on November 30, for example, the total
additional burden on the industry for the information reporting
requirements for sweet onions shipped on or after September 1 would
approximate 100 minutes per year. Thus, while this rule will impose
some additional reporting requirements, the burden is currently
approved under OMB No. 0581-0078 by the Office of Management and Budget
in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35). The Agricultural Marketing Service has notified the Office
of Management and Budget of this change in burden.
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, as
noted in the initial regulatory flexibility analysis, the Department
has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap,
or conflict with this rule.
The Committee's meeting was widely publicized throughout the Walla
Walla sweet onion industry and all interested persons were invited to
attend the meeting and participate in Committee deliberations on all
issues. Like all Committee meetings, the August 15, 2000, meeting was a
public meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to
express views on this issue. Further, interested persons were invited
to submit information on the regulatory and informational impacts of
this action on small businesses.
An interim final rule concerning this action was published in the
Federal Register on October 16, 2000. A copy of the rule was mailed to
Committee staff, who handled the distribution of copies to Committee
members and sweet onion producers and handlers. In addition, the rule
was made available through the Internet by the Office of the Federal
Register. The rule provided a 60-day comment period that ended December
15, 2000. No comments were received.
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/fv/moab.html. Any questions about the compliance
guide should be sent to Jay Guerber at the previously mentioned address
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
After consideration of all relevant material presented, including
the Committee's recommendation, and other information, it is found that
finalizing the interim final rule, without change, as published in the
Federal Register (65 FR 61080, October 16, 2000) will tend to
effectuate the declared policy of the Act.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 956
Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
PART 956--SWEET ONIONS GROWN IN THE WALLA WALLA VALLEY OF SOUTHEAST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST OREGON
Accordingly, the interim final rule amending 7 CFR part 956 which
was published at 65 FR 61080 on October 16, 2000, is adopted as a final
rule without change.
Dated: February 28, 2001.
Kenneth C. Clayton,
Acting Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 01-5318 Filed 3-5-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
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