[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 209 (Monday, October 31, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-26924] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: October 31, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 7 CFR Part 985 [FV94-985-4IFR] Spearmint Oil Produced in the Far West; Revision of the Salable Quantities and Allotment Percentages for ``Class 1'' (Scotch) and ``Class 3'' (Native) Spearmint Oil for the 1994-95 Marketing Year AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This interim final rule increases the quantities of ``Class 1'' (Scotch) and ``Class 3'' (Native) spearmint oil produced in the Far West that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during the 1994-95 marketing year. This rule was recommended by the Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee), the agency responsible for local administration of the marketing order for spearmint oil produced in the Far West. The Committee recommended this rule to avoid extreme fluctuations in supplies and prices and thus help to maintain stability in the Far West spearmint oil market. DATES: Effective on October 31, 1994; comments received by November 30, 1994 will be considered prior to issuance of a final rule. ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments concerning this rule. Comments must be sent in triplicate to the Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Room 2525, South Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456; Fax: (202) 720- 5698. All comments should reference the docket number and the date and page number of this issue of the Federal Register and will be made available for public inspection in the Office of the Docket Clerk during regular business hours. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert J. Curry, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1220 S.W. Third Avenue, Room 369, Portland, Oregon 97204-2807; telephone: (503) 326-2724; or Caroline C. Thorpe, Marketing Order Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Room 2525, South Building, P.O. Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456; telephone: (202) 720-8139. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing Order No. 985 [7 CFR Part 985], regulating the handling of spearmint oil produced in the Far West (Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and designated parts of California, Nevada, Montana, and Utah). This marketing 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 12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the provisions of the marketing order now in effect, salable quantities and allotment percentages may be established for classes of spearmint oil produced in the Far West. This rule increases the quantities of ``Class 1'' and ``Class 3'' spearmint oil produced in the Far West that may be purchased from or handled for producers by handlers during the 1994-95 marketing year, which ends on May 31, 1995. 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 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 in equity to review the Secretary's ruling on the petition, provided a bill in equity is filed not later than 20 days after date of the entry of the ruling. Pursuant to requirements set forth in the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this action on small entities. 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 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 eight spearmint oil handlers subject to regulation under the marketing order and approximately 260 producers of spearmint oil in the regulated production area. Of the 260 producers, approximately 160 producers hold ``Class 1'' Scotch spearmint oil allotment base, and approximately 145 producers hold ``Class 3'' (Native) spearmint oil allotment base. Small agricultural service firms have been defined by the Small Business Administration [13 CFR 121.601] as those having annual receipts of less than $5,000,000, and small agricultural producers are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than $500,000. A minority of handlers and producers of Far West spearmint oil may be classified as small entities. The Far West spearmint oil industry is characterized by producers whose farming operations generally involve more than one commodity and whose income from farming operations are not exclusively dependent on the production of spearmint oil. The U.S. production of spearmint oil is concentrated in the Far West, primarily Washington, Idaho, and Oregon (part of the area covered by the marketing order). Spearmint oil is also produced in the Midwest. The production area covered by the marketing order normally accounts for 75 percent of the annual U.S. production of spearmint oil. This rule increases the quantities of the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during the 1994-95 marketing year, which ends on May 31, 1995. This rule increases the Scotch spearmint oil salable quantity and allotment percentage from 723,326 pounds to 811,516 pounds and 41 percent to 46 percent, respectively, and the Native spearmint oil salable quantity and allotment percentage from 1,092,577 pounds to 1,287,680 pounds and 56 percent to 66 percent, respectively, for the 1994-95 marketing year. The salable quantity is the total quantity of each class of oil that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during a marketing year. The salable quantity calculated by the Committee is based on the estimated trade demand. The total salable quantity is divided by the total industry allotment base to determine an allotment percentage. Each producer is allotted a share of the salable quantity by applying the allotment percentage to the producer's allotment base for the applicable class of spearmint oil. The initial salable quantities and allotment percentages for the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil for the 1994-95 marketing year were recommended by the Committee at its October 6, 1993, meeting. The Committee recommended salable quantities of 723,326 pounds and 897,388 pounds, and allotment percentages of 41 percent and 46 percent, respectively, for the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil. A proposed rule incorporating the Committee's October 6, 1993, recommendation was published in the December 21, 1993, issue of the Federal Register [58 FR 67378]. Comments on the proposed rule were solicited from interested persons until January 20, 1994. No comments were received. Accordingly, based upon analysis of available information, a final rule establishing the Committee's recommendation as the salable quantities and allotment percentages for the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil for the 1994-95 marketing year was published in the March 16, 1994, issue of the Federal Register [59 FR 12151]. At its June 14, 1994, teleconference meeting, the Committee unanimously recommended that the salable quantity and allotment percentage for Native spearmint oil for the 1994-95 marketing year be increased. The Committee recommended that the Native spearmint oil salable quantity be increased from 897,388 pounds to 1,092,577 pounds, and that the allotment percentage, based on a revised total allotment base of 1,951,032 pounds, be increased from 46 to 56 percent resulting in a 195,189 pound increase in the salable quantity. An interim final rule incorporating the Committee's June 14, 1994, recommendation was published in the August 26, 1994, Federal Register (59 FR 44028). Comments on the interim rule were solicited from interested persons until September 26, 1994. No comments were received. Pursuant to authority contained in sections 985.50, 985.51, and 985.52 of the marketing order, at its October 5, 1994, meeting, the Committee recommended by a unanimous vote to increase the salable quantity and allotment percentage for Scotch spearmint oil. The committee also recommended by 10 to 1 vote an increase in the salable quantity and allotment percentage for Native spearmint oil. The person voting in opposition favored a smaller increase in the salable quantity and allotment percentage for Native spearmint oil. Specifically, the committee recommended that the salable quantities and allotment percentages for Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil for the 1994-95 marketing year be increased from 723,326 pounds to 811,516 pounds, and 1,092,577 pounds to 1,287,680 pounds, respectively. Based on a revised total allotment base of 1,763,795 pounds, the allotment percentage for Scotch spearmint oil is increased from 41 percent to 46 percent, resulting in an 88,190 pound increase in the salable quantity. Further, based on the same revised total allotment base published in the August 26, 1994, Federal Register (59 FR 44028) the allotment percentage for Native spearmint oil is increased from 56 percent to 66 percent, resulting in a 195,103 pound increase in the salable quantity. Scotch Spearmint Oil Recommendations ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Oct. 6, Oct. 5, 1993 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1) Salable Quantity.......................... 723,326 811,516 (2) Total Allotment Base...................... 1,764,209 1,763,795 (3) Allotment Percentage...................... 41 46 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Native Spearmint Oil Recommendations ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Oct. 6, June 14, Oct. 5, 1993 1994 1994 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (1) Salable Quantity............. 897,388 1,092,577 1,287,680 (2) Total Allotment Base......... 1,950,843 1,951,032 1,951,032 (3) Allotment Percentage......... 46 56 66 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In making this recommendation the Committee considered all available information on supply and demand. As of October 5, 1994, the Committee reports that of the respective 1994-95 Scotch and Native spearmint oil salable quantities of 723,326 pounds and 1,092,577 pounds, and approximately 116,000 pounds and 87,000 pounds, respectively, remained available for handling. Handlers have indicated, however, that demand may approximate 200,000 pounds of Scotch spearmint oil, and 300,000 pounds of Native spearmint oil for the remainder of this marketing year. This level of demand was not anticipated by the Committee when it made its initial recommendation for the establishment of the Scotch and Native spearmint oil salable quantities and allotment percentages for the 1994-95 marketing year, nor was it foreseen when the Committee made its June 14, 1994, recommendation for an increase in the Native spearmint oil salable quantity and allotment percentage. The recommended salable quantity of 811,516 pounds of Scotch spearmint oil (an increase of 88,190 pounds), combined with the actual June 1, 1994, carry-in of 145,809 pounds, results in a revised 1994-95 available supply of 957,325 pounds. Similarly, the recommended salable quantity of 1,287,680 pounds of Native spearmint oil (an increase of 195,103 pounds), combined with the revised June 1, 1994, carry-in of 19,139 pounds, results in a revised 1994-95 available supply of 1,306,819 pounds. The revised available supplies of the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil, respectively, are approximately 67,000 pounds and 227,000 pounds higher than the respective annual average of sales for the past five years. The Committee anticipates that foreseeable demand for both classes of oil will be adequately met with the recommended increase. The Department, based on its analysis of available information, has determined that allotment percentages of 46 percent and 66 percent, respectively, should be established for the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil for the 1994-95 marketing year. These percentages will provide an increased salable quantity of 811,516 pounds of Scotch spearmint oil and an increased salable quantity of 1,287,680 pounds of Native spearmint oil. Based on available information, the Administrator of the AMS has determined that the issuance of this interim final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including that contained in the prior proposed, final, and interim final rules in connection with the establishment of the salable quantities and allotment percentages for the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil for the 1994-95 marketing year, the Committee's recommendation and other available information, it is found that to revise Sec. 985.213 to change the salable quantities and allotment percentages for the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil, as hereinafter set forth, will tend to effectuate the declared policy of the Act. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also found and determined upon good cause that it is impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to public interest to give preliminary notice prior to putting this rule into effect and that good cause exists for not postponing the effective date of this rule until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register because: (1) This interim final rule increases the quantities of the Scotch and Native classes of spearmint oil that may be marketed immediately; (2) the committee recommended this rule a public meeting and all interested persons had an opportuntnity to provide input; and (3) This rule provides a 30-day comment period and any comments received will be considered prior to finalization of this rule. List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 985 Marketing agreements, Oils and fats, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Spearmint oil. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 985 is amended as follows: PART 985--SPEARMINT OIL PRODUCED IN THE FAR WEST 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 985 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674. 2. Section 985.213 is amended by revising paragraphs (a) and (b) to read as follows: Note: This section will not appear in the annual Code of Federal Regulations. Sec. 985.213 Salable quantities and allotment percentages--1994-95 marketing year. * * * * * (a) ``Class 1'' (Scotch) oil--a salable quantity of 811,516 pounds and allotment percentage of 46 percent. (b) ``Class 3'' (Native) oil--a salable quantity of 1,287,680 pounds and an allotment percentage of 66 percent. Dated: October 26, 1994. Eric M. Forman, Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division. [FR Doc. 94-26924 Filed 10-26-94; 2:40 pm] BILLING CODE 3410-02-P