Spearmint Oil Produced in the Far West; Expenses and Assessment Rate for the 1994-95 Fiscal Year

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

7 CFR Part 985

[Docket No. FV94-985-1IFR]

Spearmint Oil Produced in the Far West; Expenses and Assessment

Rate for the 1994-95 Fiscal Year

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures and

establishes an assessment rate for the Spearmint Oil Administrative

Committee (Committee) under M.O. 985 for the 1994-95 fiscal year.

Authorization of this budget enables the Committee to incur expenses

that are reasonable and necessary to administer this program. Funds to

administer this program are derived from assessments on handlers.

DATES: Effective beginning June 1, 1994, through May 31, 1995. Comments

received by May 23, 1994 will be considered prior to issuance of a

final rule.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments

concerning this interim final rule. Comments must be sent in triplicate

to the Docket Clerk, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O. Box

96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456. Fax # (202) 720-5698.

Comments should reference the docket 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britthany Beadle, Marketing Order

Administration Branch, Fruit and Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, P.O.

Box 96456, Room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone: (202)

720-5127; or Robert Curry, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, 1220 SW. Third Avenue, Room 369,

Portland, Oregon 97204, telephone: (503) 326-2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This interim final rule is issued under

Marketing Agreement and Order No. 985 (7 CFR part 985) regulating the

handling of spearmint oil produced in the Far West. The marketing

agreement and order are 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 interim final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order

12778, Civil Justice Reform. Under the marketing order provisions now

in effect, spearmint oil produced in the Far West is subject to

assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate specified herein

will be applicable to all assessable oil produced during the 1994-95

fiscal year, beginning June 1, 1994, through May 31, 1995. This interim

final 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 requesting a modification of the order or to be exempted

therefrom. Such 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 the requirements set forth in the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (RFA), the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) has considered the economic impact of this rule 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 approximately 8 handlers of spearmint oil regulated under

the marketing order each season and approximately 260 producers of

spearmint oil in the Far West. Small agricultural producers have been

defined by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 121.601) as those

having annual receipts of less than $500,000, and small agricultural

service firms are defined as those whose annual receipts are less than

$3,500,000. The majority of these handlers and producers may be

classified as small entities.

The marketing order, administered by the Department, requires that

the assessment rate for a particular fiscal year apply to all

assessable oil handled from the beginning of such year. Annual budgets

of expenses are prepared by the Committee, the agency responsible for

local administration of this marketing order, and submitted to the

Department for approval. The members of the Committee are handlers and

producers of spearmint oil. They are familiar with the Committee's

needs and with the costs for goods, services, and personnel in their

local area, and are thus in a position to formulate appropriate

budgets. The Committee's budget is formulated and discussed in a public

meeting. Thus, all directly affected persons have an opportunity to

participate and provide input.

The assessment rate recommended by the Committee is derived by

dividing the anticipated expenses by expected shipments of oil. Because

that rate is applied to actual shipments, it must be established at a

rate which will provide sufficient income to pay the Committee's

expected expenses.

The Committee met on February 23, 1994, and unanimously recommended

a total expense amount of $228,705, which is $30,705 more in expenses

than in the 1993-94 fiscal year.

The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of

$0.09 per pound for the 1994-95 fiscal year, which is a $0.01 increase

in the assessment rate from the previous fiscal year. The assessment

rate, when applied to anticipated shipments of 1,727,388 pounds, would

yield $155,464.92 in assessment income. This along with $8,000 in

interest income and $65,240.08 from the Committee's authorized reserves

will be adequate to cover estimated expenses.

Major expense categories for the 1994-95 fiscal year include

$94,200 for salaries, $30,000 for market development, and $20,000 for

travel. Funds in the reserve at the end of the fiscal year, estimated

at $169,166.84, will be within the maximum permitted by the order of

one fiscal year's expenses.

While this action will impose some additional costs on handlers,

the costs are in the form of uniform assessments on all handlers. Some

of the additional costs may be passed on to producers. However, these

costs should be significantly offset by the benefits derived from the

operation of the marketing order. Therefore, the Administrator of the

AMS has determined that this action will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

After consideration of all relevant matter presented, including the

information and recommendations submitted by the Committee and other

available information, it is hereby found that this rule 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 the 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 action until 30 days after publication in the Federal Register

because: (1) The Committee needs to have sufficient funds to pay its

expenses which are incurred on a continuous basis; (2) the fiscal year

for the Committee begins June 1, 1994, and the marketing order requires

that the rate of assessment for the fiscal year apply to all assessable

oil handled during the fiscal year; (3) handlers are aware of this

action which was recommended by the Committee at a public meeting and

which is similar to budgets issued in past years; and (4) this interim

final rule provides a 30-day comment period, and all comments timely

received will be considered prior to finalization of this action.

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--MARKETING ORDER REGULATING THE HANDLING OF 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.

Note: This section will not appear in the annual Code of Federal

Regulations.

2. A new Sec. 985.314 is added to read as follows:

Sec. 985.314 Expenses and assessment rate.

Expenses of $228,705 by the Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee

are authorized and an assessment rate of $0.09 per pound on assessable

oil is established for the fiscal year ending May 31, 1995. Unexpended

funds may be carried over as a reserve.

Dated: April 15, 1994.

Robert C. Keeney,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 94-9587 Filed 4-20-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P