Sweet Onions Grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast Washington and Northeast Oregon; Expenses and Assessment Rate

SUMMARY: This interim final rule authorizes expenditures and

establishes an assessment rate under Marketing Order No. 956 for the

1995-96 fiscal period. Authorization of this budget enables the Walla

Walla Sweet Onion Committee (Committee) to incur expenses that are

reasonable and necessary to administer the program. Funds to administer

this program are derived from assessments on handlers.

DATES: Effective June 1, 1995, through May 31, 1996. Comments received

by August 4, 1995, 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: Martha Sue Clark, Marketing Order

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

Box 96456, room 2523-S, Washington, DC 20090-6456, telephone 202-720-

9918, or Robert J. Curry, Northwest Marketing Field Office, Fruit and

Vegetable Division, AMS, USDA, Green-Wyatt Federal Building, room 369,

1220 Southwest Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, telephone 503-326-

2724.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule is issued under Marketing

Agreement and Order No. 956 (7 CFR part 956) regulating the handling of

Sweet Onions grown in the Walla Walla Valley of Southeast Washington

and Northeast Oregon. 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 now in effect

Walla Walla Sweet Onion handlers are subject to assessments. Funds to

administer the Walla Walla Sweet Onion order are derived from such

assessments. It is intended that the assessment rate as issued herein

will be applicable to all assessable onions during the 1995-96 fiscal

period, which began June 1, 1995, and ends May 31, 1996. 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 8c(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. 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 the 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 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 50 producers of Walla Walla Sweet Onions

under this marketing order, and approximately 9 handlers. 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 $5,000,000. The majority of

Walla Walla Sweet Onion producers and handlers may be classified as

small entities.

The budget of expenses for the 1995-96 fiscal period was prepared

by the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Committee, the agency responsible for

local administration of the marketing order, and submitted to the

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

handlers of Walla Walla Sweet Onions. They are familiar with the

Committee's needs and with the costs of goods and services in their

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

budget. The budget was formulated and discussed in a public meeting.

Thus, all directly affected persons have had an opportunity to

participate and provide input.

The assessment rate recommended by the Committee was derived by

dividing anticipated expenses by expected shipments of Walla Walla

Sweet Onions. Because that rate will be applied to actual shipments, it

must be established at a rate that will provide sufficient income to

pay the Committee's expenses.

The order became effective May 19, 1995, and the Committee met on

June 7, 1995, and unanimously recommended

[[Page 34844]]

an initial budget of $72,000. Expense items include $12,000 for a

manager or management services, $15,000 for management support

services, $1,000 for a financial audit, $1,000 for staff travel, $2,500

for Committee travel, $10,000 for research projects, $12,000 for

promotion projects, $3,000 for compliance, $6,000 for Perishable

Agricultural Commodities Act expenses, and $9,500 for a miscellaneous

fund for contingency and reserve.

The Committee also unanimously recommended an assessment rate of

$0.12 per 50 pound bag or equivalent. This rate when applied to

anticipated onion shipments of 600,000 bags will yield $72,000 in

assessment income, which will be adequate to cover budgeted 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 will be offset by the benefits derived by 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

period began on June 1, 1995, and the marketing order requires that the

rate of assessment for the fiscal period apply to all assessable onions

handled during the fiscal period; (3) handlers are aware of this action

which was unanimously recommended by the Committee at a public meeting;

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 956

Marketing agreements, Onions, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 7 CFR part 956 is

amended as follows:

PART 956--SWEET ONIONS GROWN IN THE WALLA WALLA VALLEY OF SOUTHEAST

WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST OREGON

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 956 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601-674.

2. A new Sec. 956.201 is added to read as follows:

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

Regulations.

Sec. 956.201 Expenses and assessment rate.

Expenses of $72,000 by the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Committee are

authorized, and an assessment rate of $0.12 per 50 pound bag or

equivalent of assessable onions is established for the fiscal period

ending May 31, 1996. Unexpended funds may be carried over as a reserve.

Dated: June 28, 1995.

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen,

Deputy Director, Fruit and Vegetable Division.

[FR Doc. 95-16409 Filed 7-3-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P