Notice of Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[TM-98-00-5]

Notice of Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as

amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announces a

forthcoming meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).

DATES: July 21, 1998, at 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; July 22, 1998, from

8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and July 23, 1998, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

for the NOSB.

PLACE: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Jefferson Auditorium (July 21, 1998) and Room 3501 South Building (July

22-23, 1998), Washington, D.C. 20250. Phone: (202) 690-3655.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Jones, Program Manager, Room

2510 South Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, AMS,

Transportation and Marketing, National Organic Program Staff, P.O. Box

96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456. Phone (202) 720-3252.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2119 (7 U.S.C. 6518) of the Organic

Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), as amended (7 U.S.C. Section 6501

et seq.) requires the establishment of NOSB. The purpose of NOSB is to

assist in the development of standards for substances to be used in

organic production and to advise the Secretary on any other aspects of

the implementation of OFPA. NOSB met for the first time in Washington,

D.C., in March 1992 and currently has six committees working on various

aspects of the program. The committees are: Crops Standards;

Processing, Labeling and Packaging; Livestock Standards; Accreditation;

Materials; and International Issues. In August 1994, NOSB provided its

initial recommendations for the National Organic Program (NOP) to the

Secretary of Agriculture and since that time has submitted 30 addenda

to the recommendations and reviewed more than 170 substances for

inclusion on the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances.

The last meeting of NOSB was held in March 1998, in Ontario,

California. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its proposed

rule for NOP in the Federal Register (62 FR 65849) on December 16,

1997. An extension of the comment period on the proposed rule was

published in the Federal Register (63 FR 6498-6499) on February 9,

1998. The comment period was extended until April 30, 1998.

PURPOSE AND AGENDA: The main purposes of this meeting are to review

committee reports; continue dialog on unresolved issues from the March

1998 meeting, including fees, peer review panels, treated seeds, and

aquaculture; elect new officers; appoint committee chairpersons; and

plan future activities of the Board.

A final agenda for this meeting will be available on July 7, 1998.

Persons requesting copies of the final agenda should contact Karen

Thomas at the above address or phone (202) 690-3655.

TYPE OF MEETING: All meetings will be open to the public. NOSB has

scheduled time for public input on July 21, 1998, beginning at 1:30

p.m. and continuing until 5:00 p.m. Individuals and organizations

wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting on any organic

issue should forward the request to Ms. Thomas at the above address or

by FAX to (202) 205-7808 by July 15, 1998, in order to be scheduled.

While persons wishing to make a presentation may sign up at the door,

advance registration will ensure an opportunity to speak during the

allotted time period and will help NOSB better manage the meeting and

accomplish its agenda. Individuals or organizations will be given

approximately 5 minutes to orally present their views. All persons

making an oral presentation are requested also to provide their

comments in writing, if possible. Written submissions may of course

expand on or supplement the oral presentation with additional material.

Attendees who do not wish to make an oral presentation are invited to

submit written comments to NOSB at the meeting. All persons submitting

written comments should provide 20 copies to NOSB.

Dated: July 7, 1998.

Eileen S. Stommes,

Deputy Administrator, Transportation and Marketing.

[FR Doc. 98-18540 Filed 7-8-98; 11:55 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P