National Organic Program; Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Rule

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

7 CFR Part 205

[TM-98-00-2]

National Organic Program; Extension of Comment Period on Proposed

Rule

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of comment period on the National Organic Program

proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is extending the

public comment period on the proposed rule to establish a National

Organic Program (NOP) from March 16, 1998 to April 30, 1998. This

proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on December 16,

1997.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 30, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on

this proposal to: Eileen S. Stommes, Deputy Administrator, USDA-AMS-TM-

NOP, Room 4007 South Building, Ag Stop 0275, P.O. Box 96456,

Washington, D.C. 20090-6456. Comments also may be sent by fax to (202)

690-4632. Additionally, comments may be sent via the Internet through

NOP's homepage at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop. See the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for further details on submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael I. Hankin, Senior Agricultural

Marketing Specialist, USDA-AMS-TM-NOP, Room 2510 South Building, P.O.

Box 96456, Washington, D.C. 20090-6456; Telephone: (202) 720-3252; Fax:

(202) 690-3924.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose

A proposed rule to establish a NOP was published in the Federal

Register (62 FR 65849) on December 16, 1997. The program is proposed

under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, as amended (7 U.S.C.

6501 et. seq.), which requires the establishment of national standards

governing the marketing of certain agricultural products as organically

produced to facilitate commerce in fresh and processed food that is

organically produced and to assure consumers that such products meet

consistent standards. This program would establish national standards

for the organic production and handling of agricultural products, which

would include a National List of synthetic substances approved for use

in the production and handling of organically produced products. It

also would establish an accreditation program for State officials and

private persons who want to be accredited to certify farm, wild crop

harvesting, and handling operations that comply with the program's

requirements, and a certification program for farm, wild crop

harvesting, and handling operations that want to be certified as

meeting the program's requirements. The program additionally would

include labeling requirements for organic products and products

containing organic ingredients, and enforcement provisions. Further,

the proposed rule provides for the approval of State organic programs

and the importation into the United States of organic agricultural

products from foreign programs determined to have requirements at least

equivalent to those of the NOP.

Submission of Comments

Comments may be submitted, electronically, in writing or by fax.

Written comments submitted by regular mail and faxed comments should be

identified with the National Organic Program Proposed Rule Docket

Number: TMD-94-00-2. Multiple page comments submitted by regular mail

should not be stapled or clipped to facilitate the timely scanning and

posting of these comments to NOP homepage. Persons submitting written

or faxed comments are requested to identify the topic and section

number, if applicable, to which the comment refers: for example, for a

comment regarding feed for organic livestock, reference Livestock and

section 205.13. Topics should be selected from the following list:

General, Proposed Effective Date, Regulatory Impact Assessment,

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Paperwork Reduction Act, Definitions,

Applicability (section 205.3), Crops, Livestock, Handling, National

List, Labeling, Certification, Accreditation, State Programs, Fees,

Compliance, Appeals, and Equivalency.

It is our intention to have all comments, whether mailed, faxed or

submitted via the Internet, available for viewing the NOP homepage at

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop in a timely manner. Comments submitted in

response to this proposal will be available for viewing at USDA-AMS,

Transportation and Marketing, Room 2945-South Building, 14th and

Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C., from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.,

and from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (except official

Federal holidays). Persons wanting to visit Department of Agriculture,

South Building to view comments received in response to this proposal

are requested to make an appointment in advance by calling Martha

Bearer at (202) 720-8037.

Reasons for Granting an Extension

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB), an advisory board to

the Secretary regarding the program, has requested an extension of the

comment period. NOSB requested an extension to accommodate the timing

of the next NOSB meeting, which NOSB intends to conduct during the week

of March 16-20, 1998. The schedules of the individual members of NOSB

prevented holding NOSB meeting prior to March 15. At the meeting,

details of which will be announced shortly in the Federal Register,

NOSB intends to review Committee reports and prepare NOSB comments to

the proposed rule for submission to USDA.

Others have also requested an extension of the comment period.

These individuals and organizations include: State government

officials, manufacturers, and a trade organization representing the

organic industry. Examples of reasons given for requesting an extension

of the comment period include the length and complexity of the proposed

rule, and the time required for commenters to arrange and conduct

listening sessions to obtain input from constituents who will be

affected by the finial regulations.

After careful consideration of the requests submitted to the

Agency, AMS has decided to grant an extension of the

[[Page 6499]]

comment period for an additional 45 days, or until April 30, 1998. This

extension of the comment period will provide interested persons a total

of 135 days to review the proposed rule and submit comments. AMS

believes that this 45 day extension will provide a sufficient period of

time for all commenters so that a further extension would be

unnecessary.

Accordingly, AMS is extending the comment period on the NOP

proposed rule until April 30, 1998.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6501-6522.

Dated: February 5, 1998.

Eileen S. Stommes,

Deputy Administrator, Transportation and Marketing.

[FR Doc. 98-3285 Filed 2-5-98; 11:09 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-02-P