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Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 28 / Tuesday, February 11, 1997 / Proposed Rules6135Federal agencies to assess the effects oftheir regulatory actions on state, local,and tribal governments and the privatesector. This rule contains no Federalmandates (under the regulatoryprovisions of Title II of the UMRA) forstate, local, and tribal governments orthe private sector. Thus, the rule is notsubject to the requirements of section202 and 205 of the UMRA.Executive Order No. 12612It has been determined under section6(a) of Executive Order No. 12612,Federalism, that this rule does not havesufficient federalism implications towarrant the preparation of a FederalismAssessment. The provisions containedin this rule will not have a substantialdirect effect on states or their politicalsubdivisions, or on the distribution ofpower and responsibilities among thevarious levels of government.Regulatory Flexibility ActThis regulation will not have asignificant impact on a substantialnumber of small entities. Newprovisions included in this rule will notimpact small entities to a greater extentthan large entities. Under the currentregulations, a producer is required tocomplete an application and acreagereport. If the crop is damaged ordestroyed, the insured is required togive notice of loss and provide thenecessary information to complete aclaim for indemnity. The producer mustalso annually certify to the previousyears production, if adequate recordsare available to support the certification,or receive a transitional yield. Theproducer must maintain the productionrecords to support the certifiedinformation for at least three years. Thisregulation does not alter thoserequirements. The amount of workrequired of the insurance companiesdelivering and servicing these policieswill not increase significantly from theamount of work currently required. Thisrule does not have any greater or lesserimpact on the producer. Therefore, thisaction is determined to be exempt fromthe provisions of the regulatoryFlexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 605), and noRegulatory Flexibility Analysis wasprepared.Federal Assistance ProgramThis program is listed in the Catalogof Federal Domestic Assistance underNo. 10.450.Executive Order No. 12372This program is not subject to theprovisions of Executive Order No.12372, which require intergovernmentalconsultation with state and localofficials. See the Notice related to 7 CFRpart 3015, subpart V, published at 48 FR29115, June 24, 1983.Executive Order No. 12778The Office of the General Counsel hasdetermined that these regulations meetthe applicable standards provided insections 2(a) and 2(b)(2) of ExecutiveOrder No. 12778. The provisions of thisrule will not have a retroactive effectprior to the effective date. Theprovisions of this rule will preemptstate and local laws to the extent suchstate and local laws are inconsistentherewith. The administrative appealprovisions published at 7 CFR part 11must be exhausted before any action forjudicial review may be brought.Environmental EvaluationThis action is not expected to have asignificant impact on the quality of thehuman environment, health, and safety.Therefore, neither an EnvironmentalAssessment nor an EnvironmentalImpact Statement is needed.National Performance ReviewThis regulatory action is being takenas part of the National PerformanceReview Initiative to eliminateunnecessary or duplicative regulationsand improve those that remain in force.BackgroundFCIC proposes to add to the CommonCrop Insurance Regulations (7 CFR part457), a new section, 7 CFR 457.157,Plum Crop Insurance Provisions. Thenew provisions will be effective for the1998 and succeeding crop years. Theseprovisions will replace and supersedethe current provisions for insuring freshplums found at 7 CFR 401.146 (FreshPlum Endorsement). FCIC also proposesto amend § 401.146 to limit its effect tothe 1997 and prior crop years. FCIC willlater publish a regulation to remove andreserve § 401.146.This rule makes minor editorial andformat changes to improve the FreshPlum Endorsement’s compatibility withthe Common Crop Insurance Policy. Inaddition, FCIC is proposing substantivechanges in the provisions for insuringplums as follows:1. Remove the word ‘‘fresh’’ from thetitle of the policy since plums marketedfor uses other than fresh packed arecovered.2. Section 1—Add definitions for theterms ‘‘days,’’ ‘‘direct marketing,’’ ‘‘goodfarming practice,’’ ‘‘interplanted,’’‘‘irrigated practice,’’ ‘‘non-contiguous,’’‘‘pitburn and sunburn,’’ ‘‘productionguarantee (per acre),’’ ‘‘scion,’’ ‘‘varietalgroup,’’ and ‘‘written agreement’’ forclarification purposes.3. Section 2(e)(3)(ii)—Add optionalunits by varietal group to be consistentwith other policies that offer insuranceby crop variety.4. Section 3(a)—Specify that theinsured may select only one priceelection for all the plums in the countyinsured under this policy, unless theSpecial Provisions provide differentprice elections by varietal group, inwhich case the insured may select oneprice election for each varietal group.The price election the insured selectsmust have the same percentagerelationship to the maximum priceoffered. This helps to protect againstadverse selection and simplifiesadministration of the program.5. Section 3(b)—Specify that aninsured must report damage, removal oftrees, and any change in practice thatmay reduce yields. For the first year ofinsurance for acreage interplanted withanother perennial crop and anytime theplanting pattern of such acreage ischanged, the insured must report theage and varietal group, if applicable, ofany interplanted perennial crop, itsplanting pattern, and any otherinformation needed to establish theapproved yield. If the insured fails tonotify the insurer of factors that mayreduce yields from previous levels, theinsurer will reduce the productionguarantee at any time the insurerbecomes aware of damage, removal oftrees, or changes in practices. Thisallows the insurance provider to limitliability, if necessary, before insuranceattaches.6. Section 6—Remove the provisionthat restricts crop insurance coverage ifplums are harvested directly by thepublic. Section 10(b) of the proposedrule requires the insured to notify theinsurance provider at least 15 daysbefore any production from any unitwill be sold by direct marketing in orderto accurately determine production tocount.7. Section 6(d)—Specify that at least200 lugs per acre must have beenproduced in at least one of the threemost recent actual production historycrop years. Previous regulationsrequired a minimum of 200 lugs peracre of fresh market production in theprevious crop year unless the acreage isinspected by us and approved forcoverage. Basing the required minimumproduction on only the previous cropyear is too restrictive considering thatone year of adverse growing conditionswould exclude eligibility for cropinsurance.8. Section 6(f)—Allow insurance forplums produced on scions that have notreached the fifth growing season afterbeing grafted to established rootstock. If