[Federal Register: March 22, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 55)]
[Notices]
[Page 14493-14494]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22mr06-41]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Doc. No. TM-06-07]
Notice of Meeting of the National Organic Standards Board
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing a
forthcoming meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).
DATES: The meeting dates are Wednesday, April 19, 2006, 1 p.m. to 5
p.m.; and Thursday, April 20, 2006, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Requests from
individuals and organizations wishing to make an oral presentation at
the meeting are due by the close of business on April 7, 2006.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place at the Ramada Conference Center,
1450 South Atherton Street, State College, PA. Requests for copies of
the NOSB meeting agenda, requests to make an oral presentation at the
meeting, or written comments may be sent to Ms. Katherine Benham at
USDA-AMS-TMD-NOP, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4008-So., Ag Stop
0268, Washington, DC 20250-0200. Requests to make an oral presentation
at the meeting may also be sent via facsimile to Ms. Katherine Benham
at (202) 205-7808 or electronically to Ms. Katherine Benham at
Katherine.benham@usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine E. Benham, Advisory Board
Specialist, National Organic Program, (202) 205-7806.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2119 (7 U.S.C. 6518) of the Organic
Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA), as amended (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.)
requires the establishment of the NOSB. The purpose of the NOSB is to
make recommendations about whether a substance should be allowed or
prohibited in organic production or handling, to assist in the
development of standards for substances to be used in organic
production, and to advise the Secretary on other aspects of the
implementation of the OFPA. The NOSB met for the first time in
Washington, DC, in March 1992, and currently has six committees working
on various aspects of the organic program. The committees are:
Compliance, Accreditation, and Certification; Crops; Livestock;
Materials; Handling; and Policy Development.
In August of 1994, the NOSB provided its initial recommendations
for the National Organic Program (NOP) to the Secretary of Agriculture.
Since that time, the NOSB has submitted 99 addenda to its
recommendations and reviewed more than 269 substances for inclusion on
the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances. The last
meeting of the NOSB was held on November 16-17, 2005, in Washington,
DC.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) published its final National
Organic Program regulation in the Federal Register on December 21,
2000, (65 FR 80548). The rule became effective April 21, 2001.
[[Page 14494]]
The principal purposes of the meeting are to provide an opportunity
for the NOSB to receive an update from the USDA/NOP and hear progress
reports from NOSB committees regarding work plan items and proposed
action items. The NOSB will receive presentations from the Aquaculture
Working Group and Pet Food Task Force. The NOSB subcommittees (Crops,
Livestock, and Handling Committees) will also present for, full NOSB
consideration, recommendations concerning the continued use or
prohibition of 29 substances being reviewed under the OFPA's sunset
provisions for the National List. The NOSB will vote on these
recommendations.
The OFPA authorized a National List of Allowed and Prohibited
Substances. The Act also provides that no allowed or prohibited
substance would remain on the National List for a period exceeding 5
years unless the exemption or prohibition is reviewed and recommended
for renewal by the NOSB and adopted by the Secretary of Agriculture.
This expiration is commonly referred to as sunset of the National List.
The National List was implemented on October 21, 2002, and contained
over 170 substances. This first sunset of the National List triggers a
review process that must be concluded no later than October 21, 2007.
If renewal is not concluded by that date, the use or prohibition of
hundreds of materials will no longer be valid for the organic industry,
causing most if not all of the organic industry to be in noncompliance
with the National Organic Standards. Because this first sunset process
involves Federal rulemaking, the NOSB and the NOP has issued guidance
and begun work on the National List Sunset process in order to avoid
expiration of the National List on October 21, 2007. At its November
16-17, 2005, meeting in Washington, DC, the NOSB recommended that the
Secretary continue the use of 143 substances in organic crop and
livestock production and handling. The NOSB recommended not renewing
the listing of one substance, potassium tartrate made from tartaric
acid. The substance appears twice on the Nation List, with two
different names. The NOSB recommended removing it because of
redundancy.
The Handling Committee will discuss its continued work on
determining when a product is agricultural versus nonagricultural. The
Materials and Handling Committees will discuss NOP feedback regarding
guidance for making determinations on whether a substance is synthetic
or non-synthetic. Finally, the Policy Development and Handling
Committees will present, for full NOSB consideration, a recommendation
for facilitating determinations regarding the commercial availability
of organic agricultural ingredients.
For further information, see http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop. Copies of
the NOSB meeting agenda can be requested from Ms. Katherine Benham by
telephone at (202) 205-7806; or by accessing the NOP Web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop
.
The Meeting is Open to the Public. The NOSB has scheduled time for
public input for Wednesday, April 19, 2006, from 2 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.,
and Thursday, April 20, 2006, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Individuals and
organizations wishing to make an oral presentation at the meeting may
forward their request by mail, facsimile, or e-mail to Katherine Benham
at addresses listed in ADDRESSES above. Individuals or organizations
will be given approximately 5 minutes to present their views. All
persons making an oral presentation are requested to provide their
comments in writing. Written submissions may contain information other
than that presented at the oral presentation.
Written comments may also be submitted at the meeting. Persons
submitting written comments at the meeting are asked to provide 30
copies.
Interested persons may visit the NOSB portion of the NOP Web site
http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop to view available documents prior to the
meeting. Approximately 6 weeks following the meeting interested persons
will be able to visit the NOSB portion of the NOP Web site to view
documents from the meeting.
Dated: March 17, 2006.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 06-2788 Filed 3-21-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P