Opportunity To Comment on the Applicants for the Springfield (IL) Area

AGENCY:

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) requests comments on the applicants for designation to provide official services in the geographic areas assigned to Springfield Grain Inspection, Inc. (Springfield).

DATES:

Comments must be postmarked, or electronically dated by October 1, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Comments must be submitted in writing to USDA, GIPSA, Janet M. Hart, Chief, Review Branch, Compliance Division, STOP 3604, Room 1647-S, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3604. Telecopier (FAX) users may send comments to the automatic telecopier machine at 202-690-2755, attention: Janet M. Hart. Electronic mail users may send comments to: Janet.M.Hart@usda.gov. All comments received will be made available for public inspection at the above address at 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., during regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet M. Hart at 202-720-8525, e-mail Janet.M.Hart@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This Action has been reviewed and determined not to be a rule or regulation as defined in Executive Order 12866 and Departmental Regulation 1512-1; therefore, the Executive Order and Departmental Regulation do not apply to this action.

In the June 3, 2003, Federal Register (67 FR 38249), GIPSA asked persons interested in providing official services in the Springfield area to submit an application for designation. There were two applicants for the Springfield area: Springfield and Keokuk Grain Inspection Service (Keokuk). Springfield applied for designation to provide official services in the entire area currently assigned to them. Keokuk, a designated official grain inspection agency operating in Iowa and Illinois, applied for designation to provide official services in Cass and Schuyler Counties, Illinois.

GIPSA is publishing this notice to provide interested persons the opportunity to present comments concerning the applicants. Commenters are encouraged to submit reasons and pertinent data for support or objection to the designation of the applicants. All comments must be submitted to the Compliance Division at the above address. Comments and other available information will be considered in making a final decision. GIPSA will publish notice of the final decision in the Federal Register, and GIPSA will send the applicants written notification of the decision.

Authority: Pub. L. 94-582, 90 Stat. 2867, as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.).