PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 05-13-191.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 16-157-220 Producer fee schedule.
Hearing Location(s): Natural Resources Building, 2nd Floor, Room 259, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, on October 19, 2005, at 1 p.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: October 28, 2005.
Submit Written Comments to: Miles McEvoy, Organic Food Program, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504-2560, e-mail mmcevoy@agr.wa.gov, fax (360) 902-2087, by 5:00 p.m., October 19, 2005.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Julie Carlson by October 12, 2005, TTY (360) 902-1996 or (360) 902-1880.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: Chapter 16-157 WAC, Organic food standards and certification, adopts the national organic program and provides certification for producer, processors and handlers wishing to obtain organic certification. The rule sets fees for obtaining certification and provides organic certification logos for those parties certified under the rule. Organic certification is also offered for retail food stores. The proposed amendments are necessary to improve the efficiency of the WSDA organic food program and enable it to provide better service to organic producers.
The proposed rule amendments:
• Change the annual application deadline for organic producers from March 1 to February 1. An earlier application deadline will enable the WSDA organic food program to review the renewal applications before the start of the field season.
• Remove the cap on producer certification fees. No producers are currently affected by the removal of the cap. The removal of the certification fee cap is being done to enable the program to recover the costs of providing organic certification to operations with over $7,000,000 in sales.
• Change the transitional certification fee from $5 per acre to $50 per site. This change provides a more equitable method of assessing fees for providing transitional certification and actually will result in producers paying lower transitional certification fees.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: The proposed amendments will enable the WSDA organic food program to more:
• Efficiently review renewal applications because producers will submit them before the start of the field season; and
• Equitably recover the costs of providing organic certification to organic producers by removing the cap on producer certification fees and changing the method of assessing transitional certification fees.
The Washington State Department of Agriculture Organic Advisory Board supports the proposed amendments.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapters 15.86 and 34.05 RCW.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 15.86 RCW.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Washington State Department of Agriculture, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Miles McEvoy, Olympia, (360) 902-1924.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. RCW 19.85.030 (1)(a) requires the department to prepare a small business economic impact statement (SBEIS) for proposed rules that impose a more than minor cost on businesses in an industry. The department analyzed the economic impact of the proposed amendments to WAC 16-157-220 and concluded that the cost imposed by the proposed amendments are "not more than minor" and do not have a disproportionate impact on small businesses, therefore, a formal SBEIS is not required. Changing the transitional certification fee from $5 per acre to $50 per site will actually reduce the transitional certification fees paid by producers.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. The Washington State Department of Agriculture is not a listed agency under RCW 34.05.328 (5)(a)(i).
September 7, 2005
John Swannack
Acting Assistant Director
OTS-8305.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 03-03-044, filed 1/10/03,
effective 2/10/03)
WAC 16-157-220
Producer fee schedule.
Producers who
wish to apply for the organic food certification program must
apply to the department each year.
(1) The cost per application shall be based on the following fee schedule.
(a) Renewal applicants -
Application fees must be based on the previous calendar
year's sales of organic food. In the event that the current
calendar year's sales exceed the previous year's sales, the
department may bill the producer for the additional fee. In
the event that the current calendar year's sales are less than
the previous year's sales, the producer may request a refund
for the reduced fee. In addition, renewal applications
postmarked after ((March)) February 1, must pay a late fee of
seventy-five dollars. Renewal applicants that are adding
additional sites to their organic certification must pay a new
site fee of fifty dollars for each additional site.
(b) New applicants -
Application fees must be based on an estimate of the current year's sales of organic food. In the event that the current calendar year's sales exceed the estimate, the department may bill the producer for the additional fee. In the event that the current calendar year's sales are less than the estimate, the producer may request a refund for the reduced fee. In addition, new applicants must pay a one hundred dollar new applicant fee. New applicants that are seeking organic certification for more than one site must pay a site fee of fifty dollars for each additional site. The fee shall accompany the application.
| SALES | ANNUAL FEE | ||
| $ 0 | - | $ 15,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 200 |
| $ 15,001 | - | $ 20,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 225 |
| $ 20,001 | - | $ 25,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 280 |
| $ 25,001 | - | $ 30,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 335 |
| $ 30,001 | - | $ 35,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 390 |
| $ 35,001 | - | $ 42,500 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 470 |
| $ 42,501 | - | $ 50,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 560 |
| $ 50,001 | - | $ 65,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 670 |
| $ 65,001 | - | $ 80,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 835 |
| $ 80,001 | - | $100,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,000 |
| $100,001 | - | $125,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,150 |
| $125,001 | - | $150,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,300 |
| $150,001 | - | $175,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,450 |
| $175,001 | - | $200,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,600 |
| $200,001 | - | $240,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,750 |
| $240,001 | - | $280,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1,900 |
| $280,001 | - | $325,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,050 |
| $325,001 | - | $375,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,200 |
| $375,001 | - | $425,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,450 |
| $425,001 | - | $500,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2,700 |
| $500,001 | - | $750,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 3,000 |
| $750,001 | - | (( and up |
. . $2,200 plus 0.11% of gross organic sales |
| (( |
|||
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.86 RCW. 03-03-044, § 16-157-220, filed 1/10/03, effective 2/10/03; 02-10-090, § 16-157-220, filed 4/29/02, effective 5/30/02.]