[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1519-1521]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-662]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 1996 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 1519]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 95-086-1]
Citrus Canker Regulations; Quarantined Areas
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the citrus canker regulations by quarantining
an area in Dade County, FL. This action is necessary on an emergency
basis to prevent the spread of citrus canker into noninfested areas of
the United States. This action imposes certain restrictions on the
interstate movement of regulated articles from and through the
quarantined area.
DATES: Interim rule effective January 16, 1996. Consideration will be
given only to comments received on or before March 22, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 95-086-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,
suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 95-086-1. Comments
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer,
Domestic and Emergency Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit
134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8899.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Citrus canker is a plant disease known to affect plants and plant
parts, including fresh fruit, of citrus and citrus relatives (Family
Rutaceae). Citrus canker can cause defoliation and other serious damage
to the leaves and twigs of susceptible plants. It may also make the
fruit of infected plants unmarketable by causing lesions on the fruit.
Infected fruit may also drop from trees before reaching maturity. The
aggressive A (Asiatic) strain of citrus canker can infect susceptible
plants rapidly and lead to extensive economic losses in commercial
citrus-producing areas.
The regulations to prevent the interstate spread of citrus canker
are contained in 7 CFR 301.75-1 through 301.75-14 (referred to below as
``the regulations''). The regulations restrict the interstate movement
of regulated articles from and through areas quarantined because of
citrus canker. The regulations also provide for the designation of
survey areas around quarantined areas. Survey areas undergo close
monitoring by Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and
State inspectors for citrus canker and serve as containment or buffer
zones against the disease.
Section 301.75-4(c) of the regulations states that any State or
portion of a State where an infestation is detected will be designated
as a quarantined area and will remain so until the area has been
without infestation for 2 years.
Section 301.75-4(d) of the regulations states that less than an
entire State will be designated as the quarantined area only if certain
conditions are met. The conditions include the inspection of areas
designated as survey areas. Additionally, the State must, with certain
specified exceptions, enforce restrictions on the intrastate movement
of regulated articles from the quarantined area that are at least as
stringent as those being enforced on the interstate movement of
regulated articles from the quarantined area.
Prior to the publication of this document, there were no areas in
the United States designated as quarantined areas or survey areas for
citrus canker. On September 28, 1995, however, employees of the State
of Florida collected samples of the Asiatic strain of citrus canker
from residental citrus trees in the Westchester area of Miami, FL. As a
result, we determined that a portion of Dade County, FL, must be
designated as a quarantined area for citrus canker. Additionally, we
have determined that the State of Florida is enforcing restrictions on
the intrastate movement of regulated articles from that area in Dade
County that are at least as stringent as those for the interstate
movement of regulated articles from the area.
Accordingly, we are amending the regulations by designating a
portion of Dade County, FL, as a quarantined area. Citrus canker has
been found in approximately 24 square miles of Dade County, FL, but, as
a precaution, we have established a quarantined area that comprises
approximately 140 square miles of Dade County, FL. As the small
infested area lies at the core of the quarantined area and constitutes
less than 18 percent of the quarantined area, we have determined that
establishing a separate survey area is unnecessary in this case.
At this stage of the infestation, we believe that expanding the
quarantined area to include a buffer zone, rather than establishing a
separate, less restricted survey area, will enhance our ability to
detect and control further occurrences of citrus canker in and around
the infested area. This is because, as the new findings of citrus
canker were detected in a highly populated residential area, we expect
that over the course of the next several months, citrus canker may be
detected on additional properties in the general vicinity of the
original findings. The extended quarantined area will allow us to
contain the spread of the citrus canker more effectively than our
traditional quarantined area surrounded by a less stringently regulated
survey area and will eliminate the possibility of constant changes to
the regulations to amend the boundaries of the quarantined area and the
survey area to accommodate new findings of citrus canker. We believe
that in addition to preventing the spread of citrus canker within the
regulated area, this action will provide more consistent boundaries for
the quarantined area. The exact description of the newly quarantined
area can be found in the rule portion of this document.
[[Page 1520]]
In light of a review of recent scientific literature, we are also
revising the definition of citrus canker to reflect current taxonomic
nomenclature. Citrus canker has been defined as a plant disease caused
by strains of the bacterium Xanothomonas campestris pv. citri. The new
definition will state that citrus canker is a plant disease caused by
strains of the bacterium Xanothomonas axonopodis pv. citri. In July of
1995, the scientific name of the strains of bacteria that cause the
citrus canker that is regulated was changed. Xanothomonas axonopodis
pv. citri is actually the same organism with the same characteristics
that we refer to in the current regulations. The change in nomenclature
involves a change in the species portion of scientific name only;
Xanothomonas campestris pv. citri has simply been placed in another
species grouping based on an extensive review of species
characteristics.
Immediate Action
The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
has determined that there is good cause for publishing this interim
rule without prior opportunity for public comment. Immediate action is
necessary to prevent citrus canker from spreading into noninfested
areas of the United States.
Because prior notice and other public procedures with respect to
this action are impracticable and contrary to the public interest under
these conditions, we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 to make it
effective upon signature. We will consider comments that are received
within 60 days of publication of this rule in the Federal Register.
After the comment period closes, we will publish another document in
the Federal Register. It will include a discussion of any comments we
receive and any amendments we are making to the rule as a result of the
comments.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review
process required by Executive Order 12866.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 603, we have performed an Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, which is set out below, regarding the
impact of this interim rule on small entities. However, we do not
currently have all of the data necessary for a comprehensive analysis
of the effects of this interim rule on small entities. Therefore, we
are inviting comments on potential effects. In particular, we are
interested in determining the number and kind of small entities that
may incur benefits or costs from the implementation of this interim
rule.
The Plant Quarantine Act, contained in 7 U.S.C. 151-165 and 167,
authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to quarantine States or
portions of States and to promulgate regulations to prevent the spread
of dangerous plant diseases new to or not widely prevalent in the
United States.
We are amending the citrus canker regulations by amending the
definition of citrus canker and by quarantining an area in Dade County,
FL. This action imposes restrictions on the interstate and intrastate
movement of citrus plants, plant parts, citrus fruit, and other
regulated articles from and through the quarantined area.
Within the newly regulated area, there are approximately 2,275
entities that could be affected by this interim rule. These entities
consist of 375 nurseries and stockdealers, 300 fresh fruit retail
stores, one large flea market, and 1,600 lawn maintenance businesses.
Most of the sales or services provided by these entities are local or
specifically within the regulated area.
The nurseries and stockdealers affected by this interim rule will
be required to undergo periodic inspections. These inspections may be
inconvenient, but the inspections will not result in any additional
costs for the nurseries or stockdealers because APHIS or the State of
Florida will provide the services of the inspector without cost to the
nursery or stockdealer. Should the inspector discover citrus canker in
any of the regulated plants or trees within the nursery or
stockdealer's premises, then the nursery or stockdealer may have to
incur the cost of destroying the infected plants or trees and will, in
any case, be deprived of the opportunity to benefit from the sale of
infected regulated plants and trees. However, because citrus canker is
currently limited to residential properties, we expect the cost of
compliance for nurseries and stockdealers to be minimal.
The fresh fruit retailers and the flea market dealers affected by
this interim rule will be required to abide by restrictions on the
interstate and intrastate movement of regulated articles. They may be
affected by this interim rule because fruit sold within the quarantined
area in retail stores and at the flea market cannot be moved outside of
the quarantined area. However, we expect any direct costs of compliance
for fresh fruit retailers and flea market dealers to be minimal.
The lawn maintenance companies affected by this interim rule will
be required to perform additional safety measures when maintaining an
area inside the quarantined area. Lawn maintenance companies will have
to clean and disinfect their equipment after grooming an area within
the quarantined area, and they must properly dispose of any clippings
from plants or trees within the quarantined area. These requirements
will slightly increase costs for lawn maintenance companies affected by
this interim rule.
The alternative to this interim rule was to make no changes in the
citrus canker regulations. We rejected this alternative because failure
to quarantine a portion of Dade County, FL, could result in great
economic losses for domestic citrus producers.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12778
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
National Environmental Policy Act
An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
have been prepared for this rule. The assessment provides a basis for
our conclusion that the selected citrus canker eradication program will
not present a risk of introducing or disseminating plant pests and
would not have a significant impact on the quality of the human
environment. Based on the finding of no significant impact, the
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has
determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.
The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) Regulations of the
Council on Environmental Quality for Implementing the Procedural
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA Regulations
Implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA
[[Page 1521]]
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no
significant impact are available for public inspection at USDA, room
1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. Persons wishing to inspect copies are requested to
call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the reading room.
In addition, copies may be obtained by writing to the individual listed
under ``
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.''
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is amended as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and
164-167; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).
2. In Sec. 301.75-1, the definition of Citrus canker is revised to
read as follows:
Sec. 301.75-1 Definitions.
* * * * *
Citrus canker. A plant disease caused by strains of the bacterium
Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri.
* * * * *
3. In Sec. 301.75-4, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.75-4 Quarantined areas.
(a) The following States or portions of States are designated as
quarantined areas:
FLORIDA
Dade County. That portion of Dade County within the following
boundaries: Beginning at the point on the shore line of Biscayne Bay
that is directly south of and in line with W 17th Avenue; then north to
W 17th Avenue; then north along W 17th Avenue to State Route 916; then
west along State Route 916 to the Palmetto Expressway; then south along
the Palmetto Expressway to NW 58th Street; then west along NW 58th
Street to NW 177 Avenue (Krome Avenue); then south along NW 177 Avenue
to SW 88th Street (Kendall Drive); then east along SW 88th Street to
Biscayne Bay; then north along the shore line of Biscayne Bay to the
point of beginning.
* * * * *
4. In Sec. 301.75-4, paragraph (d)(1) is revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 301.75-4 Quarantined areas.
* * * * *
(d) * * *
(1) Survey. No area has been designated a survey area.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of January 1996.
Terry L. Medley,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 96-662 Filed 1-19-96; 8:45 am]
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