[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 78 (Thursday, April 23, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20053-20054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10794]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 78 / Thursday, April 23, 1998 / Rules 
and Regulations  

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 98-046-1]


Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to 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 Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by 
adding a portion of Dade County, FL, to the list of quarantined areas 
and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from the 
quarantined area. This action is necessary on an emergency basis to 
prevent the spread of the Mediterranean fruit fly into noninfested 
areas of the continental United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective April 17, 1998. Consideration will be 
given only to comments received on or before June 22, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Docket No. 98-046-1, 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. 98-046-1. 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. Michael B. Stefan, Operations 
Officer, Domestic and Emergency Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 
Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8247; or e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is one 
of the world's most destructive pests of numerous fruits and 
vegetables. The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) can cause serious 
economic losses. Heavy infestations can cause complete loss of crops, 
and losses of 25 to 50 percent are not uncommon. The short life cycle 
of this pest permits the rapid development of serious outbreaks.
    The regulations in 7 CFR part 301.78 through 301.78-10 (referred to 
below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from quarantined areas to prevent the spread of Medfly to 
noninfested areas of the United States.
    Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of Florida State and county 
agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) have revealed that an infestation of Medfly has 
occurred in a portion of Dade County, FL.
    The regulations in Sec. 301.78-3 provide that the Administrator of 
APHIS will list as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of a 
State, in which the Medfly has been found by an inspector, in which the 
Administrator has reason to believe that the Medfly is present, or that 
the Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its 
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities in 
which the Medfly has been found.
    Less than an entire State will be designated as a quarantined area 
only if the Administrator determines that the State has adopted and is 
enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of regulated articles 
that are equivalent to those imposed on the interstate movement of 
regulated articles, and the designation of less than the entire State 
as a quarantined area will prevent the interstate spread of the Medfly. 
The boundary lines for a portion of a State being designated as 
quarantined are set up approximately four-and-one-half miles from the 
detection sites. The boundary lines may vary due to factors such as the 
location of Medfly host material, the location of transportation 
centers such as bus stations and airports, the patterns of persons 
moving in that State, the number and patterns of distribution of the 
Medfly, and the use of clearly identifiable lines for the boundaries.
    In accordance with these criteria and the recent Medfly findings 
described above, we are amending Sec. 301.78-3 by adding a portion of 
Dade County, FL, to the list of quarantined areas. The new quarantined 
area is described in the rule portion of this document.

Emergency Action

    The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
has determined that an emergency exists that warrants publication of 
this interim rule without prior opportunity for public comment. 
Immediate action is necessary to prevent the Medfly from spreading to 
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 less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. 
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.
    This interim rule amends the Medfly regulations by adding a portion 
of Dade County, FL, to the list of quarantined areas. This action is 
necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the spread of the Medfly 
into noninfested areas of the United States.
    This interim rule affects the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from the quarantined area of Dade County, FL. We estimate that 
there are seven entities in the quarantined area of Dade County, FL, 
that sell, process, handle, or move regulated articles; this estimate 
includes

[[Page 20054]]

one mobile vendor and six stores/markets. The number of these entities 
that meet the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) definition of 
a small entity is unknown, since the information needed to make that 
determination (i.e., each entity's gross receipts or number of 
employees) is not currently available. However, it is reasonable to 
assume that most of the seven entities are small in size, since the 
overwhelming majority of businesses in Florida, as well as the rest of 
the United States, are small entities by SBA standards.
    We believe that few, if any, of the seven entities will be 
significantly affected by the quarantine action taken in this interim 
rule because few of these types of entities move regulated articles 
outside the State of Florida during the normal course of their 
business. Nor do consumers of products purchased from these type of 
entities generally move those products interstate. The effect on the 
small entities that do move regulated articles interstate from the 
quarantined area will be minimized by the availability of various 
treatments that, in most cases, will allow those small entities to move 
regulated articles interstate with very little additional costs. Also, 
many of these types of small entities sell other items in addition to 
regulated articles, so the effect, if any, of the interim rule should 
be minimal.
    Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

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 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 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 site specific environmental 
assessment and programmatic Medfly environmental impact statement 
provide a basis for our conclusion that implementation of integrated 
pest management to achieve eradication of the Medfly would not have a 
significant impact on human health and the natural 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 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, Incorporation by reference, 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. 147a, 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, 
and 164-167; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

    2. In Sec. 301.78-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 301.78-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) The areas described below are designated as quarantined areas:

Florida

    Dade County. That portion of Dade County in Hialeah bounded by a 
line beginning at the intersection of LeJeune Road (East 8th Avenue) 
and East 33rd Street; then south along LeJeune Road (East 8th Avenue) 
(including both sides of LeJeune Road) to Northwest 36th Street (State 
Highway 948); then west along Northwest 36th Street (State Highway 948) 
to the east side of Palmetto Expressway (State Highway 826); then north 
along the east side of Palmetto Expressway (State Highway 826) to the 
section line between sections 2 and 11, T. 53 S., R. 40 E. (on a line 
with West 37th Street); then east along the section line between 
sections 2 and 11, T. 53 S., R. 40 E., to its continuation as West 37th 
Street; then east along West 37th Street to West 4th Avenue; then south 
along West 4th Avenue to West 33rd Street; then east along West 33rd 
Street (including both sides of West 33rd Street) to its continuation 
as East 33rd Street; then east along East 33rd Street (including both 
sides of East 33rd Street) to the point of beginning.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of April 1998.
Craig A. Reed,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 98-10794 Filed 4-22-98; 8:45 am]
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