[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 90 (Monday, May 11, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25748-25750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12395]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 97-056-11]


Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to the Quarantined Area

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are amending the Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by 
expanding the current quarantined area in Dade County, FL. The 
regulations restrict 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 May 5, 1998. Consideration will be given 
only to comments received on or before July 10, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Docket No. 97-056-11, 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. 97-056-11. 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 Mediterranean fruit fly regulations (7 CFR 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.
    In an interim rule effective on June 16, 1997, and published in the 
Federal Register on June 20, 1997 (62 FR 33537-33539, Docket No. 97-
056-2), we added a portion of Hillsborough County, FL, to the list of 
quarantined areas and restricted the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from that quarantined area. In a second interim rule effective 
on July 3, 1997, and published in the Federal Register on July 10, 1997 
(62 FR 36976-36978, Docket No. 97-056-3), we expanded the quarantined 
area in Hillsborough County, FL, and added areas in Manatee and Polk 
Counties, FL, to the list of quarantined areas. In a third interim rule 
effective on August 7, 1997, and published in the Federal Register on 
August 13, 1997 (62 FR 43269-43272, Docket No. 97-056-4), we further 
expanded the quarantined area by adding new areas in Hillsborough 
County, FL, and an area in Orange County, FL, to the list of 
quarantined areas. In that third interim rule, we also revised the 
entry for Manatee County, FL, to make the boundary lines of the 
quarantined area more accurate. In a fourth interim rule effective on 
September 4, 1997, and published in the Federal Register on September 
10, 1997 (62 FR 47553-47558, Docket No. 97-056-5), we quarantined a new 
area in Polk County, FL, and an area in Sarasota County, FL. In a fifth 
interim rule effective on October 15, 1997, and published in the 
Federal Register on October 21, 1997 (62 FR 54571-54572, Docket No. 97-
056-7), we removed all or portions of the quarantined areas in 
Hillsborough, Manatee, Orange, Polk, and Sarasota Counties, FL, from 
the list of quarantined areas. In a sixth interim rule effective on 
November 14, 1997, and published in the Federal Register

[[Page 25749]]

on November 20, 1997 (62 FR 61897-61898, Docket No. 97-056-8), we 
removed all of the quarantined areas in Polk County, FL, from the list 
of quarantined areas. In a seventh interim rule effective April 17, 
1998, and published in the Federal Register on April 22, 1998 (63 FR 
19797-19798, Docket No. 97-056-9), we removed the quarantined area in 
Hillsborough County, FL, from the list of quarantined areas. In an 
eighth interim rule also effective on April 17, 1998, and published in 
the Federal Register on April 23, 1998 (63 FR 20053-20054, Docket No. 
98-046-1), we added a portion of Dade County, FL, to the list of 
quarantined areas and restricted the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from the quarantined area.
    Recent surveys by inspectors of Florida State and county agencies 
and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) have detected Medfly larvae in fruit in the currently 
quarantined area in Dade County, FL. This indicates a reproducing 
Medfly population in the area. For this reason, we are expanding the 
quarantined area in Dade County, FL, to prevent the spread of Medfly to 
noninfested areas.
    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 pattern 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 finding 
described above, we are amending 301.78-3 by expanding the current 
quarantined area in Dade County, FL. The resulting 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 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.
    This interim rule amends the Medfly regulations by expanding the 
current quarantined area in Dade County, FL. 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 newly quarantined area of Dade County, FL. We 
estimate that there are 63 entities in this area of Dade County, FL, 
that sell, process, handle, or move regulated articles; this estimate 
includes 14 mobile vendors, 34 stores/markets, and 15 nurseries. 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 63 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 63 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 types 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

[[Page 25750]]

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 Subject 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), the entry for Florida is 
revised to read as follows:


Sec. 301.78-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

FLORIDA

    Dade County. That portion of Dade County beginning at the 
intersection of Northwest 87th Avenue and Northwest 103rd Street 
(State Highway 932); then east along Northwest 103rd Street (State 
Highway 932) (also known as 49th Street) to the section line 
dividing sections 4 and 5, T. 53 S., R. 41 E.; then south along the 
section line dividing sections 4 and 5, T. 53 S., R. 41 E., to 
Northwest 36th Street (State Highway 948); then west along Northwest 
36th Street to Northwest 87th Avenue; then north along Northwest 
87th Avenue to the point of beginning.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of May 1998.
Charles P. Schwalbe,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 98-12395 Filed 5-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P