[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 161 (Thursday, August 20, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44539-44541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22457]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 98-083-1]


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 San Diego County, CA, 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 United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective August 13, 1998. Consideration will be 
given only to comments received on or before October 19, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Docket No. 98-083-1, 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. 98-083-1. Comments 
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th 
Street

[[Page 44540]]

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 sort 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.
    Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of California 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 San Diego County, CA.
    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 the regulated 
articles that are equivalent to those imposed on the interstate 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 sights. 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 
San Diego County, CA, 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 this 
action 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. The document will include a 
discussion of any comments we received 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 rule amends the Medfly regulations by adding a portion of San 
Diego County, CA, 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 rule also restricts the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from the quarantined area of San Diego County, CA. We estimate 
that there are 26 entities in the quarantined area of San Diego County, 
CA, that sell, process, handle, or move regulated articles. This 
estimate includes 18 fruit sellers and 8 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 these entities are small in size, 
since the overwhelming majority of businesses in California, as well as 
the rest of the United States, are small entities by SBA standards.
    Few, if any, of the 26 entities will be significantly affected by 
the quarantine action taken in this interim rule because few of those 
entities move regulated articles outside the State of California during 
the normal course of their business. Nor do consumers of products 
purchased from those entities generally move those products interstate. 
The effect on any 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 those 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

[[Page 44541]]

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, as amended (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 of 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, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 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 amended by adding an entry 
for San Diego County, CA, in alphabetical order, to read as follows:


Sec. 301.78-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
California
    San Diego County. That portion of San Diego County in the La Jolla 
area bounded by a line beginning at the intersection of North Torrey 
Pines and La Jolla Village Drive; then east along La Jolla Village 
Drive to Genesee Avenue; then southeast along Genesee Avenue to State 
Highway 274 (Balboa Avenue); then southwest along State Highway 274 
(Balboa Avenue) to Clairemont Drive; then southwest along Clairemont 
Drive to Interstate Highway 5; then south along Interstate Highway 5 to 
Sea World Drive; then southwest along Sea World Drive to Sunset Cliffs 
Boulevard; then southwest along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard to West Point 
Loma Boulevard; then northwest along West Point Loma Boulevard to 
Voltaire Street; then west along Voltaire Street to the Pacific Ocean 
coastline; then north along the Pacific Ocean coastline to Scripps 
Pier; then east along an imaginary line to the intersection of 
Biological Grade and La Jolla Shores Drive; then northeast along La 
Jolla Shores Drive to North Torrey Pines; then south along North Torrey 
Pines to the point of beginning.
* * * * *
    Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of August, 1998.
Joan M. Arnoldi,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 98-22457 Filed 8-19-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P