[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 167 (Monday, August 30, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 47141-47142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22447]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 167 / Monday, August 30, 1999 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 47141]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 318

[Docket No. 98-120-1]


Baggage Inspection for Domestic Flights From Puerto Rico and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is soliciting 
public comment on changes we are considering making to regulations 
requiring inspections of airline passenger baggage on domestic flights 
leaving Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Currently, air 
passengers must offer their carry-on and check-in baggage for 
inspection prior to boarding any domestic flight from Puerto Rico or 
the U.S. Virgin Islands to other parts of the United States, except 
Guam. Baggage is inspected to ensure that it is free of unauthorized 
fruits, vegetables, or other material that could harbor plant pests. We 
are considering changing this practice by concentrating inspections on 
flights that stop or end in parts of the United States where the plant 
pests could become established and reducing inspection of baggage on 
other flights.
    We will hold two public hearings to discuss the regulatory changes 
we are considering in this advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments that we receive by October 29, 1999. We also will consider 
comments made at two public hearings scheduled to be held in San Juan, 
PR, on October 5, 1999, and in Sacramento, CA, on October 7, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 98-
120-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3CO3, 
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that 
your comment refers to Docket No. 98-120-1.
    You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our 
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    The public hearing in San Juan, PR, will be held at the Biblioteca 
Carnegie/Carnegie Library, Departamento de Educacion/Department of 
Education, Avenue Ponce de Leon 7, San Juan, PR. 
The public hearing in Sacramento, CA, will be held at the Red Lion Inn-
Sacramento, Comstock II Room, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento, CA.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS rules, are available on the Internet at http://
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James F. Smith, Senior Operations 
Officer, Safeguarding and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 
Unit 60, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-8295; fax: (301) 734-8584; 
or e-mail: Jim.F.S[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables from Puerto 
Rico or the Virgin Islands'' (7 CFR 318.58 through 318.58-16, referred 
to below as the regulations) are designed to prevent the dissemination 
of plant pests, including diseases, from Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin 
Islands into other parts of the United States.
    Currently, the regulations in Sec. 318.58-10 require all air 
passengers to offer their carry-on and check-in baggage and other 
personal effects for inspection prior to boarding flights from Puerto 
Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands to other parts of the United States, 
except Guam.
    The purpose of the inspections is to ensure that the baggage does 
not contain any agricultural articles that could carry plant pests, 
including diseases, to other parts of the United States. After 
inspecting and passing the baggage or personal effects, inspectors 
apply a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) stamp, 
inspection sticker, or other identification to indicate that the 
baggage has been inspected and passed as required. The regulations 
prohibit airlines from accepting check-in baggage that has not been 
tagged.
    New global trade patterns have resulted in increased agricultural 
imports into Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More imports have 
increased the need for inspection of agricultural cargo, smuggling 
interdiction, and new pest monitoring activities. However, our current 
practice of requiring all air passengers on all flights from Puerto 
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to other parts of the United States to 
offer their baggage for inspection prevents us from reallocating 
resources to other inspection and plant pest prevention activities. 
Current baggage inspection requirements also have created long lines 
and frustrated air passengers. As a result, we have reviewed our 
procedures to see if any changes might be appropriate.
    As part of this review, we analyzed pest interception records from 
predeparture baggage inspections in San Juan, PR, during fiscal years 
1994 through 1996. This analysis was conducted to determine whether the 
intercepted pests posed a risk to mainland United States agriculture 
generally or whether the risk was significant only if the pests were 
introduced into the southern United States. The analysis evaluated 36 
pests and determined that intercepted plant pests in baggage from 
Puerto Rico pose a limited threat to agriculture in the northern United 
States. Cooler temperatures north of 38 deg. latitude, especially from 
October 1 through April 30, effectively prevent the permanent 
establishment of tropical or subtropical plant pests and diseases in 
the northern United States. The analysis, titled ``Hazard 
Identification Analysis; Evaluation of San Juan Predeparture 
Interceptions in Baggage FY 1994-96,'' is available for public review 
on the Internet at http://www.usda.gov/ppq/ss/cobra/hazardsanjuan.html. 
You may also request a copy from the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.

[[Page 47142]]

    The hazard identification analysis suggests that even if passenger 
baggage from Puerto Rico contained unauthorized fruits, vegetables, or 
other plant material and was carried into the northern United States, 
any plant pest in the baggage would present an insignificant risk. 
These conclusions are also applicable to passenger baggage from the 
U.S. Virgin Islands due to current practices that allow for the 
unrestricted movement of fruits, vegetables, or other plant material 
between Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As a result, we are 
considering reducing baggage inspections on flights from Puerto Rico or 
the U.S. Virgin Islands that stop or end in the northern United States 
without a stop in the southern continental United States or Hawaii. 
However, because the climate on the west coast of the United States 
also could support populations of some pests of concern, we are 
considering ending mandatory inspection of baggage only for flights 
that will stop or end in parts of the continental United States east of 
117 deg. longitude and north of 38 deg. latitude without a stop in 
either Hawaii or parts of the continental United States west of 
117 deg. longitude and south of 38 deg. latitude. Roughly, the 38 deg. 
latitude runs south of Washington and Baltimore on the east coast, 
south of Kansas City and Denver in the central United States, and south 
of Salt Lake City in the western United States. The 117 deg. longitude 
corresponds to the State boundaries of Washington and Idaho in the 
northern United States and intersects the 38 deg. latitude in south-
central Nevada. This means that all carry-on and check-in baggage on 
flights from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to California, 
Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and the southern continental United States 
would continue to be inspected and tagged prior to departure. The 
inspection and tagging procedures for baggage on these flights are 
necessary to ensure that the baggage does not contain agricultural 
commodities that could carry plant pests from Puerto Rico or the U.S. 
Virgin Islands to other parts of the United States where the pests 
could become established.
    For flights that do not stop in Hawaii or parts of the continental 
United States south of 38 deg. latitude or west of 117 deg. longitude, 
passengers would be required to offer baggage for inspection as 
directed by the local port director. The local port director could 
indicate whether passengers on a particular flight needed to offer 
baggage for inspection by posting signs in the airport departure 
terminal. The port director would use a random sampling method or risk-
based criteria to select specific flights for inspection. The risk-
based criteria would include: Seasonal conditions in the area where the 
flight would stop (e.g. if a flight would stop in an area where summer 
weather and available host material could support a local, temporary 
infestation); detection of pests not considered in the hazard 
identification analysis (e.g. outbreaks of new pests or diseases of 
plants or animals in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or 
neighboring islands); and monitoring data that indicates that air 
passengers may board connecting flights for continental United States 
destinations south of 38 deg. latitude, west of 117 deg. longitude, or 
Hawaii. This change in procedures would provide local port directors 
with the discretion to redirect resources and focus inspection efforts 
on higher risk activities. However, passengers leaving Puerto Rico or 
the U.S. Virgin Islands for any domestic destination would continue to 
be informed about fruits and vegetables and other materials prohibited 
in baggage, and the periodic inspections of baggage on flights to 
locations east of 117 deg. longitude and north of 38 deg. latitude 
would deter passengers from carrying this material in their baggage.
    If we adopted the changes just described, we would also need to 
change our current requirements for tagging check-in baggage. As noted 
earlier, the regulations prohibit airlines from accepting check-in 
baggage that has not been tagged as inspected. We would maintain this 
requirement only for check-in baggage on flights that would stop or end 
in Hawaii or a place in the continental United States south of 38 deg. 
latitude or west of 117 deg. longitude. Check-in baggage on other 
domestic flights would not always be inspected.
    Comments are invited on these potential changes to our procedures 
for inspecting passenger baggage. In particular, we are soliciting 
comments on the following questions:
    1. Does the hazard identification analysis of predeparture baggage 
from San Juan, PR, adequately address plant pest risk associated with 
passenger baggage from Puerto Rico?
    2. Does the hazard identification analysis of predeparture baggage 
from San Juan, PR, adequately address plant pest risk associated with 
passenger baggage from the U.S. Virgin Islands?
    3. Does passenger baggage from Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin 
Islands present a risk of carrying agricultural commodities that confer 
risks to agriculture other than plant pests risks (e.g. noxious weeds, 
animal pests or diseases)?

Public Hearings

    In addition to accepting written comments, we will hold two public 
hearings to discuss the regulatory changes under consideration in this 
advance notice of proposed rulemaking. One public hearing will be held 
on October 5, 1999, at the Biblioteca Carnegie/Carnegie Library, 
Departamento de Educacion/Department of Education, Avenue Ponce de Leon 
#7, San Juan, PR. The second hearing will be held on October 7, 1999, 
at the Red Lion Inn-Sacramento, Comstock II Room, 1401 Arden Way, 
Sacramento, CA.
    A representative of APHIS will preside at the public hearings. Any 
interested person may appear and be heard in person, by attorney, or by 
other representative. Persons who wish to speak at the public hearings 
will be asked to sign in, listing their names and organizations.
    The public hearings will begin at 9 a.m. local time and are 
scheduled to end at 5 p.m. local time. However, the hearings may be 
terminated at any time after they begin if all persons desiring to 
speak have been heard. We ask that anyone who reads a statement provide 
two copies to the presiding officer at the hearing. If the number of 
speakers at the hearing warrants, the presiding officer may limit the 
time for each presentation so that everyone wishing to speak has the 
opportunity.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, 164a, 
and 167; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of August, 1999.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-22447 Filed 8-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P