[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59603-59604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28606]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 3, 1999 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 59603]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 99-057-1]


Aeration of Imported Logs, Lumber, and Other Unmanufactured Wood 
Articles That Have Been Fumigated

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document amends the regulations for importing 
unmanufactured wood articles that have been fumigated with methyl 
bromide or other fumigants by adding a reminder that such articles must 
be aerated after fumigation in accordance with U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency label requirements, the Plant Protection and 
Quarantine Treatment Manual, and Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration regulations. Aeration protects port personnel, 
consignees, and others against possible exposure to dangerous levels of 
fumigant residue. We are taking this action to increase awareness of 
the aeration requirement among persons shipping fumigated wood to the 
United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 3, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Reeves, Acting Assistant 
Director, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-8295.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates 
the importation of logs, lumber, and other unmanufactured wood articles 
to prevent the introduction into the United States of dangerous plant 
pests, including forest pests. These regulations are contained in 7 CFR 
319.40-1 through 319.40-11, ``Subpart--Logs, Lumber, and Other 
Unmanufactured Wood Articles'' (referred to below as the regulations).
    One option for importing certain wood articles involves fumigating 
the articles with methyl bromide or other fumigants. Section 319.40-
7(f) of the regulations contains methyl bromide fumigation standards 
for logs, lumber, and other regulated wood articles. Other fumigants 
may be utilized for solid wood packing material from the Peoples 
Republic of China, including Hong Kong. The Plant Protection and 
Quarantine (PPQ) Treatment Manual (which is incorporated into the 
regulations by reference at 7 CFR 300.1) contains fumigation standards 
for methyl bromide and other fumigants.
    When articles are fumigated, the articles must be aerated afterward 
to ensure that the articles are safe for handling, storage, and 
transportation. Aeration is required by the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) in EPA-approved label instructions for all fumigants 
utilized pursuant to the regulations. Additionally, aeration 
requirements are set forth in the PPQ Treatment Manual. Furthermore, 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations 
contained in title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations require 
employers of cargo handlers to determine that the concentration of 
fumigants is below the level specified as hazardous before the cargo is 
loaded or discharged.
    Recently, APHIS has detected high levels of methyl bromide residue 
in shipping containers from the Peoples Republic of China, including 
Hong Kong, that contain fumigated solid wood packing material. These 
residue levels could pose a health and safety risk to APHIS inspectors 
at ports of entry and to consignees and other persons who open the 
shipping containers. APHIS inspectors cannot safely inspect containers 
with such residues.
    Because the recent cases of high levels of residue were all 
connected with shipments from the Peoples Republic of China, including 
Hong Kong, APHIS has notified officials in the Peoples Republic of 
China, including Hong Kong, to remind them of the aeration requirements 
cited above. However, we believe the requirements would be more 
apparent to exporters in these and other countries if we stated them 
explicitly in the regulations.
    Therefore, we are adding the following sentence to the introductory 
paragraph in Sec. 319.40-7(f), which deals with methyl bromide 
fumigation: ``Following fumigation, fumigated products must be aerated 
to reduce the concentration of fumigant below hazardous levels, in 
accordance with the Treatment Manual and label instructions approved by 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.''
    We are making a parallel change to Sec. 319.40-5(g), which requires 
that solid wood packing material from China ``must be heat treated, 
fumigated, or treated with preservatives, using a treatment schedule 
contained in Sec. 319.40-7 or in the Plant protection and Quarantine 
Treatment Manual.'' This paragraph authorizes fumigation not only with 
methyl bromide, but with other fumigants authorized by the PPQ 
Treatment Manual. In each place where the word ``fumigated'' appears, 
we are changing the word ``fumigated'' to ``fumigated and aerated,'' as 
a reminder that the PPQ Treatment Manual and EPA-approved label 
instructions require aeration of all fumigants utilized pursuant to the 
regulations.

Effective Date

    The requirement to aerate fumigated shipments to reduce levels of 
fumigant to a safe level is already in effect, in the form of EPA-
approved label requirements. This requirement is also set forth in the 
PPQ Treatment Manual. This rule only adds a reference to those 
requirements to the regulations to increase their visibility to 
regulated parties. It does not appear that public participation in this 
rulemaking procedure would make additional relevant information 
available to the Department.
    Accordingly, because the changes contained in this rule are 
nonsubstantive in nature, we have found that notice and public 
procedure on this rule are unnecessary. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
553, notice of proposed rulemaking and opportunity to comment are not 
required, and this rule may be made effective less than 30 days after 
publication in the Federal Register. Further, since this is not a 
substantive change in the regulations, it is exempt from the provisions 
of Executive Order 12866 and Executive

[[Page 59604]]

Order 12988. Finally, this action is not a rule as defined by Pub. L. 
96-354, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and, thus, is exempt from the 
provisions of the Act.

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 319

    Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Nursery stock, Plant 
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
    Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 319 as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

    1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450, 2803, and 
2809; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).


Sec. 319.40-5  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 319.40-5, paragraphs (g)(1), (g)(2)(i), (g)(6), and (i) 
are amended by removing the word ``fumigated,'' each time it appears 
and adding the phrase ``fumigated and aerated,'' in its place.


Sec. 319.40-7  [Amended]

    3. In Sec. 319.40-7, paragraph (f), the introductory text is 
amended by adding a third sentence to read as follows: ``Following 
fumigation, fumigated products must be aerated to reduce the 
concentration of fumigant below hazardous levels, in accordance with 
the Treatment Manual and label instructions approved by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency.''

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of October 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-28606 Filed 11-2-99; 8:45 am]
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