[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 151 (Friday, August 4, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 47908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19724]


 ========================================================================
 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. 65, No. 151 / Friday, August 4, 2000 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 47908]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Parts 305 and 319

[Docket No. 98-030-2]
RIN 0579-AA97


Irradiation Phytosanitary Treatment of Imported Fruits and 
Vegetables

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of reopening and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We are reopening and extending the comment period for our 
proposed rule that would establish regulations providing for use of 
irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment for fruits and vegetables 
imported into the United States. This action will allow interested 
persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

DATES: We invite you to comment on Docket No. 98-030-1. We will 
consider all comments that we receive by August 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 98-
030-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
    Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 98-030-1.
    You may also file comments on this docket electronically, and 
review comments filed electronically, at the World Wide Web site http://comments.aphis.usda.gov.
    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.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general program and phytosanitary 
issues, contact Donna L. West, Import Specialist, Phytosanitary Issues 
Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140, Riverdale MD 20737-
1236; (301) 734-6799. For technical irradiation issues, contact Dr. 
Arnold Foudin, Assistant Director, Scientific Services, PPQ, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1237; (301) 734-7710.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 26, 2000, we published in the Federal Register (65 FR 34113-
34125, Docket No. 98-030-1) a proposal to establish regulations 
providing for use of irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment for 
fruits and vegetables imported into the United States. The irradiation 
treatment would provide protection against fruit flies and the mango 
seed weevil. This proposal would provide an alternative to the 
currently approved treatments (various fumigation, cold, and heat 
treatments, and systems approaches employing techniques such as 
greenhouse growing) against fruit flies and the mango seed weevil in 
fruits and vegetables.
    Comments on the proposed rule were required to be received on or 
before July 25, 2000. Several commenters have requested that we extend 
the comment period on Docket No. 98-030-1 to allow additional time for 
members of the public to review the proposed rule and to submit 
comments. While we believe that the original comment period allowed 
sufficient time for public review, there was a temporary malfunction in 
the E-Comments Web application (http://comments.aphis.usda.gov) 
established to receive electronically submitted comments on this 
proposed rule. This prevented the application from accepting comments 
over a period of approximately 10 days. To compensate for this 
disruption of service, we are reopening and extending the comment 
period on Docket No. 98-030-1 until August 21, 2000. This action will 
allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit 
comments.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 27th day of July 2000 .
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-19724 Filed 8-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U