[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 4 (Friday, January 5, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1015-1016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-241]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 4 / Friday, January 5, 2001 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 1015]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 302

[Docket No. 00-085-1]


District of Columbia; Movement of Plants and Plant Products

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are establishing regulations concerning the application for 
and issuance of certificates for the interstate movement of plants and 
plant products from the District of Columbia. The certificates will 
address the plant health status of plants and plant products moving 
interstate from the District of Columbia. This action will facilitate 
the interstate movement of plants and plant products from the District 
of Columbia.

DATES: This interim rule is effective January 5, 2001. We invite you to 
comment on this docket. We will consider all comments that we receive 
by March 6, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 00-
085-1, 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. 00-085-1.
    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.
    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: Mr. Jonathan Jones, Operations 
Officer, Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-8247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Until 1992, 7 CFR part 302 contained regulations governing the 
movement of plants and plant parts into and from the District of 
Columbia (referred to below as the District). The former regulations in 
part 302 contained a requirement that no nursery stock or herbaceous 
perennial plants, bulbs, or roots could be moved interstate from the 
District unless a certificate or permit was issued by the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) stating that the plant or plant 
product was free from dangerous plant pests. This requirement was 
necessary because most States, and some Federal regulations, required 
that certain plants and plant products moving interstate be accompanied 
by a plant health certificate issued by the plant protection service of 
the originating State. Since the District has no official plant 
protection service, APHIS provides the District with plant health 
services, including inspecting and documenting the plant health status 
of plants and plant products being moved from the District.
    In removing part 302, APHIS stated that it would continue to 
provide inspection and documentation services for plants and plant 
products moving from the District when inspection or documentation is 
required by Federal laws or regulations, or, when applicable, by the 
laws or regulations of countries that receive plants or plant products 
from the District.
    This rule clarifies that, when inspection and documentation are 
requested for plants or plant products to be moved interstate from the 
District, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide those 
services. This rule will tell how to apply for inspection and obtain 
documentation for the interstate movement of plants and plant products 
from the District. A District of Columbia Plant Health Certificate is 
the form used to certify the plant pest status of plants or plant parts 
moving interstate from the District.
    District of Columbia Plant Health Certificates are valid only for 
certifying plants moving interstate within the United States. Persons 
in the District of Columbia who require certification of plants 
intended for export to a foreign country need to obtain a Federal 
phytosanitary certificate under 7 CFR part 353. Persons interested in 
obtaining certification should contact the Plant Protection and 
Quarantine office at the Port of Baltimore, 2200 Broening Highway, 
Suite 140, Baltimore, MD 21224-6623; phone: (410) 631-0075; fax: (410) 
631-0083; or visit the APHIS web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/exports.
    This rule also includes definitions for ``inspector,'' 
``interstate,'' and ``State''. We define an ``inspector'' as any 
employee of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or other 
person authorized by the Administrator to inspect and certify the plant 
health status of plants and products under 7 CFR part 302. The term 
``interstate'' means from any State into or through any other State. 
The term ``State'' means the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the 
Northern Mariana Islands, or any State, territory, or possession of the 
United States.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is necessary to facilitate the interstate movement 
of plants and plant products from the District of Columbia during the 
fall shipping season. Under these circumstances, the Administrator has 
determined that prior notice and opportunity for comment are contrary 
to the public interest and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 
to make this action effective less than 30 days after publication.
    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 
receive and any amendments we are making to the rule as a result of the 
comments.

[[Page 1016]]

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule 
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive 
Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of 
Management and Budget.
    This interim rule provides that, the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service will provide inspection and documentation services 
for plants or plant products moving interstate from the District of 
Columbia when inspection or documentation is required by Federal or 
State laws or regulations.
    This rule simply puts into the regulations a process for inspecting 
and documenting plants and plant products that has been in effect for 
many years. Inspection and documentation are provided at no cost to 
applicants, and few, if any, entities, aside from the National 
Arboretum, regularly move plants and plant products interstate from the 
District of Columbia.
    This rule will benefit the National Arboretum and others in the 
District who move plants and plant products interstate.
    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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with section 3507(j) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection and 
recordkeeping requirements included in this interim rule have been 
submitted for emergency approval to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). OMB has assigned control number 0579-0166 to the information 
collection and recordkeeping requirements.
    We plan to request continuation of that approval for 3 years. 
Please send written comments on the 3-year approval request to the 
following addresses: (1) Docket No. 00-085-1, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238, and (2) Clearance Officer, OCIO, USDA, room 
404-W, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250. 
Please state that your comments refer to Docket No. 00-085-1 and send 
your comments within 60 days of publication of this rule.
    This interim rule provides that when inspection or documentation is 
required by Federal or State laws or regulations, any plants and plant 
products moving interstate from the District of Columbia may be 
inspected for plant pests and their plant health status certified by a 
U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector prior to the interstate 
movement.
    We are soliciting comments from the public concerning information 
collection and recordkeeping requirements. These comments will help us:
    (1) Evaluate whether the information collection is necessary for 
the proper performance of our agency's functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the 
information collection, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who 
are to respond (such as through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses).
    Estimate of burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 0.2 hours per response.
    Respondents: Plant producers and shippers.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 4.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 50.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 200.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 40 hours.
    Copies of this information collection can be obtained from: Ms. 
Laura Cahall, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-
5360.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 302

    Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases, Plant pests, Plants 
(Agriculture), Quarantine, Transportation.

    Accordingly, we are amending title 7, chapter III, by adding a new 
part 302 to read as follows:

PART 302--DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; MOVEMENT OF PLANTS AND PLANT 
PRODUCTS

Sec.
302.1   Definitions.
302.2   Movement of plants and plant products.

    Authority: Title IV, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 438, 7 U.S.C. 
7701-7772; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.


Sec. 302.1  Definitions.

    Inspector. Any employee of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service or other person authorized by the Administrator to inspect and 
certify the plant health status of plants and products under this part.
    Interstate. From any State into or through any other State.
    State. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana 
Islands, or any State, territory, or possession of the United States.


Sec. 302.2  Movement of plants and plant products.

    Inspection or documentation of the plant health status of plants or 
plant products to be moved interstate from the District of Columbia may 
be obtained by contacting Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, Port 
of Baltimore, 2200 Broening Highway, Suite 140, Baltimore, MD 21224-
6623; phone: (410) 631-0075; fax: (410) 631-0083.


(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control 
number 0579-0166)

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of December 2000.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-241 Filed 1-4-01; 8:45 am]
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