[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 115 (Thursday, June 14, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 32209-32210]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14942]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 115 / Thursday, June 14, 2001 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 32209]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 01-058-1]


Karnal Bunt; Regulated 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 Karnal bunt regulations by adding 
Throckmorton and Young Counties in Texas to the list of areas regulated 
because of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat, due to the detection 
of bunted kernels in grain grown in this area. This action will help 
prevent the spread of Karnal bunt into noninfected areas of the United 
States.

DATES: This interim rule was effective June 8, 2001. We invite you to 
comment on this docket. We will consider all comments that we receive 
by August 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and 
three copies) to: Docket No. 01-058-1, 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. 00-058-1.
    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: Dr. Vedpal S. Malik, National Karnal 
Bunt Coordinator, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 734-6774.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Karnal bunt is a fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum 
wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum X Secale 
cereale), a hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is caused by the 
fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread by spores, 
primarily through the planting of infected seed. Some countries in the 
international wheat market regulate Karnal bunt as a fungal disease 
requiring quarantine; therefore, without measures taken by the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), United States Department 
of Agriculture (USDA), to prevent its spread, the presence of Karnal 
bunt in the United States could have significant consequence with 
regard to the export of wheat to international markets. The regulations 
regarding Karnal bunt are set forth in 7 CFR 301.89-1 through 301.89-16 
(referred to below as the regulations).

Regulated Areas

    The regulations in Sec. 301.89-3(e) provide that we will classify a 
field or area as a regulated area when it is:
     A field planted with seed from a lot found to contain a 
bunted wheat kernel;
     A distinct definable area that contains at least one field 
that was found during a survey to contain a bunted wheat kernel. The 
distinct definable area may include an area where Karnal bunt is not 
known to exist but where intensive surveys are required because of the 
areas's proximity to a field found during survey to contain a bunted 
kernel; or
     A distinct definable area that contains at least one field 
that was found during survey to contain spores consistent with Karnal 
bunt and has been determined to be associated with grain at a handling 
facility containing a bunted wheat kernel. The distinct definable area 
may include an area where Karnal bunt is not known to exist but where 
intensive surveys are required because of that area's proximity to a 
field that has been associated with grain at a handling facility 
containing a bunted kernel.
    The boundaries of distinct definable areas are determined using the 
criteria in paragraphs (b) through (d) of Sec. 301.89-3, which provide 
for the regulation of less than an entire State, the inclusion of 
noninfected acreage in a regulated area, and the temporary designation 
of nonregulated areas as regulated areas. Paragraph (c) of Sec. 301.89-
3 states that the Administrator may include noninfected acreage within 
a regulated area due to its proximity to an infestation or 
inseparability from the infected locality for regulatory purposes, as 
determined by:
     Projections of the spread of Karnal bunt along the 
periphery of the infestation;
     The availability of natural habitats and host materials 
within the noninfected acreage that are suitable for establishment and 
survival of Karnal bunt; and
     The necessity of including noninfected acreage within the 
regulated area in order to establish readily identifiable boundaries.
    The regulations at Sec. 301.89-3(f) set the boundaries for 
regulated areas in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas. Certain 
regulated areas in Arizona, California, and Texas include noninfected 
acreage that functions as a buffer zone to guard against the spread of 
Karnal bunt.
    When we include noninfected acreage in a regulated area for one or 
more of the reasons previously listed, the noninfected acreage, along 
with the rest of the acreage in the regulated area, is intensively 
surveyed. Negative results from surveys of the noninfected acreage 
provide assurance that all infected acreage is within the regulated 
area. In effect, the noninfected acreage serves as a buffer zone 
between fields or areas associated with a bunted kernel and areas 
outside of the regulated area.
    In this document, we are adding to the list of regulated areas in 
Texas Throckmorton and Young Counties in their entirety. This action is 
necessary due to the discovery of bunted wheat

[[Page 32210]]

kernels in several wheat fields in western Young County, adjacent to 
Throckmorton County. Initial surveys indicate that Karnal bunt is also 
present in other fields in the area we are regulating, and that the 
spread of the disease to the infected fields may have occurred as a 
result of the movement of contaminated seed into the area or through 
the movement into the area of cattle that may have grazed in infected 
fields. Until we are able to determine the extent of this new infection 
by conducting detection and delimiting surveys, it is essential that we 
delineate a large enough regulated area to include any fields for which 
there is a reasonable possibility of infection.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent 
Karnal bunt from spreading to noninfected areas of the United States. 
Under these circumstances, the Administrator has determined that prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment are contrary to the public 
interest and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 533 for making 
this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal 
Register.
    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.

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 emergency situation makes timely compliance with section 604 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) impracticable. 
We are currently assessing the potential economic effects of this 
action on small entities. Based on that assessment, we will either 
certify that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities or publish a final regulatory 
flexibility analysis.

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

    This interim 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, 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. 166, 7711, 7712, 7714, 7731, 7735, 7751, 
7752, 7753, and 7754; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.


    2. In Sec. 301.89-3, paragraph (f), under the heading for 
``Texas'', add two new entries in alphabetical order to read as 
follows:


Sec. 301.89-3  Regulated areas.

* * * * *
Texas
* * * * *
    Throckmorton County. The entire county.
    Young County. The entire county.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of June, 2001.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-14942 Filed 6-13-01; 8:45 am]
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