[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 4, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63004-63007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30000]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 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. 66, No. 233 / Tuesday, December 4, 2001 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 63004]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 352

[Docket No. 00-086-1]


Untreated Oranges, Tangerines, and Grapefruit from Mexico 
Transiting the United States to Foreign Countries

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are proposing to allow untreated oranges, tangerines, and 
grapefruit from Mexico to be moved overland by truck or rail to Corpus 
Christi and Houston, TX, for export to another country by water. We are 
proposing this action in response to requests by the port authorities 
of Corpus Christi and Houston, TX. We are also proposing to require 
that untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit moving from Mexico 
through Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, or Houston, TX, for 
export by water to another country be shipped in sealed, refrigerated 
containers. We are proposing this action to provide additional 
protection against the possible introduction of fruit flies via 
untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from Mexico that transit 
the United States.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by 
February 4, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery 
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send 
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket 
No. 00-086-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No. 00-086-1. If you use e-mail, 
address your comment to [email protected]. Your comment must 
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. 
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 
00-086-1'' on the subject line.
    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. Ron Sponaugle, Senior Staff 
Officer, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 60, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-8295.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The plant quarantine safeguard regulations in 7 CFR part 352 
relieve restrictions for certain products or articles that are 
classified as prohibited or restricted products or articles under our 
other regulations in title 7. Such articles include fruits and 
vegetables that are moved into the United States for: (1) A temporary 
stay where unloading or landing is not intended, (2) unloading or 
landing for transshipment and exportation, (3) unloading or landing for 
transportation and exportation, or (4) unloading and entry at a port 
other than the port of first arrival. Fruits and vegetables that are 
moved into the United States under these circumstances are subject to 
inspection and must be handled in accordance with conditions assigned 
under the safeguard regulations to prevent the introduction and 
dissemination of plant pests.

Authorized Ports

    The regulations in Sec. 352.30 address the movement into or through 
the United States of untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from 
Mexico that transit the United States en route to foreign countries.
    The regulations currently allow untreated oranges, tangerines, and 
grapefruit from Mexico to enter the United States at the ports of 
Nogales, AZ, or Brownsville, Eagle Pass, El Paso, Hidalgo, or Laredo, 
TX. The fruit may then be moved, under certain conditions, by truck or 
railcar to seaports at Brownsville and Galveston, TX, for export by 
water to another country.
    The port authorities of Corpus Christi and Houston, TX, have 
requested that those ports be added to regulations as ports eligible to 
export untreated Mexican oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit by water.
    The port of Corpus Christi is located midway between the ports of 
Brownsville and Galveston along the Texas coast. Corpus Christi is the 
fifth largest U.S. port in terms of trade volume (i.e., 86.8 million 
short tons of commodities in 1997). The port of Corpus Christi has 
295,500 square feet of covered dockside storage and a 100,000-square-
foot refrigerated facility. This new facility includes refrigerator and 
freezer rooms, a treatment facility, and rail and truck docks that are 
temperature-controlled.
    The port of Houston is located on Galveston Bay, approximately 50 
miles northwest of the port of Galveston. Houston is the largest U.S. 
port in terms of trade volume (i.e., approximately 175 million short 
tons of commodities in 2000). The port of Houston has 128,400 square 
feet of covered dockside storage, 672,000 square feet of warehouse 
storage, and a 200,000-square-foot waterfront refrigerated facility. 
The waterfront refrigerated facility has refrigerator and freezer 
rooms, a treatment facility, humidity-controlled storage, and enclosed 
truck and rail bays.
    We have considered these requests and have concluded that the risk 
posed by allowing untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit to 
transit the United States for export at the ports of Corpus Christi and 
Houston, TX, would be no different than the risk currently posed by in-
transit shipments of untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit 
moved from Mexico to Brownsville and Galveston, TX, for export. Based 
on this finding, we are

[[Page 63005]]

proposing to amend the regulations to allow untreated oranges, 
tangerines, and grapefruit from Mexico to be moved overland by truck or 
rail to Corpus Christi and Houston, TX, for export to another country 
by water.

Pest Safeguards for Trucks and Railcars

    The regulations currently allow untreated oranges, tangerines, and 
grapefruit from Mexico to be moved in trucks to a location shipside, or 
to approved refrigerated storage pending lading aboard ship, in 
Brownsville or Galveston, TX. Trucks may also be used to move untreated 
oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit alongside refrigerator cars or 
aircraft at approved ports of entry listed in Sec. 352.30(b)(2) for 
movement to a foreign country. Trucks must be of the van-type and must 
be kept closed from the time they enter into the United States until 
unloading is to commence. Alternatively, the regulations provide that 
loads of untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit on trucks may be 
covered with a tarpaulin that is tightly tied down and that may not be 
removed or loosened from time of entry into the United States until 
unloading is to commence.
    We believe the regulations pertaining to trucks, as described 
above, do not provide adequate protection against the introduction of 
fruit flies into the United States, given that fruit flies are known to 
exist in some areas in Mexico where oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit 
are grown, and given that there are citrus-producing areas within the 
areas that untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from Mexico 
may transit while en route to a port of export. We are proposing to 
revise those regulations to require that untreated oranges, tangerines, 
and grapefruit being moved by truck from Mexico must be enclosed in 
sealed, refrigerated containers of the type commonly used by the 
maritime or commercial trucking industry. This requirement would help 
to reduce the risk that fruit flies could be introduced into the United 
States via in-transit shipments of untreated Mexican oranges, 
tangerines, and grapefruit.
    We are also proposing to amend the regulations in Sec. 352.30(b)(4) 
to reflect the proposed addition of Corpus Christi and Houston, TX, as 
ports approved to handle untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit 
from Mexico. The regulations currently provide that shipments of such 
fruit may be entered at Nogales, AZ, only for direct rail routing to El 
Paso, TX, after which they may traverse only the territory bounded on 
the west by a line drawn from El Paso, TX, to Salt Lake City, UT, and 
then to Portland, OR, and on the east by a line drawn from Brownsville, 
TX, through Galveston, TX, and Kinder, LA, to Memphis, TN, and then to 
Louisville, KY, and due east from Louisville. This area includes 
railroad routes from Brownsville to Galveston, TX, and routes running 
directly northward from Galveston. We are proposing to amend the 
regulations to make it clear that the routing of such shipments may 
also include railroad routes from Brownsville to Corpus Christi and 
Houston, TX, and routes running directly northward from Houston.

Miscellaneous

    We are also proposing to update the regulations in Sec. 352.30(e) 
to reflect recent changes to the regulations in Sec. 319.56-2(h). The 
regulations in Sec. 352.30(e) currently state that oranges, tangerines, 
and grapefruit that are moving in transit to foreign countries may be 
imported into the United States from certain municipalities in Sonora, 
Mexico, that are listed in Sec. 319.56-2(h) of the regulations. Such 
importations must be in accordance with applicable conditions in 
Secs. 319.56 through 319.56-8 of the regulations.
    The regulations in Sec. 319.56-2(h) list areas in Mexico that are 
free of certain fruit flies. Currently, those areas include 
municipalities in the States of Baja California Sur and Chihuahua in 
addition to Sonora. When these additional States were added to 
Sec. 319.56-2(h), their addition should have been reflected in 
Sec. 352.30(e), but that did not occur. Therefore, we are proposing to 
remove the reference to the State of Sonora from the regulations in 
Sec. 352.30(e) in order to make it clear that oranges, tangerines, and 
grapefruit that are moving in transit to foreign countries may be 
imported into the United States from any municipality in Mexico that is 
listed in Sec. 319.56-2(h) of the regulations.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This proposed 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.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 603, we have performed an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis, which is set out below, regarding the 
economic effects of this proposed rule on small entities. Based on the 
information we have, there is no basis to conclude that adoption of 
this proposed rule would result in any significant economic effect on a 
substantial number of small entities. However, we do not currently have 
all of the data necessary for a comprehensive analysis of the effects 
of this proposed rule on small entities. Therefore, we are inviting 
comments on potential effects. In particular, we are interested in 
determining the number and kind of small entities that may incur 
benefits or costs from the implementation of this proposed rule.
    Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-7772), the Secretary 
of Agriculture is authorized to regulate the importation of plants, 
plant products, and other articles to prevent the introduction of 
injurious plant pests.
    The current regulations allow, among other things, untreated 
oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from Mexico to enter the United 
States at six specified land border ports along the U.S.-Mexican border 
and to be moved overland by truck to maritime ports in Brownsville and 
Galveston, TX, for ocean export to third countries.
    APHIS has received requests from the port authorities of Corpus 
Christi and Houston to add the maritime ports of Corpus Christi and 
Houston, TX, to the list of maritime ports authorized to receive 
untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from Mexico that have 
been trucked from land border ports along the U.S.-Mexican border for 
ocean export to third countries.
    Between 1994 and 1999, the volume of in-transit shipments of 
untreated Mexican citrus was equivalent to a small percentage of the 
total volume of Mexican citrus entering into U.S. commerce (see Table 
1).

[[Page 63006]]



                                              Table 1.--U.S. Imports of Fresh Citrus From Mexico 1994-1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Mexican citrus entering U.S.                    Mexican citrus in-transit through the United States
                                               commerce            -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Year                --------------------------------
                                    Value (in U.S.   Quantity  (in                                Quantity  (in kilograms)
                                       dollars)       kilograms)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994..............................      34,160,043     125,057,000  308,698 (0.25% of imports)
1995..............................      34,874,375     148,652,000  435,021 (0.29% of imports)
1996..............................      38,268,862     140,822,000  1,417,929 (1.01% of imports)
1997..............................      42,790,699     164,587,000  45,951 (0.03% of imports)
1998..............................      42,553,048     171,630,000  510,450 (0.30% of imports)
1999..............................      84,408,899     211,197,000  519,878 (0.25% of imports)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The availability of two additional maritime ports in Texas could 
become an accommodating factor for Mexico's in-transit trade with third 
countries, since, on average, more than 90 percent of untreated Mexican 
citrus transiting through the United States between 1995 and 1999 
entered the country through a Texas maritime, air, or land port (see 
table 2).

 Table 2.--Fresh Untreated Mexican Citrus in Transit Through the United
                                 States
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Mexican citrus
                            Mexican citrus in transit      in transit
           Year             entering a Texas port (in    entering other
                                    kilograms)              ports (in
                                                           kilograms)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1994.....................  282,021 (91%)..............            26,677
1995.....................  390,713 (90%)..............            44,308
1996.....................  1,290,013 (91%)............           127,916
1997.....................  45,951 (100%)..............                 0
1998.....................  483,032 (95%)..............            27,418
1999.....................  413,229 (80%)..............           106,649
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This proposed rule would benefit exporters and shippers in the area 
around the ports of Corpus Christi and Houston, TX, and may provide the 
local populations with additional income opportunities, the amount of 
which would depend on the volume of the in-transit untreated Mexican 
oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit exported from the ports of Corpus 
Christi and Houston, TX. Mexican exporters and foreign importers of the 
untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit may benefit from the 
availability of additional ports that could handle their shipments.
    This proposed rule would also require that untreated oranges, 
tangerines, and grapefruit from Mexico that are moving through 
Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, or Houston, TX, for export by 
water to another country be shipped in sealed, refrigerated containers. 
We do not expect that this proposed requirement would have any 
significant effects on exporters or shippers of citrus fruit from 
Mexico because untreated citrus intended for export to another country 
is almost always shipped from Mexico in refrigerated containers in 
order to ensure that the quality of fruit is maintained during land 
transit and movement by sea to a foreign destination.
    Movement from Mexico to the fruits' final destination in a foreign 
country can take several days, and sometimes more than a week, 
depending on the destination. Since this proposed change reflects 
current standard industry shipping practices, APHIS does not believe 
that any entities would be adversely affected by the proposed 
requirement. Nonetheless, we invite interested persons to submit 
information regarding the potential economic effects of this proposed 
requirement.

Economic Effects on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies consider the 
economic effects of their rules on small entities. Small entities at 
the ports of Corpus Christi and Houston, TX, would be affected by the 
proposed rule to the extent that they would benefit from handling in-
transit shipments of untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit 
arriving at their port. However, neither the number of firms that may 
be affected nor the proportion that can be considered small is known. 
Net benefits to U.S. firms overall are expected to be minimal because 
it is unlikely that the availability of Corpus Christi and Houston, TX, 
as export ports for untreated Mexican citrus would significantly affect 
the volume of in-transit oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit from 
Mexico moving through the United States.

Summary

    This proposed rule would benefit the Mexican exporters and the 
foreign importers of untreated oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit, as 
well as the ports of Corpus Christi and Houston, TX, which could handle 
in-transit shipments of Mexican oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit. It 
is likely that small entities at the ports of Corpus Christi and 
Houston, TX, may share in these benefits, but their number and the 
extent to which they may benefit are not known. Overall, U.S. firms 
would benefit to the extent that the trade is not simply a diversion 
from one maritime port to another, but rather that additional in-
transit trade in untreated Mexican oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit 
occurs.
    This proposed rule contains no new information collection or 
recordkeeping requirements (see ``Paperwork Reduction Act'' below).

Executive Order 12988

    This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State 
and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule 
will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this 
rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before 
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This proposed rule contains no new 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 352

    Customs duties and inspection, Imports, Plant diseases and pests, 
Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
    Accordingly, we propose to amend 7 CFR part 352 as follows:

PART 352--PLANT QUARANTINE SAFEGUARD REGULATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 352 would continue to read as 
follows:


[[Page 63007]]


    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2260, 7711-7714, 7731, and 7734; 21 U.S.C. 
136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
    2. Section 352.30 would be amended as follows:
    a. By revising paragraphs (b)(3)(iii) and (b)(4)(i).
    b. In paragraph (c)(1), by removing the words ``or Galveston'' and 
adding in their place the words ``Corpus Christi, Galveston, or 
Houston''.
    c. By revising paragraph (c)(3).
    d. By revising paragraph (e).


Sec. 352.30  Administrative instructions: Certain oranges, tangerines, 
and grapefruit from Mexico.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (iii) Trucks. Trucks may be used to haul such fruit from Mexico to 
shipside, or to approved refrigerated storage pending lading aboard 
ship, in Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, or Houston, TX, or 
alongside refrigerator cars or aircraft at the ports named in paragraph 
(b)(2) of this section for movement to a foreign country. The fruit 
hauled in such trucks must be enclosed in sealed, refrigerated 
containers of the type commonly used by the maritime or commercial 
trucking industry.
    (4) Bonded rail movement--(i) Routing. Shipments of such fruit may 
move by direct route, in Customs bond and under Customs seal, without 
diversion or change of Customs entry en route, from the port of entry 
to the port of exit en route to Canada or to an approved North Atlantic 
port in the United States for export to another foreign country, as 
follows: The fruit may be entered at Nogales, AZ, only for direct rail 
routing to El Paso, TX, after which it shall traverse only the 
territory bounded on the west by a line drawn from El Paso, TX, to Salt 
Lake City, UT, and then to Portland, OR, and on the east by a line 
drawn from Brownsville, TX, through Galveston, TX, and Kinder, LA, to 
Memphis, TN, and then to Louisville, KY, and direct northward routes 
therefrom. Such fruit may also enter the United States from Mexico at 
any port listed in paragraph (b)(2) of this section for direct eastward 
rail movement in Customs bond and under Customs seal, without diversion 
en route, for reentry into Mexico.
* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (3) Exportation from Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, or 
Houston by water. (i) Such fruit laden in refrigerated holds for export 
from Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Galveston, or Houston, TX, must be 
stowed in closed compartments if the ship is to call at other Gulf or 
South Atlantic ports in the United States. The compartments are not to 
be opened while the ship is in such other Gulf or South Atlantic ports.
    (ii) Such fruit for export from Brownsville, Corpus Christi, 
Galveston, or Houston, if not laden in refrigerated holds, must be 
stowed in closed compartments separate from other cargoes. Bulkheads of 
such compartments shall be kept closed. The hatches of compartments 
containing such fruit shall be closed and the tarpaulin battened down 
and sealed with Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs seals. The 
seals must remain unbroken while the ship is in any Gulf or South 
Atlantic port in the United States or its waters. Vents and ventilators 
leading to compartments in which the fruit is stowed must be screened 
with fine mesh screening. Advance notice of arrival of ships carrying 
untreated Mexican oranges, tangerines, or grapefruit shall be given to 
the inspector at such Gulf or South Atlantic port of call.
* * * * *
    (e) Untreated fruit from certain municipalities in Mexico. Oranges, 
tangerines, and grapefruit in transit to foreign countries may be 
imported from certain municipalities in Mexico listed in Sec. 319.56-
2(h) of this chapter in accordance with the applicable conditions in 
Secs. 319.56 through 319.56-8 of this chapter.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of November, 2001.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-30000 Filed 12-3-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U