[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 3583-3584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-1858]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 00-036-3]


Citrus Canker; Addition to Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim 
rule that amended the regulations by adding portions of Hendry and 
Hillsborough Counties, FL, to the list of quarantined areas and by 
expanding the boundaries of the quarantined areas in Broward, Collier, 
Dade, and Manatee Counties, FL, due to detections of citrus canker in 
these areas. The interim rule imposed restrictions on the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from and through the quarantined areas 
and was necessary to prevent the spread of citrus canker into 
noninfested areas of the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The interim rule became effective on August 29, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer, 
Program Support Staff, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, 
MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-8899.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In an interim rule effective August 29, 2000, and published in the 
Federal Register on September 5, 2000 (65 FR 53528-53531, Docket No. 
00-036-1), we amended the citrus canker regulations, contained in 7 CFR 
301.75-1 through 301.75-16, in response to the detection of the disease 
in areas outside of the previously quarantined areas. On September 26, 
2000, we published a correction (65 FR 57723, Docket No. 00-036-2) that 
clarified the description of quarantined areas contained in the interim 
rule. The interim rule, as corrected by that document, added portions 
of Hendry and Hillsborough Counties, FL, to the list of quarantined 
areas and expanded the boundaries of the quarantined areas in Broward, 
Collier, Dade, and Manatee Counties, FL. The interim rule imposed 
restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from and 
through the quarantined areas.
    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before November 6, 2000. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, 
for the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim 
rule as a final rule.
    This action also affirms the information contained in the interim 
rule concerning Executive Orders 12372, 12866, and 12988, the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act.
    Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has 
waived the review process required by Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule affirms an interim rule that amended the regulations by 
adding portions of Hendry and Hillsborough Counties, FL, to the list of 
quarantined areas and by expanding the boundaries of the quarantined 
areas in Broward, Collier, Dade, and Manatee Counties, FL, due to the 
detection of citrus canker in those areas. The interim rule imposed 
certain restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles 
from and through the quarantined areas. The interim rule was necessary 
to prevent the spread of citrus canker into noninfested areas of the 
United States.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 
we have performed a final regulatory flexibility analysis regarding the 
economic effects of the interim rule on small entities. The Small 
Business Administration (SBA) defines a firm engaged in agriculture as 
``small'' if it has less than $750,000 in annual receipts.
    The entities who could be affected by the interim rule include 
those businesses that produce, sell, process, handle, or move regulated 
articles, such as commercial groves, grove maintenance services, fruit 
transporters, fruit processors, nurseries, nursery stock dealers, fresh 
fruit retail stores, fruit packers, gift fruit shippers, fruit 
harvesting contractors, lawn maintenance businesses, and flea markets. 
Because the interim rule restricted the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from and through the quarantined areas, entities 
that are located within the new or expanded quarantined areas, as well 
as entities located outside the quarantined areas, could be affected.
    The number of these entities that meet the SBA definition of a 
small entity is unavailable. However, it is reasonable to assume that 
most of these entities are small in size because the majority of the 
same or similar businesses in southern Florida, as well as the rest of 
the United States, are small by SBA standards. For example, we have 
identified a total of 317 commercial citrus groves in those counties in 
which quarantined areas were established or expanded by the interim 
rule. Approximately 285 of the 317 commercial citrus groves in those 
counties meet the SBA definition of a small entity.
    Commercial citrus growers, processors, packers, and shippers within 
the quarantined areas will still be able to move their fruit 
interstate, provided that, among other things, the fruit is treated and 
not shipped to another citrus-producing State. Growers will have to 
bear the cost of treatment, but that cost is expected to be minimal. 
The prohibition on moving the fruit to other citrus-producing States is 
not expected to negatively affect entities within the quarantined areas 
because most States do not produce citrus and growers are expected to 
be able to find a ready market in non-citrus-producing States.
    Alternatively, owners of commercial citrus groves whose trees were 
removed because of citrus canker pursuant to a public order between 
1986 and 1990 or on or after September 28, 1995, may, subject to the 
availability of funding, receive payments to replace commercial citrus 
trees. Eligible commercial citrus grove owners may also, subject to the 
availability of funding, receive payments to recover income from 
production that was lost as a result of the removal of commercial 
citrus trees to control citrus canker. These lost production and tree 
replacement payments will help to reduce the economic effects of the 
citrus canker quarantine on affected commercial citrus growers.
    The nurseries and commercial groves affected by the interim rule 
will be required to undergo periodic inspections. These inspections may 
be inconvenient, but the inspections will not result in any additional 
costs for the nurseries or growers because the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service or the State of Florida will provide the services of 
an inspector without cost to the nursery or grower.
    Fresh fruit retail stores, nurseries, and lawn maintenance 
companies, for the most part, operate locally; they do not typically 
move regulated articles outside of the State of Florida during the 
normal course of their business, and consumers do not generally move 
products purchased from those entities out of the State. The fruit sold 
by grocery stores and other retail food outlets is generally sold for 
local consumption. Retail nurseries also market their products for 
local consumption. Lawn maintenance businesses collect yard debris, but 
they do not normally transport that debris outside the State for 
disposal.

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    The fresh fruit retailers affected by the interim rule will be 
required to abide by restrictions on the interstate movement of 
regulated articles. They may be affected by the interim rule because 
fruit sold within the quarantined areas in retail stores cannot be 
moved outside of the quarantined areas. However, we expect any direct 
costs of compliance for fresh fruit retailers will be minimal.
    The lawn maintenance companies affected by the interim rule will be 
required to perform additional sanitation measures when maintaining an 
area inside the quarantined areas. Lawn maintenance companies will have 
to clean and disinfect their equipment after grooming an area within 
the quarantined areas, and they must properly dispose of any clippings 
from plants or trees within the quarantined areas. These requirements 
will slightly increase costs for lawn maintenance companies affected by 
the interim rule.

Consideration of Alternatives

    The alternative to the interim rule was to make no changes in the 
citrus canker regulations. We rejected this alternative because failure 
to quarantine portions of Hendry and Hillsborough Counties, FL, and 
additional portions of Broward, Collier, Dade, and Manatee Counties, 
FL, could result in greater economic losses for domestic citrus 
producers due to citrus canker.
    The interim rule contained 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 301

    Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

    Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the 
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 that was published at 65 FR 
53528-53531 on September 5, 2000, and that was corrected in a document 
that was published at 65 FR 57723 on September 26, 2000.

    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.

    Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L. 
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also 
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 
U.S.C. 1421 note).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of January 2002.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-1858 Filed 1-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U