[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 41 (Friday, March 1, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9389-9390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4911]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 41 / Friday, March 1, 2002 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 9389]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 01-079-2]


Citrus Canker; Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: We are amending the citrus canker regulations by removing a 
portion of the quarantined area in Manatee County, FL, from the list of 
quarantined areas. The regulations require that an area be free from 
citrus canker for a period of at least 2 years before it may be removed 
from the list of quarantined areas. Surveys have shown that a portion 
of the quarantined area in Manatee County, FL, has been free of citrus 
canker since February 1999. This action removes restrictions on the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from that portion of Manatee 
County, FL.

EFFECTIVE DATE: February 25, 2002.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations to prevent the interstate spread of citrus canker 
are contained in 7 CFR 301.75-1 through 301.75-16 (referred to below as 
the regulations). The regulations restrict the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from and through areas quarantined because of citrus 
canker and provide for the designation of survey areas around 
quarantined areas. Survey areas undergo close monitoring by Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and State inspectors for citrus 
canker and serve as buffer zones against the disease.
    Under Sec. 301.75-4(c) of the regulations, any State or portion of 
a State where an infestation is detected will be designated as a 
quarantined area and will retain that designation until the area has 
been free from citrus canker for 2 years. A 15-square-mile area in the 
northern part of the quarantined area in Manatee County, FL, has been 
free of citrus canker since February 1999, and has thus met the 
requirement for declaration of eradication.
    On November 27, 2001, we published in the Federal Register (66 FR 
59175-59176, Docket No. 01-079-1) a proposal to amend the regulations 
by removing that portion of the quarantined area in Manatee County, FL, 
from the list of quarantined areas.
    We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 30 days ending 
December 27, 2001. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for the 
reasons given in the proposed rule, we are adopting the proposed rule 
as a final rule, without change.

Effective Date

    This is a substantive rule that relieves restrictions and, pursuant 
to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made effective less than 30 
days after publication in the Federal Register. Immediate 
implementation of this rule is necessary to provide relief to those 
persons who are adversely affected by restrictions we no longer find 
warranted. Making this rule effective immediately will allow interested 
producers and others in the marketing chain to benefit during this 
year's shipping season. Therefore, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this rule should be 
effective upon signature.

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 under 
Executive Order 12866.
    We are amending the citrus canker regulations by removing a portion 
of the quarantined area in Manatee County, FL, from the list of 
quarantined areas. The regulations require that an area be free from 
citrus canker for a period of at least 2 years before it is removed 
from the list of quarantined areas. Surveys have shown that a portion 
of the quarantined area in Manatee County, FL, has been free of citrus 
canker since February 1999. This action removes restrictions on the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from that portion of Manatee 
County, FL.
    The area we are removing from quarantine represents only a small 
portion of the total production in Manatee County. The table below 
shows statistics for Manatee County after trees were removed to limit 
the spread of citrus canker.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Boxes of citrus                      Total number
                                                             produced in 1999-    Total acres        of trees
                                                                2000 season       January 2000     January 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Round Oranges..........................................          8,365,000           21,236        2,631,200
All Grapefruit.............................................            422,000            1,197          111,900
Speciality Fruit...........................................            279,000              821           98,300
All Citrus.................................................          9,066,000           23,254        2,841,400
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While producers in the area that is being removed from the list of 
quarantined areas should benefit from removal of movement restrictions, 
it is unlikely that the benefit will be big enough to measure 
statistically. This action will not impose any costs on producers or on 
government entities.
    Most of the citrus producers in and around the quarantined area in 
Manatee County, FL, qualify as small entities under Small Business 
Administration

[[Page 9390]]

(SBA) guidelines. The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that the 
Agency specifically consider the economic effects associated with its 
rules on small entities. The SBA defines a firm engaged in agriculture 
as ``small'' if it has less than $750,000 in annual receipts.
    Citrus producers in the area that is being removed from the list of 
quarantined areas will have greater choice of where to market their 
fruit. This should benefit producers by providing them with more 
alternatives. It is unlikely, however, that producer income or expenses 
will be affected in a measurable way.
    It is difficult to quantify the benefits of removing an area from 
quarantine. While producers will have greater choice of where to market 
their citrus crops, most of the trees in the quarantined area have been 
destroyed. It is unlikely that a reduction in the quarantined area will 
have any measurable effect on producers or consumers.
    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 final 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 final 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 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.
    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).


    2. In Sec. 301.75-4, paragraph (a), in the entry for Manatee 
County, the second paragraph is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 301.75-4  Quarantined areas.

    (a) * * *
Florida
* * * * *
    Manatee County. * * *
    That portion of the county bounded by a line drawn as follows: 
Beginning at the northwest corner of sec. 24, T. 33 S., R. 17 E.; then 
east along the northern boundary of sec. 24, T. 33. S., R. 17 E. 
(Bishop Harbor Road) until it becomes SR 683 (Moccasin Wallow Road); 
then east on SR 683 to the northeast boundary of sec. 22, T. 33 S., R. 
18 E., then south along the eastern boundary of sec. 22, T. 33 S., R. 
18 E. to 69th Street East; then east on 69th Street East to Erie Road; 
then south on Erie Road to U.S. Highway 301; then south on U.S. Highway 
301 to Interstate 75; then south on Interstate 75 to the southern 
boundary of sec. 24, T. 35 S., R. 18 E.; then west along the southern 
boundaries of secs. 24, 23, and 22 to where the southern boundary of 
sec. 22 meets Whitfield Avenue; then west on Whitfield Avenue to U.S. 
Highway 301; then north on U.S. Highway 301 to SR 70; then west on SR 
70 to U.S. Highway 41; then north on U.S. Highway 41 to where it 
becomes 14th Street West; then north on 14th Street West to 1st Avenue 
West; then east on 1st Avenue West to 9th Street West; then north on 
9th Street West to the north bank of the Manatee River; then west along 
the north bank of the Manatee River to Terra Ceia Bay; then north along 
the western boundaries of secs. 25 and 24 to the point of the 
beginning.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of February, 2002.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-4911 Filed 2-28-02; 8:45 am]
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