[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 55 (Thursday, March 21, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13083-13084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-6839]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 55 / Thursday, March 21, 2002 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 13083]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 02-018-1]


Citrus Canker; Removal of Quarantined Area

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: We are amending the citrus canker regulations by removing a 
portion of Hillsborough 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 the quarantined area in 
Hillsborough County, FL, has been free of citrus canker since December 
1999. This rule removes restrictions on the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from that portion of Hillsborough County, FL.

DATES: This interim rule is effective March 21, 2002. We will consider 
all comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by 
May 20, 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. 02-018-1, 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. 02-018-1. 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. 
02-018-1'' 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. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer, 
Surveillance and Emergency Programs Planning and Coordination, PPQ, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-
8899.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Citrus canker is a plant disease that affects plants and plant 
parts, including fresh fruit, of citrus and citrus relatives (Family 
Rutaceae). Citrus canker can cause defoliation and other serious damage 
to the leaves and twigs of susceptible plants. It can also cause 
lesions on the fruit of infected plants, which render the fruit 
unmarketable, and cause infected fruit to drop from the trees before 
reaching maturity. The aggressive A (Asiatic) strain of citrus canker 
can infect susceptible plants rapidly and lead to extensive economic 
losses in commercial citrus-producing areas.
    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 portion of Hillsborough County, FL, has been free of citrus 
canker since December 1999, and has thus met the requirement for 
declaration of eradication--that an area be free from citrus canker for 
a period of at least 2 years. In this case, regular and complete 
surveys have been conducted on an approximately monthly basis since the 
infestation was first detected, including surveys of all citrus trees 
located in both commercial groves and at residential properties. In 
addition, any wild citrus present in the area has also been surveyed.
    Therefore, we are amending the citrus canker regulations by 
removing the portion of Hillsborough County, FL, from the list of 
quarantined areas. This action removes restrictions on the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from the portion of Hillsborough County, 
FL, that we are removing from the list of quarantined areas. With the 
removal of this area, there are no longer any quarantined areas within 
Hillsborough County, FL.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to remove restrictions on the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from the portion of 
Hillsborough County, FL, that we are removing from the list of 
quarantined areas based on its freedom from citrus canker for a period 
of at least 2 years. 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. 553 for making this action effective less than 30 days after 
publication in the Federal Register.
    We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for 
this interim rule (see DATES above). 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 13084]]

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.
    We are amending the citrus canker regulations by removing a portion 
of Hillsborough 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 the quarantined area in 
Hillsborough County, FL, has been free of citrus canker since December 
1999. This rule removes restrictions on the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from that portion of Hillsborough County, FL.
    Commercial citrus production in Hillsborough County accounts for 
only a small portion of the total citrus production in the State of 
Florida (see table 1 below).

    Table 1.--Hillsborough County Citrus Production, 2000-2001 Season
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Percentage of
                                     Boxes of citrus     Florida total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Round Oranges.................          8,759,000                3.9
All Grapefruit....................            224,000               0.48
All Citrus........................          9,179,000                3.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While producers in the area that we are removing from the list of 
quarantined areas will benefit from removal of movement restrictions, 
it is unlikely that the benefit will be big enough to measure 
statistically. This action does not impose any costs on producers or on 
government entities.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to consider the 
economic impacts of their rules on small entities. The entities most 
likely to be affected by this rule are citrus producers in and around 
the area in Hillsborough County, FL, that we are removing from the list 
of quarantined areas. The Small Business Administration defines a firm 
engaged in agriculture as ``small'' if it has less than $750,000 in 
annual receipts. All of the four citrus grove firms in Hillsborough 
County, FL, qualify as small entities.
    Citrus producers in the area that we are removing from the list of 
quarantined areas will benefit from having a greater choice of where to 
market their fruit. It is unlikely, however, that producer income or 
expenses would 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 the removal of the quarantine 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 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 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).

Sec. 301.75-4  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 301.75-4, paragraph (a), the entry for Hillsborough 
County is removed.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of March 2002.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-6839 Filed 3-20-02; 8:45 am]
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