[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30769-30771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11459]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 02-029-1]


Citrus Canker; Quarantined 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 citrus canker regulations by removing a 
portion of 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 the Duette area of Manatee 
County, FL, has been free of citrus canker since February 4, 2000. This 
action removes restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from that portion of Manatee County, FL.

DATES: This interim rule is effective May 8, 2002. We will consider all 
comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by July 
8, 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. 02-029-1, 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. 02-029-1. 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. 
02-029-1'' 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; (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,

[[Page 30770]]

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 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 41-square-mile area in the 
eastern part of Manatee County, FL, has been free of citrus canker 
since February 4, 2000, 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. This area, which has been known as the 
Duette quarantined area, is described as, ``That portion of the county 
bounded by a line drawn as follows: Beginning at the northwest corner 
of sec. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, T. 33 S., R. 21 E.; then east along sec. 
8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, T. 33 S., R. 21 E., to sec. 12, T. 33 S., R. 21 
E.; then south along sec. 12, T. 33 S., R. 21 E., to sec. 18, 19, 30, 
and 31, T. 33 S., R. 22 E.; then east along sec. 18, 19, 30, and 31, T. 
33 S., R. 22 E., to sec. 6, T. 34 S., R. 22 E.; then south along sec. 
6, T. 34 S., R. 22 E., to sec. 7, T. 34 S., R. 22 E.; then west along 
sec. 7, T. 34 S., R. 22 E., to sec. 12, 11, 10, and 9, T. 34 S., R. 21 
E.; then south along sec. 12, 11, 10, and 9, T. 34 S., R. 21 E., to 
sec. 8 and 5, T. 34 S., R. 21 E.; then north along sec. 8 and 5, T. 34 
S., R. 21 E., to sec. 31, 29, 20, 17, and 8, T. 33 S., R. 21 E.; then 
north along sec. 31, 29, 20, 17, and 8, T. 33 S., R. 12 E., to the 
point of beginning.''
    Regular and complete surveys have been conducted on an 
approximately monthly basis since the infestation was first detected, 
including that time from the destruction of the last infected tree on 
February 4, 2000, to the present. Surveys have been conducted of all 
citrus trees located in both commercial groves and at residential 
properties. In addition, any wild citrus that was observed in the area 
has also been surveyed.
    Although not required as a condition of declaring eradication in an 
area, in this case all abandoned citrus orchards in the area have also 
been removed. Abandoned citrus groves present a challenge in conducting 
surveys, and thus the removal of these groves increases our confidence 
that citrus canker is no longer present in this area.
    Therefore, we are amending the citrus canker regulations by 
removing the Duette area in Manatee County, FL, from the list of 
quarantined areas in Sec. 301.75-4(a). This action removes restrictions 
on the interstate movement of regulated articles from and through the 
Duette area of Manatee County, FL.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to remove restrictions on the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from and through the portion 
of Manatee 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.

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 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 the 41-
square-mile Duette quarantined area in eastern Manatee County, FL, has 
been free of citrus canker since February 4, 2000. This action removes 
restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the 
Duette area of Manatee County, FL.
    The area to be removed from quarantine, totaling 41 square miles or 
26,240 acres, represents a relatively small portion of citrus 
production in Manatee County. Even if the area consisted entirely of 
citrus acreage, which it does not, the 26,240 acres would be equivalent 
to approximately 3 percent of Florida's total citrus acreage. The table 
below shows statistics for Manatee County after trees were removed to 
limit the spread of citrus canker.

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                                                          Boxes of citrus                       Total number of
                                                         produced in 2000-     Total acres       trees January
                                                            2001 season        January 2000           2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Round Oranges......................................          7,791,000             21,236          2,631,200
All Grapefruit.........................................            400,000              1,197            111,900
Specialty Fruit........................................            151,000                821             98,300
                                                        --------------------------------------------------------
All Citrus.............................................          8,342,000             23,254         2,841,400
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 Source: Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, ``Citrus Summary 2000-01,'' January 2002.

    Most of the citrus producers in and around the Duette quarantined 
area would qualify as small businesses under Small Business 
Administration (SBA) guidelines. The Regulatory Flexibility Act 
requires that the Agency specifically consider the economic impact on 
small entities associated with rule changes. The SBA defines a firm 
engaged in agriculture as ``small'' if it has less than $750,000 in 
annual receipts.
    This interim rule will not impose any costs on affected citrus 
producers and should offer them some benefits. Citrus

[[Page 30771]]

producers in the Duette area will have the option of replanting trees 
in the previously quarantined area and have greater choice of where to 
market their fruit.
    The benefits of releasing the Duette area from quarantine 
restrictions are likely to be small, however. How much of the newly 
unrestricted area will be replanted in citrus is unknown. In general, 
citrus prices have been soft, so it is uncertain whether a large 
portion of the acreage will be replanted in citrus in the short run. Of 
course, it takes several years for citrus trees to become productive, 
so any decision to replant will have to be based on the grower's 
perception of the market conditions for citrus several years in the 
future. Taking these factors into account, we anticipate that producer 
incomes or expenses are unlikely to be affected in a significant way.
    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), in the entry for Manatee 
County, the second paragraph is removed.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of May, 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-11459 Filed 5-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P