[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 15, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34589-34590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12136]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 94 / Wednesday, May 15, 2002 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 34589]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 01-080-2]


Oriental Fruit Fly; Removal of 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 Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing 
portions of San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, CA, from the list of 
quarantined areas and by removing restrictions on the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from those areas. This action is 
necessary to relieve restrictions that are no longer needed to prevent 
the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the 
United States. We have determined that the Oriental fruit fly has been 
eradicated from these portions of San Bernardino and San Diego 
Counties, CA, and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer 
necessary. These portions of San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, CA, 
were the last remaining areas in California quarantined for the 
Oriental fruit fly. Therefore, as a result of this action, there are no 
longer any areas in the continental United States quarantined for the 
Oriental fruit fly.

DATES: This interim rule is effective May 15, 2002. We will consider 
all comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by 
July 15, 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. 01-080-2, 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. 01-080-2. 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. 
01-080-2'' 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 Knight, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-8039.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a 
destructive pest of citrus and other types of fruits, nuts, and 
vegetables. The short life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly allows rapid 
development of serious outbreaks that can cause severe economic losses. 
Heavy infestations can cause complete loss of crops.
    The Oriental fruit fly regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.93 
through 301.93-10 (referred to below as the regulations), restrict the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas to 
prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly to noninfested areas of 
the United States. The regulations also designate soil and a large 
number of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and berries as regulated articles.
    In an interim rule effective on August 29, 2001, and published in 
the Federal Register on September 5, 2001 (66 FR 46365-46366, Docket 
No. 01-080-1), we quarantined a portion of San Bernardino County, CA, 
and restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from the 
quarantined area.
    Subsequently, in an interim rule effective on October 26, 2001, and 
published in the Federal Register on November 1, 2001 (66 FR 55067-
55068, Docket No. 01-102-1), we quarantined a portion of San Diego 
County, CA, and restricted the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from that quarantined area.
    Based on trapping surveys conducted by inspectors of California 
State and county agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service, we have determined that the Oriental fruit 
fly has been eradicated from the quarantined portions of these two 
counties. The last finding of Oriental fruit fly in the San Bernardino 
County quarantined area was October 17, 2001, while the last such 
finding in the San Diego County quarantined area was September 25, 
2001.
    Since then, no evidence of Oriental fruit fly infestation has been 
found in these areas. Based on our experience, we have determined that 
sufficient time has passed without finding additional flies or other 
evidence of infestation to conclude that the Oriental fruit fly no 
longer exists in San Bernardino County or San Diego County, CA. 
Therefore, we are removing both counties from the list of quarantined 
areas in Sec. 301.93-3(c). With the removal of San Bernardino and San 
Diego Counties, CA, from that list, there are no longer any areas in 
the continental United States quarantined for the Oriental fruit fly.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no 
longer necessary. Portions of San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, 
CA, were quarantined due to the possibility that the Oriental fruit fly 
could be spread from those areas to noninfested areas of the United 
States. Since we have concluded that the Oriental fruit fly no longer 
exists in those counties, immediate action is necessary to remove the 
quarantines on San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, CA, and to 
relieve the restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from those areas. Under these circumstances, the Administrator 
has determined that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are 
contrary to the public

[[Page 34590]]

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.
    This action amends the Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing 
portions of San Bernardino and San Diego Counties, CA, from the list of 
quarantined areas.
    County records indicate that within the quarantined portion of San 
Bernardino County, CA, there are 10 to 15 small growers who could be 
affected by the lifting of the quarantine in this interim rule. There 
is no commercial agricultural acreage nor any flea markets or certified 
farmers' markets within the area. The number of nurseries and fruit and 
produce dealers located within the area is presently unknown.
    We expect that the effect of this interim rule on the small 
entities referred to above will be minimal. Small entities located 
within the quarantined area that sell regulated articles do so 
primarily for local intrastate, not interstate, movement, so the 
effect, if any, of this rule on these entities appears likely to be 
minimal. In addition, the effect on any small entities that may move 
regulated articles interstate has been minimized during the quarantine 
period by the availability of various treatments that allow these small 
entities, in most cases, to move regulated articles interstate with 
very little additional cost. Thus, just as the previous interim rule 
establishing the quarantined area in San Bernardino, CA, had little 
effect on the small growers in the area, the lifting of the quarantine 
in the current interim rule will also have little effect.
    Within the quarantined area of San Diego County, CA, the State of 
California has identified 101 markets/produce vendors, 3 farmers' 
markets, 20 nurseries, and 2 growers. No data are available on how many 
of these entities are small.
    The effect on any entities, large or small, that may move regulated 
articles interstate has been minimized during the quarantine period by 
the availability of various treatments that allow these entities, in 
most cases, to move regulated articles interstate with very little 
additional cost. For many businesses, no additional costs have been 
incurred. As far as we can determine, no entities have gone out of 
business due to the quarantine. It is, therefore, highly unlikely that 
the lifting of the quarantine in San Diego County, CA, will have a 
significant economic effect on any entities, large or small, in that 
area.
    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 interim rule contains no 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

    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. 301.93-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 301.93-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) The areas described below are designated as quarantined areas: 
There are no areas in the continental United States quarantined for the 
Oriental fruit fly.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 9th day of May, 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-12136 Filed 5-14-02; 8:45 am]
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