[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41810-41811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-15584]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 99-080 2]


Citrus Canker; Packing in the Quarantined Area

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 allowed citrus fruit produced outside the quarantined areas 
to be moved into a quarantined area for packing and then moved from 
that quarantined area to any destination in the United States, 
including commercial citrus-producing areas. The interim rule provided 
that citrus fruit produced outside the quarantined areas, if moved into 
a quarantined area for packing, must be moved and handled according to 
specific conditions designed to prevent the artificial spread of citrus 
canker, including conditions to prevent its commingling with, and 
possible contamination by, citrus fruit produced within a quarantined 
area. The interim rule was necessary in order to relieve unnecessary 
restrictions on regulated fruit originating outside a quarantined area 
but packed within a quarantined area.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The interim rule became effective on October 29, 1999.

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

    In an interim rule effective October 29, 1999, and published in the 
Federal Register on November 4, 1999 (64 FR 60088-60092, Docket No. 99-
080-1), we amended the regulations in ``Subpart Citrus Canker'' (7 CFR 
301.75 through 301.75-16, referred to below as the regulations) to 
allow citrus fruit produced outside the quarantined areas to be moved 
into a quarantined area for packing and then moved from that 
quarantined area to any destination in the United States, including 
commercial citrus-producing areas. The interim rule provided that 
citrus fruit produced outside the quarantined areas, if moved into a 
quarantined area for packing, must be moved and handled according to 
specific conditions designed to prevent the artificial spread of citrus 
canker, including conditions to prevent its commingling with, and 
possible contamination by, citrus fruit produced within a quarantined 
area.
    We solicited comments on the interim rule for 60 days ending on 
January 3, 2000. We received three comments by that date. They were 
from State agricultural agencies and a citrus industry organization. 
While two of the commenters supported the provisions of the interim 
rule, all three commenters expressed specific concerns. These are 
addressed below.

Current Detection and Quarantine Programs

    All three commenters expressed concern that the description of 
quarantined areas in Sec. 301.75-4 of the regulations was not current 
and did not, therefore, reflect all the areas in which citrus canker 
has been detected in Florida. This, the commenters stated, could result 
in the continuing spread of citrus canker due to the lack of 
restrictions on the movement of regulated articles from areas affected 
with citrus canker but not under Federal quarantine.
    Despite close monitoring by Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) inspectors and frequent updates to the citrus canker 
regulations, unavoidable delays in the Federal rulemaking process 
occasionally result

[[Page 41811]]

in a lag between the detection of citrus canker in specific areas and 
the addition of those areas to the list of quarantined areas in 
Sec. 301.75-4(a). While there may be some delay in listing specific 
areas in the regulations, paragraph (b) of Sec. 301.75-4 does provide 
that the Administrator may designate any non-quarantined area as a 
quarantined area upon giving written notice of this designation to the 
owner or persons in possession of the non-quarantined area. Thereafter, 
regulated articles may be moved interstate from that area only in 
accordance with the regulations. Given that the movement restrictions 
and other requirements of the regulations apply to growers, packers, 
and other regulated entities as soon as APHIS provides them with 
written notice, which we do following the detection of citrus canker in 
a new area, we do not believe that the delay between detection of the 
disease in a new area and that area's inclusion in the list of 
quarantined areas in the regulations detracts from the effectiveness of 
our regulatory program.

Monitoring for Compliance and Penalties for Noncompliance

    All three commenters asked that we specify how we will ensure 
compliance with the provisions of the interim rule and explain what 
penalties there will be for noncompliance. One of the commenters 
suggested that provisions for ensuring compliance be incorporated into 
the regulations and that the penalties for noncompliance be specified.
    The interim rule provides that regulated fruit not produced in a 
quarantined area but moved into a quarantined area for packing may be 
subsequently moved out of the quarantined area only if, in addition to 
other conditions provided in Sec. 301.75-8(b), the regulated fruit is 
accompanied by a limited permit or a certificate issued in accordance 
with Sec. 301.75-12. The regulations define a limited permit as an 
official document of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
authorizing the interstate movement of a regulated article from a 
quarantined area, but restricting the areas of the United States into 
which the regulated article may be moved. A certificate is an official 
document of the USDA authorizing the interstate movement of a regulated 
article from a quarantined area into any area of the United States. 
Under Sec. 301.75-12, certificates and limited permits may be issued 
for the interstate movement of regulated articles only by an inspector 
or by persons operating under a compliance agreement. A compliance 
agreement is a written agreement between APHIS and a person engaged in 
the business of growing or handling regulated articles for interstate 
movement, in which the person pledges to comply with the regulations. 
If our inspectors have reason to believe there is not adequate 
compliance, we can refuse to issue the certificates and limited permits 
necessary for the movement of fruit. Additionally, the regulations 
provide that a certificate or limited permit may be withdrawn by an 
inspector if the inspector determines that any of the applicable 
requirements of the regulations have not been met. Similarly, any 
compliance agreement may be canceled by an inspector if the inspector 
finds that the person who entered into the compliance agreement has 
failed to comply with the regulations.
    Packing plants inside a quarantined area that pack fruit produced 
in nonquarantined areas must maintain certain conditions, which include 
meeting specific cleaning, disinfection, and handling requirements, in 
addition to segregating fruit within the packing plant--i.e., keeping 
regulated fruit produced outside the quarantined areas physically 
separated from regulated fruit produced within quarantined areas. APHIS 
and the State of Florida monitor packing plants with frequent site 
visits to ensure that these conditions are being met. Certificates, 
limited permits, and compliance agreements may be suspended or 
withdrawn in cases where there is a pattern of noncompliance. While the 
Plant Protection Act (PPA) provides civil and criminal penalties for 
violations of the regulations, we believe that canceling or suspending 
compliance agreements is by itself an effective penalty. Without a 
compliance agreement, a packer would need to call an inspector every 
time he or she wanted to move fruit, which could delay the movement of 
fruit from the packing plant. Given that APHIS and the State of Florida 
routinely visit packing plants to assess compliance, and given that the 
regulations and the PPA provide us with several options for responding 
to incidents of noncompliance, we believe no changes to the interim 
rule are necessary.
    Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule and in this 
document, we are adopting the interim rule as a final rule without 
change.
    This action also affirms the information contained in the interim 
rule concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.

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 and that was published at 64 
FR 60088-60092 on November 4, 1999.

    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 14th day of June 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-15584 Filed 6-19-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P