[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 8, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62627-62628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25537]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2002 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 62627]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 02-096-1]


Oriental Fruit Fly; Designation of Quarantined Area

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 
quarantining a portion of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, CA, 
and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from the 
quarantined area. This action is necessary on an emergency basis to 
prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of 
the United States.

DATES: This interim rule was effective October 2, 2002. We will 
consider all comments that we receive on or before December 9, 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. 02-096-1, 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. 02-096-1. 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. 
02-096-1'' 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: Stephen A. Knight, Senior Staff 
Officer, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1236; (301) 734-8039.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a 
destructive pest of citrus and other types of fruit, nuts, vegetables, 
and berries. The short life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly allows 
rapid development of serious outbreaks, which 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), were 
established to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into 
noninfested areas of the United States. Section 301.93-3(a) provides 
that the Administrator will list as a quarantined area each State, or 
each portion of a State, in which the Oriental fruit fly has been found 
by an inspector, in which the Administrator has reason to believe that 
the Oriental fruit fly is present, or that the Administrator considers 
necessary to regulate because of its proximity to the Oriental fruit 
fly or its inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from 
localities in which the Oriental fruit fly has been found. The 
regulations impose restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from the quarantined areas. Quarantined areas are listed in 
Sec.  301.93-3(c).
    Less than an entire State will be designated as a quarantined area 
only if the Administrator determines that: (1) The State has adopted 
and is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of the 
regulated articles that are substantially the same as those imposed on 
the interstate movement of regulated articles and (2) the designation 
of less than the entire State as a quarantined area will prevent the 
interstate spread of the Oriental fruit fly.
    Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of California State and 
county agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service reveal that a portion of Los Angeles and San 
Bernardino Counties, CA, is infested with the Oriental fruit fly. The 
Oriental fruit fly is not known to exist anywhere else in the 
continental United States.
    State agencies in California have begun an intensive Oriental fruit 
fly eradication program in the quarantined area in Los Angeles and San 
Bernardino Counties. Also, California has taken action to restrict the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined area.
    Accordingly, to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into 
other States, we are amending the regulations in Sec.  301.93-3 by 
designating a portion of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, CA, 
as a quarantined area for the Oriental fruit fly. The quarantined area 
is described in the rule portion of this document.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the 
Oriental fruit fly from spreading to noninfested areas of the United 
States. 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 rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the 
Federal Register.
    We will consider comments that 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.

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

[[Page 62628]]

has waived its review under Executive Order 12866.
    This rule amends the Oriental fruit fly regulations by adding a 
portion of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, CA, to the list of 
quarantined areas. The regulations restrict the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from a quarantined area.
    County records indicate there are approximately 1,500 acres of wine 
grapes, 200 acres of lemons and oranges, 50 acres of miscellaneous 
fruit, 20 garden centers, and 26 chain stores with nursery licenses 
within the quarantined area that may be affected by this rule. In 
addition, there are 13 production nurseries in the ZIP Code, although 
some may not be within the quarantined area.
    We expect that any 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 to be minimal. The effect on any small entities that 
may move regulated articles interstate will be minimized by the 
availability of various treatments that, in most cases, will allow 
these small entities to move regulated articles interstate with very 
little additional cost.
    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 interim 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.

National Environmental Policy Act

    An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact 
have been prepared for this interim rule. The site-specific 
environmental assessment provides a basis for the conclusion that the 
implementation of integrated pest management to eradicate the Oriental 
fruit fly will not have a significant impact on human health and the 
natural environment. Based on the finding of no significant impact, the 
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has 
determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.
    The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact 
were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA 
regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA 
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
    Copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact are available for review in our reading room 
(information on the location and hours of the reading room is listed 
under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice). In 
addition, copies may be obtained by writing to the individual listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The environmental assessment and 
finding of no significant impact may also be viewed on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/es/ppq/offrc.pdf.

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, 7 CFR part 301 is amended 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.  301.93-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  301.93-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) The areas described below are designated as quarantined areas:

CALIFORNIA

    Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. That portion of Los 
Angeles and San Bernardino Counties in the Rancho Cucamonga area 
bounded by a line as follows: Beginning at the intersection of North 
Mills Avenue and Mount Baldy Road; then northeast and north along Mount 
Baldy Road to its intersection with Barrett Road; then east from the 
intersection of Mount Baldy Road and Barrett Road along an imaginary 
line to the Joe Elliot Tree Memorial; then southeast from the Joe 
Elliot Tree Memorial along an imaginary line to the north end of 
Etiwanda Avenue; then southeast and south along Etiwanda Avenue to 
State Highway 30; then west along State Highway 30 to Rochester Avenue; 
then south along Rochester Avenue to Baseline Road; then west along 
Baseline Road to Milliken Avenue; then south along Milliken Avenue to 
State Highway 66; then west along State Highway 66 to Haven Avenue; 
then south along Haven Avenue to 8th Street; then west along 8th Street 
to East 8th Street; then west along East 8th Street to West 8th Street; 
then west along West 8th Street to Central Avenue; then north along 
Central Avenue to State Highway 66; then west along State Highway 66 to 
North Mills Avenue; then north along North Mills Avenue to the point of 
beginning.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of October 2002 .
Bobby R. Acord,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-25537 Filed 10-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P