[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64862-64863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26813]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 02-081-1]


Availability of Draft Pest Risk Assessment for the Importation of 
Clementines, Mandarins, and Tangerines From Chile

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of the availability of a draft pesk 
risk assessment concerning the importation of clementines, mandarins, 
and tangerines from Chile. This draft pest risk assessment is 
accompanied by a risk management document entitled, ``Measures 
Suggested for Quarantine Pest Risk Management in Clementines, Mandarin 
Oranges and Tangerines Exported from Chile to the Market of the United 
States of America.'' These documents have been prepared in relation to 
a proposed rule currently under consideration that would allow the 
importation of clementines, mandarins, and tangerines from Chile into 
the United States. We are making the draft pest risk assessment and the 
risk management document available to the public for review and 
comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
December 23, 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. 02-081-1, 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. 02-081-1. 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. 
02-081-1'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on the draft pest risk 
assessment 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: Dr. Ronald A. Sequeira, National 
Science Program Leader, Risk & Pathway Analysis, Center for Plant 
Health Science and Technology, PPQ, APHIS, 1017 Main Campus Drive, 
Suite 2500, Raleigh, NC 27606-5202; (919) 513-2128.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 64863]]

Background

    The regulations in ``Subpart-Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56 
through 319.56-8, referred to below as the regulations), prohibit or 
restrict the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United 
States from certain parts of the world to prevent the introduction and 
dissemination of plant pests, including fruit flies, that are new to or 
not widely distributed within the United States.
    At the request of the Government of the Republic of Chile, the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is considering 
amending the regulations to allow the importation of clementines, 
mandarins, and tangerines from Chile into the United States. To 
evaluate the risks associated with the importation of clementines, 
mandarins, and tangerines from Chile, a draft pesk risk assessment 
entitled, ``Importation of Fresh Commercial Citrus Fruit: Clementine 
(Citrus reticulata Blanco var. ``Clementine''), Mandarin (Citrus 
reticulata Blanco), and Tangerine (Citrus reticulata Blanco) from Chile 
into the United States: A Pathway Initiated Plant Pest Risk 
Assessment'' (Revised July 2002), has been prepared. We are making the 
draft pest risk assessment available to the public for review and 
comment.
    In addition to the draft pest risk assessment, we are also making a 
risk management document entitled, ``Measures Suggested for Quarantine 
Pest Risk Management in Clementines, Mandarin Oranges and Tangerines 
Exported from Chile to the Market of the United States of America'' 
(March 2002), available for comment. This risk management document was 
prepared in Chile by the Fundacion para el Desarrollo Fruiticola. We 
expect that we would consider the risk management measures examined in 
that document during the development of any proposed rule concerning 
the importation of clementines, mandarins, and tangerines from Chile.
    You may view the draft pest risk assessment and the risk management 
document on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pra/, or in 
our reading room (information on the location and hours of the reading 
room is provided under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this 
notice). You may also request a copy of either document from the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 166, 450, 7711-7714, 7718, 7731, 7732, and 
7751-7754; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of October 2002.
Peter F[eacute]rnandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-26813 Filed 10-21-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P