[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 246 (Monday, December 23, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78127-78128]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32178]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2002 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 78127]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 02-121-1]


Mexican Fruit Fly; Addition of Regulated 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 Mexican fruit fly regulations by 
designating a portion of Los Angeles County, CA as a regulated area and 
restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from that 
area. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of the Mexican 
fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: This interim rule was effective December 13, 2002. We will 
consider all comments that we receive on or before February 21, 2003.

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. 02-121-1, 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. 02-121-1. 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. 
02-121-1'' 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 A. Knight, Senior Staff 
Officer, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1236; (301) 734-8247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens) is a destructive pest of 
citrus and many other types of fruit. The short life cycle of the 
Mexican fruit fly allows rapid development of serious outbreaks that 
can cause severe economic losses in commercial citrus-producing areas.
    The Mexican fruit fly regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.64 
through 301.64-10 (referred to below as the regulations), were 
established to prevent the spread of the Mexican fruit fly to 
noninfested areas of the United States. The regulations impose 
restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the 
regulated areas. Prior to the effective date of this rule, the only 
areas regulated for the Mexican fruit fly were portions of Texas.
    Section 301.64-3 provides that the Deputy Administrator for Plant 
Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS), shall list as a regulated area each quarantined State, 
or each portion of a quarantined State, in which the Mexican fruit fly 
has been found by an inspector, in which the Deputy Administrator has 
reason to believe the Mexican fruit fly is present, or that the Deputy 
Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its proximity 
to the Mexican fruit fly or its inseparability for quarantine 
enforcement purposes from localities in which the Mexican fruit fly 
occurs.
    Less than an entire quarantined State is designated as a regulated 
area only if the Deputy Administrator determines that the State has 
adopted and is enforcing a quarantine or regulation that imposes 
restrictions on the intrastate movement of the regulated articles that 
are substantially the same as those that are imposed with respect to 
the interstate movement of the articles and the designation of less 
than the entire State as a regulated area will otherwise be adequate to 
prevent the artificial interstate spread of the Mexican fruit fly.
    Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of California State and 
county agencies and by APHIS inspectors reveal that a portion of Los 
Angeles County, CA, is infested with the Mexican fruit fly.
    Accordingly, to prevent the spread of the Mexican fruit fly to 
noninfested areas of the United States, we are amending the regulations 
in Sec.  301.64-10 by designating that portion of Los Angeles County, 
CA, as a regulated area for the Mexican fruit fly. The regulated area 
is described in detail in the rule portion of this document. The Deputy 
Administrator has determined that it is not necessary to designate the 
entire State of California as a regulated area.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the 
Mexican 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 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 has waived its review under 
Executive Order 12866.
    This rule restricts the interstate movement of regulated articles 
from an area in Los Angeles County, CA. Within

[[Page 78128]]

the regulated area there are approximately 389 small entities that may 
be affected by this rule. These include 351 fruit sellers, 3 growers, 
33 nurseries, 1 certified farmers' market, and 1 swapmeet. These 389 
entities comprise less than 1 percent of the total number of similar 
entities operating in the State of California. Additionally, these 
small entities sell regulated articles primarily for local intrastate, 
not interstate movement, so the effect, if any, of this regulation on 
these entities appears to be minimal.
    The effect on those few entities that do 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 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 Mexican 
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 public inspection 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 
document). In addition, copies may be obtained from the individual 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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.

    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).


    2. In Sec.  301.64-3, paragraph (c) is amended by adding, in 
alphabetical order, an entry for California to read as follows:


Sec.  301.64-3  Regulated areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

California

    Los Angeles County. That portion of the county in the Monterey 
Park area bounded by a line as follows: Beginning at the 
intersection of Valley Boulevard and Peck Road; then south along 
Peck Road to its intersection with Workman Mill Road; then southwest 
along Workman Mill Road to its intersection with Norwalk Boulevard; 
then southwest along Norwalk Boulevard to its intersection with 
Whittier Boulevard; then northwest along Whittier Boulevard to its 
intersection with Passons Boulevard; then southwest along Passons 
Boulevard to its intersection with Washington Boulevard; then 
northwest along Washington Boulevard to its intersection with 
Paramount Boulevard; then southwest along Paramount Boulevard to its 
intersection with East Slauson Avenue; then west along East Slauson 
Avenue to its intersection with U.S. Interstate 710; then northwest 
along U.S. Interstate 710 to its intersection with U.S. Interstate 
5; then northwest along U.S. Interstate 5 to its intersection with 
South Indiana Street; then north along South Indiana Street to its 
intersection with North Indiana Street; then north along North 
Indiana Street to its intersection with Cesar Chavez Avenue; then 
northwest along Cesar Chavez Avenue to its intersection with North 
Soto Street; then north along North Soto Street to its intersection 
with North Huntington Drive; then northeast along North Huntington 
Drive to its intersection with Del Mar Avenue; then south along Del 
Mar Avenue to its intersection with East Longden Drive; then east 
along East Longden Drive to its intersection with Longden Drive; 
then east along Longden Drive to its intersection with Encinita 
Avenue; then south along Encinita Avenue to its intersection with 
Las Tunas Drive; then east along Las Tunas Drive to its intersection 
with Temple City Boulevard; then south along Temple City Boulevard 
to its intersection with Olive Street; then east along Olive Street 
to its intersection with Baldwin Avenue; then south along Baldwin 
Avenue to its intersection with Lower Azusa Road; then east along 
Lower Azusa Road to its intersection with Arden Drive; then south 
along Arden Drive to its intersection with Valley Boulevard; then 
southeast along Valley Boulevard to the point of origin.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of December 2002 .
Bobby R. Acord,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-32178 Filed 12-20-02; 8:45 am]
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