[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1360-1362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-491]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 02-130-1]


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 Orange 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 Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the 
United States.

DATES: This interim rule was effective January 6, 2003. We will 
consider all comments that we receive on or before March 11, 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. 02-130-1, 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. 02-130-1. 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. 
02-130-1'' 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

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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 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 Orange 
Counties, CA, is infested with the Oriental fruit fly.
    State agencies in California have begun an intensive Oriental fruit 
fly eradication program in the quarantined area in Los Angeles and 
Orange Counties. Also, California has taken action to restrict the 
intrastate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined area.
    Accordingly, to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into 
noninfested areas of the United States, we are amending the regulations 
in Sec.  301.93-3 by designating a portion of Los Angeles and Orange 
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 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 amends the Oriental fruit fly regulations by adding a 
portion of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, CA, to the list of 
quarantined areas. The regulations restrict the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from a quarantined area.
    Within the quarantined 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 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

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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 calling or 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/lamiroff.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 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7711, 7712, 7714, 7731, 7735, 7751, 7752, 
7753, 7754, and 7760; 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 amended by adding, under the 
heading ``CALIFORNIA'', an entry for Los Angeles and Orange Counties to 
read as follows:


Sec.  301.93-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

California

    Los Angeles and Orange Counties. That portion of Los Angeles and 
Orange Counties in the La Mirada area bounded by a line as follows: 
Beginning at the intersection of Whittier Boulevard and Euclid Street; 
then south on Euclid Street to its intersection with La Palma Avenue; 
then west on La Palma Avenue to its intersection with Brookhurst 
Street; then south on Brookhurst Street to its intersection with 
Lincoln Avenue; then west on Lincoln Avenue to its intersection with 
Moody Street; then north on Moody Street to its intersection with 
Crescent Avenue; then west on Crescent Avenue to its intersection with 
Centralia Street; then west on Centralia Street to its intersection 
with Pioneer Boulevard; then north on Pioneer Boulevard to its 
intersection with 166th Street; then west on 166th Street to its 
intersection with Maidstone Avenue; then north on Maidstone Avenue to 
its intersection with Excelsior Drive; then east on Excelsior Drive to 
its intersection with Pioneer Boulevard; then north on Pioneer 
Boulevard to its intersection with Florence Avenue; then northeast on 
Florence Avenue to its intersection with Whittier Boulevard; then south 
and east on Whittier Boulevard to the point of beginning.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of January 2003 .
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-491 Filed 1-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P