[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 22, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43286-43287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18602]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 02-130-2]


Oriental Fruit Fly; Removal 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 removing 
portions of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, CA, from the list of 
quarantined areas and by removing restrictions on the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from those areas. This action is 
necessary to relieve restrictions that are no longer needed to prevent 
the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the 
United States. We have determined that the Oriental fruit fly has been 
eradicated from those portions of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, CA, 
and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary.

DATES: This interim rule is effective July 15, 2003. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before September 22, 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. 02-130-2, 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. 02-130-2. 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. 
02-130-2'' 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 Knight, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (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.

[[Page 43287]]

The regulations also designate soil and a large number of fruits, nuts, 
vegetables, and berries as regulated articles.
    In an interim rule effective on January 6, 2003, and published in 
the Federal Register on January 10, 2003 (68 FR 1360-1362 Docket No. 
02-130-1), we quarantined portions of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, 
CA, and restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from 
the quarantined areas.
    Based on trapping surveys conducted by inspectors of California 
State and county agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service, we have determined that the Oriental fruit 
fly has been eradicated from the quarantined portions of these two 
counties. The last finding of Oriental fruit fly in the Los Angeles and 
Orange Counties, CA, quarantined areas was June 4, 2003.
    Since then, no evidence of Oriental fruit fly infestation has been 
found in these areas. Based on our experience, we have determined that 
sufficient time has passed without finding additional flies or other 
evidence of infestation to conclude that the Oriental fruit fly no 
longer exists in Los Angeles or Orange Counties, CA. Therefore, we are 
removing the entry for these counties from the list of quarantined 
areas in Sec.  301.93-3(c).

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no 
longer necessary. Portions of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, CA, were 
quarantined due to the possibility that the Oriental fruit fly could 
spread from those areas to noninfested areas of the United States. 
Since we have concluded that the Oriental fruit fly no longer exists in 
those counties, immediate action is necessary to remove the quarantines 
on Los Angeles and Orange Counties, CA, and to relieve the restrictions 
on the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas. 
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 action 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 action amends the Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing a 
portion of Los Angeles and Orange Counties, CA, from the list of 
quarantined areas.
    County records indicate that within the quarantined portions of Los 
Angeles and Orange Counties, there are 389 small entities who could be 
affected by the lifting of the quarantine in this interim 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.
    We expect that the effect of this interim rule on the small 
entities referred to above will be minimal. 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 likely to be 
minimal. In addition, the effect on any small entities that may move 
regulated articles interstate has been minimized during the quarantine 
period by the availability of various treatments that allow these small 
entities, in most cases, to move regulated articles interstate with 
very little additional cost. Thus, just as the previous interim rule 
establishing the quarantined area in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, 
CA, had little effect on the small growers in the area, the lifting of 
the quarantine in the current interim rule will also have little 
effect.
    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.

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.

0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772; 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).


Sec.  301.93-3  [Amended]

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2. In Sec.  301.93-3, paragraph (c) is amended by removing, under the 
heading ``CALIFORNIA'', the entry for Los Angeles and Orange Counties.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of July 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-18602 Filed 7-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P