[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 22, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43285-43286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18603]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 140 / Tuesday, July 22, 2003 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 43285]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 03-032-2]


Sapote Fruit Fly; Removal of Quarantined Area in Texas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the sapote fruit fly regulations by removing 
part of Hidalgo County, TX, from the list of quarantined areas and by 
removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles 
from this area. This action is necessary to relieve restrictions that 
are no longer needed to prevent the spread of the sapote fruit fly into 
noninfested areas of the United States. We have determined that the 
sapote fruit fly has been eradicated from this part of Hidalgo County, 
TX, and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary. 
This part of Hidalgo County, TX, was the only area in Texas quarantined 
for the sapote fruit fly. Therefore, as a result of this action, there 
are no longer any areas in the continental United States quarantined 
for the sapote fruit fly.

DATES: This interim rule was 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. 03-032-2, 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. 03-032-2. 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. 
03-032-2'' 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 sapote fruit fly (Anastrepha serpentina) is a destructive pest 
of fruits and vegetables, including apples, avocados, grapefruit, 
mangoes, peaches, pears, and tangerines. This pest can cause serious 
economic losses by lowering the yield and quality of these fruits and 
vegetables and, in some cases, by damaging seedlings and young plants. 
Heavy infestations can result in the complete loss of these crops.
    The sapote fruit fly regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.99 through 
301.99-10 (referred to below as the regulations), were established to 
prevent the spread of the sapote fruit fly into noninfested areas of 
the United States. The regulations also designate soil and a large 
number of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and berries as regulated articles.
    In an interim rule effective on May 2, 2003, and published in the 
Federal Register on May 8, 2003 (68 FR 24605-24613 Docket No. 03-032-
1), we quarantined a portion of Hidalgo County, TX, and restricted the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas.
    Based on trapping surveys by inspectors of Texas State and county 
agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service, we have determined that the sapote fruit fly has been 
eradicated from the quarantined portions of this county. The last 
finding of sapote fruit fly in the Hidalgo County, TX, quarantined area 
was June 17, 2003.
    Since then, no evidence of sapote 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 sapote fruit fly no longer 
exists in Hidalgo County, TX. Therefore, we are removing the county 
from the list of quarantined areas in Sec.  301.99-10. With the removal 
of Hidalgo County, TX, from that list, there are no longer any areas in 
the continental United States quarantined for the sapote fruit fly.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no 
longer necessary. A portion of Hidalgo County, TX, was quarantined due 
to the possibility that the sapote fruit fly could spread from those 
areas to noninfested areas of the United States. Since we have 
concluded that the sapote fruit fly no longer exists in this county, 
immediate action is necessary to remove the quarantine on Hidalgo 
County, TX, 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.

[[Page 43286]]

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 sapote fruit fly regulations by removing a 
portion of Hidalgo County, TX, from the list of quarantined areas.
    We expect that the effect of this interim rule 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 Hidalgo County, TX, 
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).


0
2. In Sec.  301.99-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  301.99-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) The areas described below are designated as quarantined areas: 
There are no areas in the continental United States quarantined for the 
sapote fruit fly.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of July 2003 .
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-18603 Filed 7-21-03; 8:45 am]
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