[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 4918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2022]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 21 / Monday, February 2, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 4918]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-091-1]


Availability of a Draft Commodity Risk Assessment for the 
Importation of Potatoes From Mexico

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 that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared a draft commodity risk assessment 
relative to a request we have received to amend the regulations to 
allow the importation of potatoes from Mexico into the continental 
United States. We are making this draft commodity risk assessment 
available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April 
2, 2004.

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. 03-091-1, 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. 03-091-1. 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. 
03-091-1'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on the draft commodity 
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: Mr. Robert L. Griffin, Director, Plant 
Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory, Center for Plant Health 
Science and Technology, PPQ, APHIS, 1017 Main Campus Drive Suite 1550, 
Raleigh, NC 27606-5202; (919) 513-1590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 (referred to below as the 
regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of various articles 
into the United States from certain parts of the world to prevent the 
introduction and dissemination of plant pests that are new to or not 
widely distributed within the United States.
    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is considering a 
request to amend the regulations to allow the importation of potatoes 
(Solanum tuberosum L.) from Mexico into the continental United States 
for consumption. To evaluate the risks associated with the importation 
of potatoes from Mexico, a draft commodity risk assessment, entitled 
``Importation of Fresh Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Tubers from Mexico 
into the Continental United States'' (November 2003), has been 
prepared. We are making the draft commodity risk assessment available 
to the public for review and comment. We will consider all comments 
that we receive on or before the date listed under the heading DATES at 
the beginning of this notice.
    The draft commodity risk assessment may be viewed on the Internet 
at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pra/. You may request paper copies of 
the draft commodity risk assessment by calling or writing to the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title 
of the draft commodity risk assessment when requesting copies. The 
draft commodity risk assessment is also available for review 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).

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450 and 7701-7772; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 
CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of January 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-2022 Filed 1-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P