[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 33 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8229-8233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3141]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 33 / Friday, February 18, 2005 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 8229]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 02-057-2]
RIN 0579-AB74


Karnal Bunt; Revision of Regulations for Importing Wheat

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are amending our regulations regarding the importation of 
wheat from regions affected with Karnal bunt. Our amendments, among 
other things, list such regions, as well as articles regulated for 
Karnal bunt; increase the flexibility of the regulations so that they 
provide more readily for the recognition of areas where Karnal bunt is 
not known to occur within regions where Karnal bunt is known to be 
present; describe conditions, including requirements for phytosanitary 
certificates, under which wheat and related articles from regions 
affected with Karnal bunt are imported into the United States; and 
specify cleaning and/or disinfection requirements for imported farm 
machinery and other equipment used to handle or store Karnal bunt-
positive seed or host crops. The changes make our regulations regarding 
the importation of wheat and related articles from regions affected 
with Karnal bunt substantively equivalent to our domestic Karnal bunt 
regulations and make the former consistent with international 
agreements to which the United States is a party.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 21, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jeanne Van Dersal, Import 
Specialist, Phytosanitary Issues Management Team, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road, Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Karnal bunt is a fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum 
wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum x Secale 
cereale), a hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is caused by the smut 
fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread by spores, 
primarily through the movement of infected seed. Our Karnal bunt-
related import regulations are contained in Subpart--Wheat Diseases (7 
CFR 319.59 through 319.59-2).
    On March 3, 2004, we published in the Federal Register (69 FR 9976-
9982, Docket No. 02-057-1) a proposal to amend the regulations by 
listing regions affected with Karnal bunt, as well as articles that 
would be regulated for Karnal bunt; increasing the flexibility of the 
regulations so that they could provide more readily for the recognition 
of areas where Karnal bunt is not known to occur within regions where 
Karnal bunt is known to be present; describing conditions, including 
requirements for phytosanitary certificates, under which wheat and 
related articles from regions affected with Karnal bunt could be 
imported into the United States; and specifying cleaning and/or 
disinfection requirements for imported farm machinery and other 
equipment used to handle or store Karnal bunt-positive seed or host 
crops. The proposed changes would make our regulations regarding the 
importation of wheat and related articles from regions affected with 
Karnal bunt substantively equivalent to our domestic Karnal bunt 
regulations and would make the former consistent with international 
agreements to which the United States is a party.
    We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending 
May 3, 2004. We received two comments by that date, both from 
representatives of domestic wheat industry groups. Both commenters were 
in favor of the proposed rule.
    However, one commenter offered suggestions for changes to the 
background information contained in the preamble of the proposed rule. 
These suggestions are discussed below.
    The commenter noted that the proposed rule's economic analysis 
mentioned, but did not identify, five durum-producing Mexican States in 
addition to the States of Sonora and Baja California (i.e., the States 
where the Mexicali Valley, a Karnal bunt-free area already recognized 
in the regulations, is located). The commenter identified four of the 
five Mexican States and offered relative per-State percentages for 
durum production in Mexico and suggested that, due to transportation 
costs and other considerations within Mexico, more wheat originating in 
the Mexican State of Sonora may be exported to the United States than 
had been explored in the economic analysis.
    While increased Mexican wheat imports from Mexico may occur, as the 
commenter suggests, our economic analysis concludes that the effects 
are likely to be small relative to the value of the domestic industry. 
The commenter did not provide evidence to the contrary. We are making 
no changes in response to this comment.
    With respect to the five durum-producing Mexican States mentioned 
but not specifically identified in the proposed rule, we have updated 
the economic analysis for this final rule to identify these five 
States, which are Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michocan, and 
Queretaro.
    The commenter pointed out that Karnal bunt has been reported in 
additional countries not mentioned in the background information in the 
preamble of the proposed rule. These countries are Nepal, Iran, and 
South Africa.
    The countries we mentioned in the proposed rule are those countries 
that have been listed in the wheat import regulations as countries 
where Karnal bunt is known to exist. In this final rule, we have 
updated the regulatory text of Sec.  319.59-4(b)(1) to include those 
additional countries on that paragraph's list of countries where Karnal 
bunt is known to occur.
    In addition to that change, we are also amending the definition of 
inspector in this final rule to reflect the reassignment of certain 
responsibilities from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to 
the Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Customs and Border 
Protection by the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

[[Page 8230]]

Other Changes

    In addition to the changes discussed above, we have also made two 
other changes in this final rule in order to ensure that the 
regulations are internally consistent. First, in Sec.  319.59-4(a)(2) 
of the proposed rule, we listed Triticum spp. (wheat) plants among the 
articles designated as regulated articles for Karnal bunt, and in 
paragraph (c) of that section we described the conditions under which 
regulated articles could be imported from regions where Karnal bunt is 
known to occur. However, under Sec.  319.59-2(a), the importation of 
Triticum spp. plants into the United States from any country except 
Canada is prohibited. In order to avoid any potential confusion between 
the provisions in Sec. Sec.  319.59-2 and 319.59-4, we have removed 
wheat plants from the list of regulated articles for Karnal bunt so it 
does not appear that wheat plants could be imported into the United 
States under the conditions described in Sec.  319.59-4(c).
    The other change is similar in nature. Specifically, in Sec.  
319.59-4(b)(1) we list regions where Karnal bunt is known to occur, and 
paragraph (c) of that section describes the conditions under which 
regulated articles, including articles of Triticum spp., could be 
imported from those regions. However, several of the regions listed in 
Sec.  319.59-4(b)(1) are also listed in Sec.  319.59-3(b) as regions 
from which the importation of certain articles, including articles of 
Triticum spp., is prohibited due to flag smut. In order to prevent a 
conflict between those two sets of provisions, we have amended the 
conditions for the importation of regulated articles from regions where 
Karnal bunt exists (Sec.  319.59-4[c]) to provide that the regulated 
articles will be eligible for importation only if they are not 
otherwise prohibited under Sec.  319.59-3.
    Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule and in this 
document, we are adopting the proposed rule as a final rule, with the 
changes discussed in this document.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule 
has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive 
Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of 
Management and Budget.
    This rule amends the import regulations pertaining to Karnal bunt 
to make them substantively equivalent to the domestic Karnal bunt 
regulations and will help the United States meet its obligations under 
international agreements to which it is a party.
    For this rule, we have prepared an economic analysis. The economic 
analysis provides a cost-benefit analysis as required by Executive 
Order 12866, as well as an analysis of the potential economic effects 
of this rule on small entities, as required under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act. The economic analysis is summarized below. Copies of 
the full analysis are available by writing or calling the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The economic analysis investigates the potential economic effects 
in the United States that may result from the removal of Karnal bunt-
related restrictions on wheat imports. It is anticipated that any 
additional wheat imports that do occur as a result of this rule would 
be from Mexico. There are five Mexican States that appear to meet the 
requirements in this rule for Karnal bunt-free status. These States are 
Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michocan, and Queretaro. The Mexicali 
Valley in Sonora \1\ and Baja California was declared Karnal bunt-free 
in 1998 and is therefore not directly affected by this rule. Other 
countries affected with Karnal bunt which may be eligible to export 
wheat to the United States under the regulations may still be precluded 
from doing so for a number of reasons, including the presence of other 
wheat pests.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Total Mexican wheat production and exports declined 
considerably in 2002 and 2003 due to a severe water shortage for 
crop irrigation in the principal wheat producing State of Sonora.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Any new wheat imports into the United States from Mexico are likely 
to be durum wheat. In Mexico, demand for durum wheat is limited because 
the demand for pasta is limited. However, Mexican wheat producers favor 
durum wheat due to its higher yield and disease resistance, creating a 
small surplus of durum for export. Mexican wheat exports since 1995 
have been almost exclusively durum wheat. Because Mexican wheat exports 
have been so concentrated in durum wheat, it is expected that any 
additional imports into the United States from any new Karnal bunt-free 
areas in Mexico would also be durum wheat. For the period 1998-2001, 
the annual average durum wheat production in the United States was 
about 3 million metric tons (MT). Imports of durum wheat from all 
sources averaged about 458,000 MT. Approximately 2 percent of those 
imports were from the Karnal bunt-free area of Mexico.\2\
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    \2\ Sources: Economic Research Service, USDA, Department of 
Commerce (DOC), U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Statistics, and 
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Our economic analysis considers two scenarios for expanded U.S. 
wheat imports from Mexico, assuming no displacement of other imports. 
The first scenario analyzes the impact of additional Mexican durum 
wheat exports to the United States of an amount equal to 1 percent of 
total wheat production in the five additional Mexican States cited 
previously (about 7,000 MT). This reflects the fact that about 1 
percent of the wheat production in the Mexicali Valley, which is 
already eligible to be shipped to the United States, is indeed exported 
to the United States.\3\ The second scenario analyzes the impact of 
additional Mexican durum wheat exports of an amount equal to 12 percent 
of total wheat production in those five States (about 87,000 MT). For 
the period 1998-2001, Mexican wheat exports to the world represented on 
average approximately 11.6 percent of total Mexican wheat production 
annually.\4\
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    \3\ Mexico produced an average annual 3.2 million MT of wheat 
for the period 1998-2001. Wheat grown in the Mexicali Valley in 
Sonora and Baja California accounted for about 18.6 percent of that 
total. Over the same time period, an average of 8,754 MT of durum 
wheat was exported to the United States annually, presumably from 
the Karnal bunt-free Mexicali Valley. Sources: DOC and FAO.
    \4\ FAO.
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    There are reasons to believe that new imports would be limited and 
that the first scenario more closely approximates the amount of Mexican 
wheat that may eventually enter the U.S. market. Under this scenario, 
the new imports are estimated to be an addition of 7,280 MT, which 
approximates the 1 percent share of Mexican wheat production in the 
Mexicali Valley that was exported to the United States between 1998 and 
2001. The Mexicali Valley is one of Mexico's largest wheat producing 
areas. It is also closer to the United States than the Mexican 
population centers in central and southern Mexico. Transportation costs 
to the Mexican population centers from this area are high because rail 
lines must traverse mountains. Despite the fact that the U.S. market 
has been open to imports of wheat from this area since 1998, Mexican 
wheat exports directed to the United States between 1998 and 2001 have 
averaged less than 5 percent of all Mexican wheat exports.
    Another reason to believe that the quantity of new wheat imports 
from Mexico that may occur as a result of this rule would be small is 
due to the fact that the five additional Mexican States identified 
previously are producing less than 25 percent of all Mexican wheat, and 
little durum wheat. At present,

[[Page 8231]]

durum wheat production in Mexico is concentrated in the northwestern 
portion of the country. It has been estimated that 75 percent of 
Mexican durum wheat production occurs in Sonora, 13 percent in Baja 
California, and 5 percent in Sinoloa.\5\
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    \5\ U.S. Wheat Associates.
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    In addition, Mexico's population consumes far more wheat than the 
country produces, as is evident in its status as a net importer. The 
Mexican population is concentrated in the central and southern part of 
the country. With the exception of Chihuahua, the five Mexican States 
considered in the analysis are in the central part of Mexico. The 
transportation of wheat from these States to the United States would be 
more difficult and more costly than to closer Mexican population 
centers. This makes it likely that the shift to production for export 
in the five States will be limited.
    The entry of additional durum wheat from Mexico into U.S. markets 
would induce producer losses for U.S. producers of durum wheat and 
consumer gains. Under the most likely scenario of new wheat imports of 
7,280 MT, and assuming a demand elasticity of -0.35 and a supply 
elasticity of 0.34, prices of durum wheat could potentially decrease by 
about 0.3 percent. Producers would potentially lose about $1.122 
million while consumers potentially gain $1.123 million. The net 
benefit in this scenario would be about $1,000. Under the less likely 
scenario of a new import quantity of approximately 87,000 MT, durum 
wheat prices could decline by 4 percent. Consumer gains of $13.539 
million would offset producer losses of $13.353 million, resulting in a 
net benefit of $186,000. In both cases, consumer benefits would be 
slightly higher than producer losses, which would lead to a net 
positive impact on the overall economy. To put the producer surplus 
reductions in perspective, the average annual value of durum wheat 
production in the United States for 1998-2001 was $326.3 million. Thus, 
while the additional imports from Mexico would affect domestic 
producers of durum wheat, those effects are expected to be small 
relative to the value of the industry. It should also be noted that the 
actual loss to domestic producers is likely to be smaller than the 
magnitudes estimated, as the analysis does not consider the 
displacement of other imports.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established guidelines 
for determining which establishments are to be considered small under 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act. According to the standard established 
by the SBA for agricultural producers, a producer with less than $0.75 
million in annual sales is considered a small entity. Of the 241,334 
U.S. wheat farms in 1997, at least 92 percent were considered small.\6\ 
The number of durum wheat producers is not known. It is likely that 
durum wheat producers affected by the rule would be considered small 
entities. However, as was discussed above, increased Mexican wheat 
imports from Mexico would likely have a small adverse impact on 
domestic producers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ 1997 Census of Agriculture, USDA-NASS. Breakdown shows 2.4 
percent of wheat farms with sales in excess of $1 million, and 5.2 
percent with sales between $0.5 and $0.999 million.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 12988

    This final 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

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements 
included in this rule have been approved by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) under OMB control number 0579-0240.

Government Paperwork Elimination Act Compliance

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to 
compliance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), which 
requires Government agencies in general to provide the public the 
option of submitting information or transacting business electronically 
to the maximum extent possible. For information pertinent to GPEA 
compliance related to this rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, 
APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-7477.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319

    Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Logs, Nursery stock, Plant 
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 319 as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as follows:

    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.


0
2. Subpart--Wheat Diseases, Sec. Sec.  319.59 through 319.59-2, is 
revised to read as follows:
Subpart--Wheat Diseases
Sec.
319.59-1 Definitions.
319.59-2 General import prohibitions; exceptions.
319.59-3 Flag smut.
319.59-4 Karnal bunt.


Sec.  319.59-1  Definitions.

    Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, or any 
employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to 
act in his or her stead.
    Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
    Foreign strains of flag smut. Plant diseases caused by foreign 
strains of highly infective fungi, Urocystis agropyri (Preuss) 
Schroet., which attack wheat and substantially reduce its yield, and 
which are new to, or not widely prevalent or distributed within and 
throughout, the United States.
    From. An article is considered to be ``from'' any country or 
locality in which it was grown.
    Grain. Wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), and 
triticale (Triticum aestivum X Secale cereale) used for consumption or 
processing.
    Hay. Host crops cut and dried for feeding to livestock. Hay cut 
after reaching the dough stage may contain mature kernels of the host 
crop.
    Host crops. Plants or plant parts, including grain, seed, or hay, 
of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), and 
triticale (Triticum aestivum X Secale cereale).
    Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator of APHIS 
or the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, 
Department of Homeland Security, to enforce the regulations in this 
subpart.
    Karnal bunt. A plant disease caused by the fungus Tilletia indica 
(Mitra) Mundkur.
    Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of 
propagation,

[[Page 8232]]

including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a 
shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and 
a seed.
    Seed. Wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), and 
triticale (Triticum aestivum x Secale cereale) used for propagation.
    Spp. (species). All species, clones, cultivars, strains, varieties, 
and hybrids, of a genus.
    Straw. The vegetative material left after the harvest of host 
crops. Straw is generally used as animal feed or bedding, as mulch, or 
for erosion control.
    United States. The States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, 
Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory 
or possession of the United States.


Sec.  319.59-2  General import prohibitions; exceptions.

    (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, 
importation of Triticum spp. plants into the United States from any 
country except Canada is prohibited. This prohibition does not include 
seed.
    (b) Triticum spp. plants, articles prohibited because of flag smut 
in Sec.  319.59-3(a), and articles regulated for Karnal bunt in Sec.  
319.59-4(a) may be imported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 
experimental or scientific purposes if:
    (1) Imported at the Plant Germplasm Quarantine Center, Building 
320, Beltsville Agricultural Center East, Beltsville, MD 20705, or at 
any port of entry with an asterisk listed in Sec.  319.37-14(b) of this 
part;
    (2) Imported pursuant to a departmental permit issued for such 
article and kept on file at the Plant Germplasm Quarantine Center;
    (3) Imported under conditions of treatment, processing, growing, 
shipment, or disposal specified on the departmental permit and found by 
the Administrator to be adequate to prevent the introduction into the 
United States of tree, plant, or fruit diseases (including foreign 
strains of flag smut), injurious insects, and other plant pests, and
    (4) Imported with a departmental tag or label securely attached to 
the outside of the container containing the article or securely 
attached to the article itself if not in a container, and with such tag 
or label bearing a departmental permit number corresponding to the 
number of the departmental permit issued for such article.


Sec.  319.59-3  Flag smut.

    The articles listed in paragraph (a) of this section from the 
regions listed in paragraph (b) of this section are prohibited articles 
because of foreign strains of flag smut and are prohibited from being 
imported or offered for entry into the United States except as provided 
in Sec.  319.59-2(b).
    (a) The following articles of Triticum spp. (wheat) or of Aegilops 
spp. (barb goatgrass, goatgrass):
    (1) Seeds, plants, and straw (other than straw, with or without 
heads, which has been processed or manufactured for use indoors, such 
as for decorative purposes or for use in toys); chaff; and products of 
the milling process (i.e., bran, shorts, thistle sharps, and pollards) 
other than flour; and
    (2) Seeds of Melilotus indica (annual yellow sweetclover) and seeds 
of any other field crops that have been separated from wheat during the 
screening process.
    (b) Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, 
Bangladesh, Belarus, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, 
Falkland Islands, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Iran, 
Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Libya, 
Lithuania, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, 
Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tunisia, 
Turkey, Turkmenistan, South Africa, South Korea, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, 
and Venezuela.


Sec.  319.59-4  Karnal bunt.

    (a) Regulated articles. The following are regulated articles for 
Karnal bunt:
    (1) Conveyances, including trucks, railroad cars, and other 
containers used to move host crops from a region listed in paragraph 
(b)(1) of this section that test positive for Karnal bunt through the 
presence of bunted kernels;
    (2) Plant parts, including grain, seed, straw, or hay, of all 
varieties of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum durum), 
and triticale (Triticum aestivum x Secale cereale) from a region listed 
in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, except for straw/stalks/seed heads 
for decorative purposes that have been processed or manufactured prior 
to movement and are intended for use indoors;
    (3) Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur;
    (4) Mechanized harvesting equipment that has been used in the 
production of wheat, durum wheat, or triticale that has tested positive 
for Karnal bunt through the presence of bunted kernels; and
    (5) Seed conditioning equipment and storage/handling equipment that 
has been used in the production of wheat, durum wheat, or triticale 
seed found to contain the spores of Tilletia indica.
    (b)(1) Karnal bunt is known to occur in the following regions: 
Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, and South 
Africa.
    (2) The Administrator may recognize an area within a region listed 
in paragraph (b)(1) of this section as an area free of Karnal bunt 
whenever he or she determines that the area meets the requirements of 
the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 4, 
``Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas.'' The 
international standard was established by the International Plant 
Protection Convention of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture 
Organization and is incorporated by reference in Sec.  300.5 of this 
chapter. APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register and 
maintain on an APHIS Web site a list of the specific areas that are 
approved as areas in which Karnal bunt is not known to occur in order 
to provide the public with current, valid information. Areas listed as 
being free from Karnal bunt are subject to audit by APHIS to verify 
that they continue to merit such listing.
    (c) Handling, inspection and phytosanitary certificates. Unless 
otherwise prohibited under Sec.  319.59-3 of this subpart, any articles 
described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section that are from a region 
listed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section may be imported into the 
United States subject to the following conditions:
    (1) The articles must be from an area that has been recognized, in 
accordance with paragraph (b)(2) of this section, to be an area free of 
Karnal bunt, or the articles have been tested and found to be free of 
Karnal bunt;
    (2) The articles have not been commingled prior to arrival at a 
U.S. port of entry with articles from areas where Karnal bunt is known 
to occur;
    (3) The articles offered for entry must be made available to an 
inspector for examination and remain at the port until released, or 
authorized further movement pending release, by an inspector; and
    (4) The articles must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate 
issued by the national plant protection organization of the region of 
origin that includes the following additional declaration: ``These 
articles originated in an area where Karnal bunt is not known to occur, 
as attested to either by survey results or by testing for bunted 
kernels or spores.''
    (d) Treatments. (1) Prior to entry into the United States, the 
following articles

[[Page 8233]]

must be cleaned by removing any soil and plant debris that may be 
present.
    (i) All conveyances and mechanized harvesting equipment used for 
storing and handling wheat, durum wheat, or triticale that tested 
positive for Karnal bunt based on bunted kernels.
    (ii) All grain storage and handling equipment used to store or 
handle seed that has tested spore positive or grain that has tested 
bunted-kernel positive.
    (iii) All seed-conditioning equipment used to store or handle seed 
that has tested spore-positive.
    (2) Articles listed in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) and (d)(1)(ii) of this 
section will require disinfection in addition to cleaning prior to 
entry into the United States if an inspector or an official of the 
plant protection organization of the country of origin determines that 
disinfection is necessary to prevent the spread of Karnal bunt. 
Disinfection is required for all seed conditioning equipment covered 
under paragraph (d)(1)(iii) prior to entry into the United States.
    (3) Items that require disinfection prior to entry into the United 
States must be disinfected by one of the methods specified in 
paragraphs (d)(3)(i) through (d)(3)(iii) of this section, unless a 
particular treatment is designated by an inspector or by an official of 
the plant protection organization of the country of origin:
    (i) Wetting all surfaces to the point of runoff with a 1.5 percent 
sodium hypochlorite solution and letting stand for 15 minutes, then 
thoroughly washing down all surfaces after 15 minutes to minimize 
corrosion;
    (ii) Applying steam to all surfaces until the point of runoff, and 
so that a temperature of 170 [deg]F is reached at the point of contact; 
or
    (iii) Cleaning with a solution of hot water and detergent, applied 
under pressure of at least 30 pounds per square inch, at a minimum 
temperature of 170 [deg]F.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control 
number 0579-0240.)

    Done in Washington, DC, this 14th day of February 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-3141 Filed 2-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P