[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 8, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11111-11112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-4350]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 8, 2005 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 11111]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 02-096-4]


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 
a portion of Orange County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and 
by removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from that area. 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 this 
portion of Orange County, CA, and that the quarantine and restrictions 
are no longer necessary. This portion of Orange County, CA, was the 
last remaining area in California quarantined for the Oriental fruit 
fly. Therefore, as a result of this action, there are no longer any 
areas in the continental United States quarantined for the Oriental 
fruit fly.

DATES: This interim rule was effective March 2, 2005. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before May 9, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     EDOCKET: Go to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or 
view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the 
official public docket, and to access those documents in the public 
docket that are available electronically. Once you have entered 
EDOCKET, click on the ``View Open APHIS Dockets'' link to locate this 
document.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 02-096-4, 
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. 02-096-4.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for locating this 
docket and submitting comments.
    Reading Room: 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.
    Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the 
Federal Register and related information on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Wayne Burnett, National Fruit Fly 
Program Manager, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1236; (301) 734-4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a 
destructive pest of citrus and other types of fruits, nuts, and 
vegetables. The short life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly allows rapid 
development of serious outbreaks that 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), restrict the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas to 
prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly to 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 September 14, 2004, and published 
in the Federal Register on September 20, 2004 (69 FR 56157-56159, 
Docket No. 02-096-3), we quarantined a portion of Orange County, CA, 
and restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from the 
quarantined area.
    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 portion of this county. 
The last finding of Oriental fruit fly in the Orange County quarantined 
area was September 29, 2004.
    Since then, no evidence of Oriental fruit fly infestation has been 
found in this area. 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 Orange County, CA. Therefore, we are removing the 
county from the list of quarantined areas in Sec.  301.93-3(c). With 
the removal of Orange County, CA, from that list, there are no longer 
any areas in the continental United States quarantined for the Oriental 
fruit fly.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no 
longer necessary. A portion of Orange County, CA, was quarantined due 
to the possibility that the Oriental fruit fly could be spread from 
that area to noninfested areas of the United States. Since we have 
concluded that the Oriental fruit fly no longer exists in that area, 
immediate action is warranted to remove the quarantine on Orange 
County, CA, and to relieve the restrictions on the interstate movement 
of regulated articles from that area. 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

[[Page 11112]]

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 Orange County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas.
    County records indicated there are 9 growers, 4 nurseries, 24 
mobile vendors, 3 farmers markets, 8 fruit sellers, 1 distributor, 2 
haulers, 2 processors, 1 swap meet, and 34 yard and tree maintenance 
firms within the quarantined portion of Orange County that could be 
affected by the lifting of the quarantine in this interim rule.
    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 Orange County, CA, had little 
effect on the small entities 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.  301.93-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  301.93-3  Quarantined areas.

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

    Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of March 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-4350 Filed 3-7-05; 8:45 am]
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