[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 14, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12991-12992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-2402]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 49 / Tuesday, March 14, 2006 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 12991]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 04-134-2]


Karnal Bunt; Criteria for Releasing Fields From Regulation

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are amending the Karnal bunt regulations regarding the 
requirements that must be met in order for a field or area to be 
removed from the list of regulated areas. The changes will allow a 
field to qualify for release after 5 cumulative years of specified 
management practices, rather than 5 consecutive years as the 
regulations have provided, and reorganize the manner in which those 
management practices are described. These changes will clarify the 
existing regulations and provide growers in regulated areas with 
greater flexibility in their planting decisions.

DATES: Effective Date: April 13, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Vedpal Malik, Agriculturalist, 
Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6774.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 5, 2005, we published in the Federal Register (70 FR 
58084-58086, Docket No. 04-134-1) a proposal to amend the regulations 
in ``Subpart-Karnal Bunt'' (7 CFR 301.89-1 through 301.89-16) regarding 
the requirements that must be met in order for a field or area to be 
removed from the list of regulated areas. These changes would allow a 
field to qualify for release after 5 cumulative years of specified 
management practices, rather than 5 consecutive years as the 
regulations have provided, and reorganize the manner in which those 
management practices are described. Our proposed changes were intended 
to clarify the existing regulations and provide growers in regulated 
areas with greater flexibility in their planting decisions.
    We solicited comments on the proposed rule for 60 days ending on 
December 5, 2005. We received four comments by that date. Of those 
comments, three fully supported the proposed changes. The fourth 
commenter requested clarification on one of the criteria for removing 
fields from regulation, specifically the criterion that a field may be 
removed from the list of regulated areas if it has been permanently 
removed from crop production. The commenter stated that there are a 
number of regulated fields in California whose owners have recently 
sold their water rights to the city of Los Angeles for an extended 
period of time (over 10 years). The commenter suggested that these 
fields should be removed from regulation, an action which would 
substantially reduce the size of the regulated area in California.
    In the proposed rule, we noted that the regulations have provided 
that a field will be released from regulation for Karnal bunt when it 
is ``no longer being used for crop production,'' and that this 
criterion has normally applied when land is removed from agricultural 
use (e.g., the land is sold and subdivided for home construction). To 
make it clear that this criterion applies to land permanently removed 
from agricultural use, rather than land that may have been only 
temporarily taken out of production, we proposed to amend the 
regulations to specifically state that the field must have been 
permanently removed from crop production in order to be released from 
regulation for Karnal bunt.
    In the scenario described by the commenter, the fields would not 
have been permanently removed from agricultural use and thus would not 
qualify for deregulation under the amended regulations. Further, unless 
those fields were tilled at least once per year for a total of 5 years, 
there may be only a minimal reduction in the spore load in the soil, so 
once the fields were put back into production, even after 10 years, it 
is possible that Karnal bunt could once again be present in a host crop 
grown on that land. We will not, therefore, be making any changes in 
response to the commenter's suggestion.
    Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule and in this 
document, we are adopting the proposed rule as a final rule, without 
change.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This final 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.
    We are amending the Karnal bunt regulations regarding the 
requirements that must be met in order for a field or area to be 
removed from the list of regulated areas. The changes will allow a 
field to qualify for release after 5 cumulative years of specified 
management practices, rather than 5 consecutive years as the 
regulations have provided. These changes will clarify the existing 
regulations and provide growers in regulated areas with greater 
flexibility in their planting decisions.
    The change to 5 cumulative years using the specified management 
practices will afford regulated wheat producers greater flexibility in 
the planting cycle; they can elect not to till in a particular year 
without having to start over to satisfy the 5 consecutive years 
requirement for deregulation that has been in place. However, as a 
practical matter, the change should have little or no impact, as the 
``consecutive years'' criterion has been in effect only since March 
2004, near the end of the 2003-2004 crop season, and has not prevented 
any fields from being released that APHIS field personnel and managers 
determined were otherwise eligible for release from regulation.
    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies consider the 
economic impact of their rules on small businesses, organizations, and 
governmental jurisdictions. The Karnal bunt regulations have the 
potential to have the most impact on wheat producers. At the present 
time, parts of Texas, Arizona, and California are regulated for Karnal 
bunt. In Texas, there are approximately 285,000

[[Page 12992]]

agricultural acres and about 550 wheat producers under regulation. The 
equivalent figures for Arizona and California are, respectively, 
278,000 acres (120 producers) and 56,000 acres (18 producers).
    As determined by the Small Business Administration (SBA), the small 
entity size standard for wheat farming, which is defined as farms 
``primarily engaged in growing wheat and/or producing wheat seeds'' 
(North American Industry Classification System code 11114), is $750,000 
or less in annual receipts. Although the size of regulated wheat 
producers is unknown, they are likely to be small in size under SBA 
standards. This assumption is based on composite data for providers of 
the same and similar services. In 2002, Arizona had a total of 7,294 
farms of all types. Of those farms, 91 percent had annual sales that 
year of less than $500,000, well below the SBA's small entity 
threshold. Similarly, the comparable percentages for Texas (228,926 
total farms) and California (79,631 total farms) were 99 percent and 90 
percent, respectively. (Source: SBA and NASS, 2002 Census of 
Agriculture.) Although many of these businesses are considered small 
under SBA standards, given the reason cited above, the proposed change 
should have little or no economic impact on small entities, wheat 
producers or otherwise.
    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 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

    This final 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 and 7781-7786; 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.  301.89-3, paragraph (f) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  301.89-3  Regulated areas.

* * * * *
    (f) A field known to have been infected with Karnal bunt, as well 
as any non-infected acreage surrounding the field, will be released 
from regulation if:
    (1) The field has been permanently removed from crop production; or
    (2) The field is tilled at least once per year for a total of 5 
years (the years need not be consecutive). After tilling, the field may 
be planted with a crop or left fallow. If the field is planted with a 
host crop, the crop must test negative, through the absence of bunted 
kernels, for Karnal bunt.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of March 2006.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 06-2402 Filed 3-13-06; 8:45 am]
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