[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 8 (Friday, January 12, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 1415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-370]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 8 / Friday, January 12, 2007 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 1415]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0114]
RIN 0579-AC07


Citrus Canker; Quarantine of the State of Florida; Technical 
Amendment

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule; technical amendment.

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

SUMMARY: In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on August 
1, 2006, we amended the citrus canker regulations to list the entire 
State of Florida as a quarantined area for citrus canker and to amend 
the requirements for the movement of regulated articles from Florida 
now that the eradication of citrus canker in Florida is no longer being 
carried out as an objective. We also amended the regulations to allow 
regulated articles that would not otherwise be eligible for interstate 
movement to be moved to a port for immediate export. In this amendment, 
we are clarifying that, if citrus canker is found in any grove during 
the preharvest inspection or afterward, fruit from that grove will be 
ineligible to move interstate for that entire shipping season.

DATES: Effective Date: January 12, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen Poe, Senior Operations 
Officer, EDP, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 734-4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 7 CFR 301.75-1 through 301.75-14 (referred to 
below as the regulations) prohibit or restrict the interstate movement 
of regulated articles from and through areas quarantined because of 
citrus canker and provide conditions under which regulated fruit may be 
moved into, through, and from quarantined areas for packing. These 
regulations are promulgated pursuant to the Plant Protection Act (7 
U.S.C. 7701 et seq.).
    In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on August 1, 
2006 (71 FR 43345-43352, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0114), we amended the 
regulations to list the entire State of Florida as a quarantined area 
for citrus canker and to amend the requirements for the movement of 
regulated articles from Florida now that the eradication of citrus 
canker in Florida is no longer being carried out as an objective. We 
also amended the regulations to allow regulated articles that would not 
otherwise be eligible for interstate movement to be moved to a port for 
immediate export.
    Following publication of the interim rule, it came to our attention 
that one of the provisions in the rule did not make clear our 
intention. As established by the interim rule, Sec.  301.75-7 spells 
out the requirements that must be met in order for regulated fruit to 
be moved from a quarantined area. Paragraph (a)(2) of that section 
provides that, no more than 30 days before the beginning of harvest, 
every tree must be inspected by an inspector and the grove must be 
found free of citrus canker. Further, in groves producing limes, every 
tree must be inspected by an inspector and the grove must be found free 
of citrus canker every 120 days or less thereafter for as long as 
harvest continued. Some regulated entities have interpreted these 
provisions as allowing for the interstate movement of fruit from groves 
with trees showing signs of citrus canker, provided that the affected 
trees are removed and the grove is then reinspected prior to harvest 
and found free of citrus canker. This interpretation is not consistent 
with the intent of these provisions. Rather, these provisions are 
intended to only allow the interstate movement of fruit from groves 
where citrus canker has not been found during the preharvest inspection 
and afterward. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, we are revising 
Sec.  301.75-7(a)(2) to explicitly state that, if citrus canker is 
found in a grove when the preharvest inspection is conducted, or at any 
other time beginning August 1 of the year in which the fruit is to be 
harvested and extending through the harvest season (including into the 
next calendar year), fruit from the grove will not be eligible for 
interstate movement for the remainder of the harvest season.

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 issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Public Law 
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 
(7 U.S.C. 1421 note).


0
2. In Sec.  301.75-7, paragraph (a)(2) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  301.75-7  Interstate movement of regulated fruit from a 
quarantined area.

    (a) * * *
    (2) No more than 30 days before the beginning of harvest, every 
tree was inspected by an inspector and the grove was found free of 
citrus canker. Further, in groves producing limes, every tree was 
inspected by an inspector and the grove was found free of citrus canker 
every 120 days or less thereafter for as long as harvest continued. If 
citrus canker is found in a grove when the preharvest inspection is 
conducted, or at any other time beginning August 1 of the year in which 
the fruit is to be harvested and extending through the harvest season 
(including into the next calendar year), fruit from that grove will not 
be eligible for interstate movement for the remainder of the harvest 
season.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of January 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E7-370 Filed 1-11-07; 8:45 am]
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