[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 197 (Friday, October 12, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58047-58048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20166]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2007-0128]


Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the 
Importation of Sweet Cherries From Australia Into the Continental 
United States and Hawaii

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk 
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into 
the continental United States and Hawaii of sweet cherries from 
Australia. Based on that analysis, we believe that the application of 
one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to 
mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or 
noxious weeds via the importation of sweet cherries from Australia. We 
are making the pest risk analysis, as well as an environmental 
assessment we have prepared in connection with this action, available 
for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments we receive on or before December 
11, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, then click ``Submit.'' In the 
Docket ID column, select Docket No. APHIS-2007-0128 to submit or view 
public comments and to view supporting and related materials available 
electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including 
instructions for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing 
the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through 
the site's ``User Tips'' link.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS-
2007-0128, 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. APHIS-2007-0128.
    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: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donna L. West, Senior Import 
Specialist, Commodity Import Analysis and Operations, Plant Health 
Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1231; (301) 734-8758.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits 
and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56 through 319.56-47, referred to below as 
the regulations), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits or restricts 
the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States from 
certain parts of the world to prevent plant pests from being introduced 
into and spread within the United States.
    Section 319.56-4 of the regulations contains a performance-based 
process

[[Page 58048]]

for approving the importation of commodities that, based on the 
findings of a pest risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one 
or more of the designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph 
(b) of that section. These measures are:
     The fruits or vegetables are subject to inspection upon 
arrival in the United States and comply with all applicable provisions 
of Sec.  319.56-3;
     The fruits or vegetables are imported from a pest-free 
area in the country of origin that meets the requirements of Sec.  
319.56-5 for freedom from that pest and are accompanied by a 
phytosanitary certificate stating that the fruits or vegetables 
originated in a pest-free area in the country of origin;
     The fruits or vegetables are treated in accordance with 7 
CFR part 305;
     The fruits or vegetables are inspected in the country of 
origin by an inspector or an official of the national plant protection 
organization of the exporting country, and have been found free of one 
or more specific quarantine pests identified by the risk analysis as 
likely to follow the import pathway; and/or
     The fruits or vegetables are a commercial consignment.
    APHIS received a request from the Government of Australia to allow 
the importation of sweet cherries from Australia into the continental 
United States and Hawaii. We have completed a pest risk assessment to 
identify pests of quarantine significance that could follow the pathway 
of importation into the United States and, based on that pest risk 
assessment, have prepared a risk management analysis to identify 
phytosanitary measures that could be applied to the commodity to 
mitigate the pest risk. We have concluded that sweet cherries can be 
safely imported into the continental United States and Hawaii from 
Australia using one or more of the five designated phytosanitary 
measures listed in Sec.  319.56-4(b). Therefore, in accordance with 
Sec.  319.56-4(c), we are announcing the availability of our pest risk 
analysis for public review and comment. The pest risk analysis may be 
viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our reading room (see 
ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov and 
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may 
request paper copies of the pest risk analysis by calling or writing to 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer 
to the subject of the pest risk analysis when requesting copies. We 
have also prepared an environmental assessment in connection with this 
action which is available for review and comment in the same manner as 
the pest risk analysis.
    After reviewing the comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the import status of sweet cherries from Australia 
in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of the analysis and 
the Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following 
our consideration of the comments, then we will begin issuing permits 
for importation of sweet cherries from Australia into the continental 
United States and Hawaii subject to the requirements specified in the 
risk management analysis.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of October 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E7-20166 Filed 10-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P