[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 11, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 70219-70220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23944]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 11, 2007 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 70219]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 305

[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0050]


Cold Treatment Regulations; Correction

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule; correction.

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SUMMARY: We are correcting an error in the cold treatment regulations 
that resulted from the publication of an interim rule on July 2, 2007, 
that was effective on August 31, 2007, and the publication of a 
separate final rule on July 18, 2007, that was effective on August 17, 
2007. Because the July 18 final rule reorganized the cold treatment 
regulations, changes we made in the July 2 interim rule inadvertently 
removed provisions relating to places for cold treatment and ports of 
entry from the regulations when the interim rule became effective on 
August 31, 2007. This correction amends the regulations by reinstating 
those provisions.

DATES: Effective Date: December 11, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Inder P.S. Gadh, Senior Risk 
Manager--Treatments, Phytosanitary Issues Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-8758.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In an interim rule \1\ titled ``Cold 
Treatment Regulations'' and published in the Federal Register on July 
2, 2007, with an effective date of August 31, 2007 (72 FR 35909-35915, 
Docket No. APHIS-2006-0050), we amended 7 CFR 305.15 by making several 
changes to the requirements for cold treatment enclosures and the 
requirements for conducting cold treatment.
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    \1\ To view the interim rule, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main-DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0050.
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    In a separate final rule \2\ titled ``Revision of Fruits and 
Vegetables Import Regulations'' and published in the Federal Register 
on July 18, 2007 and effective August 17, 2007 (72 FR 39481-39528, 
Docket No. APHIS-2005-0106), we revised and reorganized the regulations 
pertaining to the importation of fruits and vegetables to consolidate 
requirements of general applicability and eliminate redundant 
requirements, update terms and remove outdated requirements and 
references, update the regulations that apply to importations into 
territories under U.S. administration, and make various editorial and 
nonsubstantive changes to regulations to make them easier to use.
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    \2\ To view the final rule, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main-DocumentDetail&d=APHIS-2005-0106-0060.
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    As part of the July 18 final rule, we reorganized the cold 
treatment regulations in Sec.  305.15 by moving requirements that had 
previously been found in the regulations governing the importation of 
fruits and vegetables, specifically in Sec.  319.56-2d, to Sec.  
305.15. The final rule moved into Sec.  305.15 all the provisions 
contained in Sec.  319.56-2d that were not already present in Sec.  
305.15. The regulations were otherwise not amended. However, these 
changes necessitated a reorganization of the regulations in Sec.  
305.15.
    In a technical amendment \3\ that was effective and published in 
the Federal Register on August 31, 2007 (72 FR 50201-50204, Docket No. 
APHIS-2006-0050), we attempted to reconcile the July 2 interim rule and 
the July 18 final rule to ensure that the changes in the July 2 interim 
rule would appear correctly in the regulations as they had been 
reorganized by the July 18 final rule. However, we overlooked one 
aspect of their interaction. The July 2 interim rule amended paragraph 
(b) of Sec.  305.15, which had included requirements for cold treatment 
enclosures. The July 18 final rule moved these requirements to 
paragraph (c) of the regulations, adding requirements for places of 
treatment and ports of entry that had previously been contained in the 
fruits and vegetables regulations to the cold treatment regulations as 
a new paragraph (b).
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    \3\ To view the technical amendment, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main-DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0050.
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    While the August 31 technical amendment correctly amended paragraph 
(c) to be consistent with the provisions of the interim rule, it did 
not specify that paragraph (b) should continue to read as it was 
established by the July 18 final rule. Thus, the July 2 interim rule 
amended paragraph (b) by removing the requirements for places of 
treatment and ports of entry, adding in their place the cold treatment 
enclosure provisions that the August 31 technical amendment had also 
added in paragraph (c). This document corrects that error by 
reinstating the requirements for places of treatment and ports of entry 
that had been established in paragraph (b) by the July 18 final rule.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 305

    Irradiation, Phytosanitary treatment, Plant diseases and pests, 
Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.


0
Accordingly, 7 CFR part 305 is corrected by making the following 
correcting amendments:

PART 305--PHYTOSANITARY TREATMENTS

0
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 305 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 
136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.


0
2. In Sec.  305.15, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  305.15  Treatment requirements.

* * * * *
    (b) Places of treatment; ports of entry. Precooling and 
refrigeration may be performed prior to, or upon arrival of fruits and 
vegetables in the United States, provided treatments are performed in 
accordance with applicable requirements of this section. Fruits and 
vegetables that are not treated prior to arrival in the United States 
must be treated after arrival only in cold storage warehouses approved 
by the Administrator and located in the area north of 39[deg] longitude 
and east of 104[deg] latitude or at one of the following ports: The 
maritime ports of Wilmington, NC;

[[Page 70220]]

Seattle, WA; Corpus Christi, TX; and Gulfport, MS; Seattle-Tacoma 
International Airport, Seattle, WA; and Hartsfield-Atlanta 
International Airport, Atlanta, GA.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of December 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E7-23944 Filed 12-10-07; 8:45 am]
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