[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 242 (Friday, December 18, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 67051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30130]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 242 / Friday, December 18, 2009 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 67051]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0036]


Karnal Bunt; Regulated Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim 
rule that amended the Karnal bunt regulations to remove certain areas 
or fields in Riverside County, CA, from the list of regulated areas 
based on our determination that those areas or fields meet our criteria 
for release from regulation of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat. 
This interim rule relieved restrictions on certain areas or fields that 
are no longer necessary.

DATES: Effective on December 18, 2009, we are adopting as a final rule 
the interim rule that was published at 74 FR 26774-26777 on June 4, 
2009, and that was corrected in a document that was published at 74 FR 
27423 on June 10, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lynn Evans-Goldner, Karnal Bunt 
Program Manager, Plant Pathogen and Weed Programs, EDP, PPQ, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Karnal bunt is a fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum 
wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum X Secale 
cereale), a hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is caused by the 
fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread primarily through 
the planting of infected seed followed by very specific environmental 
conditions matched during specific stages of wheat growth. The U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) regulates the movement of articles in the United States that 
could spread Karnal bunt and works toward eventual eradication of 
Karnal bunt through bio-sanitary measures.
    In an interim rule \1\ effective and published in the Federal 
Register on June 4, 2009 (74 FR 26774-26777, Docket No. APHIS-2009-
0036), we amended the Karnal bunt regulations contained in 7 CFR 
301.89-1 through 301.89-16 by removing certain areas or fields in 
Riverside County, CA, from the list of regulated areas in Sec.  301.89-
3(g). That action was based on our determination that these fields or 
areas are eligible for release from regulation under the criteria in 
Sec.  301.89-3(f). The interim rule relieved restrictions on fields 
within those areas that were no longer necessary. As a result of the 
interim rule, 286 fields and 8,226 acres were removed from the list of 
regulated areas in Riverside County, CA; 35,271 acres in Riverside 
County remain regulated for Karnal bunt.
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    \1\ To view the interim rule, a correction to the interim rule, 
and the comment we received, go to (http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0036).
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    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before August 3, 2009. We received one comment by that date, from a 
wheat industry organization. The commenter supported the interim rule. 
Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting 
the interim rule as a final rule without change.
    This action also affirms the information contained in the interim 
rule concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has 
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

     Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the 
interim rule amending 7 CFR part 301 that was published at 74 FR 26774-
26777 on June 4, 2009, and that was corrected in a document that was 
published at 74 FR 27423 on June 10, 2009.
    Done in Washington, DC, this 11\th\ day of December 2009.

Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-30130 Filed 12-17-09: 8:45 am]
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