[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 2, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46268-46269]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19501]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2011-0031]


Notice of Availability of Pest Risk Analyses for the Importation 
of Fresh Pitaya and Pomegranates From Mexico Into the Continental 
United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared pest risk 
analyses that evaluate the risks associated with the importation into 
the continental United States of fresh pitaya and pomegranates from 
Mexico. Based on these analyses, 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 fresh pitaya and pomegranates from 
Mexico. We are making the pest risk analyses available to the public 
for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
October 3, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0031-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2011-0031, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-
0031 or in our reading room, which 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: Mr. Marc Phillips, Regulatory Policy 
Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and Import Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-4394.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 
319.56-1 through 319.56-50, 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 contains a performance-based process 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.
    APHIS received requests from the Government of Mexico to allow the 
importation of fresh pitaya (Hylocereus spp.) and pomegranates (Punica 
granatum L.) into the continental United States. We have completed pest 
lists for these commodities to identify pests of quarantine 
significance that could follow the pathway of importation into the 
continental United States and, based on these lists, have prepared risk 
management documents to identify phytosanitary measures that could be 
applied to fresh pitaya and pomegranates from Mexico to mitigate the 
pest risk. We have concluded that fresh pitaya and pomegranates can be 
safely imported into the continental United States from Mexico using 
one or more of the five designated phytosanitary measures listed in 
Sec.  319.56-4(b). These measures are:
     The pitaya and pomegranates may be imported into the 
continental United States in commercial consignments only.

[[Page 46269]]

     The pitaya and pomegranates must be irradiated in 
accordance with 7 CFR part 305 with a minimum absorbed dose of 150 Gy.
     If the irradiation treatment is applied outside the United 
States, each consignment of fruit must be jointly inspected by APHIS 
and the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Mexico and 
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate (PC) attesting that the 
fruit received the required irradiation treatment.
     If the irradiation treatment is applied upon arrival in 
the United States, each consignment of fruit must be inspected by the 
NPPO of Mexico prior to departure. For consignments of pitaya, the 
inspection must include a sampling procedure mutually agreed upon by 
APHIS and the NPPO of Mexico.
     For consignments of pitaya, the PC must also include an 
additional declaration stating that the consignment was inspected and 
found free of Milax spp., Dysmicoccus neobrevipes, Euschistus servus, 
Maracayia chlorisalis, and Planococcus minor. For pomegranates, the PC 
must also include an additional declaration stating that the 
consignment was inspected and found free of Aleyrodidae, Coccidae, and 
Pseudococcidae.
     The commodity is subject to inspection at the U.S. ports 
of entry.
    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  319.56-4(c), we are announcing 
the availability of our pest risk analyses for public review and 
comment. The pest risk analyses may be viewed on the Regulations.gov 
Web site or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to 
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room). You may request paper copies of the pest risk analyses 
by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of the pest risk 
analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the import status of fresh pitaya and pomegranates 
from Mexico 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 authorize the 
importation of fresh pitaya and pomegranates from Mexico into the 
continental United States subject to the requirements specified in the 
risk management documents.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of July 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-19501 Filed 8-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P