[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 189 (Thursday, September 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 60450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25085]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2011-0087]
Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the
Importation of Pomegranate From India Into the Continental United
States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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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 of fresh pomegranate fruit from India.
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 fresh pomegranate fruit from India. We are making
the pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
November 28, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0087-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2011-0087, 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-
0087 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) 6902817 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donna L. West, Senior Import
Specialist, RPM, PHP, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale,
MD 20737; (301) 734-0627.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR
319.56-1 through 319.56-51, 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 a request from the Government of India to allow the
importation of fresh pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.) from India
into the continental United States. Currently, fresh pomegranate fruit
is not authorized for entry from India. We have completed a pest risk
analysis for the purpose of evaluating the pest risks associated with
the importation of fresh pomegranate fruit into the continental United
States. The analysis consists of a pest list identifying pests of
quarantine significance that are present in India and could follow the
pathway of importation into the United States and a risk management
document identifying phytosanitary measures that could be applied to
the commodity to mitigate the pest risk.
We have concluded that fresh pomegranate fruit can be safely
imported into the continental United States from India using one or
more of the five designated phytosanitary measures listed in Sec.
319.56-4(b). The requirements for shipments of fresh pomegranate fruit
from India would be as follows:
The fresh pomegranate fruit may be imported into the
continental United States in commercial consignments only;
The fresh pomegranate fruit must be irradiated in
accordance with 7 CFR part 305 with a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy;
If the irradiation treatment is applied outside the United
States, each consignment of fresh pomegranate fruit must be jointly
inspected by APHIS and the national plant protection organization
(NPPO) of India and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate
attesting that the fruit received the required irradiation treatment
and was inspected and found free of the mite Tenuipalpus granati, the
false spider mite (Tenuipalpus punicae), and the bacterium Xanthomonas
axonopodis pv. Punicae;
If irradiation is applied upon arrival in the United
States, each consignment of fresh pomegranate fruit must be inspected
by the NPPO of India prior to departure and accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration that the fruit
was inspected and found free of the mite Tenuipalpus granati, the false
spider mite (Tenuipalpus punicae), and the bacterium Xanthomonas
axonopodis pv. Punicae; and
The fresh pomegranate fruit is subject to inspection upon
arrival at the U.S. port of entry.
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 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 analysis
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 pomegranate fruit from
India 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 pomegranate fruit from India into the continental
United States subject to the requirements specified in the risk
management document.
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 23rd day of September 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-25085 Filed 9-28-11; 8:45 am]
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