[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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