[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 103 (Tuesday, May 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31564-31566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13016]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0040]
Notice of Availability of a Treatment Evaluation Document; Methyl
Bromide Fumigation of Cottonseed
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have determined that it is
necessary to immediately add to the Plant Protection and Quarantine
Treatment Manual a treatment schedule for methyl bromide fumigation of
cottonseed for the fungal plant pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.
vasinfectum (FOV). We have prepared a treatment evaluation document
that describes the new treatment schedule and explains why we have
determined that it is
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effective at neutralizing FOV, certain strains of which are quarantine
pests. We are making the treatment evaluation document available to the
public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July
30, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0040-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0040, 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-2012-
0040 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) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Marc Phillips, Import Specialist,
Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road
Unit 156, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2114.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 7 CFR chapter III are intended, among other
things, to prevent the introduction or dissemination of plant pests and
noxious weeds into or within the United States. Under the regulations,
certain plants, fruits, vegetables, and other articles must be treated
before they may be moved into the United States or interstate. The
phytosanitary treatments regulations contained in part 305 of 7 CFR
chapter III (referred to below as the regulations) set out standards
for treatments required in parts 301, 318, and 319 of 7 CFR chapter III
for fruits, vegetables, and other articles.
In Sec. 305.2, paragraph (b) states that approved treatment
schedules are set out in the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)
Treatment Manual.\1\ Section 305.3 sets out a process for adding,
revising, or removing treatment schedules in the PPQ Treatment Manual.
In that section, paragraph (b) sets out the process for adding,
revising, or removing treatment schedules when there is an immediate
need to make a change. The circumstances in which an immediate need
exists are described in Sec. 305.3(b)(1). They are:
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\1\ The Treatment Manual is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/index.shtml or by
contacting the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant
Protection and Quarantine, Manuals Unit, 92 Thomas Johnson Drive,
Suite 200, Frederick, MD 21702.
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PPQ has determined that an approved treatment schedule is
ineffective at neutralizing the targeted plant pest(s).
PPQ has determined that, in order to neutralize the
targeted plant pest(s), the treatment schedule must be administered
using a different process than was previously used.
PPQ has determined that a new treatment schedule is
effective, based on efficacy data, and that ongoing trade in a
commodity or commodities may be adversely impacted unless the new
treatment schedule is approved for use.
The use of a treatment schedule is no longer authorized by
EPA or by any other Federal entity.
We have determined a new methyl bromide fumigation treatment
schedule to neutralize the fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.
vasinfectum (FOV) on cottonseed (Gossypium spp.) is effective, and we
have determined that ongoing trade in cottonseed will be adversely
impacted unless the new treatment schedule is approved for use.
Certain strains of FOV are present in Australia and not in the
United States--specifically FOV vegetative compatibility groups (VCG)
01111 and 01112. These strains are quarantine pests and could have
significant impacts on U.S. cotton production. They are currently found
only in Australia. Fumigation with methyl bromide was the only approved
treatment for FOV VCG 01111 and 01112, so when the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) canceled the tolerance for methyl bromide on
cottonseed, trade ceased.
However, in a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on
April 6, 2012 (77 FR 20752-20756), EPA proposed to reinstate the
tolerance of methyl bromide on cottonseed, which would allow trade with
Australia to resume if an effective treatment schedule is added to the
PPQ Treatment Manual. It is important to resume trade in cottonseed
with Australia as soon as possible because fumigated cottonseed can be
used as animal feed, and the supply of domestic animal feed has been
hurt by recent droughts in cotton-growing regions of the United States.
In addition, while FOV VCG 01111 and 01112 are currently found only in
Australia, this treatment will also be available should those VCG be
found in other countries that wish to export cottonseed to the United
States.
Therefore, in accordance with paragraph (b)(2) of Sec. 305.3, we
are adding the new methyl bromide fumigation treatment for cottonseed
to the PPQ Treatment Manual as T301-e. This treatment schedule will be
listed in a separate section of the PPQ Treatment Manual, which will
indicate that T301-e was added through the immediate process described
in paragraph (b) of Sec. 305.3 and that it is subject to change or
removal based on public comment. Although we expect that EPA will
finalize the proposed rule to reinstate the tolerance soon, the
tolerance is not currently established, meaning that this treatment
schedule will not be authorized for use until the EPA proposal is
finalized.
Our determination that the new treatment schedule T301-e is
effective is presented in a treatment evaluation document we have
prepared to support this action. The treatment evaluation document may
be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our reading room (see
ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may
request paper copies of the treatment evaluation document by calling or
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Please refer to the subject of the treatment evaluation document when
requesting copies.
After reviewing the comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the new treatment schedule that is described in the
treatment evaluation document in a subsequent notice, in accordance
with paragraph (b)(3) of Sec. 305.3. If we do not receive any
comments, or the comments we receive do not change our determination
that the treatment is effective, we will affirm the treatment
schedule's addition to the PPQ Treatment Manual and make available a
new version of the PPQ Treatment Manual in which T301-e is listed in
the main body of the PPQ Treatment Manual. If we receive comments that
cause us to determine that T301-e needs to be changed or removed, we
will make available a new version of the PPQ Treatment Manual that
reflects changes to or the removal of T301-e.
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.
[[Page 31566]]
Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of May 2012.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-13016 Filed 5-25-12; 8:45 am]
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