[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 38033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15562]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2012 / 
Notices  

[[Page 38033]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0006]


Notice of Establishment of a Commodity Import Approval Process 
Web Site

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are announcing the creation of a new Plant Protection and 
Quarantine Web site that will provide stakeholders with information 
about the commodity import approval process for plants and plant 
products and give them the opportunity to consult with us on risk 
assessments as they are being drafted. We are doing this in response to 
stakeholder requests for more information about the commodity import 
approval process and the opportunity to comment on draft risk 
assessments. This Web site will make the commodity import approval 
process more visible to stakeholders and allow them to comment on draft 
risk assessments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Charisse Cleare, Project 
Coordinator, Regulations, Permits, and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 156, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2037.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations contained in 7 CFR part 319 
(referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or restrict the 
importation of plants, plant parts, and plant products into the United 
States in accordance with the authority conferred on the Secretary of 
Agriculture by the Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). 
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture agency responsible for enforcing the 
regulations and considering requests to amend the regulations to allow 
the importation of plants, plant parts, or plant products that are not 
currently allowed importation under the regulations.
    Persons who request changes to the import regulations and who wish 
to import plants, plant parts, or plant products that are not allowed 
importation into the United States, must file a request with APHIS for 
consideration to determine whether the new commodity may be safely 
imported. The regulations in Sec.  319.5 set forth the procedures for 
submitting requests and supporting information, which includes 
information about the requestor, information about the commodity to be 
imported, shipping information, a description of pests and diseases 
associated with the commodity, risk mitigation or management 
strategies, and additional information as determined by APHIS to 
complete a pest risk analysis in accordance with international 
standards. Once the risk analysis has been completed and APHIS makes 
the determination that the risks associated with the commodity in 
question can be adequately mitigated, the risk analysis is made 
available for public comment either through a notice published in the 
Federal Register or as a supporting document with a proposed rule 
published in the Federal Register.
    Our stakeholders have expressed an interest in knowing more about 
the commodity import approval process and participating at an earlier 
stage in the development of risk assessments as they are being drafted. 
To this end, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program has 
created a Web site \1\ that will provide stakeholders with information 
about the commodity import approval process for plants and plant 
products, including fruits, vegetables, plants for planting, cut 
flowers, wood, and wood products. The Web site will describe each major 
step in the commodity import approval process, including a general 
description of the following: Determination of the import status of a 
commodity, submission of a request by a national plant protection 
organization, initiation and drafting of risk assessment and risk 
management documents, completion of an environmental review, and 
publication and implementation of new requirements, as applicable.
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    \1\ http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/process/.
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    The Web site will also provide a means for stakeholders to consult 
with PPQ on drafts of risk assessments. To do this, stakeholders will 
first need to subscribe to the APHIS stakeholder registry \2\ and 
submit an email address, which will be used to send an alert whenever a 
draft risk assessment becomes available for comment. We will post the 
draft risk assessment on the Web site for 30 days to give stakeholders 
an opportunity to review the draft and provide comments via email. We 
will consider the comments and make changes if warranted. While we will 
not provide individual responses to stakeholders who have submitted 
comments on the draft risk assessment, we will continue to respond to 
comments submitted after availability of the completed risk assessment 
is announced in the Federal Register.
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    \2\ https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new.
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    Questions concerning PPQ's Web site for the commodity import 
approval process for plants and plant products may be directed to the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of June 2012.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-15562 Filed 6-25-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P