[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 26 (Thursday, February 7, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8957-8960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02775]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2013 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 8957]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. APHIS-2011-0028]
RIN 0579-AD61
Importation of Fresh Bananas From the Philippines into the
Continental United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations concerning the importation of
fruits and vegetables to allow the importation of fresh bananas from
the Philippines into the continental United States. As a condition of
entry, the bananas will have to be produced in accordance with a
systems approach that will include requirements for importation of
commercial consignments, monitoring of fruit flies to establish low-
prevalence places of production, harvesting only of hard green bananas,
and inspection for quarantine pests by the national plant protection
organization of the Philippines. The bananas will also have to be
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional
declaration stating that they were grown, packed, and inspected and
found to be free of quarantine pests in accordance with the proposed
requirements. This action will allow the importation of bananas from
the Philippines while continuing to protect against the introduction of
plant pests into the United States.
DATES: Effective Date: February 7, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Meredith Jones, Regulatory
Coordination Specialist, PPQ, RPM, RCC, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in ``Subpart-Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56-
1 through 319.56-57, referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or
restrict the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States from certain parts of the world to prevent the introduction and
dissemination of plant pests within the United States.
On April 16, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 FR
22510-22514, Docket No. APHIS-2011-0028) a proposal \1\ to amend the
regulations to allow the importation of bananas from the Philippines
into the continental United States. We proposed to allow the
importation of bananas from the Philippines into the continental United
States only if they were produced in accordance with a systems
approach. The proposed systems approach included requirements for:
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\1\ To view the proposed rule and the comments we received, go
to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0028.
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Registration, monitoring, and oversight of places of
production;
Trapping for the fruit flies Bactrocera musae, B.
occipitalis, and B. philippinensis to establish low-prevalence places
of production;
Covering bananas with pesticide bags during the growing
season;
Harvesting only of hard green bananas;
Requirements for culling, safeguarding, and identifying
the fruit; and
Inspection by the NPPO of the Philippines for quarantine
pests.
We also proposed to require bananas from the Philippines to be
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional
declaration stating that the bananas were grown, packed, and inspected
in accordance with the proposed requirements.
On May 30, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 FR 31829-
31830, Docket No. APHIS-2011-0028) a notice \2\ of availability of an
environmental assessment (EA) entitled ``Importation of Bananas (Musa
spp.) from the Philippines into the Continental United States'' (April
2012). The EA assesses the potential environmental impacts associated
with allowing the importation of fresh bananas from the Philippines
into the continental United States.
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\2\ The notice and EA are also available at the Web address in
footnote 1.
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We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending
June 15, 2012, and concerning the EA for 30 days ending June 29, 2012.
We received four comments by the close of those comment periods. They
were from a representative of a State government, an organization of
State plant regulatory officials, and private citizens. One of the
commenters supported the proposed rule. Another commenter opposed the
importation of bananas from the Philippines, but did not present any
specific concerns or identify any particular reasons for opposing the
importation. The issues raised by the other commenters are discussed
below.
One commenter requested that the bananas from the Philippines be
inspected carefully at the port of entry for all 16 pests of concern
identified in the pest risk assessment (PRA) that accompanied the
proposed rule.
Under paragraph (b) of Sec. 319.56-3, all consignments of fruits
and vegetables are subject to inspection at the port of entry.
Inspectors will monitor for all pests listed in the PRA. In addition,
bananas will be inspected at the port of entry to verify that they are
at the proper stage of ripeness.
One commenter opposed the importation of bananas from the
Philippines, stating that it would increase the risk of accidental or
incidental introduction of the fruit flies B. musae, B. occipitalis,
and B. philippinensis into the United States.
APHIS considers the multiple layers of safeguards sufficient to
mitigate the risk posed by the fruit flies B. musae, B. occipitalis,
and B. philippinensis. These mitigations are based on those currently
used in Central and South America for export of bananas to the United
States. APHIS interception records going back to 1983 indicate that
there have been no interceptions of fruit flies in commercially
produced bananas from Central and South America. Two additional
mitigations (fruit fly trapping and population control) were added
specifically for the Philippine bananas program to address fruit fly
risk. We have determined, for the reasons specified in the risk
management document that accompanied the
[[Page 8958]]
proposed rule, that these measures will effectively mitigate the risk
of accidental or incidental introduction of the fruit flies or any pest
of concern identified in the PRA.
We are making two editorial changes to Sec. 319.56-58 in order to
increase the clarity of the requirements. Proposed paragraph (d) stated
that during the growing period, if a pesticide bag falls off or is
torn, the fruit in that bag may not be exported to the United States.
We are adding the words ``that had been'' after ``fruit'' to clarify
that the fruit that is no longer in the bag cannot be exported from the
Philippines to the United States.
Proposed paragraph (e)(2) stated that harvested bananas must be
placed in field cartons or containers that are marked to show the
official registration number of the production site. However, paragraph
(a)(2) refers to ``places of production'' rather than production sites.
Thus, we are amending paragraph (e)(2) to indicate that cartons or
containers should be marked with the official registration number of
the place of production.
Therefore, for the reasons given in the proposed rule, we are
adopting the proposed rule as a final rule, with the two editorial
changes discussed above.
Note: In our April 2012 proposed rule, we proposed to add the
conditions governing the importation of bananas from the Philippines
as Sec. 319.56-57. In this final rule, those conditions are added
as Sec. 319.56-58.
Effective Date
This is a substantive rule that relieves restrictions and, pursuant
to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made effective less than 30
days after publication in the Federal Register.
Immediate implementation of this rule is necessary to provide
relief to those persons who are adversely affected by restrictions we
no longer find warranted. Making this rule effective immediately will
allow interested producers and others in the marketing chain to benefit
from the availability of bananas from an additional source. Therefore,
the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has
determined that this rule should be effective upon publication in the
Federal Register.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the
purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed
by the Office of Management and Budget.
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we have analyzed
the potential economic effects of this action on small entities. The
analysis is summarized below. Copies of the full analysis are available
on the Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 in this document for a
link to Regulations.gov) or by contacting the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
The analysis examines impacts for U.S. small entities if fresh
bananas are imported from the Philippines into the continental United
States. Commercial production of bananas in the United States takes
place in Hawaii, where most if not all of the banana farms are small
entities. These producers will be little affected by the final rule
given the large quantity of bananas already imported by the United
States and the relatively small quantity expected to be imported from
the Philippines. The United States is clearly a minor producer but a
major importer of bananas. Compared to the volume of current imports,
the quantity of bananas expected to be imported from the Philippines is
negligible. In addition, bananas from the Philippines will not be
allowed entry into Hawaii.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12988
This final rule allows bananas to be imported into the United
States from the Philippines. State and local laws and regulations
regarding bananas imported under this rule will be preempted while the
fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh fruits are generally imported for
immediate distribution and sale to the consuming public, and remain in
foreign commerce until sold to the ultimate consumer. The question of
when foreign commerce ceases in other cases must be addressed on a
case-by-case basis. No retroactive effect will be given to this rule,
and this rule will not require administrative proceedings before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
National Environmental Policy Act
An EA and finding of no significant impact have been prepared for
this final rule. The environmental assessment provides a basis for the
conclusion that the importation of bananas from the Philippines into
the continental United States, under the conditions specified in this
rule, will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human
environment. Based on the finding of no significant impact, the
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has
determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.
The EA and finding of no significant impact were prepared in
accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); (2) regulations of the
Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the procedural
provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); (3) USDA regulations
implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA Implementing
Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
The EA and finding of no significant impact may be viewed on the
Regulations.gov Web site.\3\ Copies of the environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact are also available for public
inspection at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to inspect
copies are requested to call ahead on (202) 799-7039 to facilitate
entry into the reading room. In addition, copies may be obtained by
writing to the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
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\3\ The EA and finding of no significant impact are available at
the Web address in footnote 1.
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Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection or
recordkeeping requirements included in this final rule, which were
filed under 0579-0394, have been submitted for approval to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB). When OMB notifies us of its decision,
if approval is denied, we will publish a document in the Federal
Register providing notice of what action we plan to take.
E-Government Act Compliance
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to
compliance with the E-Government Act to promote the use of the Internet
and other information technologies, to provide increased opportunities
for citizen access to Government information and services, and for
other purposes. For information pertinent to E-Government Act
compliance related to this rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles,
APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2908.
[[Page 8959]]
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319
Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, Nursery stock, Plant
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 319 as follows:
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as follows:
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.
0
2. A new Sec. 319.56-58 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 319.56-58 Bananas from the Philippines.
Bananas (Musa spp., which include M. acuminate cultivars and M.
acuminate x M. balbisiana hybrids) may be imported into the continental
United States from the Philippines only under the conditions described
in this section. These conditions are designed to prevent the
introduction of the following quarantine pests: Bactrocera musae
(Tryon), Bactrocera occipitalis (Bezzi), and Bactrocera philippinensis
(Drew and Hancock), fruit flies; Ceroplastes rubens (Maskell), the red
wax scale; Coccus viridis (Green), the green scale; Sybra alternans
(Wiedemann), a longhorned beetle; Dymicoccus neobrevipes (Beardsley),
the gray pineapple mealybug; Geococcus coffeae (Green), the coffee root
mealybug; Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green), the hibiscus mealybug;
Planococcus lilacinus (Cockerell), the coffee mealybug; Planococcus
minor (Maskell), the pacific mealybug; Pseudococcus cryptus (Hempel),
the cryptic mealybug; Rastrococcus invadens (Williams), the mango
mealybug; and Rastrococcus spinosus (Robinson), the Philippine mango
mealybug.
(a) General requirements. (1) The national plant protection
organization (NPPO) of the Philippines must provide an operational
workplan to APHIS that details the activities that the NPPO of the
Philippines will, subject to APHIS' approval of the workplan, carry out
to meet the requirements of this section.
(2) Bananas must be grown at places of production that are
registered with the NPPO of the Philippines and that meet the
requirements of this section. Registration must be renewed annually.
(3) Bananas must be packed for export to the United States in
packinghouses that meet the requirements of this section.
(4) Bananas from the Philippines may be imported in commercial
consignments only.
(b) Monitoring and oversight. (1) The NPPO of the Philippines must
visit and inspect registered places of production monthly, starting at
least 3 months before harvest begins and continuing through the end of
the shipping season, to verify that the growers are complying with the
requirements of this section and follow pest control guidelines, when
necessary, to reduce quarantine pest populations. When trapping is
required under paragraph (c) of this section, the NPPO of the
Philippines must also verify that the growers are complying with the
requirements in that paragraph and must certify that each place of
production has an effective fruit fly trapping program. Any personnel
conducting trapping under paragraphs (c) of this section must be
trained and supervised by the NPPO of the Philippines. APHIS may
monitor the places of production as necessary to ensure compliance.
(2) If the NPPO of the Philippines finds that a place of production
or packinghouse is not complying with the requirements of this section,
no fruit from the place of production or packinghouse will be eligible
for export to the United States until APHIS and the NPPO of the
Philippines conduct an investigation and appropriate remedial actions
have been implemented.
(3) The NPPO of the Philippines must retain all forms and documents
related to export program activities in places of production and
packinghouses for at least 1 year and, as requested, provide them to
APHIS for review.
(c) Fruit fly trapping to establish places of production with low
pest prevalence. Beginning at least 3 months before harvest begins and
continuing through the end of the harvest, trapping must be conducted
in registered places of production with at least 1 trap per 0.2 square
kilometers to demonstrate that the places of production have a low
prevalence of Bactrocera spp. fruit flies. APHIS-approved traps baited
with APHIS-approved plugs must be used and serviced at least once every
2 weeks. During the trapping, when traps are serviced, if fruit flies
are trapped at a particular place of production at cumulative levels
above 2 flies per trap per day, pesticide bait treatments must be
applied in the affected place of production in order for the place of
production to remain eligible to export bananas to the United States.
The NPPO of the Philippines must keep records of fruit fly detections
for each trap, update the records each time the traps are checked, and
make the records available to APHIS inspectors upon request. If no
Bactrocera spp. larvae have been found in the inspections required in
paragraph (h) of this section by February 9, 2015, the activities
described in this paragraph are no longer required.
(d) Bagging requirements. Plastic bags impregnated with pesticides
must cover the bananas. During the growing period, if a pesticide bag
falls off or is torn, the fruit that had been in that bag may not be
exported to the United States.
(e) Harvesting requirements. (1) Bananas must be harvested at a
hard green stage and inspected at the port of entry to determine that:
(i) Bananas shipped by air are still green upon arrival in the
United States;
(ii) Bananas shipped by sea are either green upon arrival in the
United States or yellow but firm.
(2) Harvested bananas must be placed in field cartons or containers
that are marked to show the official registration number of the place
of production. The identification of the place of production must be
maintained from the time when the fruit leaves the place of production
until the fruit is released for entry into the United States.
(f) Post-harvest processing. After harvest, all damaged or diseased
fruit must be culled at the packinghouse. Fruit must be washed with a
high pressure water spray, and washed with soap and water.
(g) Packinghouse requirements. (1) Packinghouses must prevent the
entry of pests with a double-door entry system designed to exclude
quarantine pests of concern.
(2) Bananas for export must be packed into new, clean boxes, crates
or other packing materials. Bananas intended for export to the United
States must be labeled with the name and location for the packinghouse,
and segregated from bananas intended for other markets.
(3) The shipping documents accompanying the consignment of bananas
from the Philippines that are exported to the United States must
include the official registration number of the place of production at
which the bananas were grown and must identify the packinghouse in
which the fruit was processed and packed. This identification must be
maintained until the fruit is released for entry into the United
States.
(4) The packinghouse operations for export of bananas must be
monitored by the NPPO of the Philippines.
(h) NPPO of the Philippines inspection. (1) Following any post-
harvest processing, inspectors from the NPPO of the Philippines must
certify that bananas were harvested at the hard green stage.
[[Page 8960]]
(2) Inspectors from the NPPO of the Philippines must inspect a
biometric sample of the fruit from each place of production at a rate
to be determined by APHIS. The inspectors must visually inspect for
quarantine pests listed in the introductory text of this section and
must cut fruit to inspect for quarantine pests that are internal
feeders. If Bactrocera spp. fruit flies are found upon inspection, the
export program will be suspended until an investigation has been
conducted by APHIS and the NPPO of the Philippines and appropriate
mitigations have been implemented. If other quarantine pests are
detected in this inspection, the consignment will be destroyed and the
registered place of production will be rejected from the export
program.
(i) Phytosanitary certificate. Each consignment of fruit must be
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of the
Philippines that contains an additional declaration stating that the
bananas in the consignment were grown, packed, and inspected in
accordance with the systems approach in 7 CFR 319.56-58.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control
number 0579-0394)
Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of February 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-02775 Filed 2-6-13; 8:45 am]
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