[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24666-24668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09801]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0099]


Updates to the List of Plant Inspection Stations

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations governing the importation of 
plants for planting to remove the entries for the United States 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant inspection stations in New 
Orleans, LA, and Baltimore, MD, and to add an entry for the USDA plant 
inspection station in Beltsville, MD. We are also updating the 
addresses provided for the USDA plant inspection stations in Florida, 
Guam, and Hawaii. This final rule is necessary for the regulations to 
reflect the most current information regarding USDA plant inspection 
stations.

DATES: Effective April 26, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alan V. Tasker, Senior Regulatory 
Policy Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 851-2224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 prohibit or restrict the 
importation of certain plants and plant products into the United States 
to prevent the introduction and dissemination of plant pests. The 
regulations contained in Subpart--Plants for Planting, Sec. Sec.  
319.37-1 through 319.37-14 (referred to below as the regulations), 
restrict or prohibit the importation of living plants, seeds,

[[Page 24667]]

or plant parts intended for propagation. The regulations also describe 
requirements for the importation of these articles.
    Section 319.37-14 of the regulations contains a list of United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant inspection stations and 
the corresponding ports of entry through which certain articles must 
pass in order to be imported into the United States. In order to be 
designated as a USDA plant inspection station, a building must have 
adequate space for inspection areas to be set up, laboratory facilities 
for pest and disease identification, and in some cases, provide 
facilities for treatment of imported living plants, seeds, or plant 
parts intended for propagation. Currently there are 16 USDA plant 
inspection stations listed in the regulations. USDA plant inspection 
stations are staffed by personnel from the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service's (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 
division who inspect articles to ensure they are free of plant pests 
and diseases and otherwise comply with APHIS import requirements.
    PPQ has operated a specialized facility for several years, known as 
the Plant Germplasm Inspection Station, in Beltsville, MD, that is 
uniquely designed for handling germplasm and other plant material 
imported for plant breeding and research programs. The Plant Germplasm 
Inspection Station satisfies the criteria for being designated as a 
USDA plant inspection station, therefore, we are adding it to the list 
in Sec.  319.37-14.
    The existing list of ports of entry and plant inspection stations 
in Sec.  319.37-14 is in need of several updates. Therefore, we are 
amending the regulations by removing the entries for the USDA plant 
inspection stations in New Orleans, LA, which has been closed, and 
Baltimore, MD, which had been listed in error, and by updating the 
addresses for the USDA plant inspection stations in Florida, Guam, and 
Hawaii.
    We are publishing this rule without prior proposal because it 
relates to internal agency management. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
553, notice of proposed rulemaking and opportunity to comment are not 
required, and this rule may be made effective less than 30 days after 
publication in the Federal Register. Further, since this rule relates 
to internal agency management, it is exempt from the provisions of 
Executive Orders 12866 and 12988. Finally, this action is not a rule as 
defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and thus is exempt from the 
provisions of that Act.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains no new information collection or recordkeeping 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.)

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, 7 CFR part 319 is amended 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. In Sec.  319.37-14, in the table, the list of USDA plant inspection 
stations is amended as follows:
0
a. By removing the entries for Louisiana and Maryland;
0
b. By adding, in alphabetical order, a new entry for Maryland; and
0
c. By revising the entries for Florida, Guam, and Hawaii.
    The addition and revisions read as follows:


Sec.  319.37-14  Ports of entry.

* * * * *

                 List of USDA Plant Inspection Stations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Federal plant
            State                 Port of entry      inspection stations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                              * * * * * * *
Florida.....................  Miami (Note:          Plant Inspection
                               Restricted articles   Station, 6302 NW
                               may be moved from     36th Street, Miami,
                               Fort Lauderdale to    FL 33122.
                               Miami under U.S.
                               Customs bond).
                              Orlando.............  Plant Inspection
                                                     Station, 3951
                                                     Centerport St.,
                                                     Orlando, FL 32827.
 
                              * * * * * * *
Guam........................  Agana...............  Plant Inspection
                                                     Station, 17-3306
                                                     Neptune Avenue,
                                                     Tiyan, Barrigada,
                                                     GU 96913.
Hawaii......................  Honolulu (Airport)..  Honolulu Inspection
                                                     Station, Honolulu
                                                     International
                                                     Airport, 300
                                                     Rodgers Boulevard,
                                                     58,
                                                     Honolulu, HI 96819-
                                                     1897.
Maryland....................  Beltsville (Note:     National Plant
                               Plant germplasm       Germplasm
                               only).                Inspection Station,
                                                     Building 580, BARC
                                                     East, Beltsville,
                                                     MD 20705.
 
                              * * * * * * *
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[[Page 24668]]

    Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of April 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-09801 Filed 4-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P