[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 87 (Monday, May 6, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26316-26317]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10656]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 87 / Monday, May 6, 2013 / Notices
[[Page 26316]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0076]
Plants for Planting Whose Importation is Not Authorized Pending
Pest Risk Analysis; Notice of Availability of Data Sheets for Taxa of
Plants for Planting That Are Quarantine Pests or Hosts of Quarantine
Pests
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have determined that 22
taxa of plants for planting are quarantine pests and 37 taxa of plants
for planting are hosts of 9 quarantine pests and therefore should be
added to our lists of taxa of plants for planting whose importation is
not authorized pending pest risk analysis. We have prepared data sheets
that detail the scientific evidence we evaluated in making the
determination that the taxa are quarantine pests or hosts of quarantine
pests. We are making these data sheets available to the public for
review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July
5, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0076-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0076, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
The data sheets and any comments we receive may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0076 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: Dr. Arnold Tschanz, Senior Regulatory
Policy Specialist, Plants for Planting Policy, RPM, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-2179.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Plants for Planting'' (7 CFR
319.37 through 319.37-14, 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
plants for planting (including living plants, plant parts, seeds, and
plant cuttings) to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests into
the United States. Quarantine pest is defined in Sec. 319.37-1 as a
plant pest or noxious weed that is of potential economic importance to
the United States and not yet present in the United States, or present
but not widely distributed and being officially controlled.
In a final rule published in the Federal Register on May 27, 2011
(76 FR 31172-31210, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0011), and effective on June
27, 2011, we established in Sec. 319.37-2a a new category of plants
for planting whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk
analysis (NAPPRA) in order to prevent the introduction of quarantine
pests into the United States. The final rule established two lists of
taxa whose importation is NAPPRA: A list of taxa of plants for planting
that are quarantine pests, and a list of taxa of plants for planting
that are hosts of quarantine pests. For taxa of plants for planting
that have been determined to be quarantine pests, the list will include
the names of the taxa. For taxa of plants for planting that are hosts
of quarantine pests, the list will include the names of the taxa, the
foreign places from which the taxa's importation is not authorized, and
the quarantine pests of concern. The final rule did not add any taxa to
the NAPPRA lists.
Paragraph (b) of Sec. 319.37-2a describes the process for adding
taxa to the NAPPRA lists. In accordance with that process, this notice
announces our determination that 22 taxa of plants for planting are
quarantine pests and 37 taxa of plants for planting are hosts of 9
quarantine pests.
This notice also makes available data sheets that detail the
scientific evidence we evaluated in making the determination that the
taxa are quarantine pests or hosts of a quarantine pest. The data
sheets include references to the scientific evidence we used in making
these determinations.
A complete list of the taxa of plants for planting that we have
determined to be quarantine pests or hosts of quarantine pests, along
with the data sheets supporting those determinations, 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 list
and data sheets by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
For taxa of plants for planting that are hosts of quarantine pests,
the data sheets specify the countries from which the taxa's importation
would not be authorized pending pest risk analysis. In many cases, the
importation of the taxa would not be allowed from any country. In some
cases, the taxa would be allowed to be imported from Canada. We would
allow such importation when Canada is free of the quarantine pest for
which the taxa are hosts and when Canada's import regulations and our
restrictions specific to Canada ensure that the pest would not be
introduced into the United States through the importation of the taxa
from Canada.
In a few cases, the taxa would be allowed to be imported from
countries that are currently exporting the taxa to the United States,
subject to restrictions in a Federal Order. We would like to clarify in
this notice that we would exempt imports of taxa of plants for planting
that are hosts of quarantine pests from the NAPPRA requirements when
there is significant trade between the exporting country and the United
States. We would continue to allow such importation based on our
experience with importing those taxa of plants for planting and our
findings,
[[Page 26317]]
through inspection, that they are generally pest free, and based on our
determination that the restrictions in the Federal Order are sufficient
to mitigate the risk associated with the quarantine pest in question.
Generally, we would consider the importation from a country of 10 or
more plants in each of the last 3 fiscal years to constitute
significant trade in that taxon. However, we will also consider other
data showing that there is significant trade in a taxon, even if it
does not meet this standard.
After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the addition of the taxa described in the data
sheets to the NAPPRA lists in a subsequent notice. If the
Administrator's determination that the taxa are quarantine pests or
hosts of quarantine pests remains unchanged following our consideration
of the comments, then we will add the taxa described in the data sheets
to the appropriate NAPPRA list.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450 and 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 30th day of April 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-10656 Filed 5-3-13; 8:45 am]
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