[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 130 (Monday, July 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40688-40689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16207]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0052]


Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the 
Importation of Swiss Chard From Colombia Into the Continental United 
States

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 prepared a pest risk 
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation of 
Swiss chard from Colombia into the continental United States. Based on 
that analysis, we have concluded that the application of one or more 
designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the 
risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via 
the importation of Swiss chard from Colombia. We are making the pest 
risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
September 6, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0052-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0052, 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-2013-
0052 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

[[Page 40689]]

through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help 
you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dorothy Wayson, Senior Regulatory 
Policy Specialist, Plant Health Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 
Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2036.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 
319.56-1 through 319.56-58), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) prohibits or restricts 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 that are new 
to or not widely distributed within the United States.
    Section 319.56-4 contains a performance-based process for approving 
the importation of commodities that, based on the findings of a pest 
risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one or more of the 
designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph (b) of that 
section.
    APHIS received a request from the Government of Colombia to allow 
the importation of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla (L.) Koch) 
into the United States. Currently, Swiss chard is not authorized for 
entry from Colombia. We completed a pest risk assessment (PRA) to 
identify pests of quarantine significance that could follow the pathway 
of importation if such imports were to be allowed. Based on the PRA, we 
then completed a risk management document (RMD) to identify 
phytosanitary measures that could be applied to mitigate the risks of 
introducing or disseminating the identified pests via the importation 
of Swiss chard from Colombia. We have concluded that Swiss chard can 
safely be imported into the continental United States from Colombia 
using one or more of the five designated phytosanitary measures listed 
in Sec.  319.56-4(b). These measures are that:
     Swiss chard may be imported into the continental United 
States in commercial consignments only;
     The Swiss chard is subject to inspection at the port of 
entry; and
     The Swiss chard must be accompanied by a phytosanitary 
certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of 
Colombia with an additional declaration stating that the consignment 
was inspected and found free of Copitarsia incommoda and Liriomyza 
huidobrensis.
    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  319.56-4(c), we are announcing 
the availability of our PRA and RMD for public review and comment. The 
PRA and RMD 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 also request paper copies of the PRA and RMD by 
calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of the analysis that you wish to 
review when requesting copies.
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the import status of Swiss chard from Colombia in a 
subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of the analysis and the 
Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following our 
consideration of the comments, then we will authorize the importation 
of Swiss chard from Colombia into the continental United States subject 
to the requirements specified in the RMD.

    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.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of July 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-16207 Filed 7-5-13; 8:45 am]
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