[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 63373-63374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25005]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 305

[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0089]


Cold Treatment for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables; MidAmerica St. 
Louis Airport, Mascoutah, IL

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations to allow, under certain 
conditions, the cold treatment of imported fruits and vegetables upon 
arrival at the MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Mascoutah, IL. We have 
determined that there are biological barriers at this port that, along 
with certain safeguards, would prevent the introduction of fruit flies 
and other insect pests into the United States in the unlikely event 
that they escape from shipments of fruits or vegetables before the 
fruits or vegetables undergo cold treatment. This action will 
facilitate the importation of fruit requiring cold treatment while 
continuing to provide protection against the introduction of fruit 
flies and other insect pests into the United States.

DATES: Effective Date: November 25, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Inder P. S. Gadh, Senior Risk 
Manager-Treatments, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1236; (301) 851-2018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The phytosanitary treatments regulations in 7 CFR part 305 set out 
general requirements for certifying or approving treatment facilities 
and for performing treatments listed in the Plant Protection and 
Quarantine (PPQ) Treatment Manual \1\ for fruits, vegetables, and other 
articles to prevent the introduction or dissemination of plant pests or 
noxious weeds into or through the United States. Within part 305, Sec.  
305.6 (referred to below as the regulations) sets out requirements for 
treatment procedures, monitoring, facilities, and enclosures needed for 
performing sustained refrigeration (cold treatment) sufficient to kill 
certain insect pests associated with imported fruits and vegetables and 
with regulated articles moved interstate from quarantined areas within 
the United States.
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    \1\ The PPQ Treatment Manual is available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/treatment.pdf.
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    Most imported fruits or vegetables that require cold treatment 
undergo that treatment while in transit to the United States. However, 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) also allows 
imported fruits or vegetables to undergo cold treatment at an approved 
cold treatment facility in either the country of origin or after 
arrival in the United States at a cold storage warehouse approved by 
the APHIS Administrator.
    In Sec.  305.6, paragraph (b) limits cold treatment facilities to 
those cold storage warehouses approved by the Administrator and located 
in the area north of 39[deg] latitude and east of 104[deg] longitude, 
or under special conditions at one of the following ports, which are 
outside the geographic area stipulated in the regulations: The maritime 
ports of Wilmington, NC; Seattle, WA; Corpus Christi, TX; and Gulfport, 
MS; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, WA; and Hartsfield-
Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA. The location restrictions 
serve as an additional safeguard against the possibility that fruit 
flies or other pests could escape from imported articles prior to 
treatment and become established in the United States.
    As stated previously, the regulations do allow cold treatment 
facilities to be located outside the geographical area stipulated by 
the regulations. In order to approve those locations, APHIS conducts 
site-specific evaluations and determines whether regulated articles can 
be safely transported to cold treatment facilities under special 
conditions to mitigate the possible escape of pests of concern.
    On May 13, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR 27864-
27866, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0089) a proposal \2\ to amend the 
regulations by adding the MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Mascoutah, IL, 
to the list of ports that are designated as approved locations for cold 
treatment of imported fruits or vegetables. This proposal was based on 
our determination that there are biological barriers in the area of 
this port that, along with certain safeguards, would prevent the 
introduction of fruit flies and other insect pests in the unlikely 
event that they escape from shipments of fruits or vegetables before 
the fruits or vegetables undergo cold treatment.
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    \2\ To view the proposed rule and the comment we received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0089.

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[[Page 63374]]

    We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending 
July 12, 2013. We received one comment by that date from a private 
individual, which supported the proposed action. Therefore, for the 
reasons given in the proposed rule, we are adopting the proposed rule 
as a final rule, without change.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This final rule is subject to Executive Order 12866. However, for 
this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review 
under Executive Order 12866.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604, we have performed a final 
regulatory flexibility analysis, which is summarized below, regarding 
the economic effects of this rule on small entities. 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.
    This final rule will amend the regulations to allow a new cold 
treatment facility to be located at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, 
Mascoutah, IL. The facility is expected to be used mainly to treat 
imported blueberries. While most if not all blueberry farms in the 
United States are small entities, the final rule will not significantly 
affect the market for blueberries because the facility is not projected 
to result in a significant increase in the quantity of blueberries 
imported by the United States. The United States is the world's largest 
producer of blueberries and U.S. blueberry exports exceed imports four-
fold.
    The cold treatment facility will benefit the MidAmerica St. Louis 
Airport and the local economy. The facility is expected to result in at 
least 800 flights of produce requiring cold treatment per year, raising 
at least $8 million in direct income for the airport. MidAmerica St. 
Louis Airport is classified as a small entity for which the small-
entity standard is annual revenue of not more than $30 million.

Executive Order 12372

    This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372, 
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local 
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

    This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 
Civil Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws 
and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no 
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings 
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This final rule contains no 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 305

    Irradiation, Phytosanitary treatment, Plant diseases and pests, 
Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 305 as follows:

PART 305--PHYTOSANITARY TREATMENTS

0
1. The authority citation for part 305 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 
136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

0
2. Section 305.6 is amended as follows:
0
a. In paragraph (b), by adding the words ``MidAmerica St. Louis 
Airport, Mascoutah, IL;'' after the words ``Seattle-Tacoma 
International Airport, Seattle, WA;'' and
0
b. By adding a new paragraph (h)(5) to read as set forth below.


Sec.  305.6  Cold treatment requirements.

* * * * *
    (h) * * *
    (5) Airport of Mascoutah, IL. Consignments of fruits or vegetables 
arriving at the MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, Mascoutah, IL, for cold 
treatment, in addition to meeting all other applicable requirements of 
this section, must meet the following special conditions:
    (i) Bulk and containerized consignments of fruits or vegetables 
arriving for cold treatment must be cold treated within the area over 
which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is assigned the 
authority to accept entries of merchandise, to collect duties, and to 
enforce the various provisions of the customs and navigation laws in 
force.
    (ii) APHIS will evaluate facility safeguards in light of the plant 
health risks involved and approve the operation of a facility in that 
location subject to the following conditions to be agreed upon by the 
involved parties and included in the compliance agreement required in 
Sec.  305.6(f):
    (A) The facility will only be certified if the Administrator 
determines that the regulated articles could be safely transported to 
the facility from the point of entry or origin without significant risk 
that plant pests will escape in transit to the facility or while the 
regulated articles are at the facility.
    (B) Bulk consignments (those consignments which are stowed and 
unloaded by the case or bin) of fruit must arrive in pest-proof 
packaging that prevents the escape of the pests of concern.
    (C) The facility must ensure that the pest-proof cartons are off-
loaded from containers in a safeguarded environment and at no time are 
the articles to be removed from the cartons prior to treatment.
    (D) Arrangements for treatment must be made before the departure of 
a consignment from its port of entry or points of origin in the United 
States. The cold treatment facility and APHIS must agree in advance on 
the route by which consignments are allowed to move between the 
aircraft on which they arrived at the airport and the cold treatment 
facility. The movement of consignments from aircraft to a cold 
treatment facility will not be allowed until an acceptable route has 
been agreed upon.
    (E) The facility must have contingency plans, approved by the 
Administrator, for safely destroying or disposing of fruits or 
vegetables.
    (F) The facility must maintain physical separation of treated 
articles from untreated articles and apply all required safeguards 
(e.g., larger consignments are broken up into smaller boxes following 
treatment and those treated articles are required to be packaged in 
pest-proof containers per an agreement between the treatment facility 
and the importer) before releasing to local markets or for movement to 
other States.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of October 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-25005 Filed 10-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P