[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4867-4868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01761]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0095]
Notice of Availability of a Treatment Evaluation Document for
Methyl Bromide Treatment for Kumquat
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have determined that it is
necessary to immediately add to the Plant Protection and Quarantine
Treatment Manual a treatment schedule for methyl bromide fumigation of
kumquats to control certain fruit flies. We have prepared a treatment
evaluation document that describes the new treatment schedule and
explains why we have determined that it is effective at neutralizing
fruit flies. We are making this treatment evaluation document available
to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March
31, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0095-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0095, 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-
0095 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: Mr. Marc Phillips, Senior Regulatory
Policy Specialist with Regulations, Permits and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 135, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-2114.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 7 CFR chapter III are
intended, among other things, to prevent the introduction or
dissemination of plant pests and noxious weeds into or within the
United States. Under the regulations, certain plants, fruits,
vegetables, and other articles must be treated before they may be moved
into the United States or interstate. The phytosanitary treatments
regulations contained in part 305 of 7 CFR chapter III (referred to
below as the regulations) set out standards for treatments required in
parts 301, 318, and 319 of 7 CFR chapter III for fruits, vegetables,
and other articles.
In Sec. 305.2, paragraph (b) states that approved treatment
schedules are set out in the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)
Treatment Manual.\1\ Section 305.3 sets out a process for adding,
revising, or removing treatment schedules in the PPQ Treatment Manual.
In that section, paragraph (b) sets out the process for adding,
revising, or removing treatment schedules when there is an immediate
need to make a change. The circumstances in which an immediate need
exists are described in Sec. 305.3(b)(1). They are:
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\1\ The Treatment Manual is available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/index.shtml or by
contacting the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant
Protection and Quarantine, Manuals Unit, 92 Thomas Johnson Drive,
Suite 200, Frederick, MD 21702.
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PPQ has determined that an approved treatment schedule is
ineffective at neutralizing the targeted plant pest(s).
PPQ has determined that, in order to neutralize the
targeted plant pest(s), the treatment schedule must be administered
using a different process than was previously used.
PPQ has determined that a new treatment schedule is
effective, based on efficacy data, and that ongoing trade in a
commodity or commodities may be adversely impacted unless the new
treatment schedule is approved for use.
The use of a treatment schedule is no longer authorized by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or by any other Federal
entity.
We have determined that a new methyl bromide fumigation treatment
schedule to control the fruit flies Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha
fraterculus on kumquat (Fortunella japonica) is effective, and we have
determined that ongoing trade in kumquat will be adversely impacted
unless the new treatment is approved for use.
On July 10, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR
41259-41265, Docket No. APHIS-2011-0060) a rule \2\ to amend the
regulations to allow the importation of several species of fresh citrus
and Citrus hybrids (``citrus fruit''), including kumquat, from Uruguay
into the continental United States under certain conditions. Under
Sec. 319.56-59, citrus fruit other than lemons must be treated in
accordance with part 305, and lemons may be imported without treatment
if harvested green between May 15 and August 31; otherwise, lemons must
be treated as well.
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\2\ To view the rule and supporting documents, including the
environmental assessment, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0060.
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Currently, there are cold treatment schedules listed in the PPQ
Treatment Manual to mitigate the risk of fruit flies on many citrus
varieties, but there is currently no treatment available for kumquat
from Uruguay.
Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 305.3(b)(2), we have determined
that it is necessary to immediately add a new treatment schedule for
kumquat in the PPQ Treatment Manual. Based on existing treatments of
several citrus commodities to control C. capitata and A. fraterculus,
we are adding a new treatment schedule, T101-n-3, to treat kumquat for
C. capitata and A. fraterculus when imported into the United States
from countries that are authorized to export kumquat to the United
States. The addition of the methyl bromide treatment for kumquat will
ensure adequate quarantine security from fruit flies, and resolve the
inconsistency inherent in Sec. 319.56-59 that lists kumquat as a fruit
that may be imported into the continental United States if treated in
accordance with part 305 for C. capitata and A. fraterculus.
This treatment schedule will be listed in a separate section of the
PPQ Treatment Manual, which will indicate that T101-n-3 was added
through the immediate process described in Sec. 305.3(b) and that is
subject to change or removal based on public comment.
The reasons for this revision are described in a treatment
evaluation document (TED) we have prepared to support this action. The
TED may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our reading
room. You may also request paper copies of the TED by calling or
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
We are also announcing that we have prepared a finding of no
significant
[[Page 4868]]
impact (FONSI) for this action. The FONSI, which is based on the
environmental assessment (EA) prepared for the rulemaking that led to
our July 2013 final rule, documents our conclusion that the importation
of kumquats from Uruguay under the conditions prescribed in our July
2013 final rule, including treatment in accordance with the PPQ
Treatment Manual, will not have a significant impact on the quality of
the human environment.
The EA and FONSI 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).
After reviewing the comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the new treatment schedule that is described in the
TED in a subsequent notice, in accordance with paragraph (b)(3) of
Sec. 305.3. If we do not receive any comments, or the comments we
receive do not change our determination that the treatment is
effective, we will affirm the treatment schedule's addition to the PPQ
Treatment Manual and make available a new version of the PPQ Treatment
Manual in which T101-n-3 is listed in the main body of the manual. If
we receive comments that lead us to determine that T101-n-3 needs to be
changed or removed, we will make available a new version of the PPQ
Treatment Manual that reflects the changes to or the removal of
treatment schedule T101-n-3.
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.
Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of January 2014.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-01761 Filed 1-29-14; 8:45 am]
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