[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 139 (Tuesday, July 21, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43009-43011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17842]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0079]


Khapra Beetle; New Regulated Countries and Regulated Articles

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, with changes, an interim rule 
that amended the khapra beetle regulations by adding additional 
regulated articles and regulated countries, updating the regulations to 
reflect changes in industry practices and country names that have 
changed since the regulations were originally published, and removing 
the list of countries where khapra beetle is known to occur from the 
regulations and moving it to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Web 
site. These actions were necessary to prevent the introduction of 
khapra beetle from infested countries on commodities that have been 
determined to be hosts for the pest, reflect current industry 
practices, and make it easier to make timely changes to the list of 
regulated countries.

DATES: This final rule is effective July 21, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. George Apgar Balady, Senior 
Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, 
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 
851-2240.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 43010]]

Background

    In an interim rule \1\ effective and published in the Federal 
Register on December 29, 2014 (79 FR 77839-77841, Docket No. APHIS-
2013-0079), we amended the khapra beetle regulations in 7 CFR part 319 
by adding rice (Oryza sativa), chick peas (Cicer spp.), safflower seeds 
(Carthamus tinctorius), and soybeans (Glycine max) to the list of 
regulated articles in Sec.  319.75-2 and prohibiting their entry into 
the United States unless accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate 
with an additional declaration stating that the articles in the 
consignment were inspected and found free of khapra beetle in 
accordance with Sec.  319.75-9. We also added bulk, unpackaged seeds to 
the list of regulated articles due to their potential for infestation 
by khapra beetle. In addition, we updated the list of regulated 
countries in Sec.  319.75-2(b) and moved that list to the Plant 
Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/kb.pdf. Countries will be 
added to the list of regulated areas when we receive official 
notification from the country that it is infested or when we intercept 
the pest in a commercial shipment from that country. Any future 
additions to the list of regulated areas will be conveyed through 
publication of a notice in the Federal Register.
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    \1\ To view the interim rule and the comments we received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0079.
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    Finally, we updated the regulations for certain commodities due to 
changes in industry practices that have affected the risk of khapra 
beetle being introduced into the United States. These actions were 
necessary to prevent the introduction of khapra beetle from infested 
countries on commodities that have been determined to be hosts for the 
pest, reflect current industry practices, and make it easier to make 
timely changes to the list of regulated countries.
    We solicited comments concerning the interim rule for 60 days 
ending February 27, 2015. We received one comment by that date from a 
private citizen. The commenter discussed the rule in general terms 
without supporting or opposing any of its provisions.

Miscellaneous

    Currently, the regulations state that plant gums and seeds shipped 
as bulk cargo in an unpackaged state are regulated articles. We are 
making a minor change to clarify that the seeds in this case are plant 
gum seeds and not all plant seeds. In addition, we are making 
corrections to the names of several taxa that were misspelled in Sec.  
319.75-2, footnote 2.
    In the preamble of the interim rule, we stated that we were 
codifying the requirements of two Federal Orders that, among other 
things, prohibited the entry into the United States of rice, chick 
peas, safflower seeds, and soybeans in passenger baggage and personal 
effects. However, we inadvertently omitted that requirement from the 
regulations in Sec.  319.75-2. We are correcting that omission in this 
final rule.
    Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule and in this 
document, we are adopting the interim rule as a final rule, with the 
changes discussed in this document.
    This final rule also affirms the information contained in the 
interim rule concerning Executive Order 12988 and the Paperwork 
Reduction Act.
    Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has 
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This final rule follows an interim rule that amended the khapra 
beetle regulations by adding additional regulated articles and 
regulated countries, updating the regulations to reflect changes in 
industry practices and country names that have changed since the 
regulations were originally published, and removing the list of 
countries where khapra beetle is known to occur from the regulations 
and moving it to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Web site.
    The U.S. entities that may be impacted by the rule are likely to be 
those involved in importing, handling, moving, processing, or selling 
regulated articles. The 2012 County Business Patterns (North American 
Industry Classification System) statistics corresponding to the Small 
Business Administration small-entity standards indicate that between 93 
and 100 percent of these entities can be considered small. However, 
impacts of the rule are expected to be limited; the khapra beetle 
restrictions on rice imports have been in place since July 2012 and on 
the latter three crops since December 2011. In addition, none of the 
newly regulated areas (Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, 
and South Sudan, and the Palestinian Authority--West Bank) is an 
important source for the United States of major commodities known to 
host khapra beetle.
    Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

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, the interim rule amending 7 CFR part 319 that was 
published at 79 FR 77839-77841 on December 29, 2014, is adopted as a 
final rule with the following changes:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as follows:

    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.


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2. Section 319.75-2 is amended as follows:
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a. By revising paragraph (a)(1).
0
b. In paragraph (a)(3), by adding the words ``plant gum'' before the 
word ``seeds''.
0
c. By revising the introductory text of paragraph (b).
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  319.75-2  Regulated articles.\1\
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    \1\ The importation of regulated articles may be subject to 
prohibitions or additional restrictions under other provisions of 7 
CFR part 319, such as Subpart--Foreign Cotton and Covers (see Sec.  
319.8) and Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables (see Sec.  319.56).
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    (a) * * *
    (1) Seeds of the plant family Cucurbitaceae \2\ if in shipments 
greater than 2 ounces, if not for propagation;
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    \2\ Seeds of the plant family Cucurbitaceae include but are not 
limited to: Benincasa hispida (wax gourd), Citrullus lanatus 
(watermelon), Cucumis melo (muskmelon, cantaloupe, honeydew), 
Cucumis sativus (cucumber), Cucurbita pepo (pumpkin, squashes, 
vegetable marrow), Lagenaria siceraria (calabash, gourd), Luffa 
cylindrica (dishcloth gourd), Mormordica charantia (bitter melon), 
and Sechium edule (chayote).
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* * * * *
    (b) The following articles are regulated articles from all 
countries designated in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section 
as infested with khapra beetle or that have the potential to be 
infested with khapra beetle and are prohibited entry into the United 
States in passenger baggage and personal effects. Commercial shipments 
must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued in accordance 
with Sec.  319.75-9 and containing an additional declaration stating: 
``The shipment was inspected and found free of khapra beetle 
(Trogoderma granarium).''
* * * * *


[[Page 43011]]


    Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of July 2015.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-17842 Filed 7-20-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P