[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 57 (Monday, March 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11046-11047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05566]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2018-0004]


Importation of Fresh Jujube Fruit From China 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 
fresh jujube fruit from China into the continental United States. Based 
on the analysis, we have determined that the application of one or more 
phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of 
introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the 
importation of fresh jujube fruit from China. 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 May 
24, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0004.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2018-0004, 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-2018-
0004 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. Tony Roman, Senior Regulatory 
Policy Specialist, RCC, IRM, PHP, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 
133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-2242.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under the regulations in ``Subpart L--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 
CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-12, referred to below as the regulations) 
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 plant pests from 
being introduced into or disseminated within the United States.
    Section 319.56-4 contains a performance-based process for approving 
the importation of certain fruits and vegetables that, based on the 
findings of a pest risk analysis, can safely be imported into the 
United States subject to one or more of the five designated 
phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph (b) of that section.

[[Page 11047]]

    APHIS received a request from the national plant protection 
organization (NPPO) of China to allow the importation of fresh jujube 
fruit (Ziziphus jujuba Miller (Rhamnaceae)) from China into the 
continental United States. As part of our evaluation of China's 
request, we have prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) to identify the 
pests of quarantine significance that could follow the pathway of the 
importation of fresh jujube fruit into the continental United States 
from China. Based on the PRA, a risk management document (RMD) was 
prepared to identify phytosanitary measures that could be applied to 
the fresh jujube fruit to mitigate the pest risk.
    We have concluded that fresh jujube fruit can be safely imported 
from China into the continental United States using one or more of the 
five designated phytosanitary measures listed in Sec.  319.56-4(b). The 
NPPO of China would have to enter into an operational workplan with 
APHIS that spells out the daily procedures the NPPO of China will take 
to implement the measures identified in the RMD. These measures are 
summarized below:
     Importation in commercial consignments only.
     Registration of places of production and packinghouses 
with the NPPO of China.
     Limiting registered places of production to locations 
north of the 33rd parallel (APHIS considers China to be free of 
Bactrocera spp. fruit flies above this parallel), or alternatively, 
requiring phytosanitary treatment for Bactrocera correcta, B. 
cucurbitae, and B. dorsalis in accordance with 7 CFR part 305, which 
contains APHIS' phytosanitary treatment regulations.\1\
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    \1\ Irradiation at 400 Gy is currently the only approved 
phytosanitary treatment for these three species of fruit flies. Cold 
treatment is currently being evaluated as an alternate treatment.
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     The NPPO maintaining a national fruit fly monitoring 
program.
     Grove sanitation and trapping for fruit flies in places of 
production that are located in a province in which Carpomyia vesuviana 
(Ber fruit fly) is known to be present.
     Recordkeeping of fruit fly detections in registered places 
of production.
     Pre-export inspection by the NPPO of China and issuance of 
a phytosanitary certificate.
     Port of entry inspections.
     Importation under a permit issued by APHIS.
    Each of the pest risk mitigation measures that would be required, 
along with evidence of their efficacy in removing pests of concern from 
the pathway, are described in detail in the RMD.
    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  319.56-4(c)(3), we are 
announcing the availability of our PRA and RMD for public review and 
comment. Those documents, as well as a description of the economic 
considerations associated with the importation of fresh jujube fruit 
from China, may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website 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 these documents by calling or writing to the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to 
the subject of the analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the import status of fresh jujube fruit from China 
in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of our analysis and 
the Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following 
our consideration of the comments, then we will authorize the 
importation of fresh jujube fruit from China into the continental 
United States subject to the requirements specified in the RMD.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 1633, 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, March 19, 2019.
 Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-05566 Filed 3-22-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P