[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 196 (Thursday, October 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63500-63502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22337]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2019-0049]
Import Requirements for the Importation of Fresh Blueberries From
Chile Into the United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our decision to revise the
import requirements for the importation of fresh blueberries from Chile
into the United States by removing the methyl bromide fumigation
requirement for blueberries from Regions VIII and XVI of Chile. Based
on the findings of our commodity import evaluation, which we made
available to the public for review and comment through a previous
notice, we have determined that the application of the designated
phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of
introducing or disseminating plant pests via the importation of
blueberries from Chile.
DATES: Imports under the revised requirements may be authorized
beginning October 8, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Tony Rom[aacute]n, 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) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture 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 and spread
within the United States.
Section 319.56-4 of the regulations provides the requirements for
authorizing the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States, as well as revising existing requirements for the importation
of fruits and vegetables. Paragraph (c) of that section
[[Page 63501]]
provides that the name and origin of all fruits and vegetables
authorized importation into the United States, as well as the
requirements for their importation, are listed on the internet in
APHIS' Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements database, or FAVIR
(https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual). It also provides that, if the
Administrator of APHIS determines that any of the phytosanitary
measures required for the importation of a particular fruit or
vegetable are no longer necessary to reasonably mitigate the plant pest
risk posed by the fruit or vegetable, APHIS will publish a notice in
the Federal Register making its pest risk documentation and
determination available for public comment.
In accordance with that process, we published a notice \1\ in the
Federal Register on March 31, 2020 (85 FR 17850-17851, Docket No.
APHIS-2019-0049), in which we announced the availability, for review
and comment, of a commodity import evaluation document (CIED) that
evaluated the risks associated with the importation into the United
States of blueberries from two regions in Chile in which European
grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana, EGVM) is known to exist, but in which
the pest prevalence is low, without requiring fumigation with methyl
bromide. The notice proposed to remove the methyl bromide fumigation
requirement for blueberries from Regions VIII and XVI of Chile, under
the provisions of a systems approach.
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\1\ To view the notice, the CIED, and the comments we received,
go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=APHIS-2019-0049.
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We solicited comments on the notice for 60 days ending June 1,
2020. We received 53 comments by that date. They were from growers,
importers, buyers, ports, associations, and representatives of a
foreign government. All but one of those comments were in favor of the
proposal with no further questions. The remaining comment is discussed
below.
In the initial notice, we proposed that the national plant
protection organization (NPPO) of Chile would have to enter into an
operational workplan with APHIS that details the activities and
responsibilities that the NPPO would carry out in order to meet the
requirements of the systems approach.
The commenter asked for further details on how the NPPO of Chile
will ensure grower compliance with the operational workplan.
We also stated in the initial notice that all places of production
would have to be registered with the NPPO of Chile. The NPPO of Chile
will register a production site in Regions VIII or XVI for export
without methyl bromide treatment only if it follows all regulatory
steps and control measures required by Chile's National EGVM Control
Program. The NPPO of Chile will monitor production sites for EGVM trap
catches and immature stage finds, and will update the list of
registered production sites as necessary based on the results of this
monitoring. To further ensure grower compliance, the NPPO of Chile will
inspect blueberries that have been packed for export for EGVM prior to
export to the United States.
The commenter also requested confirmation that moth trapping and
monitoring will be used and asked for further details on the levels of
moth trapping and monitoring that growers will be required to
undertake. The commenter asked that growers be required to place a
minimum of one monitoring trap in each field planned for export, with
any capture of EGVM in the traps triggering more detailed sampling. The
commenter also asked for confirmation that monitoring will be
undertaken by the NPPO of Chile.
EGVM trapping and control in each district in Regions VIII and XVI
must follow the terms of the operational workplan, which currently
align with guidelines for Chile's National EGVM Control Program. All
blueberry production sites and grape production sites must be trapped
at appropriate levels. The Chilean guidelines for trapping currently
require one trap every 2.5 hectares, with at least two traps per field,
and one trap in fields smaller than 2.5 hectares. In the event that
Chile changes these guidelines, APHIS would continue to require the
current trapping levels of one trap every 2.5 hectares, with at least
two traps per field, and one trap in fields smaller than 2.5 hectares.
The NPPO of Chile will conduct all EGVM moth trapping. Any findings
of EGVM would mean that any production within a 500-meter radius can
only be exported with methyl bromide fumigation. Any production between
500 meters and 3,000 meters of an EGVM outbreak will be regulated for
EGVM and can only export if the fields meet a pre-harvest fruit
monitoring requirement, 1 to 30 days before harvest begins. This
activity shall be performed by companies authorized by the NPPO of
Chile. Any field with monitoring results including at least one finding
of EGVM shall be stricken from access to the inspection system and
their fruit must undergo a methyl bromide fumigation treatment to be
exported to the United States.
The commenter also asked for further details on the process of
reinstating production sites in the event that EGVM is found in a
production site.
If the NPPO of Chile finds that a place of production or
packinghouse is not complying with the requirements of the systems
approach, no blueberries from the place of production or packinghouse
will be eligible for export to the United States until APHIS and the
NPPO of Chile conduct an investigation and appropriate remedial actions
have been implemented.
Under the terms of the operational workplan, we are specifying that
if 10 or more EGVM moths are trapped within 1 year in any urban area in
Region VIII or Region XVI, all blueberry production sites within 5
kilometers of that urban area may only ship blueberries to the United
States if they are fumigated with methyl bromide, either in Chile or at
the United States port of entry.
Reinstatement of export status for a production site (to be able to
export blueberries without methyl bromide fumigation) suspended from
the program for larval finds during export inspection requires 1 year
with no more than 1 adult EGVM trapped, and no immature stages of EGVM
found in the field or in packed out blueberries. This will require a
rolling trap count for each export production site in Region VIII and
Region XVI to be maintained by the NPPO of Chile.
Finally, the commenter noted that sulfur dioxide has been
identified as a successful mitigant against EGVM, and requested that
APHIS and the NPPO of Chile discuss the use of sulfur dioxide for
imports of Chilean blueberries as a further safeguard against EGVM when
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approves sulfur dioxide for
use as a pest mitigant for blueberries in the United States.
The EPA must thoroughly evaluate pesticides to ensure that they
meet Federal safety standards to protect human health and the
environment before approving them for use in the United States. APHIS
cannot make any decisions regarding the use of sulfur dioxide prior to
any such evaluation and approval.
Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec. 319.56-
4(c)(3)(iii), we are announcing our decision to revise the requirements
for the importation of blueberries from Chile by removing the methyl
bromide requirement for blueberries grown in Regions VIII and XVI of
Chile, subject to the following phytosanitary measures:
The NPPO of Chile must enter into an operational workplan
with APHIS that details the activities and
[[Page 63502]]
responsibilities that the NPPO would carry out in order to meet the
requirements of the systems approach. APHIS must approve the workplan
prior to implementation of the systems approach.
Places of production and packinghouses must be registered
with and approved by the NPPO of Chile. Additionally, packinghouses
must be pest-exclusionary.
If the NPPO of Chile determines that a registered place of
production or packinghouse is not complying with the provisions of the
systems approach, no blueberries from the place of production or
packinghouse are eligible for export into the United States until APHIS
and the NPPO conduct an investigation and appropriate remedial actions
have been implemented.
The NPPO of Chile must demonstrate continued low pest
prevalence for EGVM in Regions VIII and XVI through a national trapping
program for EGVM. Trapping density and servicing, as well as thresholds
for low pest prevalence, will be detailed in the operational workplan.
If the place of production is within an area of Region
VIII or XVI that is designated by the NPPO of Chile as a regulated area
for EGVM, the place of production must have a field inspection by the
NPPO within 2 weeks prior to harvest with no finds of immature EGVM
based on a biometric sample of plants. Places of production in control
areas for EGVM are not authorized to export blueberries to the United
States under the terms of the systems approach and blueberries from
such areas must be fumigated with methyl bromide in order to be
exported to the United States.
Packed blueberries must be inspected by the NPPO of Chile
prior to export under the auspices of APHIS' preclearance program
within Chile.
Each shipment must be accompanied by a phytosanitary
certificate issued by the NPPO with an additional declaration that the
blueberries were produced in an area of low pest prevalence for EGVM.
Each shipment is subject to inspection for quarantine
pests at the port of entry into the United States.
If immature stages of EGVM are detected during field
inspections or packinghouse inspections, or any life stage of EGVM is
detected at a port of entry into the United States, the consignment may
not be imported into the United States and the place of production will
be suspended from the systems approach export program until reinstated.
Blueberries from that place of production must be fumigated with methyl
bromide in order to be exported to the United States until such
reinstatement.
These revised conditions will be listed in the Fruits and
Vegetables Import Requirements database (available at https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual). In addition to these specific
measures, blueberries from Chile will be subject to the general
requirements listed in Sec. 319.56-3 that are applicable to the
importation of all fruits and vegetables. Please note that, in order to
accommodate the revisions of this notice and remove redundancies, we
are also removing the citation to Federal Order DA-2018-40 in FAVIR.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), the burden requirements included in this notice are
covered under the Office of Management and Budget control number 0579-
0049.
E-Government Act Compliance
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to
compliance with the E-Government Act to promote the use of the internet
and other information technologies, to provide increased opportunities
for citizen access to Government information and services, and for
other purposes. For information pertinent to E-Government Act
compliance related to this notice, please contact Mr. Joseph Moxey,
APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2483.
Congressional Review Act
Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.),
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this action
as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
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, this 5th day of October 2020.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-22337 Filed 10-7-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P