[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3756-3758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01388]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2021-0041]


Notice of Decision To Revise the Requirements for the Importation 
of Plums (Prunus domestica) 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 
requirements relative to the importation into the United States of 
plums from Chile. Based on the findings of a commodity import 
evaluation document, which we made available to the public for review 
and comment through a previous notice, we have determined that, in 
addition to the existing option of irradiation, plums from Chile may 
safely be imported under a systems approach for mitigation of the risk 
posed by European grapevine moth, with an additional option for 
fumigation with methyl bromide.

DATES: The articles covered by this notification may be authorized for 
importation under the revised requirements after January 25, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Senior 
Regulatory Policy Specialist, Plant Health Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2352; 
[email protected].

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 (USDA) 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 provides that 
the name and origin of all

[[Page 3757]]

fruits and vegetables authorized for 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.
    Chile plums (Prunus domestica) are currently listed in FAVIR as 
authorized for importation into the United States. Following detections 
during preclearance inspections in Chile of European grapevine moth 
(EGVM; Lobesia botrana) larvae and pupae in plums intended for shipment 
to the United States, on April 1, 2021, however, APHIS issued a Federal 
Order (DA-2021-04) \1\ modifying the requirements for such imports to 
prevent the introduction of EGVM. The Federal Order required plums 
exported to the United States from Chile to be irradiated with a 
minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy upon arrival in the United States or 
subjected to methyl bromide fumigation that was conducted in Chile 
under an APHIS preclearance program. The allowance for methyl bromide 
fumigation provided for in the Federal Order ended on May 31, 2021.
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    \1\ To view the Federal Order, go to: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/federal_order/downloads/2021/da-2021-04.pdf.
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    The national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Chile has 
requested that APHIS revise the import requirements for plums from 
Chile to the United States to allow for alternative mitigations to 
address EGVM other than irradiation. In response to this request from 
the NPPO, APHIS prepared a commodity import evaluation document (CIED). 
The CIED recommended that, in addition to irradiation, the EGVM risk 
associated with the importation of plums from Chile could also be 
mitigated by a systems approach or by methyl bromide fumigation in 
Chile or at the port of entry in the United States.
    Accordingly, in accordance with the requirements of Sec.  319.56-4, 
we published a notice \2\ in the Federal Register on November 3, 2021 
(86 FR 60613-60614, Docket No. APHIS-2021-0041), in which we announced 
the availability, for review and comment, of the CIED.
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    \2\ To view the notice and the CIED, go to www.regulations.gov. 
Enter APHIS-2021-0041 in the Search field.
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    We solicited comments on the notice for 60 days ending January 3, 
2022. We received 35 comments by that date. They were from producers, 
importers, U.S. and Chilean trade associations, a port authority, the 
Government of Chile, and individual members of the public. All but two 
supported the proposal. The comments are discussed below by topic.
    The commenters who opposed the proposed systems approach viewed 
irradiation as a more effective treatment approach. One commenter 
stated that our proposed systems approach may be inadequate to mitigate 
the risk of an EGVM introduction via the importation of plums from 
Chile because the plums are produced in a region where EGVM is 
prevalent. The commenter further suggested that not all farms that 
produce the plums will be able to comply with our systems approach 
requirements and that it was likely that the great majority of the 
smaller farms in proximity to the larger ones will not be able to 
properly mitigate the pest. According to the commenter, restricted 
pests have been found before in other commodities that are currently 
imported from Chile under systems approach.
    We do not agree with these commenters that irradiation should be 
the only approved mitigation for the importation of plums from Chile 
into the United States. APHIS has determined that the systems approach 
will also provide an appropriate level of phytosanitary protection. We 
note that the systems approach includes measures that specifically 
address the commenters' concerns: Only sites that are registered with 
the NPPO may export under the systems approach, registered sites must 
trap for EGVM according to guidelines approved by APHIS, and all sites 
in regulated or control areas for EGVM must be inspected by the NPPO 
for EGVM. Additionally, all shipments of plums from Chile will be 
subject to inspection for quarantine pests under the terms of APHIS 
preclearance, and may be subject to inspection at ports of entry into 
the United States.
    We also note that the commenters' concerns did not pertain to the 
efficacy of methyl bromide.
    One of the commenters also opposed fumigation with methyl bromide 
on the grounds that it is harmful to human health. The commenter 
expressed the view that methyl bromide should be banned.
    While APHIS regulates the use of methyl bromide as a pest risk 
mitigation measure, the Agency does not have the statutory authority to 
regulate for public health or ban its usage on public health grounds.
    One of the commenters writing in support of the proposal requested 
that to ensure continuity in the market, we authorize entry of the 
fruit, subject to fumigation or quarantine requirements as needed but 
not irradiation, prior to the effective date of this notice by means of 
a Federal Order.
    As noted previously in this notice, the regulations in paragraph 
(c) of Sec.  319.56-4 provide that if the Administrator 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. The 
paragraph further provides that this notice will be published, and 
public comment solicited, prior to allowing importation of the fruit or 
vegetable subject to the phytosanitary measures specified in the 
notice. These regulatory provisions preclude the issuance of a Federal 
Order in order to relieve restrictions on the importation of plums from 
Chile as requested by the commenter.
    Finally, several commenters asked that this final notice be issued 
and effective the day the comment period closed.
    As a Federal Register document, this notice is subject to the 
review and clearance processes that are required for all such documents 
issued by the USDA.
    Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec.  319.56-4(c), 
we are announcing our decision to authorize the importation into the 
United States of plums from Chile subject to the conditions listed in 
the CIED that accompanied the initial notice.
    These conditions will be listed in the FAVIR database (available at 
https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual). In addition to these specific 
measures, plums 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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), the recordkeeping and burden requirements associated 
with this action are included under the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) control number 0579-0049.

[[Page 3758]]

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' Paperwork Reduction Act 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 19th day of January 2022.
Mark Davidson,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-01388 Filed 1-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P