[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59603-59604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28606]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
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Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 3, 1999 /
Rules and Regulations
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. 99-057-1]
Aeration of Imported Logs, Lumber, and Other Unmanufactured Wood
Articles That Have Been Fumigated
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This document amends the regulations for importing
unmanufactured wood articles that have been fumigated with methyl
bromide or other fumigants by adding a reminder that such articles must
be aerated after fumigation in accordance with U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency label requirements, the Plant Protection and
Quarantine Treatment Manual, and Occupational Safety and Health
Administration regulations. Aeration protects port personnel,
consignees, and others against possible exposure to dangerous levels of
fumigant residue. We are taking this action to increase awareness of
the aeration requirement among persons shipping fumigated wood to the
United States.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 3, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Reeves, Acting Assistant
Director, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-8295.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates
the importation of logs, lumber, and other unmanufactured wood articles
to prevent the introduction into the United States of dangerous plant
pests, including forest pests. These regulations are contained in 7 CFR
319.40-1 through 319.40-11, ``Subpart--Logs, Lumber, and Other
Unmanufactured Wood Articles'' (referred to below as the regulations).
One option for importing certain wood articles involves fumigating
the articles with methyl bromide or other fumigants. Section 319.40-
7(f) of the regulations contains methyl bromide fumigation standards
for logs, lumber, and other regulated wood articles. Other fumigants
may be utilized for solid wood packing material from the Peoples
Republic of China, including Hong Kong. The Plant Protection and
Quarantine (PPQ) Treatment Manual (which is incorporated into the
regulations by reference at 7 CFR 300.1) contains fumigation standards
for methyl bromide and other fumigants.
When articles are fumigated, the articles must be aerated afterward
to ensure that the articles are safe for handling, storage, and
transportation. Aeration is required by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) in EPA-approved label instructions for all fumigants
utilized pursuant to the regulations. Additionally, aeration
requirements are set forth in the PPQ Treatment Manual. Furthermore,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations
contained in title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations require
employers of cargo handlers to determine that the concentration of
fumigants is below the level specified as hazardous before the cargo is
loaded or discharged.
Recently, APHIS has detected high levels of methyl bromide residue
in shipping containers from the Peoples Republic of China, including
Hong Kong, that contain fumigated solid wood packing material. These
residue levels could pose a health and safety risk to APHIS inspectors
at ports of entry and to consignees and other persons who open the
shipping containers. APHIS inspectors cannot safely inspect containers
with such residues.
Because the recent cases of high levels of residue were all
connected with shipments from the Peoples Republic of China, including
Hong Kong, APHIS has notified officials in the Peoples Republic of
China, including Hong Kong, to remind them of the aeration requirements
cited above. However, we believe the requirements would be more
apparent to exporters in these and other countries if we stated them
explicitly in the regulations.
Therefore, we are adding the following sentence to the introductory
paragraph in Sec. 319.40-7(f), which deals with methyl bromide
fumigation: ``Following fumigation, fumigated products must be aerated
to reduce the concentration of fumigant below hazardous levels, in
accordance with the Treatment Manual and label instructions approved by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.''
We are making a parallel change to Sec. 319.40-5(g), which requires
that solid wood packing material from China ``must be heat treated,
fumigated, or treated with preservatives, using a treatment schedule
contained in Sec. 319.40-7 or in the Plant protection and Quarantine
Treatment Manual.'' This paragraph authorizes fumigation not only with
methyl bromide, but with other fumigants authorized by the PPQ
Treatment Manual. In each place where the word ``fumigated'' appears,
we are changing the word ``fumigated'' to ``fumigated and aerated,'' as
a reminder that the PPQ Treatment Manual and EPA-approved label
instructions require aeration of all fumigants utilized pursuant to the
regulations.
Effective Date
The requirement to aerate fumigated shipments to reduce levels of
fumigant to a safe level is already in effect, in the form of EPA-
approved label requirements. This requirement is also set forth in the
PPQ Treatment Manual. This rule only adds a reference to those
requirements to the regulations to increase their visibility to
regulated parties. It does not appear that public participation in this
rulemaking procedure would make additional relevant information
available to the Department.
Accordingly, because the changes contained in this rule are
nonsubstantive in nature, we have found that notice and public
procedure on this rule are unnecessary. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553, notice of proposed rulemaking and opportunity to comment are not
required, and this rule may be made effective less than 30 days after
publication in the Federal Register. Further, since this is not a
substantive change in the regulations, it is exempt from the provisions
of Executive Order 12866 and Executive
[[Page 59604]]
Order 12988. Finally, this action is not a rule as defined by Pub. L.
96-354, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, and, thus, is exempt from the
provisions of the Act.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319
Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Nursery stock, Plant
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 319 as follows:
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450, 2803, and
2809; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).
Sec. 319.40-5 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 319.40-5, paragraphs (g)(1), (g)(2)(i), (g)(6), and (i)
are amended by removing the word ``fumigated,'' each time it appears
and adding the phrase ``fumigated and aerated,'' in its place.
Sec. 319.40-7 [Amended]
3. In Sec. 319.40-7, paragraph (f), the introductory text is
amended by adding a third sentence to read as follows: ``Following
fumigation, fumigated products must be aerated to reduce the
concentration of fumigant below hazardous levels, in accordance with
the Treatment Manual and label instructions approved by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.''
Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of October 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-28606 Filed 11-2-99; 8:45 am]
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