[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 218 (Monday, November 14, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
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From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28046]
Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 218 / Monday, November 14, 1994 /
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: November 14, 1994]
VOL. 59, NO. 218
Monday, November 14, 1994
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 94-117-1]
Oriental Fruit Fly; Designation of Quarantined Area
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the Oriental fruit fly regulations by
quarantining a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, and restricting the
interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined area.
This action is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the spread of
the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States.
DATES: Interim rule effective November 7, 1994. Consideration will be
given only to comments received on or before January 13, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, P.O.
Drawer 810, Riverdale, MD 20738. Please state that your comments refer
to Docket No. 94-117-1. Comments received may be inspected at USDA,
room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. Persons wishing to inspect comments are requested to
call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the comment
reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael B. Stefan, Operations
Officer, Domestic and Emergency Operations, Plant Protection and
Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, at the following address: Room 640, Federal
Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782 before January 9,
1995; or room 4C03, USDA Center at Riverside, 4700 River Road,
Riverdale, MD 20737 on or after January 9, 1995. Telephone: (301) 436-
8247.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Background
The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a
destructive pest of citrus and other types of fruit, nuts, and
vegetables. The short life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly allows rapid
development of serious outbreaks that can cause severe economic losses.
Heavy infestations can cause complete loss of crops.
The Oriental fruit fly regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.93
through 301.93-10 (referred to below as the regulations), were
established to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly to
noninfested areas of the United States. Section 301.93-3(a) provides
that the Administrator will list as a quarantined area each State, or
each portion of a State, in which the Oriental fruit fly has been found
by an inspector, in which the Administrator has reason to believe that
the Oriental fruit fly is present, or that the Administrator considers
necessary to regulate because of its proximity to the Oriental fruit
fly or its inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from
localities in which the Oriental fruit fly has been found. The
regulations impose restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated
articles from the quarantined areas. Quarantined areas are listed in
Sec. 301.93-3(c).
Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of California State and
county agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
reveal that a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, is infested with the
Oriental fruit fly. Specifically, inspectors collected eight adult
Oriental fruit flies in traps in the Florence area of Los Angeles
County between October 13 and 18, 1994. The Oriental fruit fly is not
known to exist anywhere else in the continental United States.
Officials of State agencies of California have begun an intensive
Oriental fruit fly eradication program in the quarantined area in
California. Also, California has taken action to restrict the
intrastate movement of certain articles from the quarantined area.
Accordingly, to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly to
other States, we are amending the regulations in Sec. 301.93-3 by
designating as a quarantined area a portion of Los Angeles County, CA.
The quarantined area, composed of about 59 square miles in the Florence
area, is described below:
Los Angeles County
That portion of Los Angeles County in the Florence area bounded by
a line drawn as follows: Beginning at the intersection of El Segundo
Boulevard and Western Avenue; then north along Western Avenue to its
intersection with Vernon Avenue; then east along Vernon Avenue to its
intersection with Vermont Avenue; then north along Vermont Avenue to
its intersection with Martin Luther King (M.L.K.), Jr. Boulevard; then
east along M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard to its intersection with Broadway; then
northeast along Broadway to its intersection with Washington Boulevard;
then southeast along Washington Boulevard to its intersection with
Interstate Highway 710 (Long Beach Freeway); then south along
Interstate Highway 710 to its intersection with Rosecrans Avenue; then
west along Rosecrans Avenue to its intersection with Interstate Highway
110 (Harbor Freeway); then north along Interstate Highway 110 to its
intersection with El Segundo Boulevard; then west along El Segundo
Boulevard to the point of beginning.
Emergency Action
The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
has determined that an emergency exists that warrants publication of
this interim rule without prior opportunity for public comment.
Immediate action is necessary to prevent the Oriental fruit fly from
spreading to noninfested areas of the United States.
Because prior notice and other public procedures with respect to
this action are impracticable and contrary to the public interest under
these conditions, we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 to make it
effective upon signature. We will consider comments that are received
within 60 days of publication of this rule in the Federal Register.
After the comment period closes, we will publish another document in
the Federal Register. It will include a discussion of any comments we
receive and any amendments we are making to the rule as a result of the
comments.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review
process required by Executive Order 12866.
This interim rule restricts the interstate movement of regulated
articles from a portion of Los Angeles County, CA. Within this
regulated area, there are approximately 516 entities that will be
affected by this rule. All would be considered small entities. These
include 486 fruit sellers, 13 nurseries, 10 swap meets, 6 wholesale
distributors, 1 farmers market. These small entities comprise less than
1 percent of the total number of similar small entities operating in
the State of California. In addition, these small entities sell
regulated articles primarily for local intrastate, not interstate,
movement so the effect, if any, of this regulation on these entities
appears to be minimal.
The effect on those few entities that do move regulated articles
interstate will be minimized by the availability of various treatments,
that, in most cases, will allow these small entities to move regulated
articles interstate with very little additional cost.
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.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12778
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
National Environmental Policy Act
An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
have been prepared for the Oriental fruit fly regulatory program. The
assessment provides a basis for the conclusion that the methods
employed to regulate the Oriental fruit fly will not have a significant
impact on the quality of the human environment. Based on the finding of
no significant impact, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has determined that an environmental impact
statement need not be prepared.
The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) Regulations of the
Council on Environmental Quality for Implementing the Procedural
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA Regulations
Implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS Guidelines
Implementing NEPA (44 FR 50381-50384, August 28, 1979, and 44 FR 51272-
51274, August 31, 1979).
Copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no
significant impact are available for public inspection at USDA, room
1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. Persons wishing to inspect copies are requested to
call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the reading room.
In addition, copies may be obtained by writing to the individual listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This document contains no new information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is amended as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and
164-167; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).
2. In Sec. 301.93-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.93-3 Quarantined areas.
* * * * *
(c) The area described below is designated as a quarantined area:
California
Los Angeles County. That portion of Los Angeles County in the
Florence area bounded by a line drawn as follows: Beginning at the
intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Western Avenue; then north
along Western Avenue to its intersection with Vernon Avenue; then
east along Vernon Avenue to its intersection with Vermont Avenue;
then north along Vermont Avenue to its intersection with Martin
Luther King (M.L.K.), Jr. Boulevard; then east along M.L.K. Jr.
Boulevard to its intersection with Broadway; then northeast along
Broadway to its intersection with Washington Boulevard; then
southeast along Washington Boulevard to its intersection with
Interstate Highway 710 (Long Beach Freeway); then south along
Interstate Highway 710 to its intersection with Rosecrans Avenue;
then west along Rosecrans Avenue to its intersection with Interstate
Highway 110 (Harbor Freeway); then north along Interstate Highway
110 to its intersection with El Segundo Boulevard; then west along
El Segundo Boulevard to the point of beginning.
Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of November 1994.
Lonnie J. King,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 94-28046 Filed 11-10-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
