[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 48 (Monday, March 13, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13382-13384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-6098]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 48 / Monday, March 13, 1995 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 13382]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. 94-102-1]
Importation of Fruit Trees From France
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to allow Chaenomeles spp., Cydonia spp.,
Malus spp., Pyrus spp., and certain Prunus spp. plants (except seeds)
to be imported into the United States as restricted articles, if grown
in private nurseries in France and certified by the French plant
protection service to be free of various diseases. This action would
relieve restrictions on the importation of these articles from France
without presenting a significant risk of introducing plant pests into
the United States.
We are also proposing to remove Laredo, TX, from the list of ports
equipped with plant inspection stations.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before April 12, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 94-102-1, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Policy
and Program Development, Regulatory Analysis and Development, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your
comments refer to Docket No. 94-102-1. 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. James Petit de Mange or Mr. Peter
Grosser, Operations Officers, Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Port Operations, 4700 River
Road Unit 139, Riverdale, MD, 20737-1238, (301) 734-8645.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Plant Quarantine Act (7 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) and the Federal
Plant Pest Act (7 U.S.C. 150aa et seq.) authorize the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to prohibit or restrict the
importation into the United States of any plants, roots, bulbs, seeds,
or other plant products in order to prevent the introduction of plant
pests into the United States.
Regulations promulgated under this authority, among others, include
7 CFR 319.37 through 319.37-14, ``Subpart--Nursery Stock, Plants,
Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and Other Plant Products'' (the regulations).
These regulations govern the importation of living plants, plant parts,
and seeds for or capable of propagation, and related articles. The
regulations prohibit or restrict the importation of most plants, roots,
bulbs, seeds, and other plant products. These articles are classified
as either ``prohibited articles'' or ``restricted articles.''
A prohibited article is an article that the Deputy Administrator
for Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), APHIS, has determined cannot
feasibly be inspected, treated, or handled to prevent it from
introducing plant pests new to or not widely prevalent or distributed
within and throughout the United States. Prohibited articles may not be
imported into the United States, unless imported by the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) for experimental or scientific
purposes under specified safeguards.
A restricted article is an article that the Deputy Administrator
for PPQ has determined can be inspected, treated, or handled to
essentially eliminate the risk of its spreading plant pests if imported
into the United States. Restricted articles may be imported into the
United States if they are imported in compliance with restrictions that
may include permit and phytosanitary certificate requirements,
inspection, treatment, or postentry quarantine.
Under Sec. 319.37-5(b) of the regulations, articles (except seeds)
of the genera Chaenomeles (flowering quince), Cydonia (quince), Malus
(apple, crabapple), Pyrus (pear), and certain species of the genus
Prunus (almond, apricot, cherry, cherry laurel, English laurel,
nectarine, peach, plum, prune) may be imported into the United States
as restricted articles if grown in government or private nurseries in
Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, or The
Netherlands. They may be imported from France as restricted articles
only if grown in government nurseries. All of these restricted articles
must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate of inspection
stating where the article was grown and certifying that the article was
found by the plant protection service of the country in which grown to
be free of various plant diseases. Also, all of the restricted articles
listed above, except those grown in Canada, are subject to a 2-year
postentry quarantine period, as specified in Sec. 319.37-7. In
postentry quarantine, restricted articles are grown in isolation and
observed in order to detect plant pests undetectable by inspection at
the port of entry.
The French Ministry of Agriculture has asked that species of the
above mentioned genera grown in private nurseries in France be allowed
to enter the United States as restricted articles. In response to this
request, APHIS representatives visited France in June 1994, to review
France's fruit tree certification program. Following that review, APHIS
determined that the process by which the French plant protection
service certifies these articles to be ``disease-free'' is sufficient
to allow their entry into the United States without increasing the risk
of plant pest introduction. Therefore, we are proposing to amend the
regulations to allow Chaenomeles spp., Cydonia spp., Malus spp., Pyrus
spp., and certain Prunus spp. grown in private nurseries in France to
be imported as restricted articles into the United States under the
same conditions already applied to those same articles when grown in
government nurseries in France.
Also, for the sake of clarity, we are proposing to incorporate the
provision in Sec. 319.37-5, footnote 7, concerning Prunus spp. not
immune to plum pox virus, into a new paragraph (b)(2) in Sec. 319.37-5,
and to remove footnote 7. [[Page 13383]]
Port of Laredo Plant Inspection Station
Some restricted articles may be imported into the United States
only under a written permit issued by APHIS. Permits are required for
these restricted articles because the articles appear to present a
substantial risk of carrying plant pests at the time of importation.
Section 319.37-3(a) of the regulations lists the categories of
restricted articles that require a written permit for importation.
Section 319.37-14(b) of the regulations contains a list of the
approved ports of entry through which restricted articles may be
imported into the United States. Restricted articles that do not
require a written permit may be imported through any of the approved
ports of entry; restricted articles that do require a permit, because
of their greater plant pest risk, may be imported only through ports
equipped with special inspection and treatment facilities (plant
inspection stations). Ports equipped with plant inspection stations are
indicated on the list by an asterisk.
We are proposing to amend the regulations by removing the port of
Laredo, TX, from the list of ports with plant inspection stations in
Sec. 319.37-14(b). The fumigation chamber at the Laredo plant
inspection station was found to be in violation of State clean air
regulations by the Texas Natural Resources and Conservation Commission
on July 7, 1994, and has not been used since that date. Since the
volume of plant material requiring written permits and entering through
Laredo has been low and because fumigation without a fumigation chamber
would be difficult, APHIS elected to close the plant inspection station
on October 1, 1994. As a result, certain plants and plant products can
no longer be imported through Laredo, but must go to another port
instead.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.
The rule has been determined to be not significant for purposes of
Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget.
We are proposing to allow species of the genera Chaenomeles,
Cydonia, Malus, Pyrus, and certain species of Prunus (those resistant
to plum pox virus) grown in private nurseries in France to be imported
into the United States. Currently, under 7 CFR 319.37-5, APHIS allows
restricted articles of these five genera to be imported if grown in
government or private nurseries in Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, the
Federal Republic of Germany, or The Netherlands, but from France only
if grown in government nurseries.
During the first nine months of fiscal year 1994, approximately
312,893 fruit trees valued at $1.64 million were imported into the
United States. Malus spp. accounted for 99.9 percent (312,840) of
imported fruit trees. Thirty-two trees of Prunus spp. and 21 of Pyrus
spp. were also imported. There were no imports of Chaenomeles spp. or
Cydonia spp. Prices of imported fruit trees averaged about $5.25 per
tree.
Annually, domestic producers market about 20 million fruit trees of
these five genera, valued at approximately $105 million. Domestic tree
prices range from $5 to $6 per tree.
Imported fruit trees, therefore, currently account for only about
1.5 percent of fruit trees available in the U.S. market. We anticipate,
as a result of this rule, that private French nurseries could export an
additional 20,000 to 30,000 trees to the United States each year. This
additional number of fruit trees would account for less than one-half
of one percent of the U.S. supply. Furthermore, these additional fruit
tree imports from France probably would compete directly with imports
from The Netherlands, thus lessening the impact on the total domestic
supply. We anticipate, therefore, that this proposed rule would not
have a significant economic impact on total domestic fruit tree supply
and thus would not have a significant economic impact on domestic fruit
tree producers or other small entities.
Also, we have determined, using the Small Business Administration
definition of small business (having 100 or fewer employees), that
there are currently about 9,097 small retail nurseries and 11,347
wholesale shippers of flowers and nursery stock in the United States.
We expect that these small businesses may benefit, if only slightly,
from this rule. They would gain access to a greater variety of imported
fruit trees, possibly at lower prices.
We are also proposing to remove the port of Laredo, TX, from the
list of ports with plant inspection stations. About 400 million plants
are imported through plant inspection stations into the United States
annually. Only 24 shipments of 21,429 plants (less than one percent of
400 million) were imported through the plant inspection station at
Laredo in 1993. In view of the low volume of plants imported into the
United States through the Laredo plant inspection station, we do not
believe that this rule would have a significant economic effect on
businesses or other entities, large or small. Moreover, any plants
requiring written permits and previously imported through Laredo could
be diverted to the ports of Brownsville or El Paso, TX, which still
retain plant inspection stations.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12778
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State
and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule
will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this
rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements
included in this proposed rule have been approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), and there are no new requirements. The
assigned OMB control number is 0579-0049.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319
Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Incorporation by
reference, Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
Accordingly, 7 CFR part 319 would be amended as follows:
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 319 would continue to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, and 450; 21
U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).
2. Section 319.37-5 would be amended as follows:
a. In paragraph (b)(1), the first sentence would be amended by
removing the reference to ``(b)(2)'' and adding a reference to
``(b)(3)'' in its place.
b. Footnote 7 and its reference would be removed.
c. Paragraph (b)(2) would be redesignated as paragraph (b)(3) and a
new paragraph (b)(2) would be added to read as set forth below.
[[Page 13384]]
Sec. 319.37-5 Special foreign inspection and certification
requirements.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(2) Species of Prunus not immune to plum pox virus (species other
than P. avium, P. cerasus, P. effusa, P. laurocerasus, P. mahaleb, P.
padus, P. sargentii, P. serotina, P. serrula, P. serrulata, P.
subhirtella, P. yedoensis, and P. virginiana) and grown in Belgium,
France, Germany, Great Britain, or The Netherlands may be certified
only from the government operated nurseries (research stations) where
the original parent stock is indexed for the appropriate national fruit
tree certification program.
* * * * *
Secs. 319.37-6, 319.37-7, 319.37-8, and 319.37-13 [Amended]
3. Footnotes 8 through 12 and their references would be
redesignated as footnotes 7 through 11.
Sec. 319.37-14 [Amended]
4. In Sec. 319.37-14, paragraph (b), under the list of ports of
entry in Texas, the asterisk immediately preceding the entry for Laredo
would be removed.
Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of March 1995.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 95-6098 Filed 3-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
