[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 19, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27439-27440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13289]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 96 / Tuesday, May 19, 1998 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 27439]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 97-056-12]
Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to Quarantined Area
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by
adding a portion of Lake and Marion Counties, FL, to the list of
quarantined areas 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 Mediterranean fruit fly
into noninfested areas of the continental United States.
DATES: Interim rule effective May 13, 1998. Consideration will be given
only to comments received on or before July 20, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 97-056-12, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,
suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 97-056-12. 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 Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road
Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8247; or e-mail:
mstefan@aphis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is one
of the world's most destructive pests of numerous fruits and
vegetables. The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) can cause serious
economic losses. Heavy infestations can cause complete loss of crops,
and losses of 25 to 50 percent are not uncommon. The short life cycle
of this pest permits the rapid development of serious outbreaks.
The regulations in 7 CFR 301.78 through 301.78-10 (referred to
below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of regulated
articles from quarantined areas to prevent the spread of Medfly to
noninfested areas of the United States.
Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of Florida State and county
agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) have revealed that an infestation of Medfly has
occurred in a portion of Lake and Marion Counties, FL.
The regulations in 301.78-3 provide that the Administrator of APHIS
will list as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of a State,
in which the Medfly has been found by an inspector, in which the
Administrator has reason to believe that the Medfly is present, or that
the Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities in
which the Medfly has been found.
Less than an entire State will be designated as a quarantined area
only if the Administrator determines that the State has adopted and is
enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of regulated articles
that are equivalent to those imposed on the interstate movement of
regulated articles, and the designation of less than the entire State
as a quarantined area will prevent the interstate spread of the Medfly.
The boundary lines for a portion of a State being designated as
quarantined are set up approximately four-and-one-half miles from the
detection sites. The boundary lines may vary due to factors such as the
location of Medfly host material, the location of transportation
centers such as bus stations and airports, the patterns of persons
moving in that State, the number and patterns of distribution of the
Medfly, and the use of clearly identifiable lines for the boundaries.
In accordance with these criteria and the recent Medfly findings
described above, we are amending 301.78-3 by adding a portion of Lake
and Marion Counties, FL, to the list of quarantined areas. The new
quarantined area is described in the rule portion of this document.
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 Medfly 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 amends the Medfly regulations by adding a portion
of Lake and Marion Counties, FL, to the list of quarantined areas. This
action is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the spread of the
Medfly into noninfested areas of the United States.
This interim rule affects the interstate movement of regulated
articles from the quarantined area of Lake and Marion Counties, FL. We
estimate that there are 85 entities in the quarantined area of Lake and
Marion Counties, FL, that sell, process, handle, or move regulated
articles; this estimate includes 15
[[Page 27440]]
commercial growers, 1 transportation terminal, 8 fruit stands, 5 flea
markets, 5 processing plants, 1 farmer's market, 25 nurseries, 10
apiaries, 12 mobile vendors, and 3 food stores. The number of these
entities that meet the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA)
definition of a small entity is unknown, since the information needed
to make that determination (i.e., each entity's gross receipts or
number of employees) is not currently available. However, it is
reasonable to assume that most of the 85 entities are small in size,
since the overwhelming majority of businesses in Florida, as well as
the rest of the United States, are small entities by SBA standards.
We believe that few, if any, of the 85 entities will be
significantly affected by the quarantine action taken in this interim
rule because few of these types of entities move regulated articles
outside the State of Florida during the normal course of their
business. Nor do consumers of products purchased from these types of
entities generally move those products interstate. The effect on the
small entities that do move regulated articles interstate from the
quarantined area will be minimized by the availability of various
treatments that, in most cases, will allow those small entities to move
regulated articles interstate with very little additional costs. Also,
many of these types of small entities sell other items in addition to
regulated articles, so the effect, if any, of the interim rule should
be minimal.
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 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 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 this rule. The site specific environmental
assessment and programmatic Medfly environmental impact statement
provide a basis for our conclusion that implementation of integrated
pest management to achieve eradication of the Medfly would not have a
significant impact on human health and the natural 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' NEPA Implementing
Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
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 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 301
Agricultural commodities, Incorporation by reference, 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. 147a, 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162,
and 164-167; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).
2. In Sec. 301.78-3, paragraph (c), the entry for Florida is
amended by adding an entry for Lake and Marion Counties, FL, to read as
follows:
Sec. 301.78-3 Quarantined areas.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
Florida
* * * * *
Lake and Marion Counties. That portion of Lake and Marion
Counties beginning at the intersection of County Road 44A and County
Road 439; then west along County Road 44A to Estes Road; then south
along Estes Road to Bates Avenue; then west along Bates Avenue to
the extension of Bates Avenue; then west along the extension of
Bates Avenue to the shoreline of Lake Eustis; then northwest along
the northern shoreline of Lake Eustis to Indian Trail; then north
along Indian Trail to Grand Island Shores Road; then west along
Grand Island Shores Road to Apiary Road; then north along Apiary
Road to the extension of Apiary Road; then north along the extension
of Apiary Road to Lake Yale; then northwest and north along the
shoreline of Lake Yale to the section line dividing sections 7 and
8, T. 18 S., R. 26 E.; then north along the section line dividing
sections 7 and 8, and 5 and 6, T. 18 S., R. 26 E., to the Lake/
Marion County line; then north along the section line dividing
sections 31 and 32, and 29 and 30 to the southern section line of
section 20, T. 17 S., R. 26 E.; then east along the section line
dividing sections 20 and 29, and 21 and 28, T. 17 S., R. 26 E., to
the section line dividing sections 21 and 22, T. 17 S., R. 26 E.;
then north along the section line dividing sections 21 and 22, T. 17
S., R. 26 E., to the southern section line of section 15, T. 17 S.,
R. 26 E.; then east along the section line dividing sections 15 and
22, 14 and 23, and 13 and 24, T. 17 S., R. 26 E., to the Lake/Marion
County line; then north along the Lake/Marion County line to the
southern section line of section 7, T. 17 S., R. 27 E.; then east
along the section line dividing sections 7 and 18, 8 and 17, 9 and
16, 10 and 15, and 11 and 14, T. 17 S., R. 27 E. to the western
section line of section 13, T. 17 S., R. 27 E.; then south along the
section line dividing sections 13 and 14, 23 and 24, 25 and 26, 35
and 36, T. 17 S., R. 26 E., and sections 1 and 2, 11 and 12, 13 and
14, and 23 and 24, T. 16 S., R. 27 E., to the southern section line
of section 23, T. 16 S., R. 27 E.; then west along the section line
dividing sections 23 and 26, T. 16 S., R. 27 E., to County Road 439;
then south along County Road 439 the point of beginning.
Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of May 1998.
Charles P. Schwalbe,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 98-13289 Filed 5-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
