[Federal Register: August 29, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 168)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 51876-51877]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29au03-2]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 02-121-3]
Mexican Fruit Fly; Removal of Regulated 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 Mexican fruit fly regulations by removing
a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, from the list of regulated areas
and removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated
articles from that area. This action is necessary to relieve
restrictions that are no longer necessary to prevent the spread of the
Mexican fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States.
DATES: This interim rule was effective August 26, 2003. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before October 28, 2003.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket
No. 02-121-3, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-121-3. If you use e-mail,
address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files.
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No.
02-121-3'' on the subject line.
You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington,
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
[[Page 51877]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen A. Knight, Senior Staff
Officer, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1236; (301) 734-8247.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens) is a destructive pest of
citrus and many other types of fruit. The short life cycle of the
Mexican fruit fly allows rapid development of serious outbreaks that
can cause severe economic losses in commercial citrus-producing areas.
The Mexican fruit fly regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.64
through 301.64-10 (referred to below as the regulations), were
established to prevent the spread of the Mexican fruit fly to
noninfested areas of the United States. The regulations impose
restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the
regulated areas.
In an interim rule effective on December 13, 2002, and published in
the Federal Register on December 23, 2002 (67 FR 78127-78128, Docket
No. 02-121-1), we amended the regulations by adding the Monterey Park
area of Los Angeles County, CA, as a regulated area. In a second
interim rule effective on January 17, 2003, and published in the
Federal Register on January 24, 2003 (68 FR 3373-3374, Docket No. 02-
121-2), we amended the regulations by expanding the regulated area to
include the South Pasadena area of Los Angeles County, CA.
Based on trapping surveys by inspectors of California State and
county agencies and by inspectors of the Animal Plant Health Inspection
Service, we have determined that the Mexican fruit fly has been
eradicated from the Monterey Park and South Pasadena areas of Los
Angeles County, CA. The last findings of Mexican fruit fly in the Los
Angeles County, CA, regulated area was October 12, 2002, in Monterey
Park and December 2, 2002, in South Pasadena. Since then, no evidence
of Mexican fruit fly infestation has been found in the area.
Accordingly, we are amending the regulations in Sec. 301.64-3 by
removing that portion of Los Angeles County, CA, from the list of areas
regulated for the Mexican fruit fly.
Immediate Action
Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no
longer necessary. A portion of Los Angeles County, CA, was regulated to
prevent the Mexican fruit fly from spreading to noninfested areas of
the United States. Since we have concluded that the Mexican fruit fly
no longer exists in that portion of Los Angeles County, immediate
action is warranted to remove the area from the list of regulated areas
and to relieve restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated
articles from that area. Under these circumstances, the Administrator
has determined that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are
contrary to the public interest and that there is good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553 for making this rule effective less than 30 days after
publication in the Federal Register.
We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for
this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes,
we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document
will include a discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments
we are making to the rule.
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 under
Executive Order 12866.
This rule amends the Mexican fruit fly regulations by removing a
portion of Los Angeles County, CA, from the list of regulated areas.
County records indicate that within that area there are approximately
389 small entities that may be affected by this rule. These include 351
fruit sellers, 3 growers, 33 nurseries, 1 certified farmers' market,
and 1 swapmeet. These 389 entities comprise less than 1 percent of the
total number of similar entities operating in the State of California.
We expect that the effect of this interim rule on the small
entities referred to above will be minimal. Small entities located
within the regulated area that sell regulated articles do so primarily
for local intrastate, not interstate, movement, so the effect, if any,
of this rule on these entities appears likely to be minimal. In
addition, the effect on any small entities that may move regulated
articles interstate has been minimized during the quarantine period by
the availability of various treatments that allow these small entities,
in most cases, to move regulated articles interstate with very little
additional cost. Thus, just as the previous interim rules establishing
the regulated area in Los Angeles County, CA, had little effect on the
small growers in the area, the lifting of the quarantine in this
interim rule will also have little effect.
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.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This interim 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, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7
U.S.C. 1421 note).
Sec. 301.64-3 [Amended]
0
2. In Sec. 301.64-3, paragraph (c) is amended by removing, under the
heading ``California'', the entry for Los Angeles County.
Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of August 2003.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-22143 Filed 8-28-03; 8:45 am]
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