[Federal Register: December 18, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 243)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 70421-70423]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18de03-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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[[Page 70421]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. 03-067-1]
Ports of Entry for Certain Plants and Plant Products
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Direct final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations governing the importation of
nursery stock and other articles by designating the ports of Atlanta,
Georgia, and Agana, Guam, as plant inspection stations. The addition of
the two plant inspection stations will help reduce transportation time
and costs to importers who must currently import plants through
inspection stations that are considerably distant from the importers'
facilities.
DATES: This rule will be effective on February 17, 2004, unless we
receive written adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit
adverse comments on or before January 20, 2004. If we receive written
adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit adverse
comments, we will publish a document in the Federal Register
withdrawing this rule before the effective date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments or notice of intent to submit
adverse comments by postal mail/commercial delivery or by e-mail. If
you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send four copies (an
original and three copies) to: Docket No. 03-067-1, 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. 03-067-1. 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. 03-067-1'' 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James A. Petit de Mange, Senior
Staff Officer, Quarantine Policy, Analysis and Support, PPQ, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 60, Riverdale, MD 20737-1232; (301) 734-8295.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 prohibit or restrict the
importation of certain plants and plant products into the United States
to prevent the introduction of plant pests. The regulations contained
in ``Subpart--Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and Other
Plant Products,'' Sec. Sec. 319.37 through 319.37-14 (referred to
below as the regulations), restrict, among other things, the
importation of living plants, plant parts, and seeds for propagation.
In Sec. 319.37-14 of the regulations, paragraph (b) contains a
list of approved ports of entry through which restricted articles may
be imported into the United States. Restricted articles that do not
require a 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 and disease risk, may be imported only through ports
equipped with special inspection and treatment facilities. These ports,
known as plant inspection stations, are indicated on the list by an
asterisk.
Currently, 14 plant inspection stations operate at or near many
major U.S. ports and airports. These facilities are designed for
inspection and, in some cases, treatment of imported plants and seeds.
Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) staffs plant inspection stations
with officers who specialize in, among other things, entomology, plant
pathology, and botany.
At plant inspection stations, PPQ officers inspect imported plants
and seeds to ensure that they are free from plant pests and diseases
that are known not to occur in the United States and that they
otherwise comply with U.S. import regulations. When pests or diseases
are detected, PPQ may require that the planting material be treated,
exported, or destroyed.
In order to be designated as a plant inspection station, a building
must have adequate space for inspection areas to be set up, laboratory
facilities for pest and disease identification, provide easy access by
shipments for inspection, and, in most cases, contain various treatment
facilities. We have determined that the facilities in Atlanta, GA, and
Agana, GU, satisfy the criteria for designation as plant inspection
stations.
Therefore, in accordance with the procedures explained below under
``Dates,'' this rule amends the list of ports of entry in Sec. 319.37-
14(b) by replacing the current entries for Atlanta, GA, and Agana, GU,
on the list and designating those ports as plant inspection stations.
Dates
We are publishing this rule without a prior proposal because we
view this action as noncontroversial and anticipate no adverse public
comment. This rule will be effective, as published in this document, on
February 17, 2004, unless we receive written adverse comments or
written notice of intent to submit adverse comments on or before
January 20, 2004.
Adverse comments are comments that suggest the rule should not be
adopted or that suggest the rule should be changed.
If we receive written adverse comments or written notice of intent
to submit adverse comments, we will publish a document in the Federal
Register withdrawing this rule before the effective date. We will then
publish a proposed rule for public comment.
[[Page 70422]]
As discussed above, if we receive no written adverse comments or
written notice of intent to submit adverse comments within 30 days of
publication of this direct final rule, this direct final rule will
become effective 60 days following its publication. We will publish a
document in the Federal Register, before the effective date of this
direct final rule, confirming that it is effective on the date
indicated in this document.
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 proposed rule would add Atlanta, GA, and Agana, GU, as ports
of entry through which individuals and companies would be able to
import nursery stock. This action would save business costs to
concerned individuals and companies, making the routing of nursery
stock materials to other authorized entry ports unnecessary.
We are amending the regulations governing the importation of
nursery stock and other articles by designating the ports of Atlanta,
Georgia, and Agana, Guam, as plant inspection stations. The addition of
the two plant inspection stations will help reduce transportation time
and costs to importers who must currently import plants through
inspection stations that are considerably distant from the importers'
facilities.
The United States imported about 700 million plant units in 2002,
about 4.6 percent over the previous year and 21 percent above 2000
level.\1\ Nursery stock imports were valued at $591 million in 2002, an
increase of about 135 percent over a decade ago. The major sources are
Canada (50.4 percent), Netherlands (25.5 percent), Costa Rica (3.9
percent), Mexico (2.7 percent), and Taiwan (2.2 percent). Nursery stock
exports were valued at $250 million in 2002, about 13 percent over 1992
total.\2\
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\1\ USDA/APHIS/PPQ, WADS Database, June 2003.
\2\ USDA/ERS, Foreign Agricultural Trade of the United States,
June 30, 2003.
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Planting seeds are imported from many countries, with a few
countries accounting for the major proportion of U.S. total planting
seed imports. The leading suppliers are Chile ($105.8 million), Canada
($105 million), the Netherlands ($36.5 million), Argentina ($21.2
million), China ($17.9 million), Japan ($14 million), Finland ($11.1
million), Australia ($8.3 million), Denmark ($7.5 million), and India
($7.1 million) in 2001.\3\ These 10 countries accounted for $334.4
million, or about 84 percent, of total U.S. planting seed imports.
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\3\ USDA/FAS, FAS Online: U.S. Planting Seed Trade Archives
(http://www.fas.usda.gov/seed_arc.html)
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Nursery Stock Industry
The availability of good quality nursery stock and seeds
contributes to domestic production of food grains, field crops, cotton,
oil crops, vegetables, herbs, flowers, trees, and shrubs. Presently,
imported nursery stock and seeds can enter the United States with a
phytosanitary certificate through 14 approved plant inspection
stations. Atlanta, GA, and Agana, GU, though not listed as approved
Federal plant inspection stations, currently serve as ports of entry
for other restricted articles that do not require a permit. The new
facilities in Georgia and Guam have the capacity and resources to
handle the importation of nursery stock and seeds, which will allow
them to be listed as plant inspection stations.
This action may result in reduced costs for importers by making the
routing of nursery stock materials through another plant inspection
station unnecessary when the materials are destined for the regions of
Atlanta, GA, or Agana, GU. Importers and distributers both in Atlanta,
GA, and Agana, GU, should benefit from transportation cost savings and
reduced plant injury that can result during transport.
The Agana International Airport serves Guam and surrounding
islands, which are growing tourist centers. Currently, most of the
nursery stock imported into Guam is routed through Hawaii. Very little
is imported from Asian sources because of the time and cost involved in
shipping to Federal plant inspection stations in Hawaii and then to
Guam. Additionally, plant mortality is high due to the additional time
involved routing through Honolulu, HI, which is a major factor apart
from the shipping cost. The direct air cargo cost from Narita, Japan,
to Honolulu, HI, is $11.96 per kilogram and from Hawaii to Guam is
$6.65 per kilogram for a total routing cost from Narita to Guam of
$18.61 per kilogram. The direct air cargo cost from Narita to Guam is
$7.04 per kilogram. Thus, as Agana becomes an approved Federal plant
inspection station, importers will benefit from direct importation of
nursery stock materials from Japan, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, and
other Asian countries through reduced transportation costs. Presently
there are 20 establishments engaged in nursery stock trade in Guam. The
number of establishments that import nursery stock may increase because
of the reduced transportation costs, reduced time, and lower
probability of damaged plants.
The Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport is becoming a major
air cargo hub. It is an entry port for other restricted articles that
do not require a permit and is much closer to most nursery stock
importers from the surrounding areas and States (northern Alabama,
North Carolina, South Carolina, southern Virginia, Kentucky, and
Tennessee) than any of the other closest Federal plant inspection
stations in Miami, FL, New Orleans, LA, and Orlando, FL. There are
about 470 retail nursery companies in Georgia alone, of which 141 are
in metropolitan areas. Nursery retailers from the surrounding areas
that import products would benefit from reduced routing costs and
reduced mortality of plants that usually occurs from multiple box
openings for inspection and from the longer time elapsed between the
place of origin and the final destination.
Impact on Small Entities
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies consider the
economic impact of their rules on small entities. The Small Business
Administration (SBA) has established the size standards for determining
which economic entities meet the definition of a small firm. A retail
nursery or lawn and garden store (NAICS code 444220) \4\ is defined as
a small business if it employs 100 or fewer workers. Resort hotels,
golf courses, and local governments that use nursery stock for parks
and landscaping could be affected. Additionally, specialized groups
such as horticultural societies, arboreta, and individual plant
hobbyists who import and exchange nursery stock and small lots of seed
could also be affected.
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\4\ U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census, Wholesale Trade-
Subject Series, August 2000.
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Nationally, there are 6,845 establishments that are engaged in
selling trees, shrubs, other plants, seeds, bulbs, mulch, and related
products (NAICS 444220). About 470 of these are in Georgia, including
the Atlanta metropolitan area. There are 20 companies currently engaged
in nursery stock trade in Guam. Over 99 percent are small entities.
However, specialized groups such as horticultural societies, arboreta,
several resort hotels, golf courses, and local governments that use
imported plants for landscaping
[[Page 70423]]
projects, and individual hobbyists who collect, grow, exhibit,
preserve, exchange, and donate special nursery stocks and seeds could
also be affected. The exact present size and number of these entities
are difficult to determine.
Since Atlanta, GA, and Agana, GU, already serve as ports of entry
for other restricted articles and have the capacity and resources to
handle the importation of nursery stock and seeds, no effect on Federal
Government processing of permits and inspection of imported materials
is expected. Also, no effects on other Federal agencies and State and
local governments are expected. Since imports of these materials are a
small fraction of the total domestic supply of nursery stock and seeds,
no substantial change in supply and price is expected.
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 rule contains no new 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, Logs, Nursery stock,
Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
0
Accordingly, 7 CFR part 319 is amended as follows:
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450 and 7701-7772; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7
CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
0
2. In Sec. 319.37-14, paragraph (b), the list of ports of entry is
amended by revising the entries for Atlanta, Georgia, and Agana, Guam,
to read as follows:
Sec. 319.37-14 Ports of entry.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
List of Ports of Entry
* * * * *
Georgia
Atlanta
Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, GA 30320. * * *
Guam
Agana
Guam International Airport, Tamuning, GU 96931.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of December, 2003.
Bobby R. Acord,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-31203 Filed 12-17-03; 8:45 am]
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