[Federal Register: October 12, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 197)]
[Notices]
[Page 58047-58048]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12oc07-17]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2007-0128]
Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the
Importation of Sweet Cherries From Australia Into the Continental
United States and Hawaii
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into
the continental United States and Hawaii of sweet cherries from
Australia. Based on that analysis, we believe that the application of
one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to
mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or
noxious weeds via the importation of sweet cherries from Australia. We
are making the pest risk analysis, as well as an environmental
assessment we have prepared in connection with this action, available
for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments we receive on or before December
11, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov
, select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, then click ``Submit.'' In the
Docket ID column, select Docket No. APHIS-2007-0128 to submit or view
public comments and to view supporting and related materials available
electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including
instructions for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing
the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through
the site's ``User Tips'' link.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS-
2007-0128, 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. APHIS-2007-0128.
Reading Room: 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.
Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Donna L. West, Senior Import
Specialist, Commodity Import Analysis and Operations, Plant Health
Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1231; (301) 734-8758.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits
and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56 through 319.56-47, referred to below as
the regulations), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibits or restricts
the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States from
certain parts of the world to prevent plant pests from being introduced
into and spread within the United States.
Section 319.56-4 of the regulations contains a performance-based
process
[[Page 58048]]
for approving the importation of commodities that, based on the
findings of a pest risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one
or more of the designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph
(b) of that section. These measures are:
The fruits or vegetables are subject to inspection upon
arrival in the United States and comply with all applicable provisions
of Sec. 319.56-3;
The fruits or vegetables are imported from a pest-free
area in the country of origin that meets the requirements of Sec.
319.56-5 for freedom from that pest and are accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate stating that the fruits or vegetables
originated in a pest-free area in the country of origin;
The fruits or vegetables are treated in accordance with 7
CFR part 305;
The fruits or vegetables are inspected in the country of
origin by an inspector or an official of the national plant protection
organization of the exporting country, and have been found free of one
or more specific quarantine pests identified by the risk analysis as
likely to follow the import pathway; and/or
The fruits or vegetables are a commercial consignment.
APHIS received a request from the Government of Australia to allow
the importation of sweet cherries from Australia into the continental
United States and Hawaii. We have completed a pest risk assessment to
identify pests of quarantine significance that could follow the pathway
of importation into the United States and, based on that pest risk
assessment, have prepared a risk management analysis to identify
phytosanitary measures that could be applied to the commodity to
mitigate the pest risk. We have concluded that sweet cherries can be
safely imported into the continental United States and Hawaii from
Australia using one or more of the five designated phytosanitary
measures listed in Sec. 319.56-4(b). Therefore, in accordance with
Sec. 319.56-4(c), we are announcing the availability of our pest risk
analysis for public review and comment. The pest risk analysis may be
viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our reading room (see
ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may
request paper copies of the pest risk analysis by calling or writing to
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer
to the subject of the pest risk analysis when requesting copies. We
have also prepared an environmental assessment in connection with this
action which is available for review and comment in the same manner as
the pest risk analysis.
After reviewing the comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the import status of sweet cherries from Australia
in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of the analysis and
the Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following
our consideration of the comments, then we will begin issuing permits
for importation of sweet cherries from Australia into the continental
United States and Hawaii subject to the requirements specified in the
risk management analysis.
Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of October 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-20166 Filed 10-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P