[Federal Register: February 7, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 26)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 7189]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07fe08-3]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0129]
RIN 0579-AC32
Wood Packaging Material; Treatment Modification
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim
rule that amended the regulations for the importation of unmanufactured
wood articles to bring the methyl bromide treatment schedule into
alignment with current international phytosanitary standards. The
interim rule was necessary because international phytosanitary
standards had changed, and our regulations needed to be updated to
reflect the current standards.
DATES: Effective on February 7, 2008, we are adopting as a final rule
the interim rule published at 72 FR 30460-30462 on June 1, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. John T. Jones, II, Forestry
Products Trade Director, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-8860.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In an interim rule \1\ effective and published in the Federal
Register on June 1, 2007 (72 FR 30460-30462, Docket No. APHIS-2006-
0129), we amended the regulations for the importation of unmanufactured
wood articles to bring the methyl bromide treatment schedule into
alignment with current international phytosanitary standards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To view the interim rule and the comment we received, go to
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0129
.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or
before July 31, 2007. We received one comment by that date, from a
State agriculture department. The commenter stated that methyl bromide
treatments do not control deep wood insects, but did not provide any
evidence to support that assertion. The commenter also stated that more
effective treatments should be required, but did not offer any
suggestions for such treatments.
We agree that the methyl bromide treatment standards adopted in the
interim rule would be inappropriate for the treatment of logs or large
pieces of lumber. However, these standards apply specifically to wood
packaging materials, such as pallets, crating, and boxes, which are
typically made of stock \1/2\-inch to 3 inches in thickness. Research
has demonstrated that fumigation of wood packaging material in
accordance with these standards will be sufficient to penetrate wood
stock of the sizes typically used for wood packaging materials and will
provide an appropriate level of phytosanitary protection. We are making
no changes to the interim rule in response to this comment.
Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule and in this
document, we are adopting the interim rule as a final rule without
change.
This action also affirms the information contained in the interim
rule concerning Executive Orders 12866 and 12988 and the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
Further, this action has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604, we have performed a final
regulatory flexibility analysis, which is set out below, regarding the
economic effects of this rule on small entities.
We invited the public to comment on the potential effects of the
interim rule on small entities, in particular the number and kind of
small entities that may incur benefits or costs from the implementation
of the interim rule. However, we did not receive any additional
information or data in response to those requests.
The rule affects foreign exporters of goods that are shipped using
wood packaging materials. No U.S. entities involved in the production
or supply of unmanufactured wood packaging materials are expected to be
negatively affected by the rule because the revised treatment must
occur in the country of origin. The impact on foreign entities is not
expected to be large because only the treatment time and concentration
reading have been changed; the methyl bromide dosage rate remains the
same. It is possible that some foreign entities might pass on
additional treatment costs, if any, to U.S. buyers.
The rule has no mandatory reporting, recordkeeping, or other
compliance requirements for U.S. entities, other than the requirements
that normally pertain to commodity importation. APHIS has not
identified any duplication, overlap, or conflict of the interim rule
with other Federal rules.
We do not foresee the rule having a significant economic impact on
small entities, and therefore have not proposed significant
alternatives to minimize impacts. The rule simply aligns the U.S.
methyl bromide treatment requirements for wood packaging materials with
the standards established by the International Plant Protection
Convention. The rule benefits the United States by reducing the risk of
introduction of pests via unmanufactured wood packaging materials. It
may impact foreign exporters of goods to the United States who use
unmanufactured wood packaging materials, which in turn may affect
importers of these goods. However, cost increases, if any, due to the
revised treatment requirements are not expected to significantly affect
domestic entities and thus will not have a measurable impact on the
flow of trade.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319
Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, Nursery stock, Plant
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 319 and that was published at 72
FR 30460-30462 on June 1, 2007.
Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of February 2008.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E8-2262 Filed 2-6-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P