[Federal Register: December 18, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 242)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 67051]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18de09-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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[[Page 67051]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0036]
Karnal Bunt; Regulated Areas
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim
rule that amended the Karnal bunt regulations to remove certain areas
or fields in Riverside County, CA, from the list of regulated areas
based on our determination that those areas or fields meet our criteria
for release from regulation of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat.
This interim rule relieved restrictions on certain areas or fields that
are no longer necessary.
DATES: Effective on December 18, 2009, we are adopting as a final rule
the interim rule that was published at 74 FR 26774-26777 on June 4,
2009, and that was corrected in a document that was published at 74 FR
27423 on June 10, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lynn Evans-Goldner, Karnal Bunt
Program Manager, Plant Pathogen and Weed Programs, EDP, PPQ, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Karnal bunt is a fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum
wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum X Secale
cereale), a hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is caused by the
fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread primarily through
the planting of infected seed followed by very specific environmental
conditions matched during specific stages of wheat growth. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) regulates the movement of articles in the United States that
could spread Karnal bunt and works toward eventual eradication of
Karnal bunt through bio-sanitary measures.
In an interim rule \1\ effective and published in the Federal
Register on June 4, 2009 (74 FR 26774-26777, Docket No. APHIS-2009-
0036), we amended the Karnal bunt regulations contained in 7 CFR
301.89-1 through 301.89-16 by removing certain areas or fields in
Riverside County, CA, from the list of regulated areas in Sec. 301.89-
3(g). That action was based on our determination that these fields or
areas are eligible for release from regulation under the criteria in
Sec. 301.89-3(f). The interim rule relieved restrictions on fields
within those areas that were no longer necessary. As a result of the
interim rule, 286 fields and 8,226 acres were removed from the list of
regulated areas in Riverside County, CA; 35,271 acres in Riverside
County remain regulated for Karnal bunt.
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\1\ To view the interim rule, a correction to the interim rule,
and the comment we received, go to (http://www.regulations.gov/
fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0036).
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Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or
before August 3, 2009. We received one comment by that date, from a
wheat industry organization. The commenter supported the interim rule.
Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule, 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 Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility
Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the
interim rule amending 7 CFR part 301 that was published at 74 FR 26774-
26777 on June 4, 2009, and that was corrected in a document that was
published at 74 FR 27423 on June 10, 2009.
Done in Washington, DC, this 11\th\ day of December 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-30130 Filed 12-17-09: 8:45 am]