[Federal Register: June 23, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 120)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 36328-36330]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23jn05-2]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 05-005-2]
Citrus Canker; Quarantined Areas
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
[[Page 36329]]
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 citrus canker regulations by updating the list of
areas in the State of Florida quarantined because of citrus canker. The
interim rule expanded one established quarantined area, added several
new quarantine areas, and removed a portion of one quarantined area.
These actions were necessary to prevent the spread of citrus canker
into noninfested areas of the United States and to relieve restrictions
that were no longer warranted.
DATES: The interim rule became effective on February 25, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lynn Evans-Goldner, Assistant
Staff Officer, Pest Detection and Management Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In an interim rule effective and published in the Federal Register
on February 25, 2005 (70 FR 9207-9210, Docket No. 05-005-1), we amended
the regulations in ``Subpart--Citrus Canker'' (7 CFR 301.75 through
301.75-16) by updating the list in Sec. 301.75-4 of areas in the State
of Florida quarantined because of citrus canker. Specifically, to
reflect the detection of citrus canker in an area adjacent to, but
outside of, one current quarantined area in Florida, as well as in
three additional areas, we expanded the boundaries of one existing
quarantined area in DeSoto County and added several new areas in
Charlotte, Collier, and Hendry Counties to the list of quarantined
areas. We also removed portions of Manatee County from the list of
quarantined areas because regular surveys showed them to have been free
of citrus canker for at least 2 years. These actions were necessary to
prevent the spread of citrus canker into noninfested areas of the
United States and to relieve restrictions that were no longer
warranted.
Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or
before April 26, 2005. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for
the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim rule
as a final rule.
This action also affirms the information contained in the interim
rule concerning Executive Order 12866, 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.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule affirms an interim rule that amended the regulations by
updating the list of areas in the State of Florida quarantined because
of citrus canker. The interim rule added three new quarantined areas
based on the disease's discovery in the Burnt Store and the Farabee
Grade quarantined areas in Charlotte County and the Collier quarantined
area in Collier and Hendry Counties. The interim rule also expanded the
area covered by the DeSoto B quarantined area in DeSoto County. The
interim rule imposed certain restrictions on the interstate movement of
regulated articles from and through these quarantined areas. The
interim rule also removed the quarantined area in Manatee County from
the list of areas quarantined for citrus canker. Therefore, the interim
rule was necessary to prevent the spread of citrus canker into
noninfested areas of the United States and to remove unnecessary
restrictions. The following analysis addresses the economic effect of
the interim rule on small entities, as required by the Regulatory
Flexibility Act.
Citrus canker is a bacterial disease causing lesions on the leaves,
stems and fruit of citrus trees. The lesions allow the bacterium to
reproduce in moisture-enriched environments. The bacteria that cause
citrus canker can seep from the lesions and spread to other trees and,
ultimately, other groves. The main contributing factors in the spread
of citrus canker are contact by grove workers and equipment and wind-
driven rain. Citrus varieties have varying degrees of susceptibility to
the disease. For example, grapefruit varieties are more vulnerable to
the spread of citrus canker than some varieties of oranges, such as
Valencia oranges.
Costs incurred because of citrus canker derive both from the damage
caused by the disease as well as from private, State, and Federal funds
expended on control measures. Among the reported costs are public
expenditures for eradication and for compensation of affected growers.
Approximately $600 million has been devoted to eradicating citrus
canker. Compensation payments by APHIS to affected growers over the
past 4 fiscal years have totaled $105.2 million. The first round of
payments for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 totaled $76.8 million. Payments
for fiscal years 2003 and 2004 were $11.8 million and $16.6 million,
respectively. The interim rule expanded the list of quarantined areas
in an effort to thwart the spread of citrus canker to other citrus-
producing areas of the United States. The objective is to control the
spread of citrus canker and thereby minimize its costs to private and
public entities, as described above.
The small business size standard identified by the Small Business
Association (SBA), based upon the North American Industry
Classification System (NAICS) codes 111310 (orange groves) and 111320
(other citrus not oranges), is $750,000 or less in annual receipts. The
interim rule affected a total of eight growers and six harvesters. One
grower and four harvesters are located in the Collier quarantined area.
In the Burnt Store quarantined area, the interim rule affected two
growers and two harvesters; however, they are not harvesting this year.
In the DeSoto B quarantine expansion, five growers are included in the
quarantine expansion; three of these growers, however, were already
affected by the same or other quarantine zones. No packinghouses or
other affected businesses are located within this expanded quarantined
area. Although the size of these affected entities is unknown, it is
reasonable to assume that most are small in size according to the SBA's
standards.
Based on the experiences of citrus growers and harvesters in areas
previously placed under quarantine, APHIS does not expect compliance
with these restrictions on the movement of regulated fruit from the
newly quarantined areas to have a significant economic effect on small
entities in the three newly quarantined areas. An alternative to this
rule would be to leave the regulations unchanged. However, failing to
include these new areas in the regulations would be an unsatisfactory
decision. As citrus canker can be transmitted by human means and via
wind-driven rain, choosing to leave the regulations unchanged would
likely lead to the spread of the disease from these areas to other
citrus-producing areas.
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.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
[[Page 36330]]
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and that was published at 70
FR 9207-9210 on February 25, 2005.
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of June 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-12436 Filed 6-22-05; 8:45 am]
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