Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to Quarantined Areas
[Federal Register: October 19, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 203)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 53123-53124]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19oc01-20]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 01-093-1]
Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to Quarantined Areas
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by
adding a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, to the list of quarantined
areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles
from the quarantined area. This action is necessary on an emergency
basis to prevent the spread of the Mediterranean fruit fly into
noninfested areas of the United States.
DATES: This interim rule was effective October 15, 2001. We invite you
to comment on this docket. We will consider all comments that we
receive by December 18, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and
three copies) to: Docket No. 01-093-1, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 01-093-1.
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. Stephen A. Knight, Senior Staff
Officer, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 36, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231;
(301) 734-8247.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is one
of the world's most destructive pests of numerous fruits and
vegetables. The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) can cause serious
economic losses. Heavy infestations can cause complete loss of crops,
and losses of 25 to 50 percent are not uncommon. The short life cycle
of this pest permits the rapid development of serious outbreaks.
The Mediterranean fruit fly regulations contained in 7 CFR 301.78
through 301.78-10 (referred to below as the regulations) restrict the
interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas to
prevent the spread of Medfly to noninfested areas of the United States.
Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of California State and county
agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) have revealed that an infestation of Medfly has
occurred in the Hyde Park area of Los Angeles County, CA.
The regulations in Sec. 301.78-3 provide that the Administrator of
APHIS will list as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of a
State, in which the Medfly has been found by an inspector, in which the
Administrator has reason to believe that the Medfly is present, or that
the Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities in
which the Medfly has been found.
Less than an entire State will be designated as a quarantined area
only if the Administrator determines that the State has adopted and is
enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of regulated articles
that are equivalent to those imposed on the interstate movement of
regulated articles, and the designation of less than the entire State
as a quarantined area will prevent the interstate spread of the Medfly.
The boundary lines for a portion of a State being designated as
quarantined are set up approximately four-and-one-half miles from the
detection sites. The boundary lines may vary due to factors such as the
location of Medfly host material, the location of transportation
centers such as bus stations and airports, the patterns of persons
moving in that State, the number and patterns of distribution of the
Medfly, and the use of clearly identifiable lines for the boundaries.
In accordance with these criteria and the recent Medfly findings
described above, we are amending Sec. 301.78-3 by adding a portion of
Los Angeles County, CA, to the list of quarantined areas. The new
quarantined area is described in the rule portion of this document.
Emergency Action
This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the
Medfly from spreading to noninfested areas of the United States. Under
these circumstances, the Administrator has determined that prior notice
and opportunity for public comment are contrary to the public interest
and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 for making this rule
effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
We will consider comments that are received within 60 days of
publication of this rule in the Federal Register. After the comment
period closes, we will publish another document in the Federal
Register. The document will include a discussion of any comments we
receive and any amendments we are making to the rule as a result of the
comments.
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
process required by Executive Order 12866.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 603, we have performed an initial
regulatory flexibility analysis, which is set out below, regarding the
effects of this interim rule on small entities. We do not currently
have all the data necessary for a comprehensive analysis of the effects
of this interim rule on small entities. Therefore, we are inviting
comments concerning potential effects. In particular, we are interested
in
[[Page 53124]]
determining the number and kind of small entities that may incur
benefits or costs from the implementation of this interim rule.
Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-7772), the Secretary
of Agriculture is authorized to regulate the interstate movement of
articles to prevent the spread of injurious plant pests in the United
States.
This interim rule amends the Medfly regulations by adding a portion
of Los Angeles County, CA, to the list of quarantined areas. This
action is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the spread of the
Medfly into noninfested areas of the United States.
This rule restricts the interstate movement of regulated articles
from the newly quarantined area. The portion of Los Angeles County, CA,
subject to quarantine under this rule is a predominantly residential
area with many apartment buildings. Available information indicates
that there are no entities in the quarantined area that sell, process,
handle, or move regulated articles. Such entities would include fruit
sellers, nurseries, growers, packinghouses, certified farmer's markets,
and swapmeets.
The alternative to this interim rule was to make no changes in the
regulations. After consideration, we rejected this alternative because
if no action was taken, the Medfly would spread to noninfested areas of
the continental United States.
This interim rule contains no information collection or
recordkeeping requirements.
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.
National Environmental Policy Act
An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
have been prepared for this interim rule. The site-specific
environmental assessment and programmatic Medfly environmental impact
statement provide a basis for our conclusion that the implementation of
integrated pest management to achieve eradication of the Medfly would
not have a significant impact on human health or the natural
environment. Based on the finding of no significant impact, the
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has
determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.
The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2)
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA
regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no
significant impact are available for public inspection at USDA, room
1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. Persons wishing to inspect copies are requested to
call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the reading room.
In addition, copies may be obtained by writing to the individual listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or viewed on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/es/ppq/hydepkea.pdf.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This interim rule contains no 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 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 166, 7711, 7712, 7714, 7731, 7735, 7751,
7752, 7753, and 7754; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7
U.S.C. 1421 note).
2. In Sec. 301.78-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.78-3 Quarantined Areas.
* * * * *
(c) The areas described below are designated as quarantined areas:
California
Los Angeles County. That portion of the county in the Hyde Park
area bounded by a line beginning at the intersection of La Brea Avenue
and Interstate Highway 10; then east along Interstate Highway 10 to
Alameda Street; then south along Alameda Street to Washington
Boulevard; then east along Washington Boulevard to Sante Fe Avenue;
then south along Sante Fe Avenue to Truba Avenue; then south along
Truba Avenue to Tweedy Boulevard; then west along Tweedy Boulevard to
Alameda Street; then south along Alameda Street to 103rd Street; then
west along 103rd Street to Wilmington Avenue; then south along
Wilmington Avenue to Interstate Highway 105; then west along Interstate
Highway 105 to Hawthorne Boulevard; then north along Hawthorne
Boulevard to La Brea Avenue; then north along La Brea Avenue to the
point of beginning.
Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of October 2001 .
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-26329 Filed 10-18-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U
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