3033 Proposed Rules Federal Register Vol. 81, No. 12 Wednesday, January 20, 2016 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER DATES: We will consider all comments program. Conditions for importation of contains notices to the public of the proposed that we receive on or before March 21, fresh apple and pear fruit from the issuance of rules and regulations. The 2016. above countries include a trust fund purpose of these notices is to give interested ADDRESSES: You may submit comments agreement between the national plant persons an opportunity to participate in the by either of the following methods: protection organization (NPPO) of the rule making prior to the adoption of the final • rules. Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to exporting country and APHIS; orchard http://www.regulations.gov/ and packinghouse inspections for #!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0073. Leucoptera malifoliella and other DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE • Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: quarantine plant pests; approved Send your comment to Docket No. mitigations for infested orchards; cold Animal and Plant Health Inspection APHIS–2015–0073, Regulatory Analysis treatment of fruit against Mediterranean Service and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata, or Medfly) in 3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, countries where the pest is known to 7 CFR Part 319 Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. occur; identification of orchards and Supporting documents and any packinghouses for traceback of each [Docket No. APHIS–2015–0073] comments we receive on this docket consignment; packinghouse handling may be viewed at http:// and safeguarding requirements for fruit RIN 0579–AE18 www.regulations.gov/ intended for shipment to the United #!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0073 or Importation of Fresh Apple and Pear States; and preclearance inspection. in our reading room, which is located in Fruit Into the Continental United States As an alternative to the preclearance room 1141 of the USDA South Building, From Certain Countries in the program, the European Commission, the 14th Street and Independence Avenue European Union executive body of the European Union SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading (EU), has requested that APHIS amend AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the regulations to allow the importation Inspection Service, USDA. Monday through Friday, except into the continental United States from ACTION: Proposed rule. holidays. To be sure someone is there to certain EU countries of fresh apple and help you, please call (202) 799–7039 pear fruit that has been produced in SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend before coming. accordance with an approved systems the regulations to allow the importation FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. approach. Any alternative approach to of fresh apple and pear fruit from David B. Lamb, Senior Regulatory the preclearance program for importing certain countries in the European Union Policy Specialist, USDA/APHIS/PPQ, these articles requires that the current into the continental United States, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, regulations be amended. provided that the fruit is produced in MD 20737–1236; (301) 851–2103; As part of our evaluation of the EU’s accordance with a systems approach, as [email protected]. request, we prepared a pest list 1 of an alternative to importation under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: quarantine pests that could follow the current preclearance program. The pathway of commercial shipments of proposed systems approach for fresh Background fresh apple and pear fruit into the apple and pear fruit consists of Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart— continental United States from the EU production site and packinghouse Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56– member countries included in the registration, inspection of registered 1 through 319.56–74, referred to below request. A quarantine pest is defined in production sites twice a season, as the regulations or the fruits and § 319.56–2 as ‘‘a pest of potential production site pest control and vegetables regulations), the Animal and economic importance to the area sanitation, post-harvest safeguards, fruit Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) endangered thereby and not yet present culling, traceback, sampling, cold of the United States Department of there, or present but not widely treatment against Mediterranean fruit fly Agriculture (USDA) prohibits or distributed and being officially in countries where the pest is known to restricts the importation of fruits and controlled.’’ The pest list reported 32 occur, a phytosanitary certificate, port of vegetables into the United States from quarantine pests (26 arthropods, 1 entry inspection, and importation as certain parts of the world to prevent bacterium, 4 fungi and 1 viroid) that commercial consignments only. Fresh plant pests from being introduced into may follow the pathway of commercial apple and pear fruit that does not meet and spread within the United States. shipments of apples and pears into the the requirements in the systems Currently, § 319.56–22 provides continental United States. They are: approach would continue to be allowed conditions for importation of fresh Arthropods: to be imported into the United States apple fruit (Malus domestica Borkh.) Adoxophyes orana (Fischer von subject to the conditions of the from Belgium, Denmark, France, Ro¨eslerstamm) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) preclearance program. This action Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Aphanostigma piri (Cholodkovsky) would provide an alternative for the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, (Hemiptera: Phylloxeridae) importation of fresh apple and pear fruit Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, from certain countries in the European Sweden, and Switzerland, and fresh 1 ‘‘Pest List for Importation of Fresh Fruit of Union while continuing to provide pear fruit (Pyrus communis L.) from Apple, Malus domestica, and Pear, Pyrus communis, into the Continental United States from protection against the introduction of Belgium, France, Great Britain, Italy, the eight countries in the European Union (Belgium, plant pests into the continental United Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, into Germany, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the States. the United States under a preclearance Netherlands)’’ (USDA, 2014). VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:49 Jan 19, 2016 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\20JAP1.SGM 20JAP1 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS 3034 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 20, 2016 / Proposed Rules Archips podana (Scopoli) (Lepidoptera: applied to mitigate the pest risk exporting country to develop an Tortricidae) associated with the importation of fresh operational workplan, subject to APHIS Argyrotaenia pulchellana (Haworth) apple and pear fruit from certain EU approval, that details the activities that (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) member countries into the continental the NPPO would carry out to meet the Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) United States. Copies of the pest list and requirements of proposed § 319.56–75. Ceroplastes japonicus Green (Hemiptera: RMD may be obtained from the person An operational workplan is an Coccidae) listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION agreement developed between APHIS’ Choristoneura hebenstreitella (Muller) CONTACT or viewed on the Plant Protection and Quarantine (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Regulations.gov Web site (see program, officials of the NPPO of a Cryptoblabes gnidiella (Milliere) ADDRESSES above for a link to foreign government, and, when (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Regulations.gov and information on the necessary, foreign commercial entities, Cydia pyrivora (Danilevsky) (Lepidoptera: location and hours of the reading room). that specifies in detail the phytosanitary Tortricidae) Diloba caeruleocephala (L.) (Lepidoptera: In the RMD, entitled, ‘‘Importation of measures that will be carried out to Noctuidae) Fresh Fruit of Apple, Malus domestica, comply with our regulations governing Eutetranychus orientalis (Klein) (Acari: and Pear, Pyrus communis, into the the importation of a specific Tetranychidae) Continental United States from eight commodity. Operational workplans Euzophera bigella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: countries in the European Union apply only to the signatory parties and Pyralidae) (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, establish detailed procedures and Grapholita funebrana Treitschke Poland, Portugal, Spain, the guidance for the day-to-day operations (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Netherlands),’’ (July 2015), we of specific import/export programs. Grapholita lobarzewskii (Nowicki) determined that phytosanitary measures (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Operational workplans also establish Hedya pruniana (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: could be applied as a systems approach how specific phytosanitary issues are Tortricidae) to mitigate the risks of introducing or dealt with in the exporting country and Lacanobia oleracea L. (Lepidoptera: disseminating the quarantine pests in make clear who is responsible for Noctuidae) the pest list into the continental United dealing with those issues. The Leucoptera malifoliella (Costa) (Lepidoptera: States. Therefore, we are proposing to implementation of a systems approach Lyonetiidae) allow the importation of fresh apple and typically requires an operational Lobesia botrana Dennis & Schiffermuller pear fruit from the EU countries of workplan to be developed. The (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, operational workplan may include, but Mamestra brassicae