41259 Rules and Regulations Federal Register Vol. 78, No. 132 Wednesday, July 10, 2013 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Gymnandrosoma aurantianum (citrus contains regulatory documents having general Meredith C. Jones, Senior Regulatory fruit borer); one fungus (Elsinoe¨ applicability and legal effect, most of which Coordination Specialist, Regulatory australis, causal agent of sweet orange are keyed to and codified in the Code of Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, scab, or SOS); and a pathogen Federal Regulations, which is published under APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, (Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, or Xcc, 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510. Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851–2289. causal agent of citrus canker). The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In order to provide an appropriate the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of level of phytosanitary protection against Background new books are listed in the first FEDERAL the pests of quarantine concern REGISTER issue of each week. The regulations in ‘‘Subpart–Fruits associated with the importation of fresh and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 citrus fruit from Uruguay into the through 319.56–58, referred to below as continental United States, we proposed DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE the regulations) prohibit or restrict the requirements in a risk management importation of fruits and vegetables into document (RMD) for fresh citrus fruit Animal and Plant Health Inspection the United States from certain parts of from Uruguay to be produced in Service the world to prevent the introduction accordance with a systems approach and dissemination of plant pests that are that included the following 7 CFR Part 319 new to or not widely distributed within requirements: Fruit must be imported the United States. only in commercial consignments; the [Docket No. APHIS–2011–0060] On February 6, 2013, we published in Uruguayan national plant protection the Federal Register (78 FR 8435–8441, RIN 0579–AD59 organization (NPPO) must provide a Docket No. APHIS–2011–0060) a workplan to the Animal and Plant 1 proposal to amend the regulations Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that Importation of Fresh Citrus Fruit From concerning the importation of fruits and Uruguay, Including Citrus Hybrids and details the activities that the Uruguayan vegetables to allow the importation of NPPO will, subject to APHIS’ approval Fortunella spp., Into the Continental several species of fresh Citrus and United States 2 of the workplan, carry out to meet the Fortunella fruit (‘‘citrus fruit’’) from proposed requirements; pest monitoring AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Uruguay into the continental United and control practices must be Inspection Service, USDA. States. We also prepared a pest risk conducted; grove sanitation and assessment (PRA) 3 that evaluated the ACTION: Final rule. packinghouse procedures must be risks associated with the importation of designed to exclude quarantine pests; these species of fresh citrus fruit from SUMMARY: We are amending the fruits and the fruit must be treated in Uruguay into the continental United and vegetables regulations to allow the accordance with 7 CFR part 305 and the States and identified six pests of importation of several varieties of fresh Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) quarantine significance in Uruguay that citrus fruit, as well as Citrus hybrids and Treatment Manual.4 We also proposed could be introduced into the United the Citrus-related genus Fortunella, to require consignments of citrus fruit States through the importation of citrus from Uruguay into the continental from Uruguay to be accompanied by a fruit. These included two fruit flies, United States. As a condition of entry, phytosanitary certificate with an Anastrepha fraterculus (South the fruit will have to be produced in additional declaration stating that the accordance with a systems approach American fruit fly) and Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean fruit fly, or fruit in the consignment is free of all that includes requirements for pests of quarantine concern and has importation in commercial Medfly); two moths, Cryptoblabes gnidiella (the honeydew moth) and been produced in accordance with the consignments, pest monitoring and pest requirements of the systems approach. control practices, grove sanitation and 1 We solicited comments on our packinghouse procedures designed to To view the proposed rule, supporting and related documents, including the economic proposal for 60 days ending April 8, exclude the quarantine pests, and analysis, and comments we received, go to http:// 2013. We received 55 comments by that treatment. The fruit also will have to be www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS- date. They were from U.S. and 2011-0060-0001. accompanied by a phytosanitary Uruguayan fruit growers, packers, certificate issued by the national plant 2 Included are sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), lemons (C. limon (L.) Burm. f.), four shippers, and importers/exporters; protection organization of Uruguay with species of mandarins (C. reticulata Blanco, C. scientific, trade, and economic an additional declaration confirming clementina Hort. ex Tanaka, C. deliciosa Ten., and development organizations; two U.S. that the fruit is free from all pests of C. unshiu Marcow, Citrus hybrids), and two species Senators; a State department of quarantine concern and has been of the Citrus-related genus Fortunella (F. japonica Thunb. Swingle and F. margarita (Lour.) Swingle). agriculture; an association of State produced in accordance with the 3 ‘‘Importation of Fresh Citrus Fruit, including departments of agriculture; a Uruguayan systems approach. These actions will Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck), lemons school of agronomy; U.S. port storage, allow for the importation of fresh citrus (C. limon (L.) Burm. f.), four species of mandarins drayage, and general logistics providers; fruit, including Citrus hybrids and the (C. reticulata Blanco, C. clementina Hort. ex Tanaka, C. deliciosa Ten., and C. unshiu Marcow, municipal governments, and members Citrus-related genus Fortunella, from Citrus hybrids, and two species of the Citrus-related of the public. Forty-three commenters Uruguay while continuing to protect the genus Fortunella (F. japonica Thunb. Swingle and supported the action we proposed. The United States against the introduction of F. margarita (Lour.) Swingle), concerning the plant pests. importation of fresh citrus from Uruguay into the Continental United States’’ (Dec. 16, 2012). To view 4 http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/ DATES: Effective Date: August 9, 2013. this document, see footnote 1. plants/manuals/ports/downloads/treatment.pdf. VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:22 Jul 09, 2013 Jkt 229001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\10JYR1.SGM 10JYR1 TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with RULES 41260 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 132 / Wednesday, July 10, 2013 / Rules and Regulations remaining comments are discussed of concern. The commenter also stated contaminated with pycnidiospores must below by topic. that a 2010 risk analysis, in which be brought into contact with susceptible APHIS assessed citrus fruit as a pathway host tissue in a susceptible stage for General Comments for the introduction of CBS,5 provides infection; and finally, specific weather Two commenters asked why APHIS is incomplete knowledge of how the conditions conducive for infection to assuming the risk of introducing plant disease develops and spreads. As occur must coincide with these events pests from Uruguay when sufficient support, the commenter cited detections and persist for a sufficient period of fresh citrus fruit is already available in of CBS in Florida beyond the original time. The risk assessment determined the United States. 2010 occurrence and the apparent the overall likelihood to be low that the Under the Plant Protection Act (7 ineffectiveness of mitigation efforts to pathogen would find a suitable host U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), we have the prevent the disease’s spread. The with susceptible tissue and incite authority to prohibit or restrict the commenter stated that the latency of disease even if infected fruit were to importation of plants and plant lesions on fruit moving from CBS- arrive in an area with available hosts products only when necessary to contaminated areas in Florida to and climatic conditions were favorable prevent the introduction into or processing facilities could be one reason for disease development. dissemination of plant pests or noxious for its continued spread, and concluded With regard to the commenter’s weeds within the United States. We from this that applying the mitigations concern over detections of CBS beyond have determined that fresh citrus fruit for fresh citrus fruit from Florida to where it originally occurred in Florida, from Uruguay may be safely imported fresh citrus fruit imported from Uruguay we have not determined the cause of into the continental United States under may not be adequate. these occurrences. They could be the the conditions we are adding to the We noted in the proposed rule that a result of the fungus spreading via wind regulations. previous version of the PRA listed CBS or plant debris from the original One commenter stated that the rule as a quarantine pathogen present in infection site. They could also have provided no specific information about Uruguay and likely to follow the escaped detection while delimiting the how the proposed systems approach pathway, but that
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