Oriental Fruit Fly; Designation of Quarantined Area

SUMMARY: We are amending the Oriental fruit fly regulations by

quarantining a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, 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 Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective November 7, 1994. Consideration will be

given only to comments received on or before January 13, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, P.O.

Drawer 810, Riverdale, MD 20738. Please state that your comments refer

to Docket No. 94-117-1. Comments received may be inspected 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 comments are requested to

call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the comment

reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael B. Stefan, Operations

Officer, Domestic and Emergency Operations, Plant Protection and

Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, at the following address: Room 640, Federal

Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782 before January 9,

1995; or room 4C03, USDA Center at Riverside, 4700 River Road,

Riverdale, MD 20737 on or after January 9, 1995. Telephone: (301) 436-

8247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Background

The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a

destructive pest of citrus and other types of fruit, nuts, and

vegetables. The short life cycle of the Oriental fruit fly allows rapid

development of serious outbreaks that can cause severe economic losses.

Heavy infestations can cause complete loss of crops.

The Oriental fruit fly regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.93

through 301.93-10 (referred to below as the regulations), were

established to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly to

noninfested areas of the United States. Section 301.93-3(a) provides

that the Administrator will list as a quarantined area each State, or

each portion of a State, in which the Oriental fruit fly has been found

by an inspector, in which the Administrator has reason to believe that

the Oriental fruit fly is present, or that the Administrator considers

necessary to regulate because of its proximity to the Oriental fruit

fly or its inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from

localities in which the Oriental fruit fly has been found. The

regulations impose restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated

articles from the quarantined areas. Quarantined areas are listed in

Sec. 301.93-3(c).

Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of California State and

county agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),

reveal that a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, is infested with the

Oriental fruit fly. Specifically, inspectors collected eight adult

Oriental fruit flies in traps in the Florence area of Los Angeles

County between October 13 and 18, 1994. The Oriental fruit fly is not

known to exist anywhere else in the continental United States.

Officials of State agencies of California have begun an intensive

Oriental fruit fly eradication program in the quarantined area in

California. Also, California has taken action to restrict the

intrastate movement of certain articles from the quarantined area.

Accordingly, to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly to

other States, we are amending the regulations in Sec. 301.93-3 by

designating as a quarantined area a portion of Los Angeles County, CA.

The quarantined area, composed of about 59 square miles in the Florence

area, is described below:

Los Angeles County

That portion of Los Angeles County in the Florence area bounded by

a line drawn as follows: Beginning at the intersection of El Segundo

Boulevard and Western Avenue; then north along Western Avenue to its

intersection with Vernon Avenue; then east along Vernon Avenue to its

intersection with Vermont Avenue; then north along Vermont Avenue to

its intersection with Martin Luther King (M.L.K.), Jr. Boulevard; then

east along M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard to its intersection with Broadway; then

northeast along Broadway to its intersection with Washington Boulevard;

then southeast along Washington Boulevard to its intersection with

Interstate Highway 710 (Long Beach Freeway); then south along

Interstate Highway 710 to its intersection with Rosecrans Avenue; then

west along Rosecrans Avenue to its intersection with Interstate Highway

110 (Harbor Freeway); then north along Interstate Highway 110 to its

intersection with El Segundo Boulevard; then west along El Segundo

Boulevard to the point of beginning.

Emergency Action

The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

has determined that an emergency exists that warrants publication of

this interim rule without prior opportunity for public comment.

Immediate action is necessary to prevent the Oriental fruit fly from

spreading to noninfested areas of the United States.

Because prior notice and other public procedures with respect to

this action are impracticable and contrary to the public interest under

these conditions, we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 to make it

effective upon signature. 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. It 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.

This interim rule restricts the interstate movement of regulated

articles from a portion of Los Angeles County, CA. Within this

regulated area, there are approximately 516 entities that will be

affected by this rule. All would be considered small entities. These

include 486 fruit sellers, 13 nurseries, 10 swap meets, 6 wholesale

distributors, 1 farmers market. These small entities comprise less than

1 percent of the total number of similar small entities operating in

the State of California. In addition, these small entities sell

regulated articles primarily for local intrastate, not interstate,

movement so the effect, if any, of this regulation on these entities

appears to be minimal.

The effect on those few entities that do move regulated articles

interstate will be minimized by the availability of various treatments,

that, in most cases, will allow these small entities to move regulated

articles interstate with very little additional cost.

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.

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 12778

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 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 the Oriental fruit fly regulatory program. The

assessment provides a basis for the conclusion that the methods

employed to regulate the Oriental fruit fly will not have a significant

impact on the quality of the human 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) (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 Guidelines

Implementing NEPA (44 FR 50381-50384, August 28, 1979, and 44 FR 51272-

51274, August 31, 1979).

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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This document contains no new information collection or

recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

(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, 7 CFR part 301 is amended as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and

164-167; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

2. In Sec. 301.93-3, paragraph (c) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 301.93-3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) The area described below is designated as a quarantined area:

California

Los Angeles County. That portion of Los Angeles County in the

Florence area bounded by a line drawn as follows: Beginning at the

intersection of El Segundo Boulevard and Western Avenue; then north

along Western Avenue to its intersection with Vernon Avenue; then

east along Vernon Avenue to its intersection with Vermont Avenue;

then north along Vermont Avenue to its intersection with Martin

Luther King (M.L.K.), Jr. Boulevard; then east along M.L.K. Jr.

Boulevard to its intersection with Broadway; then northeast along

Broadway to its intersection with Washington Boulevard; then

southeast along Washington Boulevard to its intersection with

Interstate Highway 710 (Long Beach Freeway); then south along

Interstate Highway 710 to its intersection with Rosecrans Avenue;

then west along Rosecrans Avenue to its intersection with Interstate

Highway 110 (Harbor Freeway); then north along Interstate Highway

110 to its intersection with El Segundo Boulevard; then west along

El Segundo Boulevard to the point of beginning.

Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of November 1994.

Lonnie J. King,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 94-28046 Filed 11-10-94; 8:45 am]

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