Citrus Canker Regulations; Quarantined Areas and Survey Areas

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 93-153-1]

Citrus Canker Regulations; Quarantined Areas and Survey Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the citrus canker regulations by

removing the areas in Highlands and Manatee Counties, FL, from the list

of quarantined areas and by removing the area in Hillsborough County,

FL, from the list of survey areas. No evidence of citrus canker has

been found in these areas for at least 2 years. This action appears

necessary to relieve regulatory restrictions which are no longer

necessary.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or

before April 18, 1994.

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

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804,

Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 93-153-1. 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. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer,

Domestic and Emergency Operations, Plant Protection and Quarantine,

APHIS, USDA, room 661, Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road,

Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-6365.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Citrus canker is a plant disease caused by strains of the bacterium

Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri. The disease is known to affect plants

and plant parts, including fresh fruit, of citrus and citrus relatives

(Family Rutaceae). It can cause defoliation and other serious damage to

the leaves and twigs of susceptible plants. It may also make the fruit

of infected plants unmarketable by causing lesions on the fruit.

Infected fruit may also drop from trees before reaching maturity. The

Asiatic strains of Xanthomonas campestris pv. citri (A strains) are

aggressive strains.

In the United States, Florida is the only State where citrus canker

has been present in recent years. Regulations to prevent the interstate

spread of citrus canker from Florida are contained in 7 CFR 301.75-1

through 301.75-14, ``Subpart--Citrus Canker'' (referred to below as

``the regulations'').

The regulations designate certain areas in Florida as quarantined

areas and impose restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated

articles from and through quarantined areas. The regulations also

designate survey areas, which surround the quarantined areas. Survey

areas undergo close monitoring by Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service (APHIS) and State inspectors.

The regulations currently designate certain areas in Highlands and

Manatee Counties as quarantined for citrus canker. An area in

Hillsborough County is also currently designated in the regulations as

a survey area.

The quarantined area in Highlands County was established in

response to the detection of citrus canker caused by the A strains in a

commercial grove in October 1990. The area in Manatee County has been

quarantined since June 1986 because of the detection of citrus canker

caused by the A strains. All the quarantined areas and all the survey

areas have been surveyed for citrus canker on a regular basis since the

initial detections. No evidence of citrus canker has been observed in

the Highlands County quarantined area since June 19, 1991. No citrus

canker has been found in the Manatee County quarantined area since

January 19, 1992, and no evidence of citrus canker has been observed in

the Hillsborough County survey area at any time. APHIS believes,

therefore, that it is safe to conclude that citrus canker is not

present in any of these areas, and that it is no longer necessary to

require any special requirements to be met within these areas or to

limit the interstate movement from or through these areas of regulated

articles.

Based on these facts, we are proposing to remove the areas in

Highlands and Manatee Counties from the list of quarantined areas

(Sec. 301.75-4(a)) and to remove the area in Hillsborough County from

the list of survey areas (Sec. 301.75-4(d)(1)). The removal of these

areas will remove all quarantined areas and survey areas for citrus

canker in the United States.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed 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.

If this proposed rule is adopted, all areas in Highlands and

Manatee Counties would be released from their classification as

quarantined areas, and the area in Hillsborough County would be

released from its classification as a survey area. If the proposed rule

is adopted, citrus plants, plant parts, citrus fruit, and other

regulated articles from currently quarantined areas would be allowed to

be moved interstate to other areas in the United States, including

commercial citrus-producing areas, and regulated articles would be

allowed to be moved interstate through quarantined areas. Requirements

which apply to survey areas would also be removed.

We have determined that 237 individuals and businesses would be

economically affected by the proposed changes. These individuals and

businesses include: Lawn care companies (82), grove owners (74 persons

who own 2,177 acres), retail nursery outlets (21), fruit processors

(15), fruit harvesting contractors (12), fruit shippers (12), fresh

fruit packing houses (11), nurseries (9), and seed extractors (1).

APHIS believes that virtually all of these individuals and businesses

are small entities.

These individuals and businesses are all currently required to

comply with the regulations. This results in inconvenience and in some

cases expenses that are not encountered by similar individuals and

businesses in other parts of the United States.

It should be noted that the costs of compliance are, in many cases,

minimal, and that the individuals and businesses affected by the

regulations represent less than one percent of all similar individuals

and businesses in Florida.

One of the largest groups of affected individuals and business is

grove owners. We estimate that this rule change would save each

affected grove owner approximately $25 per acre, per year, by removing

requirements for cleaning and disinfecting vehicles, equipment, and

personnel leaving their groves. These costs represent a small

percentage of the owners' overall production costs.

In addition, this proposed rule would allow grove owners to expand

the areas into which their fruit could be moved interstate, in that

they would be allowed to move fruit interstate to commercial citrus-

producing areas. We anticipate that any impact from this rule change

would be negligible, as approximately 90 percent of all of Florida's

citrus production is for the juice market, and only about 10 percent is

for the fresh fruit market.

In addition to grove owners in the quarantined areas, truckers,

packing and processing plants, and lawn services within the currently

quarantined areas would no longer be subject to inspection and would no

longer need to carry out activities now required by the regulations.

This would result in financial savings to these entities. This also

means that groves producing regulated fruit for interstate movement,

regulated trees, and regulated plants in the current survey area would

no longer be subject to regular inspections for citrus canker. This

change would reduce the burden on APHIS and State agencies, which

currently provide inspectors to perform regular inspections in the

survey area.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would

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 proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778,

Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State

and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule

will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this

rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before

parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This proposed rule 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 would be amended as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 301 would continue 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. 301.75-4, paragraphs (a) and (d)(1) would be revised to

read as follows:

Sec. 301.75-4 Quarantined areas.

(a) The following States or portions of States are designated as

quarantined areas: Citrus canker is not known to exist in the United

States.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(1) Survey area. In the following area, inspections are conducted

as required by paragraphs (d)(1)(i), (d)(1)(ii), and (d)(1)(iii) of

this section: Citrus canker is not known to exist in the United States.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of March 1994.

Patricia Jensen,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Inspection Services.

[FR Doc. 94-6181 Filed 3-16-94; 8:45 am]

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