Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to Quarantined Areas

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 97-102-1]

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 continental United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective October 16, 1997. Consideration will be

given only to comments received on or before December 22, 1997.

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

Docket No. 97-102-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,

suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 97-102-1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue SW.,

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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 Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road

Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8247; or e-mail:

[email protected].

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 (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 a portion 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 the 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 sights. 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

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 Medfly 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 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 interim rule affects the interstate movement of regulated

articles from the quarantined area of Los Angeles County, CA. We

estimate that there are 613 entities in the quarantined area of Los

Angeles County, CA, that sell, process, handle, or move regulated

articles; this estimate includes 2 farmers' markets, 2 community

gardens, 31 distributors, 4 food banks, 529 fruit sellers, 4 growers,

30 nurseries, and 11 swapmeets. The number of these entities that meet

the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) definition of a small

entity is unknown, since the information needed to make that

determination (i.e., each entity's gross receipts or number of

employees) is not currently available. However, it is reasonable to

assume that most of the 613 entities are small in size, since the

overwhelming majority of businesses in California, as well as the rest

of the United States, are small entities by SBA standards.

Few, if any, of the 613 entities will be significantly affected by

the quarantine action taken in this interim rule because few of those

entities move regulated articles outside the State of California during

the normal course of their business. Nor do consumers of products

purchased from those entities generally move those products interstate.

The effect on any small entities that do move regulated articles

interstate from the quarantined area will be minimized by the

availability of various treatments that, in most cases, will allow

those small entities to move regulated articles interstate with very

little additional costs. Also, many of those small entities sell other

items in addition to regulated articles, so the effect, if any, of the

interim rule should be minimal.

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 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 rule. The site specific environmental

assessment and programmatic Medfly environmental impact statement

provide a basis for our conclusion that implementation of integrated

pest management to achieve

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eradication of the Medfly would not have a significant impact on human

health and 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) (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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This 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, 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. 147a, 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162,

and 164-167; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

2. In Sec. 301.78-3, paragraph (c) is amended by adding an entry

for Los Angeles County, CA, in alphabetical order, to read as follows:

Sec. 301.78-3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

CALIFORNIA

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

Walnut Park and Huntington Park areas bounded by a line beginning at

the intersection of State Highway 60 and Interstate Highway 5; then

southeast along Interstate Highway 5 to Garfield Avenue; then

southwest along Garfield Avenue to Florence Avenue; then southeast

along Florence Avenue to Old River School Road; then southwest along

Old River School Road to Firestone Boulevard; then southeast along

Firestone Boulevard to Paramount Boulevard; then southwest along

Paramount Boulevard to Interstate Highway 105; then west along

Interstate Highway 105 to Interstate Highway 710; then southwest

along Interstate Highway 710 to Rosecrans Avenue; then west along

Rosecrans Avenue to Interstate Highway 110; then north along

Interstate Highway 110 to Interstate Highway 105; then west along

Interstate Highway 105 to Normandie Avenue; then north along

Normandie Avenue to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard; then east

along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Interstate Highway 110;

then north along Interstate Highway 110 to Adams Boulevard; then

southeast along Adams Boulevard to San Pedro Street; then northeast

along San Pedro Street to Interstate Highway 10; then east along

Interstate Highway 10 to State Highway 60; then east along State

Highway 60 to the point of beginning.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of October 1997.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97-27815 Filed 10-20-97; 8:45 am]

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