Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to the Quarantined Area

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 97-056-11]

Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to the Quarantined Area

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

expanding the current quarantined area in Dade County, FL. The

regulations restrict 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 May 5, 1998. Consideration will be given

only to comments received on or before July 10, 1998.

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

Docket No. 97-056-11, 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. 97-056-11. 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 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.

In an interim rule effective on June 16, 1997, and published in the

Federal Register on June 20, 1997 (62 FR 33537-33539, Docket No. 97-

056-2), we added a portion of Hillsborough County, FL, to the list of

quarantined areas and restricted the interstate movement of regulated

articles from that quarantined area. In a second interim rule effective

on July 3, 1997, and published in the Federal Register on July 10, 1997

(62 FR 36976-36978, Docket No. 97-056-3), we expanded the quarantined

area in Hillsborough County, FL, and added areas in Manatee and Polk

Counties, FL, to the list of quarantined areas. In a third interim rule

effective on August 7, 1997, and published in the Federal Register on

August 13, 1997 (62 FR 43269-43272, Docket No. 97-056-4), we further

expanded the quarantined area by adding new areas in Hillsborough

County, FL, and an area in Orange County, FL, to the list of

quarantined areas. In that third interim rule, we also revised the

entry for Manatee County, FL, to make the boundary lines of the

quarantined area more accurate. In a fourth interim rule effective on

September 4, 1997, and published in the Federal Register on September

10, 1997 (62 FR 47553-47558, Docket No. 97-056-5), we quarantined a new

area in Polk County, FL, and an area in Sarasota County, FL. In a fifth

interim rule effective on October 15, 1997, and published in the

Federal Register on October 21, 1997 (62 FR 54571-54572, Docket No. 97-

056-7), we removed all or portions of the quarantined areas in

Hillsborough, Manatee, Orange, Polk, and Sarasota Counties, FL, from

the list of quarantined areas. In a sixth interim rule effective on

November 14, 1997, and published in the Federal Register

[[Page 25749]]

on November 20, 1997 (62 FR 61897-61898, Docket No. 97-056-8), we

removed all of the quarantined areas in Polk County, FL, from the list

of quarantined areas. In a seventh interim rule effective April 17,

1998, and published in the Federal Register on April 22, 1998 (63 FR

19797-19798, Docket No. 97-056-9), we removed the quarantined area in

Hillsborough County, FL, from the list of quarantined areas. In an

eighth interim rule also effective on April 17, 1998, and published in

the Federal Register on April 23, 1998 (63 FR 20053-20054, Docket No.

98-046-1), we added a portion of Dade County, FL, to the list of

quarantined areas and restricted the interstate movement of regulated

articles from the quarantined area.

Recent surveys by inspectors of Florida State and county agencies

and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

(APHIS) have detected Medfly larvae in fruit in the currently

quarantined area in Dade County, FL. This indicates a reproducing

Medfly population in the area. For this reason, we are expanding the

quarantined area in Dade County, FL, to prevent the spread of Medfly to

noninfested areas.

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 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 sites. 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 pattern 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 finding

described above, we are amending 301.78-3 by expanding the current

quarantined area in Dade County, FL. The resulting 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 expanding the

current quarantined area in Dade County, FL. 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 newly quarantined area of Dade County, FL. We

estimate that there are 63 entities in this area of Dade County, FL,

that sell, process, handle, or move regulated articles; this estimate

includes 14 mobile vendors, 34 stores/markets, and 15 nurseries. 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 63 entities are

small in size, since the overwhelming majority of businesses in

Florida, as well as the rest of the United States, are small entities

by SBA standards.

We believe that few, if any, of the 63 entities will be

significantly affected by the quarantine action taken in this interim

rule because few of these types of entities move regulated articles

outside the State of Florida during the normal course of their

business. Nor do consumers of products purchased from these types of

entities generally move those products interstate. The effect on the

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 these types of 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 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

[[Page 25750]]

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 Subject in 7 CFR Part 301

Agricultural commodities, Incorporation by reference, 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), the entry for Florida is

revised to read as follows:

Sec. 301.78-3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

FLORIDA

Dade County. That portion of Dade County beginning at the

intersection of Northwest 87th Avenue and Northwest 103rd Street

(State Highway 932); then east along Northwest 103rd Street (State

Highway 932) (also known as 49th Street) to the section line

dividing sections 4 and 5, T. 53 S., R. 41 E.; then south along the

section line dividing sections 4 and 5, T. 53 S., R. 41 E., to

Northwest 36th Street (State Highway 948); then west along Northwest

36th Street to Northwest 87th Avenue; then north along Northwest

87th Avenue to the point of beginning.

Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of May 1998.

Charles P. Schwalbe,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98-12395 Filed 5-8-98; 8:45 am]

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