Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to Quarantined Areas

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 97-056-13]

Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are amending the Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by

adding a portion of Manatee County, FL, 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 June 5, 1998. Consideration will be given

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

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

Docket No. 97-056-13, 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. 97-056-13. 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 regulations in 7 CFR part 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 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. In a second interim rule effective

on May 5, 1998, and published in the Federal Register on May 11, 1998

(63 FR 25748-25750, Docket No. 97-056-11), we expanded the quarantined

area in Dade County, FL. In a third interim rule effective May 13,

1998, and published in the Federal Register on May 19, 1998 (63 FR

27439-27440, Docket No. 97-056-12), we added a portion of Lake and

Marion Counties, FL, to the list of quarantined areas and restricted

the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined

area.

Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of Florida 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 Manatee County, FL.

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 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

Manatee County, FL, 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.

[[Page 31888]]

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 Manatee County, FL, 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 in Manatee County, FL. We estimate

that there are 225 entities in the quarantined area of Manatee County,

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

estimate includes 82 commercial growers, 1 transportation terminal, 37

fruit stands, 8 flea markets, 1 processing plant, 14 vegetable

packinghouses, 20 farmer's markets, 15 mobile vendors, and 47 food

stores. 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 225 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 225 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

the 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 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), the entry for Florida is

amended by adding an entry for Manatee County, FL, to read as follows:

Sec. 301.78-3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

FLORIDA

* * * * *

Manatee County. That portion of Manatee County beginning at the

intersection of Interstate Highway 75 and Linger Lodge Road; then

west along Linger Lodge Road, along the section line, to Whitfield

Avenue; then west along Whitfield Avenue, along the section line, to

69th Avenue West; then west along 69th Avenue West to Bay Drive;

then west along Bay Drive to the Sarasota Bay; then north along the

shoreline of the Sarasota Bay, including Tidy Island, Cortez, Perico

Island, and Mead Point; then across the Manatee River, including

Snead Island, Little Bird Key and crossing Terra Ceia Bay to 33rd

Street West; then north along the southern shoreline of the Terra

Ceia Bay to the Terra Ceia River; then along the eastern shoreline

of the Terra Ceia River to Interstate Highway 275; then east along

Interstate Highway 275 to Interstate Highway 75; then south along

Interstate Highway 75 to 69th Street East; then east along 69th

Street East to its end; then south along Erie Road to its end; then

directly south along an imaginary line to the Manatee River Basin;

then west along the northern shoreline of the Manatee River Basin to

Interstate Highway 75; then south along Interstate Highway 75 to the

point of beginning.

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

Charles P. Schwalbe,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98-15580 Filed 6-10-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-34-P