Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to Quarantined Areas

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 98-083-2]

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 Orange 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 United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective August 14, 1998. Consideration will be

given only to comments received on or before October 20, 1998.

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

Docket No. 98-083-2, 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. 98-083-2. 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.

[[Page 44775]]

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 Orange County, CA.

The regulations in 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

Orange 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 this

action effective August 14, 1998. 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. The document will include a

discussion of any comments we received 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 rule amends the Medfly regulations by adding a portion of

Orange 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 rule also restricts the interstate movement of regulated

articles from the quarantined area of Orange County, CA. We estimate

that there are 77 entities in the quarantined area of Orange County,

CA, that sell, process, handle, or move regulated articles. This

estimate includes 55 fruit sellers, 12 growers, and 10 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 these 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 77 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 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.

[[Page 44776]]

The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact

were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969, as amended (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, 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) is amended by adding an entry

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

Sec. 301.78-3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

California

Orange County. That portion of Orange County in the Lake Forest

area bounded by a line beginning at the intersection of Interstate

Highway 5 and State Highway 133; then northeast along an imaginary

line to its intersection with Marine Way and the El Toro Marine

Corps Air Station perimeter; then northeast along the El Toro Marine

Corps Air Station perimeter to Irvine Boulevard; then southeast

along Irvine Boulevard to N Street; then northeast along N Street to

the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station perimeter; then northeast along

the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station perimeter to State Highway 241;

then southeast along State Highway 241 to Antonio Parkway; then

southwest along Antonio Parkway to Oso Parkway; then west along Oso

Parkway to Felipe Road; then southwest along Felipe Road to

Marguerite Parkway; then south along Marguerite Parkway to Crown

Valley Parkway; then southwest along Crown Valley Parkway to State

Highway 73; then northeast along State Highway 73 to State Highway

133; then north along State Highway 133 to the point of beginning.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of August 1998.

Joan M. Arnoldi,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98-22458 Filed 8-20-98; 8:45 am]

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