Notice of Decision To Issue Permits for the Importation of Fresh Figs From Chile into the Continental United States, 18511-18512 [2011-7896]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 64 / Monday, April 4, 2011 / Notices
Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
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Estimate of burden: The public
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All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for OMB approval. All comments will
also become a matter of public record.
Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of
March 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–7895 Filed 4–1–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:47 Apr 01, 2011
Jkt 223001
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0097]
Notice of Decision To Issue Permits for
the Importation of Fresh Figs From
Chile into the Continental United
States
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
We are advising the public of
our decision to begin issuing permits for
the importation into the continental
United States of fresh figs from Chile.
Based on the findings of a pest risk
analysis, which we made available to
the public for review and comment
through a previous notice, we believe
that the application of one or more
designated phytosanitary measures will
be sufficient to mitigate the risks of
introducing or disseminating plant pests
or noxious weeds via the importation of
fresh figs from Chile.
DATES: Effective Date: April 4, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory Policy
Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and
Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River
Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737–
1231; (301) 734–0754.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart—
Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1
through 319.56–50, referred to below as
the regulations), the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture
prohibits or restricts the importation of
fruits and vegetables into the United
States from certain parts of the world to
prevent plant pests from being
introduced into and spread within the
United States.
Section 319.56–4 of the regulations
contains a performance-based process
for approving the importation of
commodities that, based on the findings
of a pest risk analysis, can be safely
imported subject to one or more of the
designated phytosanitary measures
listed in paragraph (b) of that section.
Under that process, APHIS publishes a
notice in the Federal Register
announcing the availability of the pest
risk analysis that evaluates the risks
associated with the importation of a
particular fruit or vegetable. Following
the close of the 60-day comment period,
APHIS may begin issuing permits for
importation of the fruit or vegetable
subject to the identified designated
measures if: (1) No comments were
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
18511
received on the pest risk analysis; (2)
the comments on the pest risk analysis
revealed that no changes to the pest risk
analysis were necessary; or (3) changes
to the pest risk analysis were made in
response to public comments, but the
changes did not affect the overall
conclusions of the analysis and the
Administrator’s determination of risk.
In accordance with that process, we
published a notice 1 in the Federal
Register on February 9, 2010 (75 FR
6344–6345, Docket No. APHIS–2009–
0097), in which we announced the
availability, for review and comment, of
two pest risk analyses that evaluate the
risks associated with the importation
into the continental United States of
fresh figs, pomegranates, and baby kiwi
fruit from Chile. We solicited comments
on the notice for 60 days ending on
April 12, 2010. We received 25
comments by that date, from port
terminal operators, growers’
associations, trade associations, a
fumigation service, a State agriculture
department, a foreign government
agency, a foreign trade association, and
several produce importers, exporters,
and wholesalers. Most of the
commenters agreed that the mitigation
measures described in the pest risk
analysis would be adequate. However,
three commenters raised concerns about
the pest risk analyses or proposed
mitigation measures. The issues raised
by two of those commenters were
addressed in a notice of decision to
issue permits for the importation of
fresh pomegranates and baby kiwi from
Chile into the United States,2 published
in the Federal Register on May 12, 2010
(75 FR 26707–26708).
The third commenter raised several
concerns regarding the risks associated
with the importation of fresh figs from
Chile. In order to give ourselves
adequate time to explore the issues
raised by the commenter, we delayed
our decision on figs and addressed only
pomegranates and baby kiwi from Chile
in our May 2010 notice.
The commenter stated that fumigation
of fresh figs in the recommended
treatment may not kill eggs of the
insects of concern because eggs would
most likely be deposited in the tissues
of the fruit through the ostiole of the fig.
The commenter was concerned that the
treatment would not penetrate the fruit
and kill the pest.
While the commenter did not specify
a particular insect of concern, the pest
1 To view the February 2010 notice and the
comments we received, and the May 2010 notice,
go to https://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/
component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2009-0097.
2 See footnote 1.
E:\FR\FM\04APN1.SGM
04APN1
Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
18512
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 64 / Monday, April 4, 2011 / Notices
risk assessment identified
Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis
capitata) and the Chilean red mite
(Brevipalpis chilensis) as pests having a
high risk potential. Since the pest risk
assessment was prepared, all of Chile
has been recognized as a pest-free area
for Mediterranean fruit fly. The
treatment schedule that would be
required for figs has been found to be
highly effective for all stages of Chilean
red mite on grapes, and the efficacy can
be extrapolated to include figs. Methyl
bromide is a gas and can penetrate the
ostiole of the fig. Furthermore, the
Chilean red mite is a surface feeder that
lays its eggs in cracks and crevices that
are exposed to the air and, thus, to
methyl bromide when fumigated.
The commenter stated that the
diseases of fresh figs in Chile should be
compared to the diseases in the United
States to determine whether or not they
are the same strain. The commenter was
concerned that the taxa of microbial and
fungal pathogens identified as present
in Chile might, if incompletely
identified, be different from taxa already
present in the United States, and that
the pest risk assessment would not,
therefore, have taken the risk associated
with those specific pathogens into
account.
We agree that different strains of
pathogens that are epidemiologically
significant may exist; however, we
found no information indicating that
this was the case for any of the
pathogens known to be present in both
Chile and the United States. When
assessing risk, we may consider
incompletely identified taxa at a higher
taxonomic level if the higher taxon (i.e.,
the entire genus or family) is not present
in the United States, or if specific
evidence indicates that the unidentified
taxon is different from the ones in the
United States. In this case, because we
found no evidence that these
incompletely identified taxa are
different from the taxa present in the
United States, we did not analyze them
further. If pests identified to more
specific taxa are intercepted in the
future, we may reevaluate their risk.
The commenter expressed concern
that the proposed methyl bromide
treatment schedule could produce an
unpalatable fruit, which might result in
a reduced market price for all figs,
imported and domestic. The commenter
also expressed concern that if a lower
dose was used to treat fresh figs to
improve their shelf life, there is still a
risk that the mites could survive.
APHIS does not alter treatment doses
due to phytotoxicity to the commodity.
Treatments for the pests are based on
research on the individual pests and are
VerDate Mar<15>2010
18:47 Apr 01, 2011
Jkt 223001
not changed unless the change is
supported by data showing the efficacy
of the new dose.
The commenter expressed concern
that the generic surface pest treatment
schedules, including the one proposed
for fresh figs from Chile, might not be
adequate to kill the Chilean red mite.
The commenter stated that the
California cherry and strawberry
industries both had to use higher doses
of methyl bromide to solve mite
problems in their export programs.
The Chilean red mite, which belongs
to the family Tenuipalpidae, is not
present in California; the mites in
California produce are likely to be
spider mites of the family
Tetranychidae, and would require
different treatment. The treatment
schedule proposed for figs from Chile
has been shown to be effective for
Chilean red mite. As with other fruit
imports, we will monitor the pest levels
and if we determine that risks are such
as would require adjusting the treatment
dose or duration, we will take the
appropriate action.
The commenter stated that a
treatment schedule specific to figs
should be established for the treatment
of Mediterranean fruit fly, for purposes
of phytotoxicity and the tolerance of
Mediterranean fruit fly relative to other
target insects, including mites.
As we explained above, since the
publication of the pest risk assessment,
all of Chile has been recognized as a
pest-free area for Mediterranean fruit
fly. There is no need to develop a
specific treatment schedule for use on
figs from that country.
Therefore, in accordance with the
regulations in § 319.56–4(c)(2)(ii), we
are announcing our decision to begin
issuing permits for the importation into
the continental United States of fresh
figs from Chile subject to the following
phytosanitary measures:
• Each shipment of figs must be
accompanied by a phytosanitary
certificate. The phytosanitary certificate
must be issued by the national plant
protection organization of Chile.
• The shipment must be fumigated
with methyl bromide using treatment
schedule T–101–i–2–1 in accordance
with 7 CFR part 305.
• The figs must be a commercial
consignment as defined in 7 CFR
319.56–2.
These conditions will be listed in the
Fruits and Vegetables Import
Requirements database (available at
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir). In
addition to those specific measures, the
fresh figs will be subject to the general
requirements listed in § 319.56–3 that
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
are applicable to the importation of all
fruits and vegetables.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and
7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR
2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of
March 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–7896 Filed 4–1–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Shasta County Resource Advisory
Committee
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Shasta County Resource
Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet at
the USDA Service Center in Redding,
California, on April 27, 2011, from 8:30
a.m. to 12 noon. The purpose of this
meeting is to discuss project updates
and proposals, and information on
monitoring efforts for the upcoming
year.
SUMMARY:
Wednesday, April 27 at 8:30 a.m.
The meeting will be held at
the USDA Service Center, 3644 Avtech
Parkway, Redding, California 96002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Designated Federal Official, Donna
Harmon at (530) 226–2595 or
dharmon@fs.fed.us.
DATES:
ADDRESSES:
The
meeting is open to the public. Public
input sessions will be provided and
individuals will have the opportunity to
address the Shasta County Resource
Advisory Committee.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: March 28, 2011.
Arlen P. Cravens,
Acting Forest Supervisor, Shasta-Trinity
National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2011–7864 Filed 4–1–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Ouachita-Ozark Resource Advisory
Committee
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of meeting.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Ouachita-Ozark Resource
Advisory Committee will meet in
Barling, Arkansas. The committee is
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\04APN1.SGM
04APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18511-18512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7896]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0097]
Notice of Decision To Issue Permits for the Importation of Fresh
Figs From Chile into the Continental United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our decision to begin issuing
permits for the importation into the continental United States of fresh
figs from Chile. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis, which
we made available to the public for review and comment through a
previous notice, we believe that the application of one or more
designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the
risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via
the importation of fresh figs from Chile.
DATES: Effective Date: April 4, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory
Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-0754.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR
319.56-1 through 319.56-50, referred to below as the regulations), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture prohibits or restricts the importation of
fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the
world to prevent plant pests from being introduced into and spread
within the United States.
Section 319.56-4 of the regulations contains a performance-based
process for approving the importation of commodities that, based on the
findings of a pest risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one
or more of the designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph
(b) of that section. Under that process, APHIS publishes a notice in
the Federal Register announcing the availability of the pest risk
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation of a
particular fruit or vegetable. Following the close of the 60-day
comment period, APHIS may begin issuing permits for importation of the
fruit or vegetable subject to the identified designated measures if:
(1) No comments were received on the pest risk analysis; (2) the
comments on the pest risk analysis revealed that no changes to the pest
risk analysis were necessary; or (3) changes to the pest risk analysis
were made in response to public comments, but the changes did not
affect the overall conclusions of the analysis and the Administrator's
determination of risk.
In accordance with that process, we published a notice \1\ in the
Federal Register on February 9, 2010 (75 FR 6344-6345, Docket No.
APHIS-2009-0097), in which we announced the availability, for review
and comment, of two pest risk analyses that evaluate the risks
associated with the importation into the continental United States of
fresh figs, pomegranates, and baby kiwi fruit from Chile. We solicited
comments on the notice for 60 days ending on April 12, 2010. We
received 25 comments by that date, from port terminal operators,
growers' associations, trade associations, a fumigation service, a
State agriculture department, a foreign government agency, a foreign
trade association, and several produce importers, exporters, and
wholesalers. Most of the commenters agreed that the mitigation measures
described in the pest risk analysis would be adequate. However, three
commenters raised concerns about the pest risk analyses or proposed
mitigation measures. The issues raised by two of those commenters were
addressed in a notice of decision to issue permits for the importation
of fresh pomegranates and baby kiwi from Chile into the United
States,\2\ published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2010 (75 FR
26707-26708).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To view the February 2010 notice and the comments we
received, and the May 2010 notice, go to https://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0097.
\2\ See footnote 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The third commenter raised several concerns regarding the risks
associated with the importation of fresh figs from Chile. In order to
give ourselves adequate time to explore the issues raised by the
commenter, we delayed our decision on figs and addressed only
pomegranates and baby kiwi from Chile in our May 2010 notice.
The commenter stated that fumigation of fresh figs in the
recommended treatment may not kill eggs of the insects of concern
because eggs would most likely be deposited in the tissues of the fruit
through the ostiole of the fig. The commenter was concerned that the
treatment would not penetrate the fruit and kill the pest.
While the commenter did not specify a particular insect of concern,
the pest
[[Page 18512]]
risk assessment identified Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata)
and the Chilean red mite (Brevipalpis chilensis) as pests having a high
risk potential. Since the pest risk assessment was prepared, all of
Chile has been recognized as a pest-free area for Mediterranean fruit
fly. The treatment schedule that would be required for figs has been
found to be highly effective for all stages of Chilean red mite on
grapes, and the efficacy can be extrapolated to include figs. Methyl
bromide is a gas and can penetrate the ostiole of the fig. Furthermore,
the Chilean red mite is a surface feeder that lays its eggs in cracks
and crevices that are exposed to the air and, thus, to methyl bromide
when fumigated.
The commenter stated that the diseases of fresh figs in Chile
should be compared to the diseases in the United States to determine
whether or not they are the same strain. The commenter was concerned
that the taxa of microbial and fungal pathogens identified as present
in Chile might, if incompletely identified, be different from taxa
already present in the United States, and that the pest risk assessment
would not, therefore, have taken the risk associated with those
specific pathogens into account.
We agree that different strains of pathogens that are
epidemiologically significant may exist; however, we found no
information indicating that this was the case for any of the pathogens
known to be present in both Chile and the United States. When assessing
risk, we may consider incompletely identified taxa at a higher
taxonomic level if the higher taxon (i.e., the entire genus or family)
is not present in the United States, or if specific evidence indicates
that the unidentified taxon is different from the ones in the United
States. In this case, because we found no evidence that these
incompletely identified taxa are different from the taxa present in the
United States, we did not analyze them further. If pests identified to
more specific taxa are intercepted in the future, we may reevaluate
their risk.
The commenter expressed concern that the proposed methyl bromide
treatment schedule could produce an unpalatable fruit, which might
result in a reduced market price for all figs, imported and domestic.
The commenter also expressed concern that if a lower dose was used to
treat fresh figs to improve their shelf life, there is still a risk
that the mites could survive.
APHIS does not alter treatment doses due to phytotoxicity to the
commodity. Treatments for the pests are based on research on the
individual pests and are not changed unless the change is supported by
data showing the efficacy of the new dose.
The commenter expressed concern that the generic surface pest
treatment schedules, including the one proposed for fresh figs from
Chile, might not be adequate to kill the Chilean red mite. The
commenter stated that the California cherry and strawberry industries
both had to use higher doses of methyl bromide to solve mite problems
in their export programs.
The Chilean red mite, which belongs to the family Tenuipalpidae, is
not present in California; the mites in California produce are likely
to be spider mites of the family Tetranychidae, and would require
different treatment. The treatment schedule proposed for figs from
Chile has been shown to be effective for Chilean red mite. As with
other fruit imports, we will monitor the pest levels and if we
determine that risks are such as would require adjusting the treatment
dose or duration, we will take the appropriate action.
The commenter stated that a treatment schedule specific to figs
should be established for the treatment of Mediterranean fruit fly, for
purposes of phytotoxicity and the tolerance of Mediterranean fruit fly
relative to other target insects, including mites.
As we explained above, since the publication of the pest risk
assessment, all of Chile has been recognized as a pest-free area for
Mediterranean fruit fly. There is no need to develop a specific
treatment schedule for use on figs from that country.
Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec. 319.56-
4(c)(2)(ii), we are announcing our decision to begin issuing permits
for the importation into the continental United States of fresh figs
from Chile subject to the following phytosanitary measures:
Each shipment of figs must be accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate. The phytosanitary certificate must be issued
by the national plant protection organization of Chile.
The shipment must be fumigated with methyl bromide using
treatment schedule T-101-i-2-1 in accordance with 7 CFR part 305.
The figs must be a commercial consignment as defined in 7
CFR 319.56-2.
These conditions will be listed in the Fruits and Vegetables Import
Requirements database (available at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir).
In addition to those specific measures, the fresh figs will be subject
to the general requirements listed in Sec. 319.56-3 that are
applicable to the importation of all fruits and vegetables.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C.
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of March 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-7896 Filed 4-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P