Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the Importation of Fresh Citrus From China Into the Continental United States, 18474-18475 [2019-08767]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 84 (Wednesday, May 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18474-18475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08767]


========================================================================
Notices
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
appearing in this section.

========================================================================


Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 84 / Wednesday, May 1, 2019 / 
Notices

[[Page 18474]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2014-0005]


Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the 
Importation of Fresh Citrus From China Into the Continental United 
States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk 
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation of 
fresh citrus fruit (pomelo, Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet 
orange, and Satsuma mandarin) from China into the continental United 
States. Based on the analysis, we have determined that the application 
of one or more phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate 
the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds 
via the importation of fresh citrus fruit from China. We are making the 
pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July 
1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0005.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2014-0005, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-
0005 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC. 
Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Senior 
Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, 
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 
851-2352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under the regulations in ``Subpart L--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 
CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-12, referred to below as the regulations) 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 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 or disseminated within the United States.
    In response to a request from the national plant protection 
organization (NPPO) of China, on August 28, 2014, APHIS published a 
proposed rule \1\ in the Federal Register (79 FR 51267-51273, Docket 
No. APHIS-2014-0005) to amend the regulations to allow the importation 
of five species of commercially produced citrus fruit from China into 
the continental United States. These citrus fruits were: Citrus grandis 
(L.) Osbeck cv. Guanximiyou, referred to in this document as pomelo; 
Citrus kinokuni Hort. ex Tanaka, referred to in this document as 
Nanfeng honey mandarin; Citrus poonensis Hort. ex Tanaka, referred to 
in this document as ponkan; Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, referred to in 
this document as sweet orange; and Citrus unshiu Marcov., referred to 
in this document as Satsuma mandarin. In evaluating China's request, 
APHIS prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) and a risk management 
document (RMD), which we made available along with the proposed rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ To view the proposed rule, supporting documents, and the 
comments we received, go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0005.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending 
October 27, 2014. We received a total of 29 comments by that date. They 
were from citrus growers, marketing cooperatives, a State department of 
agriculture, private citizens, and the National Plant Board.
    Following the end of the comment period, the NPPO of China 
expressed concerns regarding some elements of the rule, particularly 
our proposed requirement that citrus fruit be bagged with double-
layered paper bags when the fruit are no more than 2 cm in diameter and 
still on the tree. This requirement was based on APHIS' understanding 
that such bagging was a standard industry practice in China for all 
citrus intended for export. While this is true of pomelo fruit, the 
NPPO stated that it was not true of the other four species of fruit 
covered by the proposed rule and would not be operationally feasible 
for producers of those species. We therefore elected not to finalize 
the proposed rule.
    In 2017, China again requested that we evaluate the risk associated 
with the importation of pomelo, Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet 
orange, and Satsuma mandarin from China into the continental United 
States.
    In response to China's request, we prepared a new PRA to identify 
the pests of quarantine significance that could follow the pathway of 
the importation of fresh pomelo, Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet 
orange, and Satsuma mandarin from China into the continental United 
States. We did this because an initial review of scientific literature 
suggested additional pests of citrus had been discovered in China since 
the time the 2014 PRA was prepared. This, in turn, led us to broaden 
our literature review for the new PRA to incorporate additional sources 
of information about plant pests in China. As a result, the new PRA has 
a significantly longer pest list than the 2014 PRA, and identifies two 
additional quarantine pests, both Lepidoptera, that could follow the 
pathway on fresh pomelo, Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet orange, 
and Satsuma mandarin from China imported into the continental United 
States. Based on this new PRA, a new RMD was prepared to identify 
phytosanitary measures that could be applied to the fresh pomelo, 
Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet orange, and Satsuma mandarin to 
mitigate the pest risk.

[[Page 18475]]

    Section 319.56-4 contains a performance-based process for approving 
the importation of certain fruits and vegetables that, based on the 
findings of a pest risk analysis, can safely be imported into the 
United States subject to one or more of the five designated 
phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph (b) of that section. Based 
on the new RMD that we have prepared, we have concluded that fresh 
pomelo, Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet orange, and Satsuma 
mandarin can safely be imported from China into the continental United 
States using one or more of the five designated phytosanitary measures 
listed in Sec.  319.56-4(b). The NPPO of China would have to enter into 
an operational workplan with APHIS that sets forth the daily procedures 
that the NPPO of China will take to implement the measures identified 
in the RMD. These measures are summarized below:
     Importation in commercial consignments only.
     Registration of places of production and packinghouses 
with the NPPO of China.
     Certification by the NPPO of propagative material used at 
places of production as being free of quarantine pests.
     Periodic inspections of places of production throughout 
the shipping season.
     Grove sanitation.
     Pest-free places of production for Bactrocera minax and B. 
tsuneonis.
     Pest-free places of production for B. correcta, B. 
cucurbitae, B. dorsalis, B. orientalis, B. pedestris, and B. tau; or 
determination that places of production are located in areas of low 
pest prevalence for these species of fruit fly based on trapping, and 
in-transit cold treatment as an additional phytosanitary safeguard.
     Maintaining the identity and origin of the lot of fruit 
throughout the export process to the United States.
     Safeguarding of harvested fruit.
     Post-harvest visual inspection of fruit by the NPPO or 
officials authorized by the NPPO according to a biometric sample.
     Cutting a portion of the fruit in the sample to inspect 
for quarantine pests.
     Washing, brushing, and treatment with a surface 
disinfectant.
     Issuance of a phytosanitary certificate with an additional 
declaration.
     Port of entry inspections.
     Importation under a permit issued by APHIS.
     Possible remedial measures in the event of detection of 
quarantine pests at registered places of production or packinghouses, 
or in/on consignments of citrus fruit from China at ports of entry into 
the United States.
    We are also proposing to exempt pomelos that are grown in areas 
that are free of B. minax and B. tsuneonis and that are of low pest 
prevalence (identified by the NPPO as having low levels for the 
specified pests and subject to effective surveillance, control, or 
eradication measures) for B. correcta, B. cucurbitae, B. dorsalis, B. 
orientalis, B. pedestris, and B. tau from cold treatment for fruit 
flies, if the pomelos are bagged with double-layered paper bags no more 
than 2 months before harvest.
    Each of the pest mitigation measures that would be required, along 
with evidence of their efficacy in removing pests of concern from the 
pathway, are described in detail in the RMD.
    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  319.56-4(c)(3)(ii), we are 
announcing the availability of our PRA and RMD for public review and 
comment. Those documents, as well as a description of the economic 
considerations associated with the importation of fresh citrus fruit 
from China, may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website or in our 
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to Regulations.gov and 
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may 
request paper copies of these documents by calling or writing to the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to 
the subject of the analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the import status of fresh citrus fruit from China 
in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of our analysis and 
determination of risk remain unchanged following our consideration of 
the comments, then we will authorize the importation of fresh citrus 
fruit from China into the continental United States subject to the 
requirements specified in the RMD.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 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, on April 25, 2019.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-08767 Filed 4-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P