Notice of Proposed Revision to Requirements for the Importation of Fresh Melon Fruit From Japan Into the United States, 27552-27553 [2021-10706]
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27552
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 86, No. 97
Friday, May 21, 2021
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.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2020–0100]
Notice of Proposed Revision to
Requirements for the Importation of
Fresh Melon Fruit From Japan Into the
United States
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
We are advising the public
that we have prepared a pest risk
analysis that evaluates the risks
associated with the importation of fresh
melon fruit with stems from Japan into
the United States. Based on the analysis,
we are proposing to revise the existing
conditions for importation of melons
from Japan, which do not currently
allow the importation of melons with
stems, and which do not authorize
importation to the continental United
States or most territories. 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 20,
2021.
SUMMARY:
You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS–
2020–0100 in the Search field. Select
the Documents tab, then select the
Comment button in the list of
documents.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Send your comment to Docket No.
APHIS–2020–0100, 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 www.regulations.gov
or in our reading room, which is located
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
ADDRESSES:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:15 May 20, 2021
Jkt 253001
in room 1620 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, Imports,
Regulations, and Manuals PPQ, APHIS,
4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale,
MD 20737–1231; (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.
Section 319.56–4 of the regulations
provides requirements for authorizing
the importation of fruits and vegetables
into the United States and revises
existing requirements for the
importation of fruits and vegetables.
Paragraph (c) of that section provides
that the name and origin of all fruits and
vegetables authorized importation into
the United States, as well as the
requirements for their importation, be
listed on the internet in APHIS’ Fruits
and Vegetables Import Requirements
database, or FAVIR (https://
epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual). It
also provides that, if the Administrator
of APHIS determines that any of the
phytosanitary measures required for the
importation of a particular fruit or
vegetable are no longer necessary to
reasonably mitigate the plant pest risk
posed by the fruit or vegetable, APHIS
will publish a notice in the Federal
Register making its pest risk
documentation and determination
available for public comment.
Currently, fresh melon fruit (Cucumis
melo L.) from Japan is listed in FAVIR
as fruit authorized importation into
Hawaii, and fresh cantaloupe fruit
(Cucumis melo ssp. melo var.
cantalupensis) and honeydew melon
(Cucumis melo ssp. melo var. inodorus)
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
are authorized importation into Guam
and the Northern Mariana Islands from
areas of Japan other than Amami, Bonin,
Ryukyu, Tokara, and Volcano Islands.
To be eligible for importation under the
current requirements, the melon fruit
must be certified as being hothouse
grown on or north of Honshu Island and
is subject to inspection at the U.S. port
of entry.
APHIS received a request from the
national plant protection organization
(NPPO) of Japan, Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, to
revise the current import requirements
and allow the importation of fresh
melon fruits with stems into the entire
United States. If we approve the request,
the mitigation measures developed
would supersede current importation
requirements for fresh cantaloupe,
honeydew melon, and melon from
Japan.
As part of our evaluation of Japan’s
request, we have prepared a pest risk
assessment (PRA) to identify pests of
quarantine significance that could
follow the pathway of importation of
fresh melon fruit with stems into the
United States from Japan. The PRA
identified one quarantine pest—
Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus
(CGMMV)—as the only quarantine pest
that could reasonably be expected to
follow the pathway, and that the
likelihood of introduction into the
United States via fresh melon fruit with
stems from Japan is low.
Based on the PRA, a risk management
document (RMD) was prepared to
identify phytosanitary measures that
could be applied to the fresh melon fruit
with stems from Japan to mitigate the
pest risk.
We have concluded that fresh melon
fruit with stems can be safely imported
from Japan into the United States using
one or more of the five designated
phytosanitary measures listed in
§ 319.56–4(b). These measures are
summarized below and would also be
listed in APHIS’ Fruits and Vegetables
Import Requirements database, available
at https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/
manual:
• Fresh melon fruit with stems from
Japan must be imported as commercial
consignments only.
• Each consignment must be
inspected and accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate issued by the
Japanese NPPO stating that the melon
fruit with stems are free of CGMMV.
E:\FR\FM\21MYN1.SGM
21MYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 97 / Friday, May 21, 2021 / Notices
• Each consignment is subject to
inspection upon arrival in the United
States.
Each of the pest risk 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
§ 319.56–4(c)(3), 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 melon
fruit with stems under the revised
conditions, 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
melon fruit with stems from Japan in a
subsequent notice. If the overall
conclusions of our analysis and the
Administrator’s determination of risk
remain unchanged following our
consideration of the comments, then we
will authorize the importation of fresh
melon fruit with stems from Japan into
the entire United States subject to the
revised requirements specified in this
notice.
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, this 17th day of
May 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–10706 Filed 5–20–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
[Docket No. APHIS–2015–0023]
Privacy Act of 1974; System of
Records
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of a new system of
records.
AGENCY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:15 May 20, 2021
Jkt 253001
Pursuant to the provisions of
the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a),
and Office of Management and Budget
Circular No. A–108, notice is given that
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to
add a new system of records, entitled
USDA/APHIS–23, Integrated Plant
Health Information System (IPHIS). This
system maintains records of activities
conducted pursuant to APHIS’ mission
and responsibilities authorized by the
Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et
seq.); the Honey Bee Act (7 U.S.C. 281
et seq.); and the Food Conservation and
Energy Act 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8791 et seq.).
DATES: This notice is effective upon
publication, subject to a 30-day notice
and comment period in which to
comment on the routine uses described
below. Comments, if any, must be
submitted by June 21, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Enter
APHIS–2015–0023 in the Search filed.
Select the Documents tab, then select
the comment button in the list of
documents.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Send your comment to Docket No.
APHIS–2015–0023, 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 or in our reading
room, which is located in room 1620 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: For
general questions, please contact Mr.
Steven King, Information Technology
Project Manager, Project Management
Office, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road,
Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851–2118;
Steven.A.King@usda.gov. For Privacy
Act questions concerning this system of
records notice, please contact Ms. Tonya
Woods, Director, Freedom of
Information and Privacy Act Staff, 4700
River Road Unit 50, Riverdale, MD
20737; (301) 851–4076;
Tonya.G.Woods@usda.gov. For USDA
Privacy Act questions, please contact
the USDA Chief Privacy Officer,
Information Security Center, Office of
Chief Information Officer, USDA, Jamie
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
27553
L. Whitten Building, 1400
Independence Ave. SW, Washington,
DC 20250; email: USDAPrivacy@
usda.gov.
The U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s),
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is adding a new system
of records, the Integrated Plant Health
Information System (IPHIS), USDA/
APHIS–23.
IPHIS is an information management
system that APHIS uses to access, enter,
and view data on plant health events
that occur nationwide. IPHIS provides
survey data, including locations, target
pests, survey sample identification, and
diagnostic test results; survey supply
orders and inventory management;
domestic emergency action
notifications; and compliance
agreements and inspection records to
APHIS plant health personnel as well as
cooperators outside the agency. Among
other things, this information helps
APHIS to prepare for plant pest and
disease outbreaks and to monitor such
outbreaks and devise effective responses
to them; facilitate the export and
interstate movement of agricultural
products, including regulated articles;
and communicate survey results to
APHIS and APHIS contractors on a
timely basis.
APHIS will share information from
the system in accordance with the
requirements of the Privacy Act. A full
list of routine uses is included in the
routine uses section of the document
published with this notice.
A report on the new system of
records, required by 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), as
implemented by Office of Management
and Budget Circular A–108, was sent to
the Chairman, Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs,
United States Senate; the Chairwoman,
Committee on Oversight and Reform,
House of Representatives; and the
Administrator, Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
Management and Budget.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of
May 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:
USDA/APHIS–23, Integrated Plant
Health Information System (IPHIS).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
Sensitive but unclassified.
E:\FR\FM\21MYN1.SGM
21MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 97 (Friday, May 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27552-27553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10706]
========================================================================
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. 86, No. 97 / Friday, May 21, 2021 / Notices
[[Page 27552]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0100]
Notice of Proposed Revision to Requirements for the Importation
of Fresh Melon Fruit From Japan Into the 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 melon fruit with stems from Japan into the United States. Based
on the analysis, we are proposing to revise the existing conditions for
importation of melons from Japan, which do not currently allow the
importation of melons with stems, and which do not authorize
importation to the continental United States or most territories. 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
20, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2020-0100 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2020-0100, 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 www.regulations.gov or in our reading room, which is
located in room 1620 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,
Imports, Regulations, and Manuals PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit
133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (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.
Section 319.56-4 of the regulations provides requirements for
authorizing the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States and revises existing requirements for the importation of fruits
and vegetables. Paragraph (c) of that section provides that the name
and origin of all fruits and vegetables authorized importation into the
United States, as well as the requirements for their importation, be
listed on the internet in APHIS' Fruits and Vegetables Import
Requirements database, or FAVIR (https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual). It also provides that, if the Administrator of APHIS
determines that any of the phytosanitary measures required for the
importation of a particular fruit or vegetable are no longer necessary
to reasonably mitigate the plant pest risk posed by the fruit or
vegetable, APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register making
its pest risk documentation and determination available for public
comment.
Currently, fresh melon fruit (Cucumis melo L.) from Japan is listed
in FAVIR as fruit authorized importation into Hawaii, and fresh
cantaloupe fruit (Cucumis melo ssp. melo var. cantalupensis) and
honeydew melon (Cucumis melo ssp. melo var. inodorus) are authorized
importation into Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands from areas of
Japan other than Amami, Bonin, Ryukyu, Tokara, and Volcano Islands. To
be eligible for importation under the current requirements, the melon
fruit must be certified as being hothouse grown on or north of Honshu
Island and is subject to inspection at the U.S. port of entry.
APHIS received a request from the national plant protection
organization (NPPO) of Japan, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, to revise the current import requirements and allow the
importation of fresh melon fruits with stems into the entire United
States. If we approve the request, the mitigation measures developed
would supersede current importation requirements for fresh cantaloupe,
honeydew melon, and melon from Japan.
As part of our evaluation of Japan's request, we have prepared a
pest risk assessment (PRA) to identify pests of quarantine significance
that could follow the pathway of importation of fresh melon fruit with
stems into the United States from Japan. The PRA identified one
quarantine pest--Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV)--as the
only quarantine pest that could reasonably be expected to follow the
pathway, and that the likelihood of introduction into the United States
via fresh melon fruit with stems from Japan is low.
Based on the PRA, a risk management document (RMD) was prepared to
identify phytosanitary measures that could be applied to the fresh
melon fruit with stems from Japan to mitigate the pest risk.
We have concluded that fresh melon fruit with stems can be safely
imported from Japan into the United States using one or more of the
five designated phytosanitary measures listed in Sec. 319.56-4(b).
These measures are summarized below and would also be listed in APHIS'
Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements database, available at
https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual:
Fresh melon fruit with stems from Japan must be imported
as commercial consignments only.
Each consignment must be inspected and accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate issued by the Japanese NPPO stating that the
melon fruit with stems are free of CGMMV.
[[Page 27553]]
Each consignment is subject to inspection upon arrival in
the United States.
Each of the pest risk 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), 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 melon fruit
with stems under the revised conditions, 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 melon fruit with stems
from Japan in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of our
analysis and the Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged
following our consideration of the comments, then we will authorize the
importation of fresh melon fruit with stems from Japan into the entire
United States subject to the revised requirements specified in this
notice.
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, this 17th day of May 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-10706 Filed 5-20-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
