Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service April 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) regulations by quarantining portions of Suffolk and Norfolk Counties, MA, and expanding the quarantined area in Worcester County, MA. The interim rule also amended the regulations to add plants of the genus Koelreuteria (golden raintree) to the list of regulated articles. The interim rule, which restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from these areas, was necessary to prevent the artificial spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United States.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh pitaya fruit from Central America into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the pitaya fruit must be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for monitoring and oversight, establishment of pest-free places of production, and procedures for packing the pitaya fruit. This action will allow for the importation of pitaya fruit from Central America into the continental United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests.

We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into the continental United States of fresh strawberry fruit from Egypt. Based on that analysis, 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 strawberry fruit from Egypt. We are making the pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the Karnal bunt regulations to make changes to the list of areas or fields regulated because of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat. Specifically, we removed areas and fields in Riverside County, CA, from the list of regulated areas based on our determination that those fields or areas meet our criteria for release from regulation. The interim rule was necessary to relieve restrictions on certain areas that were no longer necessary.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment concerning authorization to ship for the purpose of field testing, and then to field test, an unlicensed Feline Interleukin-2 Immunomodulator, Live Canarypox Vector. The environmental assessment, which is based on a risk analysis prepared to assess the risks associated with the field testing of this vaccine, examines the potential effects that field testing this veterinary vaccine could have on the quality of the human environment. Based on the risk analysis, we have reached a preliminary determination that field testing this veterinary vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment, and that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared. We intend to authorize shipment of this vaccine for field testing following the close of the comment period for this notice unless new substantial issues bearing on the effects of this action are brought to our attention. We also intend to issue a U.S. Veterinary Biological Product license for this vaccine, provided the field test data support the conclusions of the environmental assessment and the issuance of a finding of no significant impact and the product meets all other requirements for licensing.