Department of Agriculture May 10, 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of lemons from northwest Argentina into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, lemons from northwest Argentina would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include requirements for importation in commercial consignments; registration and monitoring of places of production and packinghouses; pest-free places of production; grove sanitation, monitoring, and pest control practices; treatment with a surface disinfectant; lot identification; and inspection for quarantine pests by the Argentine national plant protection organization. Additionally, lemons from northwest Argentina would have to be harvested green and within a certain time period, or treated for Medfly in accordance with an approved treatment schedule. Lemons from northwest Argentina would also be required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the lemons have been inspected and found to be free of quarantine pests and were produced in accordance with the proposed requirements. This action would allow for the importation of lemons from northwest Argentina into the United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

This proposed rule would amend the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly the Food Stamp Program) regulations to establish procedures for planning, requesting and operating a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). The rulemaking is necessary to implement a section of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. This rulemaking also addresses a section of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988 and accompanying Executive Order 12673, which provides the authority for the Department to determine the need for SNAP assistance during a presidentially-declared disaster.