Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service April 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that we have determined that the Italian Regions of Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, and Piemonte and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano are free of swine vesicular disease. Based on an assessment of the animal health status of these areas, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice of availability, the Administrator has determined that the importation of pork or pork products from these areas presents a low risk of introducing swine vesicular disease into the United States. This determination is based on our review of the documentation submitted by the Government of Italy in support of its request and the findings of our own animal health risk evaluation.

We are amending the gypsy moth regulations by adding areas in Wisconsin to the list of generally infested areas based on the detection of infestations of gypsy moth in those areas. As a result of this action, the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas is restricted. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the gypsy moth to noninfested areas of the United States.

We are proposing to restructure our regulations governing the importation of plants for planting. In the proposed structure, restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting would no longer be found in the regulations, but instead would be found in the Plants for Planting Manual. We would change those restrictions after taking public comment through notices published in the Federal Register. As part of this restructuring, we would group together restrictions in the plants for planting regulations that apply to the importation of most or all plants for planting, and we would add general requirements for the development of integrated pest risk management measures that we would use to mitigate the risk associated with the importation of a specific type of plants for planting. We would also amend our foreign quarantine regulations to remove various provisions regarding the importation of specific types of plants for planting that are not currently subject to the general plants for planting regulations; these provisions would also be found in the Plants for Planting Manual. This action would not make any major changes to the restrictions that currently apply to the importation of plants for planting. These changes would make restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting easier for readers to find and less cumbersome for us to change.

We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the interstate movement into the continental United States of fresh sapote fruit from Puerto Rico. 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 interstate movement of sapote fruit from Puerto Rico. We are making the pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.

We are advising the public of our record of decision for the final supplemental environmental impact statement for the Gypsy Moth Program.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has received a petition from the Monsanto Company and Forage Genetics International (FGI) seeking a determination of nonregulated status of alfalfa designated as event KK179, which has been genetically engineered to express reduced levels of guaiacyl lignin. The petition has been submitted in accordance with our regulations concerning the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms and products. We are making the Monsanto Company and FGI petition available for review and comment to help us identify potential environmental and interrelated economic issues and impacts that APHIS may determine should be considered in our evaluation of the petition.

We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest list associated with oranges and tangerines from Egypt that identifies pests of concern. Subsequently, we prepared a commodity import evaluation document to determine the risk posed by peach fruit fly in oranges and tangerines from Egypt. Based on that evaluation, we have concluded that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the pest risk. In addition, we are advising the public that we have prepared a treatment evaluation document that describes a new treatment schedule that can be used to neutralize peach fruit fly and Mediterranean fruit fly in oranges and tangerines. We are making the pest list, commodity import evaluation document, and treatment evaluation document available to the public for review and comment.