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

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, three interim rules regarding emerald ash borer (EAB). The first interim rule established regulations restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from areas quarantined because of EAB and designated 13 counties in Michigan as quarantined areas. The second and third interim rules amended the regulations by adding areas in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio to the list of areas quarantined because of EAB. As a result of those actions, the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas is restricted. The interim rules were necessary to prevent the artificial spread of EAB from infested areas in the States of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio into noninfested areas of the United States.

We are amending the pine shoot beetle regulations to allow pine bark products to be moved interstate from quarantined areas during the shoot feeding stage (July 1 through October 31) of the pine shoot beetle's life cycle without treatment. We are making this change because pine shoot beetles are not present in pine bark products during that stage. We are also establishing a management method to allow pine bark products to be moved interstate from quarantined areas during the overwintering stage (November 1 through March 31) and spring flight stage (April 1 through June 30) of the pine shoot beetle's life cycle. This action relieves restrictions on the interstate movement of pine bark products from quarantined areas during 4 months of the year and provides for the use of a management method as an alternative to fumigation with methyl bromide for pine bark products moved interstate from quarantined areas during the rest of the year.

In a final rule published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2005, we amended the regulations regarding the importation of animals and animal products to establish a category of regions that present a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States via live ruminants and ruminant products and byproducts, and added Canada to this category. We also established conditions for the importation of certain live ruminants and ruminant products and byproducts from such regions. In this document, we are clarifying our intent with regard to certain provisions in the final rule and are correcting several inconsistencies within the rule. These technical amendments will clarify the regulations.

We are amending the Karnal bunt regulations regarding the requirements that must be met in order for a field or area to be removed from the list of regulated areas. The changes will allow a field to qualify for release after 5 cumulative years of specified management practices, rather than 5 consecutive years as the regulations have provided, and reorganize the manner in which those management practices are described. These changes will clarify the existing regulations and provide growers in regulated areas with greater flexibility in their planting decisions.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's Animal Care program will host a meeting to present current information on the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act (HPA) and provide a forum for horse industry members and other interested persons to comment on the Horse Protection Program, development of the HPA Operating Plan for 2007 and beyond, and other Horse Protection matters. This notice provides the meeting's agenda, location, and date.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of fruits and vegetables in order to allow certain types of peppers grown in approved registered production sites in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to be imported, under certain conditions, into the United States without treatment. The conditions to which the importation of peppers will be subject, including trapping, pre-harvest inspection, and shipping procedures, are designed to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States. This action will allow for the importation of peppers from those countries in Central America while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to list a number of fruits and vegetables from certain parts of the world as eligible, under specified conditions, for importation into the United States. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

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 Marek's Disease-Newcastle Disease Vaccine, Serotypes 2 and 3, Live Virus, Live Marek's Disease 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.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would make several changes to the nursery stock regulations. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. The interim rule was necessary to relieve restrictions that were no longer needed to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States.

We are advising the public that an environmental assessment has been prepared for a proposed field trial of pink bollworm genetically engineered to express green fluorescence as a marker. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposes to use this marked strain to assess the effectiveness of lower doses of radiation to create sterile insects for its pink bollworm sterile insect program. This program, using sterile insect technique, has been conducted by APHIS, with State and grower cooperation, since 1968. Data gained from this field experiment will be used to improve the current program. The environmental assessment is available to the public for review and comment.

We are amending the Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by adding portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara Counties, CA, to the list of quarantined areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas. This action is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the spread of the Mediterranean fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States. We are also amending the regulations to provide for the use of spinosad bait spray as an alternative treatment for premises. This new treatment option will provide an alternative to the use of malathion bait spray for premises that produce regulated articles within the quarantined area but outside the infested core area.

We are proposing to amend the regulations governing the importation of fruits and vegetables in order to allow pink and red tomatoes grown in approved registered production sites in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama to be imported into the United States without treatment. The conditions to which the proposed importation of tomatoes would be subject, including trapping, pre-harvest inspection, and shipping procedures, are designed to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States. This action would allow for the importation of pink and red tomatoes from those countries in Central America while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States.

We are amending the black stem rust quarantine and regulations by changing the movement restrictions in order to allow clonally propagated offspring of rust-resistant Berberis cultivars to move into or through a protected area without completing a 2-year growth period. This change will lessen an unnecessarily strict movement requirement. We are also adding 13 varieties to the list of rust-resistant Berberis species. This change allows for the interstate movement of these newly developed varieties without unnecessary restrictions.

We are amending the regulations by adding Argentina to the list of regions considered free of exotic Newcastle disease. We have conducted a risk evaluation and have determined that Argentina has met our requirements for being recognized as free of this disease. This action eliminates certain restrictions on the importation into the United States of poultry and poultry products from Argentina. We are also adding Argentina to the list of regions that, although declared free of exotic Newcastle disease, must provide an additional certification to confirm that any poultry or poultry products offered for importation into the United States originate in a region free of exotic Newcastle disease and that, prior to importation into the United States, such poultry or poultry products were not commingled with poultry or poultry products from regions where exotic Newcastle disease exists.

We are amending the regulations by revising the approved doses for irradiation treatment of imported fruits and vegetables. This rule will establish a new minimum generic dose of irradiation for most plant pests of the class Insecta, establish a new minimum generic dose for the fruit fly family, reduce the minimum dose of irradiation for some specific fruit fly species, add 10 pests to the list of pests for which irradiation is an approved treatment at less than the generic dose, and provide for the use of irradiation as a treatment for cut flowers and foliage. These actions will allow the use of irradiation to neutralize more pests and to neutralize some pests at lower doses. Furthermore, we are providing for the irradiation of fruits and vegetables moved interstate from Hawaii at the pest-specific irradiation doses that are now approved for imported fruits and vegetables. We are also providing for the use of irradiation to treat fruits and vegetables moved interstate from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These actions will allow irradiation to serve as an alternative to other approved treatments for additional commodities moved interstate from Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Finally, we are adding irradiation as a treatment for bananas from Hawaii and adding vapor- heat treatment as an optional treatment for sweetpotatoes from Hawaii. These actions will provide an alternative to the currently approved treatments for those commodities while continuing to provide protection against the spread of plant pests from Hawaii into the continental United States.

We are advising the public that an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact have been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to the issuance of a permit for the environmental release of the nonindigenous fly Fergusonina turneri Taylor and its obligate nematode Fergusobia quinquenerviae Davies and Giblin-Davis, which are potential biological control agents of Melaleuca quinquenervia. The environmental assessment documents our review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with, and alternatives to, issuing a permit for the environmental release of the fly and its obligate nematode in the continental United States. Based on its finding of no significant impact, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's Animal Care program will host a meeting to present current information on the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act (HPA) and provide a forum for horse industry members and other interested persons to comment on the Horse Protection Program, development of the HPA Operating Plan for 2007 and beyond, and other Horse Protection matters. This notice provides the meeting's agenda, location, and date.

We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation into the continental United States of fresh, dehusked immature (baby) sweet corn and fresh baby carrots from Zambia. As a condition of entry, both commodities would be subject to inspection at the port of first arrival and would have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the commodity has been inspected and found free of the quarantine pest listed on the certificate. This action would allow for the importation of Zambian baby corn and baby carrots into the United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with requirements for recognizing the animal health status of foreign regions.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with the National Veterinary Accreditation Program.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fragrant pears from China under certain conditions. As a condition of entry, fragrant pears from China must be grown in the Korla region of Xinjiang Province in a production site that is registered with the national plant protection organization of China. The fragrant pears will be subject to inspection. In addition, the pears must be packed in cartons that are labeled in accordance with the regulations, shipped in insect-proof containers, and safeguarded from pest infestation during transport to the United States. This action will allow fragrant pears to be imported from China while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

We are proposing to amend the regulations on importing nursery stock to eliminate various restrictions on the importation of plants in vitro and kenaf seed; to establish programs for the importation of approved plants from the Canary Islands and from Israel; to require an additional declaration on the phytosanitary certificate accompanying blueberry plants imported from Canada; to require that phytosanitary certificates include the genus and species names of the restricted articles they accompany; to change the phytosanitary certificate requirements for several restricted articles; to reduce the postentry quarantine growing period for Hydrangea spp. and for certain chrysanthemums; and to update the list of ports of entry and Federal plant inspection stations. We are also proposing several other changes to update and clarify the regulations and improve their effectiveness. These changes are necessary to relieve restrictions that appear unnecessary, update existing provisions, and make the regulations easier to understand and implement.

We are amending the Karnal bunt regulations to make changes to the list of areas or fields regulated because of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat. We are adding certain areas in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, AZ, to the list of regulated areas either because they were found during surveys to contain a bunted wheat kernel, or because they are within the 3-mile-wide buffer zone around fields or areas affected with Karnal bunt. We are also removing certain areas or fields in Maricopa County, AZ, from the list of regulated areas based on our determination that those fields or areas meet our criteria for release from regulation. These actions are necessary to prevent the spread of Karnal bunt to noninfected areas of the United States and to relieve restrictions on certain areas that are no longer necessary.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to list a number of fruits and vegetables from certain parts of the world as eligible, under specified conditions, for importation into the United States. Many of these fruits and vegetables have been eligible for importation under permit, but were not specifically listed in the regulations. All of the fruits and vegetables, as a condition of entry, will be inspected and subject to treatment at the port of first arrival as may be required by an inspector. In addition, some of the fruits and vegetables will be required to be treated or meet other special conditions. We are also recognizing areas in several countries as free from certain fruit flies; adding, modifying, or removing certain definitions; modifying existing treatment requirements for specified commodities; and making other miscellaneous changes. These actions will improve the transparency of our regulations while continuing to protect against the introduction of quarantine pests through imported fruits and vegetables.