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Mexican Fruit Fly; Addition of Regulated Area
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: January 24, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 16)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 3373-3374]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24ja03-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 02-121-2]
Mexican Fruit Fly; Addition of Regulated Area
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are revising the Mexican fruit fly regulations by adding a
portion of Los Angeles County, CA, to the existing regulated area and
restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from that
area. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of the Mexican
fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States.
DATES: This interim rule was effective January 17, 2003. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before March 25, 2003.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket
No. 02-121-2, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-121-2. If you use e-mail,
address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files.
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No.
02-121-2'' on the subject line.
You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 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) 690-2817 before coming.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html. 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen A. Knight, Senior Staff
Officer, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1236; (301) 734-8247.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens) is a destructive pest of
citrus and many other types of fruit. The short life cycle of the
Mexican fruit fly allows rapid development of serious outbreaks that
can cause severe economic losses in commercial citrus-producing areas.
The Mexican fruit fly regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.64
through 301.64-10 (referred to below as the regulations), were
established to prevent the spread of the Mexican fruit fly to
noninfested areas of the United States. The regulations impose
restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the
regulated areas.
In an interim rule effective on December 13, 2002, and published in
the Federal Register on December 23, 2002 (67 FR 78127-78128, Docket
No. 02-121-1), we amended the regulations by adding a portion of Los
Angeles County, CA, as a regulated area. Prior to the effective date of
that rule, the only areas regulated for the Mexican fruit fly were
portions of Texas. In this interim rule, we are designating an
additional portion of Los Angeles County, CA, as a regulated area.
Section 301.64-3 provides that the Deputy Administrator for Plant
Protection and Quarantine, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS), shall list as a regulated area each quarantined State, or each
portion of a quarantined State, in which the Mexican fruit fly has been
found by an inspector, in which the Deputy Administrator has reason to
believe the Mexican fruit fly is present, or that the Deputy
Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its proximity
to the Mexican fruit fly or its inseparability for quarantine
enforcement purposes from localities in which the Mexican fruit fly
occurs.
Less than an entire quarantined State is designated as a regulated
area only if the Deputy Administrator determines that the State has
adopted and is enforcing a quarantine or regulation that imposes
restrictions on the intrastate movement of the regulated articles that
are substantially the same as those that are imposed with respect to
the interstate movement of the articles and the designation of less
than the entire State as a regulated area will otherwise be adequate to
prevent the artificial interstate spread of the Mexican fruit fly.
Recent trapping surveys by inspectors of California State and
county agencies and by APHIS inspectors reveal that an additional
portion of Los Angeles County, CA, is infested with the Mexican fruit
fly.
Accordingly, to prevent the spread of the Mexican fruit fly to
noninfested areas of the United States, we are amending the regulations
in Sec. 301.64-3 by adding that portion of Los Angeles County, CA, to
the existing regulated area for the Mexican fruit fly. The addition is
described in detail in the rule portion of this document. The Deputy
Administrator has determined that it is not necessary to designate the
entire State of California as a regulated area.
Emergency Action
This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the
Mexican fruit fly from spreading to noninfested areas of the United
States. Under these circumstances, the Administrator has determined
that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are contrary to
the public interest and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 for
making this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the
Federal Register.
We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for
this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes,
we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document
will include a discussion of any comments
[[Page 3374]]
we receive and any amendments we are making to the rule.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review under
Executive Order 12866.
This rule restricts the interstate movement of regulated articles
from an area in Los Angeles County, CA. Within the regulated area there
are approximately 389 small entities that may be affected by this rule.
These include 351 fruit sellers, 3 growers, 33 nurseries, 1 certified
farmers' market, and 1 swapmeet. These 389 entities comprise less than
1 percent of the total number of similar entities operating in the
State of California. Additionally, these small entities sell regulated
articles primarily for local intrastate, not interstate, movement, so
the effect, if any, of this rule on these entities appears to be
minimal.
The effect on those few entities that do move regulated articles
interstate will be minimized by the availability of various treatments
that, in most cases, will allow these small entities to move regulated
articles interstate with very little additional cost.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
National Environmental Policy Act
An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
have been prepared for this interim rule. The site-specific
environmental assessment provides a basis for the conclusion that the
implementation of integrated pest management to eradicate the Mexican
fruit fly will not have a significant impact on human health and the
natural environment. Based on the finding of no significant impact, the
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has
determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.
The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2)
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA
regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no
significant impact are available for public inspection in our reading
room (information on the location and hours of the reading room is
provided under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this
document). In addition, copies may be obtained from the individual
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This interim rule contains no information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7711, 7712, 7714, 7731, 7735, 7751, 7752,
7753, 7754, and 7760; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Section 301.75-15 also issued under sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also
issued under sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7
U.S.C. 1421 note).
2. In Sec. 301.64-3, paragraph (c) , under the heading
``California'', the entry for Los Angeles County is revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 301.64-3 Regulated areas.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
California
Los Angeles County. That portion of the county in the South
Pasadena and Monterey Park areas bounded by a line as follows:
Beginning at the intersection of Valley Boulevard and Peck Road;
then south on Peck Road to Workman Mill Road; then southwest on
Workman Mill Road to Norwalk Boulevard; then southwest on Norwalk
Boulevard to Whittier Boulevard; then northwest on Whittier
Boulevard to Passons Boulevard; then southwest on Passons Boulevard
to Washington Boulevard; then northwest on Washington Boulevard to
Paramount Boulevard; then southwest on Paramount Boulevard to East
Slauson Avenue; then west on East Slauson Avenue to U.S. Interstate
710; then northwest on U.S. Interstate 710 to U.S. Interstate 5;
then northwest on U.S. Interstate 5 to South Indiana Street; then
north on South Indiana Street to North Indiana Street; then north on
North Indiana Street to Cesar Chavez Avenue; then northwest on Cesar
Chavez Avenue to North Soto Street; then north on North Soto Street
to Valley Boulevard; then west on Valley Boulevard to North Main
Street; then west on North Main Street to Daly Street; then north on
Daly Street to Pasadena Avenue; then north on Pasadena Avenue to
North Figueroa Street; then southwest on North Figueroa Street to
Cypress Avenue; then northwest on Cypress Avenue to Eagle Rock
Boulevard; then northeast on Eagle Rock Boulevard to Colorado
Boulevard; then east on Colorado Boulevard to West Colorado
Boulevard; then northeast on West Colorado Boulevard to State
Highway 710; then north on State Highway 710 to U.S. Interstate 210;
then north on U.S. Interstate 210 to West Washington Boulevard; then
east on West Washington Boulevard to East Washington Boulevard; then
southeast on East Washington Boulevard to East Sierra Madre
Boulevard; then east on East Sierra Madre Boulevard to Sierra Madre
Villa Avenue; then south on Sierra Madre Villa Avenue to North
Rosemead Boulevard; then southeast on North Rosemead Boulevard to
Rosemead Boulevard; then south on Rosemead Boulevard to Longden
Avenue; then east on Longden Avenue to Encinita Avenue; then south
on Encinita Avenue to Las Tunas Drive; then east on Las Tunas Drive
to Temple City Boulevard; then south on Temple City Boulevard to
Olive Street; then east on Olive Street to Baldwin Avenue; then
south on Baldwin Avenue to Lower Azusa Road; then east on Lower
Azusa Road to Arden Drive; then south on Arden Drive to Valley
Boulevard; then southeast on Valley Boulevard to the point of
beginning.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of January 2003.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-1609 Filed 1-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P