[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 147 (Tuesday, August 2, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 44222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15166]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 04-118-2]


Karnal Bunt; Regulated Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim 
rule that amended the Karnal bunt regulations by adding certain areas 
in La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties, AZ, and Riverside County, CA, 
to the list of regulated areas and by removing certain areas or fields 
in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, AZ, and Imperial County, CA, from the 
list of regulated areas. Those actions were 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

EFFECTIVE DATE: The interim rule became effective on March 28, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Vedpal Malik, Agriculturalist, 
Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6774.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Karnal bunt is a fungal disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum 
wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale (Triticum aestivum X Secale 
cereale), a hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is caused by the 
fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread primarily through 
the planting of infected seed. Some countries in the international 
wheat market regulate Karnal bunt as a fungal disease requiring 
quarantine; therefore, without measures taken by the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS), United States Department of 
Agriculture, to prevent its spread, the presence of Karnal bunt in the 
United States could have significant consequences with regard to the 
export of wheat to international markets. The regulations regarding 
Karnal bunt are set forth in 7 CFR 301.89-1 through 301.89-16 (referred 
to below as the regulations).
    In an interim rule effective and published in the Federal Register 
on March 28, 2005 (70 FR 15553-15557, Docket No. 04-118-1), we amended 
the regulations by adding certain areas in La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal 
Counties, AZ, and Riverside County, CA, 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. In the same interim rule, we 
also amended the regulations by removing certain areas or fields in 
Maricopa and Pinal Counties, AZ, and Imperial County, CA, from the list 
of regulated areas based on our determination that those fields or 
areas had met our criteria for release from regulation.
    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before May 27, 2005. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for 
the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim rule 
as a final rule.
    This action also affirms the information contained in the interim 
rule concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has 
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

    Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

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Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the 
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and that was published at 70 
FR 15553-15557 on March 28, 2005.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of July 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15166 Filed 8-1-05; 8:45 am]
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