[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 231 (Friday, December 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69530-69531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20392]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0126]
Request for Information; Potential Sites for a Sterile Fruit Fly
Production Facility or Potential Alternate Sources of Sterile Fruit
Flies
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) is exploring options for the construction of
a multispecies exotic fruit fly facility and/or the privatization of
sterile fly production to provide backup capacity for our sterile fruit
fly programs and emergency needs. APHIS recognizes the need to maintain
a backup for sterile fruit fly production to respond to emergency
outbreaks when they occur, and to ensure current preventive release
programs in California, Florida, and Texas remain effective. In this
notice, we are soliciting the submission of information from interested
persons regarding potential sites for the production of sterile fruit
flies or alternate sources of those flies.
DATES: We will consider all submissions of information that we receive
on or before January 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Any information should be submitted, in writing, to the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael B. Stefan, Director, Fruit
Fly Exclusion and Detection Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit
137, Riverdale, MD 20737-1229; (301) 734-4387.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 17, 2006, we published in the Federal Register (71 FR
8563, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0007) a notice \1\ advising the public we
had prepared a draft document titled ``Exotic Fruit Fly Strategic Plan
FY 2006-2010'' and made it available to the public for review and
comment. Appendix A of that document discussed the potential actions we
could take in response to the closing of the sterile Mediterranean
fruit fly (Medfly) production facility in Waimanalo, HI. The following
options were presented: (1) Do not replace the facility; (2) build a
new production facility in Hawaii; (3) partner with California
Department of Food and Agriculture to expand their sterile fruit fly
production facility in Hawaii; or (4) build a multispecies facility in
the continental United States or on foreign soil. Most of the comments
we received on the draft strategic plan agreed on the need for a
multispecies exotic fruit fly facility to provide backup capacity for
our sterile fruit fly programs and emergency needs. Additionally,
several
[[Page 69531]]
commenters suggested potential sites for the new facility.
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\1\ To view the draft strategic plan and the comments we
received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, click on the ``Advanced
Search'' tab, and select ``Docket Search.'' In the Docket ID field,
enter APHIS-2006-0007, then click on ``Submit.'' Clicking on the
Docket ID link in the search results page will produce a list of all
documents in the docket.
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The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recognizes
the need to maintain a backup for sterile Medfly and Mexican fruit fly
(Mexfly) production to respond to emergency outbreaks when they occur,
and to ensure that the current preventive release programs in
California, Florida, and Texas remain effective. Specifically, we
believe we need the capacity to produce 550 million sterile Medflies
per week and the ability to maintain and produce 150 million sterile
Mexflies per week as a second species. We are exploring our options for
meeting these needs, including the construction of a multispecies
rearing facility or the privatization of sterile fly production.
In order to further explore our options, we are requesting
information from the public regarding options through which we could
(1) produce sterile Medflies and Mexflies at an APHIS-managed rearing
facility or at a facility operated by a privately owned company or a
State or foreign government or (2) purchase sterile Medflies and
Mexflies from a facility operated by a privately owned company or a
State or foreign government. APHIS is open to considering locations
both within and outside the continental United States as backup sources
for sterile fruit flies.
Production of sterile fruit flies requires the maintenance of a
fertile colony of fruit flies in the facility, and although containment
mechanisms are maintained in any production facility, the risk of
fertile flies escaping into the local environs can pose a pest risk.
Accordingly, any new sterile fruit fly production facility--public or
private--would have to be located either in an area that will not
support the establishment of the species of fruit flies being produced
or an area that is already infested with the species of fruit flies
being produced. We welcome any information or suggestions regarding
potential locations for the construction of a multispecies facility
within or outside the continental United States.
Because the ease of transporting and distributing sterile fruit
flies must be considered, we invite information about potential sites
where transportation accommodations are of such a nature to allow for
the ease of daily shipments to all target release areas of the sterile
fruit flies produced. A favorable location would be one where the air
transportation accommodations would not entail more than one connecting
flight from the production site to the target release area. We are open
to information regarding potential locations within or outside the
continental United States that would accommodate this need.
In addition, minimizing construction costs and time is desirable.
Any potential economic savings in land acquisition, facility
construction, and maintenance costs for a new facility will be a high
priority in the selection of a site. Any information or suggestions
about potential locations on tribal land, retired military bases, or
other locations within or outside the United States would be useful.
Any suggestions for other ways to help minimize construction costs and
time would also be welcome.
Recent advances in research and development of sterile insect
technologies necessitate that any new facility should be able to adapt
to and incorporate any new technologies (e.g., adapt to new space
requirements, accommodate different filter systems, etc.) where
appropriate. We invite information about recent advances in research
and development of sterile insect technologies, specifically any
information regarding new, more effective and efficient, technologies
that would be desirable to incorporate into a new production facility.
We are seeking detailed data and information from the public in
response to this notice, which we will use as a resource in our
exploration of options for construction of a multispecies rearing
facility and/or privatization of sterile fly production.
Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of November 2006.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E6-20392 Filed 11-30-06; 8:45 am]
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