[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78207-78208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31461]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0104]
Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the
Importation of Fresh Rambutan Fruit (Nephelium lappaceum) From Malaysia
and Vietnam
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into
the continental United States of fresh rambutan fruit (Nephelium
lappaceum) from Malaysia and Vietnam. Based on this 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 importation of fresh
rambutan fruit from Malaysia and Vietnam. We are making the pest risk
analysis available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
February 14, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0104 to submit or view comments and
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send one copy of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0104, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to
Docket No. APHIS-2010-0104.
Reading Room: 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.
Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory
Policy Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and Import Manuals, PPQ,
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-
0754.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR
319.56-1 through 319.56-50, referred to below as the regulations), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture prohibits or restricts the importation of
fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the
world to prevent plant pests from being introduced into and spread
within the United States.
Section 319.56-4 contains a performance-based process for approving
the importation of commodities that, based on the findings of a pest-
risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one or more of the
designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph (b) of that
section. These measures are:
The fruits or vegetables are subject to inspection upon
arrival in the United States and comply with all applicable provisions
of Sec. 319.56-3;
The fruits or vegetables are imported from a pest-free
area in the country of origin that meets the requirements of Sec.
319.56-5 for freedom from that pest and are accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate stating that the fruits or vegetables
originated in a pest-free area in the country of origin;
The fruits or vegetables are treated in accordance with 7
CFR part 305;
The fruits or vegetables are inspected in the country of
origin by an inspector or an official of the national plant protection
organization of the exporting country, and have been found free of one
or more specific quarantine pests identified by the risk assessment as
likely to follow the import pathway; and/or
The fruits or vegetables are a commercial consignment.
APHIS received requests from the Governments of Malaysia and
Vietnam to allow the importation of fresh rambutan fruit (Nephelium
lappaceum)
[[Page 78208]]
from Malaysia and Vietnam into the continental United States. We have
completed a pest list for this commodity to identify pests of
quarantine significance that could follow the pathway of importation
into the United States and, based on this list, have prepared a risk
management document to identify phytosanitary measures that could be
applied to fresh rambutan fruit from Malaysia and Vietnam to mitigate
the pest risk. We have concluded that fresh rambutan fruit can be
safely imported into the continental United States from Malaysia and
Vietnam using one or more of the five designated phytosanitary measures
listed in Sec. 319.56-4(b). Therefore, in accordance with Sec.
319.56-4(c), we are announcing the availability of our pest risk
analysis for public review and comment. The pest risk analysis may be
viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our reading room (see
ADDRESSES above for a link to Regulations.gov and information on the
location and hours of the reading room). You may request paper copies
of the pest risk analysis by calling or writing to the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of
the pest risk analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.
After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the import status of fresh rambutan fruit from
Malaysia and Vietnam in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions
of the analysis and the Administrator's determination of risk remain
unchanged following our consideration of the comments, then we will
begin issuing permits for the importation of fresh rambutan fruit from
Malaysia and Vietnam into the continental United States subject to the
requirements specified in the risk management document.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C.
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 9th day of December 2010.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-31461 Filed 12-14-10; 8:45 am]
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