[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 161 (Friday, August 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51934-51935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21213]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0032]
Determination of Pest-Free Areas in Mendoza Province, Argentina;
Request for Comments
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have received a request
from the Government of Argentina to recognize additional areas as pest-
free areas for South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus) and
all other economically important species of Anastrepha. After reviewing
the documentation submitted in support of this request, the
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has
determined that these areas meet the criteria in our regulations for
recognition as pest-free areas. We are making that determination, as
well as the evaluation document we have prepared in connection with
this action, available for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
October 18, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0032-0005.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2010-0032, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-
0032 or in our reading room, which 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Meredith C. Jones, Regulatory
Coordination Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 156, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-7467.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the regulations in ``Subpart-Fruits
and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-51, 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 of the regulations 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. One of the designated phytosanitary measures is
that 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.\1\
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\1\ A list of pest-free-areas currently recognized by APHIS can
be found at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/DesignatedPestFreeAreas.pdf.
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Under the regulations in Sec. 319.56-5, APHIS requires that
determinations of pest-free areas be made in accordance with the
criteria for establishing freedom from pests found in International
Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 4, ``Requirements For
the Establishment of Pest Free Areas.'' The international standard was
established by the International Plant Protection Convention of the
United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and is incorporated
by reference in our regulations in 7 CFR 300.5. In addition, APHIS must
also approve the survey protocol used to determine and maintain pest-
free status, as well as protocols for actions to be performed upon
detection of a pest. Pest-free areas are subject to audit by APHIS to
verify their status.
APHIS received a request from the Government of Argentina to
recognize an additional area of that country as being free of Ceratitis
capitata, Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly). Specifically, the
Government of Argentina asked that we recognize the Southern and
Central Oases in the southern half of Mendoza Province as an area that
is free of Medfly.
In accordance with our process, we published a notice \2\ in the
Federal Register on June 25, 2010 (75 FR 36347-36348, Docket No. APHIS-
2010-0032), in which we announced the availability, for review and
comment, of a commodity import evaluation document (CIED) that
evaluates the information presented by Argentina in support of its
request to recognize additional areas as pest-free areas for
Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) in Argentina. We solicited
comments on the notice for 60 days ending on August 24, 2010. We
received two comments by that date, one from a State agricultural
official and the other from an official of Argentina's national plant
protection organization (NPPO). The first commenter acknowledged
Argentina's history of successful Medfly control efforts, but stated
that APHIS should not relax its fruit fly-related restrictions until it
can confirm that no other pest fruit flies-notably Anastrepha species
fruit flies-are present in the area. The second commenter provided
information to support a finding that the Mendoza Province is free of
the South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus). As a result of
these comments, APHIS contacted the Argentine NPPO, which requested
that, in addition to the pest-free status for Ceratitis capitata, the
Mendoza province of Argentina also be recognized as free of A.
fraterculus.
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\2\ To view the notice and the comments we received, go to
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0032.
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In accordance with our regulations and the criteria set out in ISPM
No. 4, we have reviewed and approved the survey protocols and other
information provided by Argentina relative to its system to establish
A. fraterculus freedom, phytosanitary measures to maintain freedom, and
system for the verification of the maintenance of freedom. Because this
action concerns the expansion of a currently recognized pest-free area
in Argentina from which fruits and vegetables are authorized for
[[Page 51935]]
importation into the United States, our review of the information
presented by Argentina in support of its subsequent request to
recognize the Mendoza province of Argentina as free of A. fraterculus
is examined in a CIED titled ``Recognition of additional Provinces as
Anastrepha fraterculus Pest-Free Areas (PFA) for Argentina.''
The CIED may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the
reading room). You may request paper copies of the CIED by calling or
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 319.56-5(c), we are announcing
the Administrator's determination that the Southern and Central Oases
in the southern half of Mendoza Province meet the criteria of Sec.
319.56-5(a) and (b) with respect to freedom from the South American
fruit fly and all other economically important species of Anastrepha.
After reviewing the comments we receive on this notice and taking into
consideration the comments we received on our June 2010 notice
regarding the areas' Medfly status, we will announce our decision
regarding the status of these areas with respect to their freedom from
Medfly and South American fruit fly. If the Administrator's
determination remains unchanged, we will amend the list of pest-free
areas to list Southern and Central Oases of the Mendoza Province of
Argentina as free of Medfly and South American fruit fly.
Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of August 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-21213 Filed 8-18-11; 8:45 am]
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