[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48628-48631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19314]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 154 / Friday, August 9, 2013 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 48628]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0014]
RIN 0579-AD68
Importation of Papayas From Peru
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to allow, under certain conditions, the
importation of commercial consignments of fresh papayas from Peru into
the continental United States. The conditions for the importation of
papayas from Peru would include requirements for approved production
locations; field sanitation; hot water treatment; procedures for
packing and shipping the papayas; and fruit fly trapping in papaya
production areas. This action would allow for the importation of
papayas from Peru while continuing to provide protection against the
introduction of quarantine pests into the continental United States.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
October 8, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0014-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0014, 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-2012-
0014 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) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dorothy Wayson, Senior Regulatory
Coordination Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ,
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-
2036.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in ``Subpart-Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56-
1 through 319.56-59, referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or
restrict the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States from certain parts of the world to prevent the introduction and
dissemination of plant pests that are new to or not widely distributed
within the United States. The national plant protection organization
(NPPO) of Peru has requested that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) amend the regulations to allow fresh papayas
(Carica papaya) to be imported from Peru into the continental United
States.
As part of our evaluation of Peru's request, we have prepared a
pest risk assessment (PRA), titled ``Importation of Fresh Papaya,
Carica papaya, from Peru into the Continental United States'' (March
2012). The PRA evaluates the risks associated with the importation of
papaya into the continental United States from Peru. Copies of the PRA
may be obtained by contacting the individual listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT or viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site (see
ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov).
The PRA identified two pests of quarantine significance present in
Peru that could be introduced into the United States through the
importation of papaya: The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), Ceratitis
capitata Wiedemann, and the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha
fraterculus (Wiedemann). Both of these pests were rated as posing a
high risk.
APHIS has determined that measures beyond standard port of arrival
inspection are required to mitigate the risks posed by the plant pests
associated with papayas from Peru. Therefore, we propose to require
that the papayas be subjected to a systems approach to pest mitigation.
This systems approach would require that the papayas be produced at
places of production registered with the NPPO of Peru, would require
packing procedures designed to exclude quarantine pests, and would
require fruit fly trapping, field sanitation, and hot water treatment
to remove pests of concern from the pathway. Only commercial
consignments of papayas would be allowed to be imported from Peru.
Consignments of papayas from Peru would also be required to be
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of Peru
stating that the papayas were grown, packed, and shipped in accordance
with the proposed requirements.
The proposed systems approach to pest mitigation for the
importation of papayas from Peru has been used successfully to mitigate
the risk associated with the importation of papayas from Central
America, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador (Sec. 319.56-25). The risk
management document for papayas from Peru evaluated the effectiveness
of these measures against the quarantine pests identified in the PRA
and concluded that the provisions in Sec. 319.56-25, along with the
general requirements for the importation of fruits and vegetables in
the regulations, will be sufficient to prevent the introduction of
those pests into the continental United States. Therefore, we propose
to amend Sec. 319.56-25 to allow for the importation of papayas from
Peru. The mitigation measures for the proposed systems approach are
outlined in greater detail below.
Commercial Consignments
The importation of fresh papayas from Peru would be limited to
commercial consignments of papaya of cultivar Solo only.
This condition would reduce the likelihood that papayas will
introduce injurious plant pests into the continental United States.
Commercial consignments are less likely to be infested with plant pests
than noncommercial consignments. Noncommercial consignments are more
prone to infestations because the commodity is often ripe to overripe,
[[Page 48629]]
may be of a variety with unknown susceptibility to pests, and is often
grown with little or no pest control. Commercial consignments, as
defined in Sec. 319.56-2, are consignments that an inspector
identifies as having been imported for sale and distribution. Such
identification is based on a variety of indicators, including, but not
limited to: Quantity of produce, type of packaging, identification of
grower or packinghouse on the packaging, and documents consigning the
fruits or vegetables to a wholesaler or retailer.
Papayas weighing 2 kilograms or less are considered ``Solo''
papayas. The limitation would ensure that the hot water dip treatment
discussed later in this document is effective, as that treatment has
not been tested on larger papayas.
Registered Growers
The papayas would have to be grown by a grower registered with the
NPPO of Peru and packed for shipment to the continental United States
(including Alaska) in Peru. This condition would ensure that papayas
intended for the continental United States are grown in places of
production where fruit fly traps are maintained and where the other
elements of the systems approach described below are in place. In
addition, grower registration allows for traceback and removal from the
export program of production sites with confirmed pest problems, and
the papaya orchards would be monitored by the NPPO to ensure that pest
and disease-excluding sanitary procedures are employed.
Harvesting Procedures
Beginning at least 30 days before harvest begins and continuing
through the completion of harvest, all trees in the area where the
papayas are grown would have to be kept free of papayas that are one-
half or more ripe (more than one-quarter of shell surface yellow), and
all culled and fallen fruit would have to be buried, destroyed, or
removed from the farm at least twice a week.
Although papayas are a potential host for Medfly and South American
fruit fly, these fruit flies typically prefer ripe fruits as well as
culled or fallen papayas. Therefore, requiring that only green papayas
(less than half ripe) be present on the trees and that culled and
fallen fruit be buried, destroyed, or removed from the farm would
reduce the populations of Medfly and South American fruit fly in the
fields where papayas intended for importation into the continental
United States are grown.
Treatment
The papayas would have to be held for 20 minutes in hot water at 48
[deg]C (118.4 [deg]F). This treatment is currently used to treat
papayas imported from Central America, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador
for fruit flies under the existing regulations in Sec. 319.56-25. Hot
water treatment mitigates the pest risk that could result if fruit
flies lay eggs in papayas immediately before harvest. This treatment,
in conjunction with other safeguards that would be required by the
regulations for papayas from Peru, would reduce the likelihood that
papayas will introduce Medfly and South American fruit fly into the
continental United States.
Packaging Procedures
When packed, the papayas would have to be less than one-half ripe
(shell surface no more than one-quarter yellow, surrounded by light
green) and appear to be free of all injurious insect pests.
This condition would reduce the risk of introduction of Medfly and
South American fruit fly into the continental United States. Papayas
that are less than one-half ripe (green) are not preferred hosts for
fruit flies. Requiring papayas to be less than one-half ripe when
packed thus reduces the risk of their infestation with Medfly or South
American fruit fly.
The papayas would have to be safeguarded from exposure to fruit
flies from harvest to export, including being packaged to prevent
access by fruit flies or other injurious insect pests during transit.
The package containing the papayas would not be allowed to contain any
other fruit, including papayas not qualified for importation into the
continental United States. These conditions would ensure that papayas
that have already been inspected and packaged for shipment to the
continental United States are not at risk for fruit fly infestation.
Fruit Fly Trapping
Beginning at least 1 year before harvest begins and continuing
through the completion of harvest, fruit fly traps would have to be
maintained in the field where the papayas were grown. Fifty percent of
the traps would have to be of the McPhail type, and 50 percent of the
traps of the Jackson type. The traps would have to be placed at the
rate of 1 trap per hectare and checked for fruit flies at least once a
week by plant health officials of the NPPO. The NPPO would have to keep
records of the fruit fly finds for each trap, updating the records each
time the traps are checked, and make the records available to APHIS
upon request. The records would have to be maintained for at least 1
year. This condition would ensure the earliest possible detection of
increasing populations of fruit flies in and around fields where
papayas are grown.
If the average Jackson fruit fly trap catch is greater than seven
Medflies per trap per week, measures would have to be taken to control
the Medfly population in the production area. If the average Jackson
trap catch exceeds 14 Medflies per trap per week, importations of
papayas from that production area would be halted until the rate of
capture drops to an average of 7 or fewer Medflies per trap per week.
If the average McPhail trap catch is greater than seven South
American fruit flies per trap per week, measures would have to be taken
to control the South American fruit flies population in the production
area. If the average McPhail trap catch exceeds 14 South American fruit
flies per trap per week, importations of papayas from that production
area would be halted until the rate of capture drops to an average of 7
or fewer South American fruit flies per trap per week.
These thresholds for Medfly and South American fruit fly trapping
would help detect increasing populations of these fruit flies in
growing areas; as such, this condition would help ensure that these
fruit flies are not associated with imports of papayas into the
continental United States.
All activities would have to be conducted under the supervision and
direction of plant health officials of the NPPO of the exporting
country to help ensure that all activities required by the regulations
are properly carried out. This requirement is found in paragraph (h) of
Sec. 319.56-25, which currently refers to the activities in paragraphs
(a) through (h) of the section. Since paragraph (h) contains the
supervision requirement, we are proposing to correct the reference to
instead refer to supervision of the activities described in paragraphs
(a) through (g) of Sec. 319.56-25.
Phytosanitary Certificate
All shipments of papayas would have to be accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of Peru stating that the
papayas were grown, packed, and shipped in accordance with the proposed
requirements. This condition would help ensure that the provisions of
the regulations have been met. In addition, as part of issuing the
phytosanitary certificate, the NPPO would inspect the commodities and
[[Page 48630]]
certify that they are free of quarantine pests.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we have analyzed
the potential economic effects of this action on small entities. The
analysis is summarized below. Copies of the full analysis are available
by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
or on the Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for
instructions for accessing Regulations.gov).
This proposed rule would allow the importation of fresh papaya
fruit from Peru into the continental United States. Papaya is a
relatively minor crop in the United States that is primarily grown in
Hawaii, and to a lesser extent, in Florida. Very small acreages are
found in Texas and California.
Peru is expected to ship up to 36 metric tons of fresh papaya to
the United States per year. This amount would be equivalent to less
than 0.03 percent of net imports of fresh papaya by the United States
in 2011. With U.S. net imports estimated to be at least eight times as
large as U.S. fresh papaya production, any market effects of such a
relatively negligible change in papaya imports are as likely to impact
foreign suppliers as they are U.S. producers. In addition, effects for
the majority of U.S. papaya producers, who are located in Hawaii, would
be further muted by the proposed prohibition on entry of fresh papaya
from Peru into that State.
While most if not all U.S. papaya farms are small entities, we
expect this proposed rule to have a very minor impact regardless of the
size of operation.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule would allow papayas to be imported into the
continental United States from Peru. If this proposed rule is adopted,
State and local laws and regulations regarding papayas imported under
this rule would be preempted while the fruit is in foreign commerce.
Fresh fruits are generally imported for immediate distribution and sale
to the consuming public and would remain in foreign commerce until sold
to the ultimate consumer. The question of when foreign commerce ceases
in other cases must be addressed on a case-by-case basis. If this
proposed rule is adopted, no retroactive effect will be given to this
rule, and this rule will not require administrative proceedings before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection or
recordkeeping requirements included in this proposed rule have been
submitted for approval to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Please send written comments to the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington,
DC 20503. Please state that your comments refer to Docket No. APHIS-
2012-0014. Please send a copy of your comments to: (1) APHIS, using one
of the methods described under ADDRESSES at the beginning of this
document, and (2) Clearance Officer, OCIO, USDA, Room 404-W, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. A comment to
OMB is best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it within
30 days of publication of this proposed rule.
Allowing the importation of papayas into the continental United
States from Peru will require grower registration, trapping records,
and phytosanitary certificates.
We are soliciting comments from the public (as well as affected
agencies) concerning our proposed information collection and
recordkeeping requirements. These comments will help us:
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper performance of our agency's functions,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the
proposed information collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who
are to respond (such as through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses).
Estimate of burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 1.5 hours per response.
Respondents: The NPPO of Peru and growers.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 51.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.9.
Estimated annual number of responses: 101.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 154 hours. (Due to
averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of
the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per
response.)
Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Mrs.
Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301)
851-2908.
E-Government Act Compliance
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is committed to
compliance with the E-Government Act to promote the use of the Internet
and other information technologies, to provide increased opportunities
for citizen access to Government information and services, and for
other purposes. For information pertinent to E-Government Act
compliance related to this proposed rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste
Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2908.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319
Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, Nursery stock, Plant
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.
Accordingly, we propose to amend 7 CFR part 319 as follows:
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
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1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as follows:
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.
Sec. 319.56-25 [Amended]
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2. Section 319.56-25 is amended as follows:
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a. In paragraph (b), by removing the words ``or Ecuador'' and adding
the words ``, Ecuador, or Peru'' in their place.
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b. In paragraph (g)(2), by adding the word ``Peru,'' after the word
``Ecuador,''.
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c. In paragraph (h), by removing the citation ``(h)'' and adding the
citation ``(g)'' in its place.
[[Page 48631]]
Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of August 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-19314 Filed 8-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P