[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 19, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 69285-69286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27689]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 223 / Tuesday, November 19, 2013 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 69285]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0042]
RIN 0579-AD69
Importation of Fresh Beans, Shelled or in Pods, From Jordan Into
the Continental United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow
the importation of commercial shipments of fresh beans, shelled or in
pods (French, green, snap, and string), from Jordan into the
continental United States. As a condition of entry, the beans must be
produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes
requirements for packing, washing, and processing. The beans must also
be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate attesting that all
phytosanitary requirements have been met and that the consignment was
inspected and found free of quarantine pests. This action allows for
the importation of fresh beans, shelled or in pods, from Jordan into
the continental United States while continuing to provide protection
against the introduction of plant pests.
DATES: Effective Date: December 19, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Marc Phillips, Senior Regulatory
Coordination Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ,
APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 156, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-
2114.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in ``Subpart-Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56-
1 through 319.56-61, 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.
On May 2, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR 25623-
25626, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0042) a proposal \1\ to amend the
regulations to allow the importation of commercial shipments of fresh
beans, shelled or in pods (French, green, snap, and string), from
Jordan into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the
beans were required to be produced in accordance with a systems
approach that includes requirements for packing, washing, and
processing. The beans were also required to be accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate attesting that all phytosanitary requirements
had been met and that the consignment was inspected and found free of
quarantine pests. This proposed action was intended to allow for the
importation of fresh beans, shelled or in pods, from Jordan into the
continental United States while continuing to provide protection
against the introduction of plant pests.
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\1\ To view the proposed rule and the pest risk analysis we
prepared for that action, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0042.
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We solicited comments concerning our proposal for 60 days ending
July 1, 2013. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for the
reasons given in the proposed rule, we are adopting the proposed rule
as a final rule, without change.
Note: In our May 2013 proposed rule, we proposed to add the
conditions governing the importation of beans from Jordan as Sec.
319.56-59. In this final rule, those conditions are added as Sec.
319.56-62.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This final 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
on the Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 in this document for a
link to Regulations.gov) or by contacting the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
The Small Business Administration's small-entity standard for U.S.
farms that produce fresh beans is annual receipts of not more than
$750,000. In 2007, the average market value of sales by the 15,654 U.S.
farms that produced snap beans for the fresh market was about $25,400,
well below the small-entity standard.
Jordan expects to export 200 metric tons of fresh beans to the
continental United States annually. This quantity is equivalent to less
than one-tenth of 1 percent of U.S fresh snap bean production. While
most entities that may be affected by the final rule are small, the
impact of the rule will be minor.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12988
This final rule allows fresh beans, shelled or in pods, to be
imported into the United States from Jordan. State and local laws and
regulations regarding fresh beans imported under this rule will be
preempted while the fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh beans 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. 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 final rule, which were
filed under 0579-0405, have been submitted for approval to the
[[Page 69286]]
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). When OMB notifies us of its
decision, if approval is denied, we will publish a document in the
Federal Register providing notice of what action we plan to take.
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 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 are amending 7 CFR part 319 as follows:
PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
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.
0
2. A new Sec. 319.56-62 is added to read as follows:
Sec. 319.56-62 Fresh beans, shelled or in pods, from Jordan.
Fresh beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), shelled or in pods (French,
green, snap, and string), may be imported into the continental United
States from Jordan only under the conditions described in this section.
These conditions are designed to prevent the introduction of the
following quarantine pests: Chrysodeixis chalcites, Helicoverpa
arm[iacute]gera, Lampides boeticus Liriomyza huidobrensis,
Maconellicoccus hirsutus, Phoma exigua var. diversispora, and
Spodoptera littoralis.
(a) Packinghouse requirements. The beans must be packed in packing
facilities that are approved and registered with Jordan's national
plant protection organization (NPPO). Each shipping box must be marked
with the identity of the packing facility.
(b) Post-harvest processing. The beans must be washed in potable
water. Each bean pod must be either cut into chevrons or pieces that do
not exceed 2 centimeters in length, or shredded or split the length of
the bean pod. Split or shredded bean pod pieces may not exceed 8
centimeters in length and 8.5 millimeters in diameter.
(c) Commercial consignments. The beans must be imported as
commercial consignments only.
(d) Phytosanitary certificate. Each consignment of fresh beans must
be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by Jordan's NPPO
attesting that the conditions of this section have been met and that
the consignment has been inspected and found free of the pests listed
in this section.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control
number 0579-0405)
Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of November 2013.
Michael C. Gregoire,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-27689 Filed 11-18-13; 8:45 am]
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