[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 79636-79637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31146]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Parts 319 and 340
[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0011]
RIN 0579-AD75
Restructuring of Regulations on the Importation of Plants for
Planting
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that
would restructure the regulations governing the importation of plants
for planting. We are requesting comments on our proposed framework for
integrated pest risk management measures for plants for planting. We
are especially interested in: The differences commenters perceive
between International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 36 and
the North American Plant Protection Organization's Regional Standard
for Phytosanitary Measures No. 24, and reasons to prefer one over the
other as a basis for such measures; and how to address the risk posed
when plant brokers purchase and move plants for planting after they
leave their place of production and before they are exported to the
United States. This action will allow interested persons additional
time to prepare and submit comments on these topics.
DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published April 25,
2013 (78 FR 24634) is reopened. We will consider all comments that we
receive on or before January 30, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2008-0011-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0011, 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-2008-
0011 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
[[Page 79637]]
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. Heather Coady, Regulatory Policy
Specialist, Plants for Planting Policy, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road
Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2076.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On April 25, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR
24634-24663, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0011) a proposal that would
restructure the regulations governing the importation of plants for
planting in 7 CFR part 319.
Comments on the proposed rule were required to be received on or
before June 24, 2013. We reopened and extended the deadline for
comments until September 10, 2013, in a document published in the
Federal Register on July 12, 2013 (78 FR 41866-41867, Docket No. APHIS-
2008-0011).
Among other changes, we proposed to establish a framework for the
development of integrated pest risk management measures in the
regulations. We did not propose to require any specific pest risk
management measures; rather, we intended the proposed regulatory text
to serve as a framework for their eventual development. We based the
provisions for the integrated pest risk management measures on the
North American Plant Protection Organization's Regional Standard for
Phytosanitary Measures (RSPM) No. 24, which addresses trade in plants
for planting. As we stated in the proposed rule, our framework for
integrated pest risk management measures is also consistent with the
International Plant Protection Convention's International Standard for
Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 36, which addresses the same topic.
One element of RSPM No. 24 that we included in the proposed
framework was a requirement that persons trading in plants for planting
intended for export without growing the plants (whom we referred to in
the proposal as plant brokers) be approved by the national plant
protection organization of the exporting country. In addition, we
proposed to require plant brokers to ensure the traceability of export
consignments to an approved place of production or production site, and
to maintain the phytosanitary status of the plants in a manner
equivalent to an approved place of production from purchase, storage,
and transportation to the export destination. (The ``phytosanitary
status'' refers to their freedom from exposure to the quarantine pests
addressed by the integrated pest risk management measures.)
We received several comments on our decision to base the proposed
framework for integrated pest risk management measures on RSPM No. 24,
rather than ISPM No. 36. Most of the commenters preferred that we base
our measures on ISPM No. 36. Some commenters on the proposed rule
stated that the two standards differed significantly and that the
framework we proposed was not consistent with ISPM No. 36. We also
received several comments on our proposed requirement for approval of
plant brokers, with some commenters indicating that such a requirement
would be unworkable and that there could be other means for ensuring
that plants for planting that are intended for export retain their
phytosanitary status after leaving the place of production. We are
considering whether to revise the proposed framework to base it on ISPM
No. 36 and what other means might be available to ensure that the
phytosanitary status of plants for planting is maintained after they
leave an approved place of production.
We are reopening the comment period on Docket No. APHIS-2008-0011
for an additional 30 days. This action will allow interested persons
additional time to prepare and submit comments. We are particularly
interested in detailed comments on the issues discussed above; specific
comments will help us to evaluate potential changes to the proposed
rule. We will also consider all comments received between September 10,
2013, and the date of this notice.
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 20th day of December 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-31146 Filed 12-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P