[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 113 (Thursday, June 12, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33716-33717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-13784]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2014-0008]
Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the
Importation of Fresh Figs From Mexico Into the Continental United
States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest list
and risk management document regarding the risks associated with the
importation into the continental United States of fresh figs from
Mexico. Based on these documents, we have concluded 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 figs from Mexico.
We are making the documents available to the public for review and
comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
August 11, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0008.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2014-0008, 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-2014-
0008 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: Mr. Marc Phillips, Senior Regulatory
Policy Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD
20737-1231; (301) 851-2114.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR
319.56-1 through 319.56-68, referred to below as the regulations), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 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 or disseminated 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.
APHIS received a request from the Government of Mexico to allow the
importation of fresh figs (Ficus carica) 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 continental United States and, based on this list,
have prepared a risk management document to identify phytosanitary
measures that could be applied to fresh figs from Mexico to mitigate
the pest risk. We have concluded that fresh figs can be safely imported
into the continental United States from Mexico using one or more of the
five designated phytosanitary measures listed in Sec. 319.56-4(b).
These measures are:
The figs may be imported into the continental United
States in commercial consignments only.
The figs must be irradiated in accordance with 7 CFR part
305 with a minimum absorbed dose of 150 Gy.
If the irradiation treatment is applied outside the United
States, each consignment of fruit must be jointly inspected by APHIS
and the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Mexico and
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate (PC) attesting that the
fruit received the required irradiation treatment. The PC must also
include an additional declaration stating that the consignment was
inspected and found free of Maconellicoccus hirsutus and Nipaecoccus
viridis.
If the irradiation treatment is applied upon arrival in
the United States, each consignment of fruit must be inspected by the
NPPO of Mexico prior to departure and accompanied by a PC attesting
that the fruit was inspected and found free of Maconellicoccus hirsutus
and Nipaecoccus viridis.
The commodity is subject to inspection at the U.S. port of
entry.
Therefore, we are announcing the availability of our pest list and
risk
[[Page 33717]]
management document for public review and comment. The documents 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 documents by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of the pest
list and risk management document you wish to review when requesting
copies.
After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the import status of fresh figs from Mexico 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 authorize the importation
of fresh figs from Mexico 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 6th day of June 2014.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-13784 Filed 6-11-14; 8:45 am]
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