[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 190 (Wednesday, October 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59211-59213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23386]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0086]
Implementation of a Program for Federal Recognition of State
Managed Phytosanitary Programs
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are implementing the
Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary program, which
establishes a process for States to petition the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for Federal recognition of State-
managed phytosanitary programs developed to eradicate, exclude, or
contain plant pests of limited distribution within the United States
that APHIS is not currently regulating or is considering no longer
regulating under a Federal program. APHIS will evaluate and consider
recognizing a State phytosanitary program to control certain pests to
determine whether we should continue to take a control action or begin
to take a control action against such pests at our United States ports
of entry to mitigate the risks posed by those pests when found in
consignments of imported goods. This program will make our Federal
control actions taken at the ports of entry concerning the
dissemination and/or further infestation of certain plant pests more
consistent with our control actions regarding the interstate movement
of these same pests.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David B. Lamb, Regulatory Policy
Specialist, RPM, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD
20737-1231; (301) 851-2018; or Ms. Diane L. Schuble, National
Coordinator for Official Control, Pest Detection and Emergency
Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1237; (301) 851-2334.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Plant Protection Act, as amended
(PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture is
authorized to prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, or
interstate movement of plants, plant products, or other articles if the
Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary
to prevent a plant pest from being introduced into or disseminated
within the United States. This authority has been delegated to the
Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS).
As part of this mission, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine
(PPQ) program responds to foreign introductions of plant pests by
taking action at the ports of entry to eradicate, suppress, or contain
them through various control programs to prevent their introduction or
dissemination into the United States. Under Section 436 of the PPA,
States are prohibited from regulating in foreign commerce any plant
pests, plants, plant products, or other articles in order to control,
eradicate, or prevent the introduction or dissemination of a plant pest
or a noxious weed into the United States. Thus, States are preempted
from taking action against any imported shipment entering and moving
within the United States in foreign commerce on the basis that the
shipment is infested with or by a plant pest or noxious weed. However,
individual States may establish phytosanitary regulations and
procedures to address pests of concern to them when those pests are
moving in interstate commerce as long as the State's phytosanitary
regulations are consistent with and do not exceed any PPA regulations
issued by APHIS.
We recently advised the public that we have been and are continuing
to assess certain plant pests that are present in the United States to
determine whether we should continue to take action to mitigate the
risk posed by those pests when they are found in consignments of
imported goods at ports of entry into the United States. We discussed
this action in a notice published in the Federal Register on November
13, 2013 (78 FR 68020-68021, Docket No. APHIS-2013-0048).
To ensure that we are taking pest control action at the ports of
entry only when such action is warranted, we are implementing a
program, known as the Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary
(FRSMP) program, that establishes a process by which States may
petition APHIS to recognize State managed phytosanitary programs
developed to eradicate, exclude, or contain a plant pest that is of
specific concern to that State and is of limited distribution within
the United States. APHIS will consider petitions for State-managed
phytosanitary programs that seek to exclude a pest from a State where
it is not present, and where economic or environmental harm could
result from its introduction. APHIS will also consider petitions for
State-managed phytosanitary programs that seek to contain or eradicate
plant pests that are of specific concern to that State and are of
limited distribution in the
[[Page 59212]]
United States and are also not currently regulated by APHIS. After
review of the phytosanitary program information provided by the
requesting State, APHIS will decide whether to continue taking any
control action at ports of entry to mitigate the risk associated with
the specific plant pest if found in shipments in foreign commerce.
Federal recognition of a State's phytosanitary program is consistent
with APHIS' PPA authorities and APHIS' compliance with International
Plant Protection Convention guidelines.\1\
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\1\ International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 5,
Supplement No.1, ``Guidelines on the interpretation and application
of the concepts of ``official control'' and ``not widely
distributed.''
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APHIS will begin accepting and considering petitions from States
interested in obtaining Federal recognition in the FRSMP program. In
order to help States decide whether to petition for such recognition in
the FRSMP program, a State can request APHIS to provide a report to the
State listing pest interceptions in imported cargo for shipments
destined to that State and can also request from APHIS port of entry
information on specific pest interceptions for the prior 5 years. To be
eligible for FRSMP recognition, a State will be required to demonstrate
in their petitions that they meet the following criteria \2\
established by the FRSMP program:
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\2\ The criteria are included in the FRSMP manual available at:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/downloads/frsmp.pdf.
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A State must provide detailed information about the
absence or limited distribution of a pest in the State, pest pathways
and likelihood of introduction into the State, potential economic and
environmental harm that the pest may cause in the State, and the
State's regulatory program for the pest that includes monitoring,
surveillance, and control methods.
A State must provide evidence that it has the authority to
control the pest and to restrict activities and articles that
facilitate the movement of the pest in the State that is not under
Federal quarantine. This can be demonstrated by indicating that the
State either has a regulatory quarantine in place to maintain pest
freedom or limit pest distribution in the State or has the commitment
and capability to enact, implement, and enforce a State regulatory
quarantine within a reasonable time.
A State must also present evidence to APHIS that its
control program is technically sound with regard to pest containment
and ability to measure results. For instance, a State must show that
its mitigation measures are the least restrictive necessary to assure
adequate protection and that a quality assurance process exists to
measure the effectiveness of such mitigation measures. A State must
also provide APHIS with an annual report showing evidence that the
phytosanitary management of its program is effective and reliable.
Finally, a State must be able to define and describe its
control program and provide supporting documentation including
compliance agreements, auditing reports, and maps defining the
regulated areas within the State.
Upon receipt of a petition from a State requesting Federal
recognition of its phytosanitary program, that is, requesting to be
approved to participate in the FRSMP, APHIS will review the petition,
evaluate it using the criteria cited above, and notify the requesting
State of our decision. Petitions that fail to fulfill the FRSMP program
criteria will be returned to the submitting State and the State will
have the option to revise and resubmit its petition.
If we decide to recognize a State program as being part of the
FRSMP, APHIS may continue to or begin to take Federal control actions
at the United States ports of entry if this pest is intercepted in
consignments of imported goods. Presently, when a plant pest of concern
is found in a shipment of an imported commodity at a port of entry,
APHIS requires mitigation or remedial actions to be taken, such as
phytosanitary treatment, re-exportation, or destruction of the infested
commodity. Once the FRSMP program begins and if APHIS determines to
take Federal action on specific State petitioned FRSMP program plant
pests, APHIS will likewise require such remedial measures on a
commodity shipment infested with a FRSMP program pest that APHIS has
decided to take control action on. Additionally, APHIS may decide to
allow an additional remedial option for a shipment involving a FRSMP
program plant pest if that shipment can be adequately mitigated or
safeguarded to enter into the United States without any phytosanitary
mitigation treatment when APHIS determines that the shipment is
destined to, or can be re-directed to, a State that does not restrict
that pest under the FRSMP program. In such a case, where an infested
shipment infested with a FRSMP plant pest is allowed entry without
phytosanitary treatment, APHIS may decide to issue an Emergency Action
Notification ordering restrictions on the movement and destinations of
that infested commodity shipment.
APHIS, in its discretion, may decide to implement provisional FRSMP
program status for a phytosanitary pest upon receipt and preliminary
review of a State's FRSMP petition. If APHIS decides to implement
provisional FRSMP program status for a phytosanitary pest, APHIS may
require remedial action on that pest when it is detected arriving in or
destined for the petitioning State(s) during the period that APHIS is
finalizing review of that State's FRSMP petition. However, Federal
collaborator status will not be conferred on a petitioning State agency
until the petition is formally approved, which means no Federal
authority will be delegated to a State to act upon the FRSMP program
pest while that phytosanitary pest is in provisional status.
The provisional FRSMP program status for a phytosanitary pest will
not exceed 60 days from the implementation of that provisional status
unless APHIS determines it should be extended and the requesting State
wants such status extended. Likewise, APHIS may determine at any time
that the provisional status be extended or withdrawn as necessary. For
example, APHIS may extend a provisional status when a State is
requested to submit additional information regarding their specific
FRSMP petition. Provisional status may be withdrawn if the petition is
denied, when a State notifies APHIS of its intent to withdraw from the
petition process, when a State fails to complete the petition within
the agreed upon time schedule, or a State no longer wants APHIS to take
any control action against a specific phytosanitary pest.
As explained above, the States are preempted under the PPA from
taking any phytosanitary plant pest control actions on shipments moving
in foreign commerce. Nevertheless, in order to make the FRSMP program
operative and workable, APHIS has decided that it will enter into
Federal cooperative arrangements with States that have recognized FRSMP
program plant pests, in accordance with 7 U.S.C. 450. Under these
envisioned cooperative arrangements, the Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture will authorize States that have been accepted
into the FRSMP to operate as Federal collaborators to administer and
enforce Federal actions on commodity shipments infested with a FRSMP
pest that is entering the United States and moving in foreign commerce
\3\ and as
[[Page 59213]]
the result of such foreign commerce movement is found to be in that
FRSMP State. States are obviously prohibited by the PPA from acting in
such a Federal regulatory capacity unless such a cooperative
arrangement is in place conferring Federal authority upon them to do so
by the Secretary of Agriculture. Under these envisioned cooperative
arrangements, States may be authorized to administer and enforce
control actions to prevent the entry or movement of a specified FRSMP
plant pest into or through their State only as Federal collaborators
acting under the Federal authority conferred by the cooperative
arrangement. APHIS does not confer any authority under the Plant
Protection Act not specifically outlined in the cooperative arrangement
and is not conferring authority under any other statute administered by
APHIS, including the authority to establish and collect fees.
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\3\ Articles imported into the United States under the authority
of the PPA 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.
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APHIS will monitor those States that have been authorized to act as
Federal collaborators to ensure they are complying with the terms of
the collaborative arrangement and the FRSMP program criteria. Failure
of a State to meet the FRSMP program criteria will result in APHIS
reconsidering the FRSMP program eligibility of that State program and
the approval of any cooperative arrangement.
In cases where a State is no longer interested in taking action
against a FRSMP pest and APHIS can no longer justify continued action
against such a FRSMP pest, APHIS will discontinue taking Federal
control actions, if APHIS has any such actions in place, when such
FRSMP pests are intercepted at the United States ports of entry.
Additional information about the FRSMP program is available on the
APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/importexport?1dmy&urile=wcm%3apath%3a%2Faphis_content_library%2Fsa_our_focus%2Fsa_plant_health%2Fsa_domestic_pests_and_diseases%2Fsa_frsmp.
Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of September 2014.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-23386 Filed 9-30-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P