[Federal Register: May 8, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 89)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 30769-30771]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08my02-3]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 02-029-1]
Citrus Canker; Quarantined Areas
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the citrus canker regulations by removing a
portion of Manatee County, FL, from the list of quarantined areas. The
regulations require that an area be free from citrus canker for a
period of at least 2 years before it may be removed from the list of
quarantined areas. Surveys have shown that the Duette area of Manatee
County, FL, has been free of citrus canker since February 4, 2000. This
action removes restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated
articles from that portion of Manatee County, FL.
DATES: This interim rule is effective May 8, 2002. We will consider all
comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by July
8, 2002.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket
No. 02-029-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-029-1. If you use e-mail,
address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files.
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No.
02-029-1'' on the subject line.
You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our
reading room. The reading room 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) 690-2817 before coming.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer,
Surveillance and Emergency Programs Planning and Coordination, PPQ,
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-8899.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Citrus canker is a plant disease that affects plants and plant
parts, including fresh fruit, of citrus and citrus relatives (Family
Rutaceae). Citrus canker can cause defoliation and other serious damage
to the leaves and twigs of susceptible plants. It can also cause
lesions on the fruit of infected plants, which render the fruit
unmarketable,
[[Page 30770]]
and cause infected fruit to drop from the trees before reaching
maturity. The aggressive A (Asiatic) strain of citrus canker can infect
susceptible plants rapidly and lead to extensive economic losses in
commercial citrus-producing areas.
The regulations to prevent the interstate spread of citrus canker
are contained in 7 CFR 301.75-1 through 301.75-16 (referred to below as
the regulations). The regulations restrict the interstate movement of
regulated articles from and through areas quarantined because of citrus
canker and provide for the designation of survey areas around
quarantined areas. Survey areas undergo close monitoring by Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service and State inspectors for citrus canker
and serve as buffer zones against the disease.
Under Sec. 301.75-4(c) of the regulations, any State or portion of
a State where an infestation is detected will be designated as a
quarantined area and will retain that designation until the area has
been free from citrus canker for 2 years. A 41-square-mile area in the
eastern part of Manatee County, FL, has been free of citrus canker
since February 4, 2000, and has thus met the requirement for
declaration of eradication--that an area be free from citrus canker for
a period of at least 2 years. This area, which has been known as the
Duette quarantined area, is described as, ``That portion of the county
bounded by a line drawn as follows: Beginning at the northwest corner
of sec. 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, T. 33 S., R. 21 E.; then east along sec.
8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, T. 33 S., R. 21 E., to sec. 12, T. 33 S., R. 21
E.; then south along sec. 12, T. 33 S., R. 21 E., to sec. 18, 19, 30,
and 31, T. 33 S., R. 22 E.; then east along sec. 18, 19, 30, and 31, T.
33 S., R. 22 E., to sec. 6, T. 34 S., R. 22 E.; then south along sec.
6, T. 34 S., R. 22 E., to sec. 7, T. 34 S., R. 22 E.; then west along
sec. 7, T. 34 S., R. 22 E., to sec. 12, 11, 10, and 9, T. 34 S., R. 21
E.; then south along sec. 12, 11, 10, and 9, T. 34 S., R. 21 E., to
sec. 8 and 5, T. 34 S., R. 21 E.; then north along sec. 8 and 5, T. 34
S., R. 21 E., to sec. 31, 29, 20, 17, and 8, T. 33 S., R. 21 E.; then
north along sec. 31, 29, 20, 17, and 8, T. 33 S., R. 12 E., to the
point of beginning.''
Regular and complete surveys have been conducted on an
approximately monthly basis since the infestation was first detected,
including that time from the destruction of the last infected tree on
February 4, 2000, to the present. Surveys have been conducted of all
citrus trees located in both commercial groves and at residential
properties. In addition, any wild citrus that was observed in the area
has also been surveyed.
Although not required as a condition of declaring eradication in an
area, in this case all abandoned citrus orchards in the area have also
been removed. Abandoned citrus groves present a challenge in conducting
surveys, and thus the removal of these groves increases our confidence
that citrus canker is no longer present in this area.
Therefore, we are amending the citrus canker regulations by
removing the Duette area in Manatee County, FL, from the list of
quarantined areas in Sec. 301.75-4(a). This action removes restrictions
on the interstate movement of regulated articles from and through the
Duette area of Manatee County, FL.
Immediate Action
Immediate action is warranted to remove restrictions on the
interstate movement of regulated articles from and through the portion
of Manatee County, FL, that we are removing from the list of
quarantined areas based on its freedom from citrus canker for a period
of at least 2 years. Under these circumstances, the Administrator has
determined that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are
contrary to the public interest and that there is good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553 for making this action effective less than 30 days after
publication in the Federal Register.
We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for
this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes,
we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document
will include a discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments
we are making to the rule as a result of the comments.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review
process required by Executive Order 12866.
We are amending the citrus canker regulations by removing a portion
of the quarantined area in Manatee County, FL, from the list of
quarantined areas. The regulations require that an area be free from
citrus canker for a period of at least 2 years before it may be removed
from the list of quarantined areas. Surveys have shown that the 41-
square-mile Duette quarantined area in eastern Manatee County, FL, has
been free of citrus canker since February 4, 2000. This action removes
restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the
Duette area of Manatee County, FL.
The area to be removed from quarantine, totaling 41 square miles or
26,240 acres, represents a relatively small portion of citrus
production in Manatee County. Even if the area consisted entirely of
citrus acreage, which it does not, the 26,240 acres would be equivalent
to approximately 3 percent of Florida's total citrus acreage. The table
below shows statistics for Manatee County after trees were removed to
limit the spread of citrus canker.
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Boxes of citrus Total number of
produced in 2000- Total acres trees January
2001 season January 2000 2000
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All Round Oranges...................................... 7,791,000 21,236 2,631,200
All Grapefruit......................................... 400,000 1,197 111,900
Specialty Fruit........................................ 151,000 821 98,300
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All Citrus............................................. 8,342,000 23,254 2,841,400
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Source: Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, ``Citrus Summary 2000-01,'' January 2002.
Most of the citrus producers in and around the Duette quarantined
area would qualify as small businesses under Small Business
Administration (SBA) guidelines. The Regulatory Flexibility Act
requires that the Agency specifically consider the economic impact on
small entities associated with rule changes. The SBA defines a firm
engaged in agriculture as ``small'' if it has less than $750,000 in
annual receipts.
This interim rule will not impose any costs on affected citrus
producers and should offer them some benefits. Citrus
[[Page 30771]]
producers in the Duette area will have the option of replanting trees
in the previously quarantined area and have greater choice of where to
market their fruit.
The benefits of releasing the Duette area from quarantine
restrictions are likely to be small, however. How much of the newly
unrestricted area will be replanted in citrus is unknown. In general,
citrus prices have been soft, so it is uncertain whether a large
portion of the acreage will be replanted in citrus in the short run. Of
course, it takes several years for citrus trees to become productive,
so any decision to replant will have to be based on the grower's
perception of the market conditions for citrus several years in the
future. Taking these factors into account, we anticipate that producer
incomes or expenses are unlikely to be affected in a significant way.
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 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule contains no new information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 166, 7711, 7712, 7714, 7731, 7735, 7751,
7752, 7753, and 7754; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7
U.S.C. 1421 note).
Sec. 301.75-4 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 301.75-4, paragraph (a), in the entry for Manatee
County, the second paragraph is removed.
Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of May, 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-11459 Filed 5-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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