This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

21854 

Vol. 76, No. 75 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011 

1To view the notice, the PRA, and the comments 

we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0104. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0104] 

Notice of Decision To Authorize the 

Importation of Fresh Rambutan Fruit 

From Malaysia and Vietnam 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our decision to authorize the 

importation into the continental United 

States of fresh rambutan fruit 

(Nephelium lappaceum) from Malaysia 

and Vietnam. Based on the findings of 

a pest risk analysis, which we made 

available to the public for review and 

comment through a previous notice, we 

believe 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 rambutan fruit from 

Malaysia and Vietnam. 

DATES: Effective Date: April 19, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and 

Import Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1231; (301) 734–0754. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart— 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–50, referred to below as 

the regulations), the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

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 and spread within the 

United States. 

Section 319.56–4 of the regulations 

contains a performance-based process 

for approving the importation of 

commodities that, based on the findings 

of a pest risk analysis (PRA), can be 

safely imported subject to one or more 

of the designated phytosanitary 

measures listed in paragraph (b) of that 

section. Under that process, APHIS 

publishes a notice in the Federal 

Register announcing the availability of 

the PRA that evaluates the risks 

associated with the importation of a 

particular fruit or vegetable. Following 

the close of the 60-day comment period, 

APHIS may authorize the importation of 

the fruit or vegetable subject to the 

identified designated measures if: (1) No 

comments were received on the PRA; 

(2) the comments on the PRA revealed 

that no changes to the PRA were 

necessary; or (3) changes to the PRA 

were made in response to public 

comments, but the changes did not 

affect the overall conclusions of the 

analysis and the Administrator’s 

determination of risk. 

In accordance with that process, we 

published a notice 1 in the Federal 

Register on December 15, 2010 (75 FR 

78207–78208, Docket No. APHIS–2010– 

0104), in which we announced the 

availability, for review and comment, of 

a PRA that evaluates the risks associated 

with the importation into the 

continental United States of fresh 

rambutan fruit (Nephelium lappaceum) 

from Malaysia and Vietnam. We 

solicited comments on the notice for 60 

days ending on February 14, 2011. We 

received two comments by that date, 

from a State agriculture agency and an 

embassy agricultural affairs office. One 

commenter concurred with the 

mitigations described in the risk 

management document. The other 

commenter remarked that the notice 

itself did not specify which of the five 

designated phytosanitary measures 

would be required for the rambutan 

from Malaysia and Vietnam, so that it 

was not clear that APHIS was requiring 

treatment with irradiation. It is true that 

our December 2010 notice itself did not 

cite the specific mitigation measures 

that we had identified for rambutan 

from Malaysia and Vietnam, but those 

measures were detailed in the risk 

mitigation document made available 

with the notice. Those mitigation 

measures are also described in this 

notice. Accordingly, we have 

determined that no changes to the PRA 

are necessary based on the comment. 

Therefore, in accordance with the 

regulations in § 319.56–4(c)(2)(ii), we 

are announcing our decision to 

authorize the importation into the 

continental United States of fresh 

rambutan fruit from Malaysia and 

Vietnam subject to the following 

phytosanitary measures: 

• The rambutan may be imported into 

the continental United States in 

commercial consignments only. 

• For rambutan from Malaysia, each 

consignment must be inspected by the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of Malaysia using a sampling 

procedure mutually agreed upon by 

APHIS and the NPPO. A representative 

sample of fruit must be drawn from each 

lot, inspected, and found free from the 

fungus Oidium nephelii. 

• The rambutan must be irradiated in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305 with a 

minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy. 

• If the irradiation treatment is 

applied outside the United States, each 

consignment of fruit must be precleared 

by APHIS inspectors in the country of 

origin (i.e., Malaysia or Vietnam). The 

rambutan must be jointly inspected by 

APHIS and the NPPO of the country of 

origin and accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate (PC) attesting 

that the fruit received the required 

irradiation treatment. For rambutan 

from Malaysia, the PC must also include 

an additional declaration stating that the 

consignment was inspected and found 

free from Oidium nephelii. 

• For rambutan from Malaysia, if the 

irradiation treatment is to be applied 

upon arrival in the United States, each 

consignment of fruit must be inspected 

by the Malaysia NPPO prior to 

departure and accompanied by a PC 

with an additional declaration stating 

that the consignment has been inspected 

and found free from Oidium nephelii. 

These conditions will be listed in the 

Fruits and Vegetables Import 

Requirements database (available at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir). In 

addition to these specific measures, 

rambutan fruit from Malaysia and 

Vietnam will be subject to the general 

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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2011 / Notices 21855 

requirements listed in § 319.56–3 that 

are applicable to the importation of all 

fruits and vegetables. Further, for fruits 

and vegetables requiring treatment as a 

condition of entry, the phytosanitary 

treatments regulations in 7 CFR part 305 

contain administrative and procedural 

requirements that must be observed in 

connection with the application and 

certification of specific treatments. 

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 13th day of 

April 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9465 Filed 4–18–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Rio Grande National Forest, Divide 

Ranger District; Mineral County, CO; 

Village at Wolf Creek Land Exchange 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The Rio Grande National 

Forest is preparing an Environmental 

Impact Statement to analyze the 

environmental effects of the proposed 

Village at Wolf Creek Land Exchange. 

This project includes the conveyance of 

approximately 177 acres of a nonFederal land parcel owned by the 

Leavell-McCombs Joint Venture (LMJV) 

to the United States in exchange for 

National Forest System lands totaling 

approximately 204 acres. The nonFederal parcel is located in T37N., R2E., 

NMPM, Mineral County, CO, Sections 4, 

5, 8 and 9, a portion of Tract 37. The 

Federal parcel is located in T37N., R2E., 

NMPM, Mineral County, CO, Sections 3, 

4, 5, and 9. 

DATES: Formal scoping on this project 

begins on April 20, 2011. Public open 

houses will be held 4:30–7 p.m. on 

April 25, in Creede, CO at the Creede 

Community Center; April 26 in Pagosa 

Springs at the Aragon Recreation Center, 

CO and April 27 in Del Norte at the Rio 

Grande County Annex Building, CO. 

Comments concerning the scope of the 

analysis should be received by June 4, 

2011. The draft environmental impact 

statement is expected in December, 

2011 and the final environmental 

impact statement is expected in March, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

the Rio Grande National Forest, Divide 

Ranger District, 13308 West Highway 

160, Del Norte, CO 81132. Comments 

may also be sent via e-mail to: 

comments-rocky-mountain-riogrande@fs.fed.us or via facsimile to 

1–719–657–6035. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Additional information related to the 

proposed project can be obtained from 

the Forest webpage at: http:// 

www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande. For further 

information, contact Tom Malecek at 

(719) 657–3321. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: In 1986, a Decision 

Notice for the Environmental 

Assessment of the Proposed Wolf Creek 

Land Exchange allowed the conveyance 

of 300 acres of National Forest System 

(NFS) land on the Divide Range District 

adjacent to the Wolf Creek Ski Area 

(WCSA) in exchange for non-Federal 

lands located within the Saguache 

Ranger District on the Rio Grande 

National Forest. In 2004, the Forest 

Service initiated an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) in response to a 

request for legal access to the property, 

under the Alaska National Interests 

Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), in 

order to allow the private landowners 

the ability to begin development of the 

Village at Wolf Creek. In March 2006, a 

Record of Decision (ROD) was signed, 

approving transportation and utility 

corridors across NFS lands. In February 

2008, as part of a Settlement Agreement, 

the ROD was withdrawn. In September 

2008, the Forest Service initiated a new 

EIS after receiving a new application for 

permanent road access from the 

proponent. Early in the project analysis, 

the project was placed on indefinite 

hold pending new information and 

potentially a new application. 

LMJV has submitted this current land 

exchange proposal as an alternative to 

an ANILCA enabled easement under the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA), as the Federal parcel 

abuts US Highway 160. 

Purpose and Need for Action: The 

non-Federal party, LMJV, holds title to 

land within the boundaries of the NFS, 

and as such ‘‘* * * the Secretary shall 

provide such access to non-federally 

owned land within the boundaries of 

the National Forest System as the 

Secreatry deems adequate to secure to 

the owner the reasonable use and 

enjoyment thereof * * *’’ 

Therefore, the Rio Grande NF’s 

Purpose and Need for Action is to allow 

the non-Federal party to access its 

property as legally entitled, while 

minimizing environmental effects to 

natural resources within the project 

area. Any method of accommodating 

access to private land in the project area 

needs to be cognizant of and sensitive 

to the operations and recreational 

experiences at Wolf Creek Ski Area, 

which is adjacent to the non-Federal 

parcel and operates under a Special Use 

Permit from the Rio Grande NF. 

Proposed Action: Given the nonFederal party’s legal right to access its 

property and the United States legal 

obligation to provide access to the 

inholding, the Rio Grande NF believes 

that a land exchange may be in the 

public interest and thus merits 

additional evaluation. Potential public 

benefits include: 

• Development of private lands 

further away from Wolf Creek Ski Area, 

reducing impacts to skiers and ski area 

operations. 

• Locating residential development 

and associated infrastructure in an area 

that is more suitable due to topography, 

natural resources, and proximity to US 

Highway 160. 

• A net gain of wetlands and 

perennial streams in public ownership. 

• A lower density development. 

• The land exchange would obviate 

the need for ANILCA access. 

The Proposed Action involves the 

conveyance of approximately 178 acres 

of non-Federal lands to the United 

States in exchange for NFS lands 

totaling approximately 204 acres. Upon 

conveyance of the non-Federal parcel to 

the United States, the newly acquired 

NFS lands would be managed by the Rio 

Grande NF per its 1996 Land and 

Resource Management Plan, as 

amended. The lands proposed for 

inclusion in the land exchange are 

summarized below. 

Non-Federal Lands Proposed To Be 

Conveyed to the United States 

• Township 37 North, Range 2 East, 

N.M.P.M., Mineral County, Colorado 

• Sections 4, 5, 8, and 9: A portion of 

Tract 37 

• Total Area: Approximately 178 

acres 

In total, the non-Federal parcel is 

approximately 300 acres in size, of 

which approximately 178 acres are 

proposed to be conveyed to the United 

States. The non-Federal parcel is located 

approximately 20 miles southwest of 

South Fork and 25 miles northeast of 

Pagosa Springs in Mineral County, 

Colorado. 

The non-Federal parcel is located just 

east of Wolf Creek Pass at approximately 

10,300 feet in elevation and is 

comprised of spruce-fir forest, open 

meadows and wetlands. The nonFederal parcel adjoins NFS lands on all 

sides and is located within the Wolf 

Creek Ski Area permit boundary. 

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