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[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 219 (Wednesday, November 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68020-68021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27132]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0048]

Evaluation of Established Plant Pests for Action at Ports of 
Entry

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have been and are assessing 
certain plant pests that are present in the United States to determine 
whether we should take action to mitigate the risk posed by those pests 
when they are found in consignments of imported

[[Page 68021]]

goods at ports of entry into the United States. We have determined that 
it is no longer appropriate or necessary to take such action on some 
plant pests on which we had been taking action at ports of entry 
because we are not taking any regulatory action on those same pests 
when we find them in interstate movement, due to our scientific 
determination that we do not need to mitigate their pest risk. This 
process relieves restrictions that are no longer needed and ensures 
that actions taken on plant pests found in imported goods are 
consistent with the actions we take on those same pests when they 
appear in interstate commerce.

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 take such actions as may be necessary to prevent the 
introduction and spread of plant pests within the United States. The 
Secretary has delegated this responsibility to the Administrator of the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
    Pursuant to the PPA, when the Secretary considers it necessary to 
prevent the dissemination of a plant pest that is new to or not known 
to be widely prevalent or distributed within and throughout the United 
States, the Secretary may hold, seize, quarantine, treat, apply other 
remedial measures to, destroy, or otherwise dispose of any plant, plant 
pest, noxious weed, biological control organism, plant product, 
article, or means of conveyance that, among other things, is moving 
into the United States and that the Secretary has reason to believe is 
infested with a plant pest at the time of the movement. Under this PPA 
authority, consignments of imported articles are inspected at the port 
of entry to determine whether plant pests are associated with them and, 
if so, prescribe remedial measures as described in the Act. APHIS 
typically refers to prescribing measures to address the pest risk as 
``taking action'' at the port of entry to prevent a plant pest from 
being introduced into or further disseminated within the United States. 
Pests that are subject to such actions are referred to as ``actionable 
pests.''
    APHIS determines whether a pest is actionable based on its novelty 
and known prevalence or distribution within and throughout the United 
States, its potential harm to U.S. agricultural, environmental, or 
other resources, and the need to mitigate its pest risk, if any. 
However, after APHIS determines that a pest is actionable, 
circumstances may change, and it may no longer be necessary or be an 
effective use of resources to take action on the pest at ports of 
entry. For example, a bacterium could cause disease in a plant, but 
also could have become widespread in the United States, making any 
future control efforts ineffective and a waste of limited resources. We 
may lack effective control methods for an insect pest that is present 
in the United States, which would result in taking action that will 
likely not prevent the pest from causing damage but will continue to 
expend limited resources. Or, for example, a mealybug could damage 
certain plants, but additional experience with the pest may reveal that 
the damage is not of sufficient plant pest risk or economic importance 
to merit action at the port of entry. These circumstances often mean 
that no restrictions are placed on the interstate movement of articles 
infested with these pests when the articles are moved interstate. It is 
important to make the actions we take at the port of entry consistent 
with the actions taken in interstate movement, to maintain a uniform 
and consistent pest risk safeguarding and trade policy.
    To ensure that we are taking action at the ports of entry only when 
such action is warranted, APHIS has started to assess currently 
actionable plant pests that are present in the United States to 
determine which specific pests we should continue to take action on at 
the port of entry. The assessment is based on a number of factors, 
including:
     The extent of the pest's distribution in the United 
States;
     The pest's impacts on the economy (including its potential 
impacts on export markets), agricultural production, and the 
environment;
     The scientific knowledge we have about the pest and the 
risk it poses; and
     The availability and effectiveness of control or 
eradication tools for the pest.
    After we have completed our assessment, we share the information 
with the National Plant Board, a group of State plant health agencies. 
The States conduct their own reviews and provide additional information 
to help inform APHIS' decisionmaking. For example, States may have 
additional information on the presence or distribution of a pest in 
their States, on the damage that pest causes, or potential control 
tools.
    After reviewing the information provided by the States, APHIS makes 
a decision on whether to continue taking action at ports of entry to 
mitigate the risk associated with a specific plant pest. Data leading 
to the decisions are documented in letters that are available on the 
Web at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/frsmp/non-reg-pests.shtml. As of September 2013, APHIS has determined that 71 
pests on which we had been taking action at ports of entry to address 
their risk no longer qualify under the PPA as requiring such action.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of November 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-27132 Filed 11-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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