This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

65213 

Vol. 75, No. 204 

Friday, October 22, 2010 

1To view the proposed rule, the CIED, and the 

comments we received, go to http://www.

regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?

main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS–2009–0020. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0020] 

RIN 0579–AD08 

Removal of Varietal Restrictions on 

Apples From Japan 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations that allow the importation of 

Fuji variety apples from Japan to allow 

all varieties of Malus domestica apples 

into the United States under the same 

conditions as those for Fuji variety 

apples. We have determined that the 

risk associated with allowing other 

varieties of M. domestica apples from 

Japan into the United States is the same 

as that posed by Fuji variety apples. 

This rule allows all varieties of M. 

domestica apples from Japan to be 

imported into the United States while 

continuing to protect against the 

introduction of quarantine pests. 

DATES: Effective Date: October 22, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson, M.S., Regulatory 

Policy Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road, Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1231; (301) 734–0754. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart—Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–50, referred to below as 

the regulations) prohibit or restrict the 

importation of fruits and vegetables into 

the United States from certain parts of 

the world to prevent the introduction 

and dissemination of plant pests that are 

new to or not widely distributed within 

the United States. 

The regulations in § 319.56–27 allow 

the importation of Fuji variety apples 

from Japan and the Republic of Korea if 

the apples are cold treated and then 

fumigated under the supervision of an 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) inspector for the peach 

fruit moth (Carposina niponensis), the 

yellow peach moth (Conogethes 

punctiferalis), and the fruit tree spider 

mite (Tetranychus viennensis), in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305. The 

regulations also provide that the apples 

must be inspected upon completion of 

the cold treatment and fumigation, prior 

to export from Japan or the Republic of 

Korea, by an APHIS inspector and an 

inspector from the national plant 

protection organization (NPPO) of Japan 

or the Republic of Korea. The 

regulations also require the NPPO of the 

exporting country to enter into a trust 

fund agreement with APHIS in 

accordance with § 319.56–6 before 

APHIS will provide the services 

necessary for Fuji apples to be imported 

into the United States from Japan or the 

Republic of Korea. 

On March 10, 2010, we published in 

the Federal Register (75 FR 11071– 

11072, Docket No. APHIS–2009–0020) a 

proposal 1 to amend the regulations in 

§ 319.56–27 by allowing all varieties of 

Malus domestica apples into the United 

States from Japan under the same 

treatment and inspection conditions 

required for Fuji variety apples from 

Japan. We prepared a commodity import 

evaluation document (CIED) as part of 

our evaluation of Japan’s request to 

allow M. domestica varietal apples into 

the United States. Based on the 

evidence presented in the CIED, we 

determined that the measures currently 

in place for Fuji apples are adequate to 

manage pest risks associated with all 

varieties of M. domestica apples from 

Japan. 

We solicited comments concerning 

the proposed rule for 60 days ending 

May 10, 2010. We received six 

comments by that date. They were from 

private citizens and from an association 

of horticultural producers. Four 

commenters supported the rule. The 

other two commenters opposed the 

proposal to allow the importation of all 

varieties of M. domestica apples into the 

United States from Japan. 

One commenter stated that allowing 

the importation of additional variety of 

apples from Japan would be 

unreasonable since Japan continues to 

restrict apples and cherries from the 

United States, requiring separate testing 

for treatment efficacy for each variety of 

those fruits without providing scientific 

evidence to justify their requirement. 

The commenter stated that the varietal 

testing requirements constitute a trade 

barrier and suggested that, if Japan is 

unwilling to allow additional varieties 

of apples and cherries to be exported 

from the United States, then we should 

not allow additional apple varieties to 

be imported from Japan. 

The second commenter asked why we 

thought the importation of additional 

varieties of apples from Japan was 

necessary. Specifically, the commenter 

wanted to know whether the demand 

for apples had increased enough to 

necessitate the importation of additional 

apple varieties from Japan, which could 

increase the potential for importing 

pests into the United States. 

We have evaluated the potential pest 

risk associated with the importations of 

additional apple varieties from Japan. 

Based on our evaluation, we have 

determined that the measures currently 

in place for Fuji apples are adequate to 

manage pest risks associated with all 

varieties of M. domestica apples from 

Japan. In any case, the mitigations 

currently in place for Fuji apples are 

sufficient to mitigate the risk of 

importing pests into the United States. 

Therefore, it is appropriate to grant 

Japan’s request to allow the importation 

of additional apple varieties into the 

United States. 

Any increase in the quantity of apples 

from Japan because of importation of 

these other, scarcely grown M. 

domestica varieties is expected to be 

insignificant. We will continue to work 

with the NPPO of Japan to resolve 

technical barriers to exporting U.S. 

fruits. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

proposed rule and in this document, we 

are adopting the proposed rule as a final 

rule, without change. 

Effective Date 

This is a substantive rule that relieves 

restrictions and, pursuant to the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with RULES
65214 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 204 / Friday, October 22, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

1See Division A, titled the ‘‘Federal Housing 

Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008,’’ Title I, 

Section 1101 of HERA. 

effective less than 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register. 

Immediate implementation of this 

rule is necessary to provide relief to 

those persons who are adversely 

affected by restrictions we no longer 

find warranted. The shipping season for 

M. domestic apple varieties from Japan 

is in progress. Making this rule effective 

immediately will allow interested 

producers and others in the marketing 

chain to benefit during this year’s 

shipping season. Therefore, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 

determined that this rule should be 

effective upon publication in the 

Federal Register. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, 

has not been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget. 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, we have analyzed the 

potential economic effects of this action 

on small entities. The analysis is 

summarized below. Copies of the full 

analysis are available on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 

in this document for a link to 

Regulations.gov) or by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Allowing imports of all varieties of M. 

domestica apples from Japan into the 

United States is expected to have 

minimal economic impact on U.S. 

entities, large or small. Although the 

Fuji apple is the most common variety 

grown in Japan, it constituted only 0.1 

percent of U.S. apple imports in 2008. 

Allowing entry of other M. domestica 

varieties is expected to change the 

quantity of apple imports from Japan 

only minimally. The wide price 

differential between apples grown in 

Japan and in the United States suggests 

that apples imported from Japan are not 

a close substitute for the principal U.S.- 

grown apple varieties. 

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 12988 

This final rule allows all varieties of 

M. domestica apples to be imported into 

the United States from Japan. State and 

local laws and regulations regarding the 

importation of M. domestica apples 

under this rule will be preempted while 

the fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh 

fruits are generally imported for 

immediate distribution and sale to the 

consuming public, and 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-bycase basis. No retroactive effect will be 

given to this rule, and this rule will not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final 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 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, 

Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Vegetables. 

■ Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

part 319 as follows: 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

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. 

■ 2. Section 319.56–27 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. By revising the section heading and 

the introductory text to read as set forth 

below. 

■ b. In paragraphs (b) and (c), by 

removing the words ‘‘Fuji variety’’ each 

time they occur. 

■ c. In paragraphs (b) and (c), by 

removing the word ‘‘agency’’ each time 

it occurs and adding the word 

‘‘organization’’ in its place. 

§ 319.56–27 Apples From Japan and the 

Republic of Korea. 

Any variety of Malus domestica 

apples may be imported into the United 

States from Japan, and Fuji variety 

apples may be imported into the United 

States from the Republic of Korea, only 

in accordance with this section and all 

other applicable provisions of this 

subpart. 

* * * * * 

Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of 

October 2010. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–26750 Filed 10–21–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE 

AGENCY 

12 CFR Part 1203 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

Office of Federal Housing Enterprise 

Oversight 

12 CFR Part 1705 

RIN 2590–AA29 

Equal Access to Justice Act 

Implementation 

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance 

Agency; Office of Federal Housing 

Enterprise Oversight, HUD. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Housing Finance 

Agency (FHFA) is issuing a final 

regulation that establishes procedures 

for the submission and consideration of 

applications for awards of fees and other 

expenses by prevailing parties in 

adjudications against FHFA. 

DATES: The final regulation is effective 

November 22, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Janice A. Kullman, Associate General 

Counsel, telephone (202) 414–8970 (not 

a toll-free number); Federal Housing 

Finance Agency, Fourth Floor, 1700 G 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552. The 

telephone number for the 

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf 

is (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A. Establishment of the Federal Housing 

Finance Agency 

The Housing and Economic Recovery 

Act of 2008 (HERA), Public Law 110– 

289, 122 Stat. 2654, amended the 

Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 

Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 

U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) (Safety and 

Soundness Act) and the Federal Home 

Loan Bank Act (12 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) 

to establish FHFA as an independent 

agency of the Federal Government.1

HERA transferred the supervisory and 

oversight responsibilities over the 

Federal National Mortgage Association 

(Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan 

Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) 

(collectively, Enterprises), and the 

Federal Home Loan Banks (collectively, 

regulated entities), from the Office of 

Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight 


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