[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 15, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78207-78208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31461]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0104]


Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the 
Importation of Fresh Rambutan Fruit (Nephelium lappaceum) From Malaysia 
and Vietnam

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk 
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into 
the continental United States of fresh rambutan fruit (Nephelium 
lappaceum) from Malaysia and Vietnam. Based on this analysis, 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. We are making the pest risk 
analysis available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
February 14, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0104 to submit or view comments and 
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
    <bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send one copy of 
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0104, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to 
Docket No. APHIS-2010-0104.
    Reading Room: 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.
    Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

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 contains a performance-based process for approving 
the importation of commodities that, based on the findings of a pest-
risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one or more of the 
designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph (b) of that 
section. These measures are:
    <bullet> The fruits or vegetables are subject to inspection upon 
arrival in the United States and comply with all applicable provisions 
of Sec.  319.56-3;
    <bullet> The fruits or vegetables are imported from a pest-free 
area in the country of origin that meets the requirements of Sec.  
319.56-5 for freedom from that pest and are accompanied by a 
phytosanitary certificate stating that the fruits or vegetables 
originated in a pest-free area in the country of origin;
    <bullet> The fruits or vegetables are treated in accordance with 7 
CFR part 305;
    <bullet> The fruits or vegetables are inspected in the country of 
origin by an inspector or an official of the national plant protection 
organization of the exporting country, and have been found free of one 
or more specific quarantine pests identified by the risk assessment as 
likely to follow the import pathway; and/or
    <bullet> The fruits or vegetables are a commercial consignment.
    APHIS received requests from the Governments of Malaysia and 
Vietnam to allow the importation of fresh rambutan fruit (Nephelium 
lappaceum)

[[Page 78208]]

from Malaysia and Vietnam into the continental United States. We have 
completed a pest list for this commodity to identify pests of 
quarantine significance that could follow the pathway of importation 
into the United States and, based on this list, have prepared a risk 
management document to identify phytosanitary measures that could be 
applied to fresh rambutan fruit from Malaysia and Vietnam to mitigate 
the pest risk. We have concluded that fresh rambutan fruit can be 
safely imported into the continental United States from Malaysia and 
Vietnam using one or more of the five designated phytosanitary measures 
listed in Sec.  319.56-4(b). Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  
319.56-4(c), we are announcing the availability of our pest risk 
analysis for public review and comment. The pest risk analysis may be 
viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our reading room (see 
ADDRESSES above for a link to Regulations.gov and information on the 
location and hours of the reading room). You may request paper copies 
of the pest risk analysis by calling or writing to the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of 
the pest risk analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the import status of fresh rambutan fruit from 
Malaysia and Vietnam in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions 
of the analysis and the Administrator's determination of risk remain 
unchanged following our consideration of the comments, then we will 
begin issuing permits for the importation of fresh rambutan fruit from 
Malaysia and Vietnam into the continental United States subject to the 
requirements specified in the risk management document.

    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 9th day of December 2010.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-31461 Filed 12-14-10; 8:45 am]
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