[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 92 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30365-30366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11835]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 92 / Thursday, May 11, 2000 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 30365]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 00-003-1]


Mexican Hass Avocado Import Program

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Government of Mexico has requested that the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service consider amending its regulations 
regarding the importation of Hass avocado fruit from Mexico to expand 
the number of States in which the fruit may be distributed and to 
increase the length of the shipping season during which Hass avocados 
may be imported into the United States. In this notice, we are asking 
the public for its comments and recommendations regarding the scope of 
our review and are soliciting any additional data or information that 
may have a bearing on our review of the Mexican Government's request. 
We will use any information gathered through this notice as we consider 
the Mexican Government's request that we expand the length of the 
shipping season during which, and the number of approved States into 
which, Mexican Hass avocados may be imported into the United States.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments that we receive by August 9, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to:
    Docket No. 00-003-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
    Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 00-003-1.
    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. Wayne D. Burnett, Senior Import 
Specialist, Phytosanitary Issues Management Team, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in ``Subpart Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56 
through 319.56-8) 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, including 
fruit flies, that are new to or not widely distributed within the 
United States.
    Under the regulations in 7 CFR 319.56-2ff, fresh Hass avocado fruit 
grown in approved orchards in approved municipalities in Michoacan, 
Mexico, may be imported into specified areas of the United States, 
subject to certain conditions. Currently, those regulations allow 
Mexican Hass avocados to be imported into the United States only during 
the months of November, December, January, and February. Further, the 
fruit may only be distributed in the following northeastern States: 
Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, 
Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New 
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, 
West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
    The Government of Mexico has requested that the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) amend the regulations regarding the 
importation of Mexican Hass avocados to (1) increase the number of 
States into which the avocados may be imported and (2) to allow the 
shipping season to begin 1 month earlier (October rather than November) 
and end 1 month later (March rather than February).
    With regard to increasing the number of approved States, Mexico has 
asked that we consider allowing Hass avocados to be imported into 
additional northern-tier States that, like the currently approved 
northeastern States, do not contain host material for any of the 
avocado-specific pests of concern identified in the regulations and 
that have climatic conditions that do not support the establishment of 
fruit flies. The Mexican Government has not yet identified the specific 
States that it believes might meet those criteria, and we anticipate 
that Mexico would seek additional information from APHIS before making 
such a specific request.
    Studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 
Agricultural Research Service have shown that the Mexican fruit fly is 
less active and oviposits less at temperatures below 70  deg.F. Median 
temperatures in the Michoacan production areas during the current 
shipping season of November through February are consistently below 70 
deg.F, thus the climate is not favorable to fruit fly activity during 
those months. In establishing the current November through February 
shipping season, we considered the unfavorable climate in the Michoacan 
production areas along with the Hass avocado's non-preferred host 
status and concluded that the infestation threat posed to the avocados 
by Anastrepha spp. fruit flies would be insignificant. In requesting 
the lengthened shipping season, the Mexican Government has stated that 
the median temperatures in the Michoacan production areas during 
October and March are consistently below 70  deg.F, just as is the case 
during the current November through February shipping season. 
Preliminary temperature data provided by Mexico covering the years 1990 
through 1999 indicate that only once during that period did the median 
temperature rise above 70  deg.F during October or March (72.3  deg.F, 
recorded at the Comision Nacional del Agua climate monitoring station 
in the municipality of Periban, Michoacan, in March 1992).
    In our review of the Mexican Government's request, we anticipate

[[Page 30366]]

that we will consider information such as the pest risk assessment and 
risk management analysis prepared for the rulemaking that established 
the current program; fruit fly trapping data and pest survey data from 
the growing area; fruit cutting data from both the packinghouses in 
Mexico and the U.S. port-of-entry inspections; temperature data for the 
production areas in Mexico, the currently approved States, and any 
States that might be added; and the results of APHIS' most recent 
comprehensive review of the Mexican Hass avocado program. Copies of 
this information may be obtained by calling or writing to the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    We are asking the public for its comments and recommendations 
regarding the scope of our review and are soliciting any additional 
data or information that may have a bearing on our review of the 
Mexican Government's request. We wish to emphasize the preliminary 
nature of our review; we are not, at this time, proposing to make any 
changes to the provisions of the current Mexican avocado import program 
found in Sec. 319.56-2ff. We would, therefore, ask that any comments 
focus on the scientific, technical, or other issues that commenters 
believe should be considered during our review of the Mexican 
Government's request.
    If, after completing our review of the available data and any 
pertinent information submitted by the public, we conclude that there 
are sufficient data available to support Mexico's request, APHIS will 
prepare a proposed rule for public comment before making any final 
decision to approve additional States to receive Mexican Hass avocados 
or to expand the shipping season to include the months of October and 
March.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450, 2803, and 
2809; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of May 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-11835 Filed 5-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P