Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 71703 

§ 892.208 Can I change my enrollment 

from self and family to self plus one or self 

only at any time? 

(a) If you are participating in premium 

conversion you may decrease your 

FEHB enrollment type under either of 

the following circumstances: 

(1) During the annual open season. A 

decrease in enrollment type made 

during the annual open season takes 

effect on the 1st day of the first pay 

period that begins in the next year. 

(2) Within 60 days after you have a 

qualifying life event. A decrease in 

enrollment type made because of a 

qualifying life event takes effect on the 

first day of the first pay period that 

begins after the date your employing 

office receives your appropriate request. 

Your change in enrollment must be 

consistent with and correspond to your 

qualifying life event. For example, if 

you get divorced and have no 

dependent children, changing to self 

only would be consistent with that 

qualifying life event. As another 

example, if both you and your spouse 

are Federal employees, and your 

youngest dependent turns age 26, 

changing from a self and family to a self 

plus one or two self only enrollments 

would be consistent and appropriate for 

that event. 

(b) If you are subject to a court or 

administrative order as discussed in 

§ 890.301(g)(3) of this chapter, you may 

not decrease enrollment type in a way 

that eliminates coverage of a child 

identified in the order as long as the 

court or administrative order is still in 

effect and you have at least one child 

identified in the order who is still 

eligible under the FEHB Program, unless 

you provide documentation to your 

agency that you have other coverage for 

your child or children. See also 

§§ 892.207 and 892.209. If you are 

subject to a court or administrative 

order as discussed in § 890.301(g)(3) of 

this chapter, you may not change your 

enrollment to self plus one as long as 

the court or administrative order is still 

in effect and you have more than one 

child identified in the order who is still 

eligible under the FEHB Program, unless 

you provide documentation to your 

agency that you have other coverage for 

your children. See also §§ 892.207 and 

892.209. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28429 Filed 12–2–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6325–63–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0041] 

RIN 0579–AE01 

Importation of Orchids in Growing 

Media From Taiwan 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the regulations governing the 

importation of plants and plant 

products to add orchid plants of the 

genus Oncidium from Taiwan to the list 

of plants that may be imported into the 

United States in an approved growing 

medium, subject to specified growing, 

inspection, and certification 

requirements. We are taking this action 

in response to a request from the 

Taiwanese Government and after 

determining that the plants could be 

imported, under certain conditions, 

without resulting in the introduction 

into, or the dissemination within, the 

United States of a plant pest or noxious 

weed. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before February 2, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0041. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0041, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0041 or 

in our reading room, which 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) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Heather Coady, Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, Plants for Planting Policy, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, 

Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851–2076. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 

prohibit or restrict the importation into 

the United States of certain plants and 

plant products to prevent the 

introduction of plant pests and noxious 

weeds. The regulations in ‘‘Subpart— 

Plants for Planting,’’ §§ 319.37 through 

319.37–14 (referred to below as the 

regulations) contain, among other 

things, prohibitions and restrictions on 

the importation of plants, plant parts, 

and seeds for propagation. 

Paragraph (a) of § 319.37–8 of the 

regulations requires, with certain 

exceptions, that plants offered for 

importation into the United States be 

free of sand, soil, earth, and other 

growing media. This requirement is 

intended to help prevent the 

introduction of plant pests that might be 

present in the growing media; the 

exceptions to the requirement take into 

account factors that mitigate that plant 

pest risk. Those exceptions, which are 

found in paragraphs (b) through (e) of 

§ 319.37–8, consider either the origin of 

the plants and growing media 

(paragraph (b)), the nature of the 

growing media (paragraphs (c) and (d)), 

or the use of a combination of growing 

conditions, approved media, 

inspections, and other requirements 

(paragraph (e)). 

Paragraph (e) of § 319.37–8 provides 

conditions under which certain plants 

established in growing media may be 

imported into the United States. In 

addition to specifying the types of 

plants that may be imported § 319.37– 

8(e) also: 

• Specifies the types of growing 

media that may be used; 

• Requires plants to be grown in 

accordance with written agreements 

between the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) and the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of the country where the plants 

are grown and between the foreign 

NPPO and the grower; 

• Requires the plants to be rooted and 

grown in a greenhouse that meets 

certain requirements for pest exclusion 

and that is used only for plants being 

grown in compliance with § 319.37– 

8(e); 

• Restricts the source of the seeds or 

parent plants used to produce the 

plants, and requires grow-out or 

treatment of parent plants imported into 

the exporting country from another 

country; 

• Specifies the sources of water that 

may be used on the plants, the height of 

the benches on which the plants must 

be grown, and the conditions under 

which the plants must be stored and 

packaged; and 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
71704 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

1 Instructions on accessing Regulations.gov and 

information on the location and hours of the 

reading room may be found at the beginning of this 

document under ADDRESSES. You may also request 

paper copies of the risk analysis by calling or 

writing the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

• Requires that the plants be 

inspected in the greenhouse and found 

free of evidence of plant pests no more 

than 30 days prior to the exportation of 

the plants. 

A phytosanitary certificate issued by 

the NPPO of the country in which the 

plants were grown that declares that the 

above conditions have been met must 

accompany the plants at the time of 

importation. These conditions have 

been used successfully to mitigate the 

risk of pest introduction associated with 

the importation into the United States of 

approved plants established in growing 

media. 

Currently, orchid plants of genus 

Oncidium spp. may only be imported 

into the United States as bare root 

plants, in accordance with § 319.37–2. 

The Government of Taiwan has 

requested that importation into the 

United States of those plants be allowed 

under the provisions of § 319.37–8. 

The regulations in § 319.37–8(g) 

provide that requests such as the one 

made by the Government of Taiwan be 

evaluated by APHIS using specific pest 

risk evaluation standards that are based 

on pest risk analysis (PRA) guidelines 

established by the International Plant 

Protection Convention of the United 

Nations’ Food and Agriculture 

Organization. Such analyses are 

conducted to determine the plant pest 

risks associated with each requested 

plant article and to determine whether 

or not APHIS should propose to allow 

the requested plant article established in 

growing media to be imported into the 

United States. In accordance with 

§ 319.37–8(g), APHIS has conducted the 

required PRA, which can be viewed on 

the Internet on the Regulations.gov Web 

site or in our reading room.1

In the PRA, titled ‘‘Importation of 

Oncidium spp. in growing media from 

Taiwan into the United States,’’ APHIS 

determined that 14 quarantine pests 

present in Taiwan could potentially 

follow the import pathway: 

• Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida, a 

spider mite. 

• Amsacta lactinea Cramer, a tiger 

moth. 

• Spodoptera litura (Fabricius), the 

Oriental leafworm moth. 

• Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, the chili 

thrips. 

• Thrips palmi Karny, the melon 

thrips. 

• Lissachatina fulica (Bowdich), a 

snail. 

• Deroceras laeve (Muller), the marsh 

slug. 

• Parmarion martensi Simroth, a 

semislug. 

• Petalochlamys vesta (Pfeiffer), a 

snail. 

• Meghimatium bilineatus (Benson), a 

slug. 

• Meghimatium pictum Stoliczka, a 

slug. 

• Laevicaulis alte (Fe ́russac), the 

tropical leatherleaf. 

• Pectobacterium cypripedii (Hori) 

Brenner et al., a bacterial leaf-disease of 

orchids. 

• Bipolaris zizaniae (Y. Nisik.) 

Shoemaker, a fungus. 

A quarantine pest is defined in 

§ 319.37–1 of the regulations as a pest of 

potential economic importance to the 

area endangered thereby and not yet 

present there, or present but not widely 

distributed and being officially 

controlled. Plant pest risk potentials 

associated with the importation of 

Oncidium spp. from Taiwan into the 

United States were derived by 

estimating the consequences and 

likelihood of introduction of each 

quarantine pest into the United States 

and ranking the risk potential as high, 

medium, or low. The PRA determined 

that 12 of these 14 pests—T. kanzawai, 

A. lactinea, S. litura, S. dorsalis, T. 

palmi, L. fulica, D. laeve, P. martensi, P. 

vesta, M. bilineatus, M. pictum, and L. 

alte—pose a high risk of following the 

pathway. The remaining pests—P. 

cypripedii and B. zizaniae—were rated 

as having a medium risk potential. 

However, the PRA acknowledged that 

the risk presented by these plant pests 

is consistent with any propagative 

epiphytic orchid materials and pest 

associations. Further, it is important to 

note that those plant pest risks were 

identified in the absence of the 

mitigative effects of the requirements in 

§ 319.37–8(e), which are designed to 

establish and maintain a pest-free 

production environment and ensure the 

use of pest-free seeds or parent plants. 

Given that, the PRA concluded that the 

safeguards in § 319.37–8(e) would allow 

the safe importation of Oncidium spp. 

from Taiwan provided that the plants 

are established in an approved growing 

medium and meet all other applicable 

conditions of § 319.37–8(e). This 

determination is based on the findings 

of the PRA and the Secretary’s judgment 

that the application of the measures 

required under § 319.37–8(e) will 

prevent the introduction or 

dissemination of plant pests into the 

United States. 

Accordingly, we are proposing to 

amend the regulations in § 319.37–8(e) 

by adding Oncidium spp. from Taiwan 

to the list of plants established in an 

approved growing medium that may be 

imported into the United States. The 

plants would have to be produced, 

handled, and imported in accordance 

with the requirements of § 319.37–8(e) 

and be accompanied at the time of 

importation by a phytosanitary 

certificate issued by the NPPO of 

Taiwan that declares that those 

requirements have been met. 

Miscellaneous 

In ‘‘Subpart—Plants for Planting,’’ 

there is an incorrect reference in 

footnotes 9 and 10. Currently, both 

footnotes 9 and 10 refer the reader to 

footnote 9 when they should refer 

instead to footnote 8. In a previous 

action we redesignated some of the 

footnotes in ‘‘Subpart—Plants for 

Planting’’ and neglected to update the 

references to other footnotes. We are 

therefore proposing to revise footnotes 9 

and 10 to refer the reader to footnote 8. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This proposed 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 by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT or on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see 

ADDRESSES above for instructions for 

accessing Regulations.gov). 

This proposed rule would amend the 

regulations to include Oncidium spp. 

from Taiwan on the list of plants that 

may enter the United States established 

in approved growing media, subject to 

specified growing, inspection, and 

certification requirements. Eliminating 

the requirement that Oncidium spp. 

from Taiwan must be bare-rooted is 

expected to increase the number and 

quality of these plants imported by U.S. 

growers, who then finish the plants for 

the retail market. It is also expected to 

reduce the production time for growers. 

However, gains due to improved 

product quality and reduced production 

time are likely to lead to compensating 

price adjustments, assuming a 

competitive market. 

Oncidium spp. represent a relatively 

small portion of the orchid market and 

orchid trade, with a market share of 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 232 / Wednesday, December 3, 2014 / Proposed Rules 71705 

between 15 and 25 percent. While many 

of the entities that may be affected by 

the final rule, such as importers of 

orchids for the potted plant market, are 

small by Small Business Administration 

standards, we expect any impact to be 

minimal, given Oncidium spp.’s small 

share of the U.S. orchid market and 

their small share of total orchid imports 

from Taiwan. Allowing importation of 

Oncidium spp. from Taiwan in growing 

media could also lead to an expanded 

market for this genus, but any increase 

is likely to be limited given the flower’s 

unusual appearance. 

Under these circumstances, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 

determined that this action would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is 

adopted: (1) All State and local laws and 

regulations that are inconsistent with 

this rule will be preempted; (2) no 

retroactive effect will be given to this 

rule; and (3) administrative proceedings 

will not be required before parties may 

file suit in court challenging this rule. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

To provide the public with 

documentation of APHIS’ review and 

analysis of any potential environmental 

impacts associated with the proposed 

importation of Oncidium spp. from 

Taiwan, we have prepared an 

environmental assessment. The 

environmental assessment was prepared 

in accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

The environmental assessment may 

be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web 

site or in our reading room. (A link to 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room 

are provided under the heading 

ADDRESSES at the beginning of this 

proposed rule.) In addition, copies may 

be obtained by calling or writing to the 

individual listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed 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 propose to amend 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 319.37–8 (e) introductory 

text is amended as follows: 

■ a. By adding a new entry in 

alphabetical order. 

■ b. In footnotes 9 and 10, by removing 

the words ‘‘footnote 9’’ and adding the 

words ‘‘footnote 8’’ in their place. 

The addition reads as follows: 

§ 319.37–8 Growing media. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

Oncidium spp. from Taiwan 

* * * * * 

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

December 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–28487 Filed 12–2–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 430 

[Docket No. EERE–2011–BT–STD–0043] 

RIN 1904–AC51 

Energy Conservation Standards for 

Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products: 

Public Meeting and Availability of the 

Preliminary Technical Support 

Document 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

availability of preliminary technical 

support document. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) will hold a public meeting 

to discuss and receive comments on the 

preliminary analysis it has conducted 

for purposes of establishing energy 

conservation standards for 

miscellaneous refrigeration products. 

The meeting will cover the analytical 

framework, models, and tools that DOE 

is using to evaluate whether to set 

standards for these products; the results 

of preliminary analyses performed by 

DOE for the products; the potential 

energy conservation standard levels 

derived from these analyses that DOE 

could consider for these products; and 

any other issues relevant to the 

development of energy conservation 

standards for miscellaneous 

refrigeration products. In addition, DOE 

encourages written comments on these 

subjects. To inform interested parties 

and to facilitate this process, DOE has 

prepared an agenda, a preliminary 

technical support document (TSD), and 

briefing materials, which are available 

on the DOE Web site at: http://

www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/

appliance_standards/rulemaking.aspx/

ruleid/71. 

DATES: DOE will hold a public meeting 

on Friday January 9, 2015, from 9 a.m. 

to 4 p.m., in Washington, DC. 

Additionally, DOE plans to allow for 

participation in the public meeting via 

Webinar. DOE will accept comments, 

data, and other information regarding 

this rulemaking before or after the 

public meeting, but no later than 

February 2, 2015. See section IV, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ of this notice for 

details. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the U.S. Department of Energy, 

Forrestal Building, Room 8E–089, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Interested persons may submit 

comments, identified by docket number 

EERE–2011–BT–STD–0043 and/or 

Regulation Identification Number (RIN) 

1904–AC51, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: WineChillers-2011–STD– 

0043@ee.doe.gov. Include the docket 

number EERE–2011–BT–STD–0043 

and/or RIN 1904–AC51 in the subject 

line of the message. 

• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Building 

Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–5B, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. If 

possible, please submit all items on a 

compact disc (CD), in which case it is 

not necessary to include printed copies. 

Please note that comments and CDs sent 

by mail are often delayed and may be 

damaged by mail screening processes. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS