60450 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 189 / Thursday, September 29, 2011 / Notices 

Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of 

September 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–25087 Filed 9–28–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2011–0087] 

Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk 

Analysis for the Importation of 

Pomegranate From India Into the 

Continental United States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

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 

pomegranate fruit from India. Based on 

that 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 pomegranate fruit from India. 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 November 

28, 2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0087- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2011–0087, 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-2011-0087 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) 6902817 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Donna L. West, Senior Import 

Specialist, RPM, PHP, PPQ, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, 

MD 20737; (301) 734–0627. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart— 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56– 

1 through 319.56–51, 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. 

APHIS received a request from the 

Government of India to allow the 

importation of fresh pomegranate fruit 

(Punica granatum L.) from India into the 

continental United States. Currently, 

fresh pomegranate fruit is not 

authorized for entry from India. We 

have completed a pest risk analysis for 

the purpose of evaluating the pest risks 

associated with the importation of fresh 

pomegranate fruit into the continental 

United States. The analysis consists of 

a pest list identifying pests of 

quarantine significance that are present 

in India and could follow the pathway 

of importation into the United States 

and a risk management document 

identifying phytosanitary measures that 

could be applied to the commodity to 

mitigate the pest risk. 

We have concluded that fresh 

pomegranate fruit can be safely 

imported into the continental United 

States from India using one or more of 

the five designated phytosanitary 

measures listed in § 319.56–4(b). The 

requirements for shipments of fresh 

pomegranate fruit from India would be 

as follows: 

• The fresh pomegranate fruit may be 

imported into the continental United 

States in commercial consignments 

only; 

• The fresh pomegranate fruit must be 

irradiated in accordance with 7 CFR 

part 305 with a minimum absorbed dose 

of 400 Gy; 

• If the irradiation treatment is 

applied outside the United States, each 

consignment of fresh pomegranate fruit 

must be jointly inspected by APHIS and 

the national plant protection 

organization (NPPO) of India and 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate attesting that the fruit 

received the required irradiation 

treatment and was inspected and found 

free of the mite Tenuipalpus granati, the 

false spider mite (Tenuipalpus punicae), 

and the bacterium Xanthomonas 

axonopodis pv. Punicae; 

• If irradiation is applied upon arrival 

in the United States, each consignment 

of fresh pomegranate fruit must be 

inspected by the NPPO of India prior to 

departure and accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate with an 

additional declaration that the fruit was 

inspected and found free of the mite 

Tenuipalpus granati, the false spider 

mite (Tenuipalpus punicae), and the 

bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis 

pv. Punicae; and 

• The fresh pomegranate fruit is 

subject to inspection upon arrival at the 

U.S. port of entry. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 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 

pomegranate fruit from India 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 authorize the importation of fresh 

pomegranate fruit from India 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 23rd day of 

September 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–25085 Filed 9–28–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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