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

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REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

13423 

Vol. 72, No. 55 

Thursday, March 22, 2007 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2007–0032] 

RIN 0579–AC38 

Citrus Canker; Interstate Movement of 

Regulated Nursery Stock From 

Quarantined Areas 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the citrus 

canker quarantine regulations to 

explicitly prohibit, with limited 

exceptions, the interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock from a 

quarantined area. The interstate 

movement of regulated nursery stock 

from an area quarantined for citrus 

canker poses a high risk of spreading 

citrus canker outside the quarantined 

area. We are including two exceptions 

to the prohibition. We are allowing 

calamondin and kumquat plants, two 

types of citrus plants that are highly 

resistant to citrus canker, to move 

interstate from a quarantined area under 

a protocol designed to ensure that they 

are free of citrus canker prior to 

movement. We will also continue to 

allow the interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock for immediate 

export, under certain conditions. This 

action is necessary to clarify our 

regulations and to address the risk 

associated with the interstate movement 

of regulated nursery stock from areas 

quarantined for citrus canker. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective 

March 16, 2007. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

May 21, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, select 

‘‘Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service’’ from the agency drop-down 

menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

Docket ID column, select APHIS–2007– 

0032 to submit or view public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available 

electronically. Information on using 

Regulations.gov, including instructions 

for accessing documents, submitting 

comments, and viewing the docket after 

the close of the comment period, is 

available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’ 

link. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send four copies of your 

comment (an original and three copies) 

to Docket No. APHIS–2007–0032, 

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– 

2007–0032. 

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: Mr. 

Stephen Poe, Senior Operations Officer, 

Emergency Domestic Programs, Plant 

Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1231; (301) 734–4387. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Citrus canker is a plant disease that 

affects plants and plant parts, including 

fresh fruit, of citrus and citrus relatives 

(Family Rutaceae). Citrus canker can 

cause defoliation and other serious 

damage to the leaves and twigs of 

susceptible plants. It can also cause 

lesions on the fruit of infected plants, 

which render the fruit unmarketable, 

and cause infected fruit to drop from the 

trees before reaching maturity. The 

aggressive A (Asiatic) strain of citrus 

canker can infect susceptible plants 

rapidly and lead to extensive economic 

losses in commercial citrus-producing 

areas. 

The regulations to prevent the 

interstate spread of citrus canker are 

contained in 7 CFR 301.75–1 through 

301.75–14 (referred to below as the 

regulations). The regulations restrict the 

interstate movement of regulated 

articles from and through areas 

quarantined because of citrus canker 

and provide conditions under which 

regulated fruit and regulated seed may 

be moved from quarantined areas. 

On August 1, 2006, we published an 

interim rule in the Federal Register (71 

FR 43345–43352, Docket No. APHIS– 

2006–0114) that designated the entire 

State of Florida as a quarantined area. 

The interim rule also amended the 

regulations governing the movement of 

regulated articles from a quarantined 

area to reflect the fact that the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) had 

announced on January 10, 2006, that the 

eradication program that USDA and the 

State of Florida had been pursuing was 

no longer a scientifically feasible option 

to address citrus canker. Eradication 

had become an infeasible option in 

Florida due to the rapid spread of citrus 

canker across that State that occurred 

during the hurricane seasons of 2004 

and 2005. 

The amendments we made to our 

regulations in the August 2006 interim 

rule were consistent with the 

recommendations of the Citrus Health 

Response Program, whose goal is to 

improve the ability of the commercial 

citrus industry to produce, harvest, 

process, and ship healthy fruit in the 

presence of citrus canker. This program 

provides general guidance to regulatory 

officials and all sectors of the citrus 

industry on ways to safeguard against 

citrus canker and other citrus pests of 

concern. 

Regulations That Have Governed the 

Interstate Movement of Regulated 

Nursery Stock 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) has 

historically not allowed the interstate 

movement of regulated nursery stock 

from areas quarantined for citrus canker, 

because that movement is considered to 

be the highest risk pathway for the 


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13424 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

spread of citrus canker. In virtually 

every case worldwide where citrus 

canker has been introduced into a new 

area, it has been through the movement 

of infected citrus nursery stock. If a 

citrus canker outbreak were to occur in 

another commercial citrus-producing 

area in the United States, the cost of 

eradicating the outbreak would be 

extremely high for both that State and 

the USDA, and citrus producers in that 

area could experience business 

interruptions and consequently lose 

substantial revenues. 

In § 301.75–2 of the regulations, 

paragraph (a) prohibits the interstate 

movement of regulated articles except in 

accordance with the regulations. In 

addition, the regulations in § 301.75–6 

have set out threshold conditions that 

must be met for the movement of 

regulated articles under §§ 301.75–7 and 

301.75–8 from areas quarantined for 

citrus canker. These include 

requirements for surveying every 

regulated plant and regulated tree in 

every nursery in the quarantined area 

containing regulated plants and 

regulated trees at intervals of no more 

than 45 days and for treating personnel, 

vehicles, and equipment. 

The requirements in § 301.75–6 were 

intended to be threshold conditions for 

the interstate movement of regulated 

fruit, whose movement is subject to the 

additional conditions in § 301.75–7, and 

regulated seed, whose movement is 

subject to the additional conditions in 

§ 301.75–8, from a quarantined area. 

The requirements of § 301.75–6, 

standing alone, did not serve to address 

the risk associated with the movement 

of regulated articles such as nursery 

stock from the quarantined area, 

however, since they did not include any 

provisions to ensure that the specific 

articles to be moved were free of citrus 

canker. In fact, these requirements were 

not intended to serve as necessary and 

sufficient conditions under which the 

movement of regulated articles such as 

nursery stock would be allowed. 

We have considered the interstate 

movement of nursery stock to be 

prohibited under § 301.75–2(a) because 

we have not had regulations in place 

that specifically set forth the conditions 

under which the interstate movement of 

nursery stock from a quarantined area 

would be allowed. However, the 

regulations have also not contained any 

provision specifically prohibiting the 

interstate movement of regulated 

nursery stock from the quarantined area. 

Given that, the general requirements in 

§ 301.75–6 could also have been read as 

allowing the interstate movement of any 

regulated article not specifically named 

elsewhere in the regulations, including 

nursery stock, subject to the conditions 

in that section. As stated earlier, APHIS’

intent has always been to prohibit the 

movement of all nursery stock except 

calamondin and kumquat plants from 

the quarantined area. (Our reasons for 

allowing the interstate movement of 

those plants are discussed later in this 

document under the heading ‘‘Protocol 

to Allow Interstate Movement of 

Calamondin and Kumquat Plants.’’) 

Prior to the decision by the USDA that 

the eradication program was no longer 

a scientifically feasible option to 

address citrus canker in Florida, the 

State of Florida had placed restrictions 

on the intrastate movement of regulated 

nursery stock from the quarantined area. 

Under its authority, the State of Florida 

placed ‘‘stop-sale’’ orders on all nursery 

stock in the quarantined area, thus 

preventing its movement, and also 

destroyed any plants or trees that were 

infected with citrus canker as well as 

any regulated plants or trees that were 

located within 1,900 feet of an infected 

plant or tree. These intrastate movement 

restrictions effectively prohibited the 

movement of regulated nursery stock 

from the quarantined area. However, 

after the USDA decision and the 

subsequent designation of the entire 

State of Florida as a quarantined area, 

the State of Florida stopped routinely 

destroying infected and exposed trees 

and plants and issuing stop-sale orders 

for uninfected nurseries in the 

quarantined area, since the goal of the 

citrus canker program was no longer to 

eradicate citrus canker in Florida but to 

manage it. 

Therefore, we need to amend the 

regulations to explicitly prohibit, with 

limited exceptions, the interstate 

movement of regulated nursery stock, to 

codify our long-standing policy in that 

regard and to remove any ambiguity that 

may have arisen from the provisions in 

§ 301.75–6. 

Accordingly, this interim rule 

prohibits the interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock from a 

quarantined area. (This interim rule 

adds a definition of nursery stock to the 

definitions in § 301.75–1. The definition 

reads: ‘‘Living plants and plant parts 

intended to be planted, to remain 

planted, or to be replanted.’’ We are also 

amending the definition of regulated 

fruit, regulated plant, regulated seed, 

regulated tree so that it includes nursery 

stock. Thus, nursery stock derived from 

any citrus plant is considered to be 

regulated nursery stock.) We are 

including two exceptions to the 

prohibition: Calamondin and kumquat 

plants are allowed to move interstate 

from a quarantined area under a 

protocol designed to ensure that they 

are free of citrus canker prior to 

movement, and regulated nursery stock 

that is otherwise ineligible for interstate 

movement may be moved for immediate 

export. To codify these changes, we are 

amending § 301.75–6 to address the 

interstate movement of regulated 

nursery stock. The changes we are 

making to the regulations are discussed 

directly below. 

Amendments to § 301.75–6 To Address 

Regulated Nursery Stock 

As discussed earlier, prior to the 

effective date of this interim rule, 

§ 301.75–6 set out threshold conditions 

that had to be met for the movement of 

regulated articles from the quarantined 

area under §§ 301.75–7 and 301.75–8. 

We are revising the title of the section 

to read ‘‘Interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock from a 

quarantined area’’ to reflect its new 

focus. 

We have moved the requirements in 

paragraph (b) to a new paragraph (c) and 

amended the paragraph to refer 

generally to nursery stock rather than 

only to plants and trees. This paragraph, 

which was originally added to the 

regulations in the August 2006 interim 

rule, allows regulated nursery stock 

produced in a nursery located in a 

quarantined area that is not otherwise 

eligible for movement to be moved 

interstate for immediate export. To be 

moved under this paragraph, the 

regulated nursery stock must be 

accompanied by a limited permit issued 

in accordance with § 301.75–12 and 

must be moved in a container sealed by 

APHIS directly to the port of export in 

accordance with the conditions of the 

limited permit. 

We are replacing the remainder of 

§ 301.75–6 with new regulations. 

Prior to our August 2006 interim rule, 

paragraph (a) of § 301.75–6 required 

inspections at 45-day intervals of all 

regulated plants and regulated trees in 

nurseries within the quarantined area 

and annual inspections of all other 

regulated plants and regulated trees 

(except houseplants) within the 

quarantined area. In the ‘‘Background’’

section of the August 2006 interim rule, 

we stated that the level of inspection 

that had been required in § 301.75–6 ‘‘is 

necessary for a regulatory program 

focused on eradication but it is no 

longer appropriate in all cases given the 

current circumstances. Therefore, we 

are moving those requirements from 

§ 301.75–6 to § 301.75–4(d).’’ That 

paragraph contains provisions under 

which an area less than an entire State 

may be designated as a quarantined 

area; our intention was to move all 

provisions in the regulations that were 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 13425 

1See Gottwald, T.R., Graham, J.H., and Schubert, 

T.S. 2002. Citrus canker: The pathogen and its 

impact. Plant Health Progress doi:10.1094/PHP–

2002–0812–01–RV. Available at http:// 

www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/php/ 

review/citruscanker/. 

related to eradication to that paragraph, 

as we would normally pursue 

eradication only in an area less than an 

entire State. However, while we did add 

those requirements to § 301.75–4(d), 

only the provision regarding annual 

inspections was removed from § 301.75–

6 in the August 2006 interim rule. 

Therefore, we are removing the 

provision regarding inspection of 

nurseries within the quarantined area 

from § 301.75–6 in this interim rule. 

Paragraph (a)(2) of § 301.75–6 has 

required that, in the quarantined area, 

all vehicles, equipment, and other 

articles used in providing inspection, 

maintenance, harvesting, or related 

services in any grove containing 

regulated plants or regulated trees be 

treated in accordance with § 301.75–

11(d) upon leaving the grove. Paragraph 

(a)(2) has also required that all 

personnel who enter the grove or 

premises to provide these services must 

be treated in accordance with § 301.75–

11(c) upon leaving the grove. These 

requirements are designed to protect 

groves from the artificial spread of citrus 

canker and are more properly located in 

§ 301.75–7, i.e., in the regulations 

governing the interstate movement of 

fruit from the quarantined area, which 

require that regulated fruit come from a 

grove free of citrus canker in order to be 

eligible for interstate movement. 

Accordingly, we are moving the 

requirements that have been in 

§ 301.75–6(a)(2) into paragraph (a) of 

§ 301.75–7. 

In this interim rule, we are revising 

paragraph (a) of § 301.75–6 to state that 

regulated nursery stock may not be 

moved interstate from a quarantined 

area except for immediate export in 

accordance with newly redesignated 

paragraph (c) of § 301.75–6, with the 

proviso that calamondin and kumquat 

plants may be moved interstate from a 

quarantined area in accordance with a 

new paragraph (b). The provisions of 

this paragraph (b), along with our 

reasons for including them in the 

regulations, are discussed in detail 

directly below. 

Protocol to Allow Interstate Movement 

of Calamondin and Kumquat Plants 

In a final rule published in the 

Federal Register on March 24, 1989 (54 

FR 12175–12183), we made several 

changes to the citrus canker regulations, 

including adding provisions to allow 

the interstate movement of own-rootonly calamondin and kumquat plants 

under limited permit to all areas of the 

United States except commercial citrusproducing areas. This final rule was 

published subsequent to a proposed rule 

we published in the Federal Register on 

October 21, 1988 (53 FR 41538–41549, 

Docket No. 88–105). We received 32 

comments on that proposal, but none 

addressed the provisions for the 

interstate movement of calamondin and 

kumquat plants. Therefore, we adopted 

the proposed provisions in our final 

rule, without change. The provisions 

adopted in that final rule are similar to 

the provisions under which we are 

allowing the interstate movement of 

calamondin and kumquat plants in this 

interim rule. 

At the time the March 1989 final rule 

was published, the entire State of 

Florida was quarantined for citrus 

canker. However, in a final rule 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 11, 1990 (55 FR 37441–

37453, Docket No. 90–114), we 

substantially revised the regulations to 

reflect the fact that the disease that had 

been called the Florida nursery strain of 

citrus canker was in fact a less serious 

disease called citrus bacterial spot. 

Therefore, in the September 1990 final 

rule, the area of Florida quarantined for 

citrus canker was reduced to a much 

smaller area where the Asiatic strain of 

citrus canker was present. The 

September 1990 final rule also removed 

the provisions allowing the interstate 

movement of calamondin and kumquat 

plants from quarantined areas. We did 

not provide a reason for removing those 

provisions in either the final rule or the 

proposed rule that preceded it. Because 

the reduction in the quarantined area 

meant that most nurseries in Florida 

were now eligible to move regulated 

nursery stock of any kind interstate 

without restrictions, it can be presumed 

that the change did not have much 

negative effect on the nursery stock 

industry in Florida. 

The August 2006 interim rule again 

quarantined the entire State of Florida 

for citrus canker, thus prohibiting the 

interstate movement of regulated 

nursery stock from all nurseries in the 

State. To provide any possible relief 

from these restrictions, we reexamined 

the movement of calamondin and 

kumquat plants and determined the 

safeguards that the protocol required for 

the interstate movement of these highly 

resistant plants would mitigate the risk 

of spreading citrus canker from a 

quarantined area through the interstate 

movement of these plants. We 

subsequently began allowing such 

movement through administrative 

action pending the development of 

regulations. This interim rule codifies 

that protocol. 

The biological basis for allowing the 

interstate movement of calamondin and 

kumquat plants remains the same: 

These two types of citrus are highly 

resistant to infection by the bacterium 

that causes citrus canker.1 Additionally, 

we are requiring that these plants be 

produced in conditions that will further 

minimize the risk that they could be 

infected with citrus canker. Under 

paragraph (b) of § 301.75–6, calamondin 

and kumquat plants may only be moved 

interstate if all of the following 

conditions are met: 

• The plants are own-root-only and 

have not been grafted or budded; 

• The plants are started, are grown, 

and have been maintained solely at the 

nursery from which they will be moved 

interstate. 

• If the plants are not grown from 

seed, then the cuttings used for 

propagation of the plants are taken from 

plants located on the same nursery 

premises or from another nursery that is 

eligible to produce calamondin and 

kumquat plants for interstate movement 

under the requirements of § 301.75–6(b). 

Cuttings may not be obtained from 

properties where citrus canker is 

present. 

• All citrus plants at the nursery 

premises have undergone State 

inspection and have been found to be 

free of citrus canker no less than three 

times. The inspections must be at 

intervals of 30 to 45 days, with the most 

recent inspection being within 30 days 

of the date on which the plants are 

removed and packed for shipment. 

• All vehicles, equipment, and other 

articles used in providing inspection, 

maintenance, or related services in the 

nursery must be treated in accordance 

with § 301.75–11(d) before entering the 

nursery to prevent the introduction of 

citrus canker. All personnel who enter 

the nursery to provide these services 

must be treated in accordance with 

§ 301.75–11(c) before entering the 

nursery to prevent the introduction of 

citrus canker. 

• If citrus canker is found in the 

nursery, all regulated plants and plant 

material must be removed from the 

nursery and all areas of the nursery’s 

facilities where plants are grown and all 

associated equipment and tools used at 

the nursery must be treated in 

accordance with § 301.75–11(d) in order 

for the nursery to be eligible to produce 

calamondin and kumquat plants to be 

moved interstate under § 301.75–6(b). 

Fifteen days after these actions are 

completed, the nursery may receive new 

calamondin and kumquat seed or 

cuttings from a nursery that is eligible 


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13426 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

to produce calamondin and kumquat 

plants for interstate movement under 

§ 301.75–6(b). The bacterium that causes 

citrus canker is extremely unlikely to 

survive if left for 15 days without host 

material to infect. 

• The plants, except for plants that 

are hermetically sealed in plastic bags 

before leaving the nursery, are 

completely enclosed in containers or 

vehicle compartments during movement 

through the quarantined area. This 

requirement will prevent infection 

during transportation through the 

quarantined area. 

Paragraph (b) also requires that the 

plants be moved under limited permit to 

ensure that they are only moved to areas 

other than commercial citrus-producing 

areas. This requirement is contained in 

paragraph (b)(8), which requires that the 

calamondin or kumquat plants or trees 

be accompanied by a limited permit 

issued in accordance with § 301.75–12. 

The statement ‘‘Limited permit: Not for 

distribution in AZ, CA, HI, LA, TX, and 

American Samoa, Guam, Northern 

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and Virgin 

Islands of the United States’’ must be 

displayed on a plastic or metal tag 

attached to each plant, or on the box or 

container if the plant is sealed in 

plastic. In addition, this statement must 

be displayed on the outside of any 

shipping containers used to transport 

these plants, and the limited permit 

must be attached to the bill of lading or 

other shipping document that 

accompanies the plants. 

Section 301.75–12 contains general 

requirements for issuance and 

attachment of limited permits under the 

regulations. Paragraph (b) of that section 

requires that the limited permit 

accompanying a regulated article be 

attached to the outside of the article, the 

outside of the container, or the waybill. 

As described in the previous paragraph, 

the protocol for the interstate movement 

of calamondin and kumquat trees 

imposes additional, specific 

requirements related to the limited 

permit that are designed to provide as 

much assurance as possible that the 

nursery stock will not be moved into a 

commercial citrus-producing area. 

Accordingly, we are amending § 301.75–

12(b) to make it clear that the specific 

requirements for attaching limited 

permits to calamondin and kumquat 

plants supersede the general provisions 

of § 301.75–12(b). 

We believe these conditions will 

ensure the safe interstate movement of 

calamondin and kumquat plants from 

the quarantined area, as they did prior 

to the September 1990 final rule. 

Finally, we are also revising 

paragraph (a) of § 301.75–2 to state that 

regulated articles may not be moved 

interstate from a quarantined area 

except in accordance with a protocol in 

§§ 301.75–6, 301.75–7, or 301.75–8; in 

accordance with § 301.75–4 if less than 

an entire State is designated as a 

quarantined area; or in accordance with 

the regulations in § 301.75–9 for 

scientific or experimental purposes 

only. We are making this change to 

clarify that the regulations prohibit the 

interstate movement from a quarantined 

area of all regulated articles other than 

those specifically addressed elsewhere 

in the regulations. If we determine that 

other regulated articles can be moved 

interstate from the quarantined area 

without spreading citrus canker, we will 

update the regulations to set out 

conditions for their movement. 

Miscellaneous Change 

We are also amending the definition 

of nursery. This definition has read: 

‘‘Any premises, including greenhouses 

but excluding any grove, at which 

plants are grown or maintained for 

propagation or replanting.’’ We are 

amending this definition to replace the 

reference to plants with a reference to 

nursery stock, as defined in this interim 

rule. We are also removing the 

references to propagation and 

replanting. Any premises at which 

nursery stock is grown or maintained 

could be a source of nursery stock that 

is moved interstate, regardless of the 

intended use of that nursery stock, and 

should be required to fulfill all 

applicable provisions of the regulations. 

Emergency Action 

This rulemaking is necessary on an 

emergency basis to address the 

ambiguities in § 301.75–6 and the risk 

associated with the interstate movement 

of citrus nursery stock and other 

regulated articles from areas 

quarantined for citrus canker. Under 

these circumstances, the Administrator 

has determined that prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment are 

contrary to the public interest and that 

there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 

for making this rule effective less than 

30 days after publication in the Federal 

Register. 

We will consider comments we 

receive during the comment period for 

this interim rule (see DATES above). 

After the comment period closes, we 

will publish another document in the 

Federal Register. The document will 

include a discussion of any comments 

we receive and any amendments we are 

making to the rule. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12866. The 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. 

This interim rule codifies existing 

policies and clarifies the regulations to 

prohibit the interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock from the 

quarantined area. Because the interstate 

movement of nursery stock from an area 

quarantined for citrus canker poses a 

high risk of spreading citrus canker 

outside the quarantined area, APHIS has 

prohibited this movement prior to the 

effective date of this interim rule. This 

change to the regulations will not have 

any effect on any entities, as it codifies 

existing procedures. In addition, the 

interim rule retains a provision of the 

regulations that allows the interstate 

movement of regulated nursery stock for 

immediate export, under certain 

conditions. 

The interim rule also provides for the 

interstate movement of calamondin and 

kumquat plants, two types of citrus 

plants that are highly resistant to citrus 

canker, if they are produced and moved 

under a protocol designed to ensure that 

they are free from citrus canker prior to 

movement. Prior to the publication of 

the August 2006 interim rule, which 

quarantined the entire State of Florida 

for citrus canker, the movement of all 

regulated nursery stock, including 

calamondin and kumquat plants, from 

the quarantined area was prohibited by 

Florida’s statutes and regulations. 

However, since the publication of the 

August 2006 interim rule, APHIS has 

recognized the lower risk associated 

with the interstate movement of 

calamondin and kumquat plants by 

allowing them to move under the 

protocol designed to ensure that they 

are free of citrus canker, similar to how 

APHIS allowed that movement before 

the September 1990 final rule discussed 

earlier in this document reduced the 

area quarantined for citrus canker to an 

area less than the entire State of Florida. 

We have allowed the movement of 

calamondin and kumquat plants, subject 

to the protocol, through administrative 

action pending the development of 

regulations. Adding these provisions to 

the regulations in this interim rule 

simply codifies existing procedures. 

Because the changes to the regulations 

made by this interim rule will not have 

any effect on current quarantine 

operations, we expect that they will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

any entities, whether large or small. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 13427 

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 12372 

This program/activity is listed in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

under No. 10.025 and is subject to 

Executive Order 12372, which requires 

intergovernmental consultation with 

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part 

3015, subpart V.) 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State 

and local laws and regulations that are 

inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no 

retroactive effect; and (3) does not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with section 3507(j) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements included in this interim 

rule have been submitted for emergency 

approval to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB). When OMB notifies 

us of its decision, we will publish a 

document in the Federal Register 

providing notice of the assigned OMB 

control number. 

We plan to request continuation of 

that approval for 3 years. Please send 

written comments on the 3-year 

approval request to the following 

addresses: (1) Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: 

Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington, DC 

20503; and (2) Docket No. APHIS–2007–

0032, Regulatory Analysis and 

Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–

03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. Please state 

that your comments refer to Docket No. 

APHIS–2007–0032 and send your 

comments within 60 days of publication 

of this rule. 

This interim rule amends the citrus 

canker regulations to prohibit the 

interstate movement of nursery stock, 

except calamondin and kumquat plants 

produced in accordance with a 

production protocol and moved 

interstate to areas other than 

commercial citrus production areas. The 

imposition of the movement 

requirement will require regulated 

parties to secure limited permits for the 

interstate movement of calamondin and 

kumquat plants. 

We are soliciting comments from the 

public (as well as affected agencies) 

concerning our information collection 

and recordkeeping requirements. These 

comments will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the information 

collection is necessary for the proper 

performance of our agency’s functions, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the 

information collection, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

information collection on those who are 

to respond (such as through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology; e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses). 

Estimate of burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 0.0015 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Citrus growers. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 8. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 10,025. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 80,200. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 120 hours. (Due to 

averaging, the total annual burden hours 

may not equal the product of the annual 

number of responses multiplied by the 

reporting burden per response). 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Mrs. Celeste 

Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 734–7477. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance with the E-Government Act 

to promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this interim rule, please contact Mrs. 

Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734–

7477. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

■ Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

part 301 as follows: 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation continues to 

read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781–

7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Section 301.75–15 issued under Sec. 204, 

Title II, Public Law 106–113, 113 Stat. 

1501A–293; sections 301.75–15 and 301.75–

16 issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 

106–224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note). 

■ 2. Section 301.75–1 is amended by 

removing the definition of regulated 

fruit, regulated plant, regulated seed, 

regulated tree, revising the definition of 

nursery, and adding, in alphabetical 

order, new definitions of nursery stock 

and regulated fruit, regulated nursery 

stock, regulated plant, regulated seed, 

regulated tree to read as follows: 

§ 301.75–1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Nursery. Any premises, including 

greenhouses but excluding any grove, at 

which nursery stock is grown or 

maintained. 

Nursery stock. Living plants and plant 

parts intended to be planted, to remain 

planted, or to be replanted. 

* * * * * 

Regulated fruit, regulated nursery 

stock, regulated plant, regulated seed, 

regulated tree. Any fruit, nursery stock, 

plant, seed, or tree defined as a 

regulated article. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 301.75–2, paragraph (a) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 301.75–2 General prohibitions. 

(a) Regulated articles may not be 

moved interstate from a quarantined 

area except in accordance with a 

protocol in §§ 301.75–6, 301.75–7, or 

301.75–8, or in accordance with 

§ 301.75–4 if less than an entire State is 

designated as a quarantined area. 

Regulated articles may be moved in 

accordance with the regulations in 

§ 301.75–9 for scientific or experimental 

purposes only. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Section 301.75–6 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 301.75–6 Interstate movement of 

regulated nursery stock from a quarantined 

area. 

(a) Regulated nursery stock may not 

be moved interstate from a quarantined 

area except for immediate export in 

accordance with paragraph (c) of this 

section; Provided, that calamondin and 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with RULES
13428 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 55 / Thursday, March 22, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

1To view the interim rule and the comments we 

received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, click on 

the ‘‘Advanced Search’’ tab, and select ‘‘Docket 

Search.’’ In the Docket ID field, enter APHIS–2006–

0138, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ Clicking on the Docket 

ID link in the search results page will produce a list 

of all documents in the docket. 

kumquat plants may be moved interstate 

from a quarantined area in accordance 

with paragraph (b) of this section. 

(b) Calamondin (Citrus mitus) and 

kumquat (Fortunella spp.) plants, with 

or without fruit attached, may be moved 

interstate from a quarantined area into 

any area of the United States except 

commercial citrus-producing areas if all 

of the following conditions are met: 

(1) The plants are own-root-only and 

have not been grafted or budded; 

(2) The plants are started, are grown, 

and have been maintained solely at the 

nursery from which they will be moved 

interstate. 

(3) If the plants are not grown from 

seed, then the cuttings used for 

propagation of the plants are taken from 

plants located on the same nursery 

premises or from another nursery that is 

eligible to produce calamondin and 

kumquat plants for interstate movement 

under the requirements of this 

paragraph (b). Cuttings may not be 

obtained from properties where citrus 

canker is present. 

(4) All citrus plants at the nursery 

premises have undergone State 

inspection and have been found to be 

free of citrus canker no less than three 

times. The inspections must be at 

intervals of 30 to 45 days, with the most 

recent inspection being within 30 days 

of the date on which the plants are 

removed and packed for shipment. 

(5) All vehicles, equipment, and other 

articles used in providing inspection, 

maintenance, or related services in the 

nursery must be treated in accordance 

with § 301.75–11(d) before entering the 

nursery to prevent the introduction of 

citrus canker. All personnel who enter 

the nursery to provide these services 

must be treated in accordance with 

§ 301.75–11(c) before entering the 

nursery to prevent the introduction of 

citrus canker. 

(6) If citrus canker is found in the 

nursery, all regulated plants and plant 

material must be removed from the 

nursery and all areas of the nursery’s 

facilities where plants are grown and all 

associated equipment and tools used at 

the nursery must be treated in 

accordance with § 301.75–11(d) in order 

for the nursery to be eligible to produce 

calamondin and kumquat plants to be 

moved interstate under this paragraph 

(b). Fifteen days after these actions are 

completed, the nursery may receive new 

calamondin and kumquat seed or 

cuttings from a nursery that is eligible 

to produce calamondin and kumquat 

plants for interstate movement under 

this paragraph (b). 

(7) The plants, except for plants that 

are hermetically sealed in plastic bags 

before leaving the nursery, are 

completely enclosed in containers or 

vehicle compartments during movement 

through the quarantined area. 

(8) The calamondin or kumquat plants 

or trees are accompanied by a limited 

permit issued in accordance with 

§ 301.75–12. The statement ‘‘Limited 

permit: Not for distribution in AZ, CA, 

HI, LA, TX, and American Samoa, 

Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 

Rico, and Virgin Islands of the United 

States’’ must be displayed on a plastic 

or metal tag attached to each plant, or 

on the box or container if the plant is 

sealed in plastic. In addition, this 

statement must be displayed on the 

outside of any shipping containers used 

to transport these plants, and the 

limited permit must be attached to the 

bill of lading or other shipping 

document that accompanies the plants. 

(c) Regulated nursery stock produced 

in a nursery located in a quarantined 

area that is not eligible for movement 

under paragraph (b) of this section may 

be moved interstate only for immediate 

export. The regulated nursery stock 

must be accompanied by a limited 

permit issued in accordance with 

§ 301.75–12 and must be moved in a 

container sealed by APHIS directly to 

the port of export in accordance with 

the conditions of the limited permit. 

■ 5. Section 301.75–7 is amended by 

redesignating paragraph (a)(5) as 

paragraph (a)(6) and by adding a new 

paragraph (a)(5) to read as follows: 

§ 301.75–7 Interstate movement of 

regulated fruit from a quarantined area. 

(a) * * * 

(5) All vehicles, equipment, and other 

articles used in providing inspection, 

maintenance, harvesting, or related 

services in the grove must be treated in 

accordance with § 301.75–11(d) upon 

leaving the grove. All personnel who 

enter the grove or premises to provide 

these services must be treated in 

accordance with § 301.75–11(c) upon 

leaving the grove. 

* * * * * 

§ 301.75–12 [Amended] 

■ 6. In § 301.75–12, the introductory 

text of paragraph (b)(1) is amended by 

removing the word ‘‘Certificates’’ and 

adding the words ‘‘Except as provided 

in § 301.75–6(b)(8) for calamondin and 

kumquat plants, certificates’’ in its 

place. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of 

March 2007. 

Nick Gutierrez, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–5229 Filed 3–21–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 78 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0138] 

Brucellosis in Cattle; State and Area 

Classifications; Wyoming 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final 

rule, without change, an interim rule 

that amended the brucellosis regulations 

concerning the interstate movement of 

cattle by changing the classification of 

Wyoming from Class A to Class Free. 

We have determined that Wyoming 

meets the standards for Class Free 

status. This action relieves certain 

restrictions on the interstate movement 

of cattle from Wyoming. 

DATES: Effective on March 22, 2007, we 

are adopting as a final rule the interim 

rule published at 71 FR 54402–54404 on 

September 15, 2006. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Debbi A. Donch, Senior Staff 

Veterinarian, Ruminant Health 

Programs, National Center for Animal 

Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1231; (301) 734–5952. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Brucellosis is a contagious disease 

affecting animals and humans, caused 

by bacteria of the genus Brucella. 

The brucellosis regulations, contained 

in 9 CFR part 78 (referred to below as 

the regulations), provide a system for 

classifying States or portions of States 

according to the rate of Brucella 

infection present and the general 

effectiveness of a brucellosis control and 

eradication program. The classifications 

are Class Free, Class A, Class B, and 

Class C. States or areas that do not meet 

the minimum standards for Class C are 

required to be placed under Federal 

quarantine. 

In an interim rule 1 effective 

September 12, 2006, and published in 

the Federal Register on September 15, 

2006 (71 FR 54402–54404, Docket No. 

APHIS–2006–0138), we amended the 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with RULES