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

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

22663 

Vol. 77, No. 74 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012 

1To view the interim rule, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2010-0128. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0128] 

Asian Longhorned Beetle; Additions to 

Quarantined Areas in Massachusetts 

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 Asian longhorned 

beetle (ALB) regulations by quarantining 

portions of Suffolk and Norfolk 

Counties, MA, and expanding the 

quarantined area in Worcester County, 

MA. The interim rule also amended the 

regulations to add plants of the genus 

Koelreuteria (golden raintree) to the list 

of regulated articles. The interim rule, 

which restricted the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from 

these areas, was necessary to prevent 

the artificial spread of ALB to 

noninfested areas of the United States. 

DATES: Effective on April 17, 2012, we 

are adopting as a final rule the interim 

rule published at 76 FR 52541–52543 on 

August 23, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and 

Manuals, PPQ, APHIS; 4700 River Road, 

Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 

(301) 851–2352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB, 

Anoplophora glabripennis), an insect 

native to China, Japan, Korea, and the 

Isle of Hainan, is a destructive pest of 

hardwood trees. It attacks many healthy 

hardwood trees, including maple, horse 

chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, and 

elm. In addition, nursery stock, logs, 

green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, 

branches, and wood debris of half an 

inch or more in diameter are subject to 

infestation. The beetle bores into the 

heartwood of a host tree, eventually 

killing the tree. Immature beetles bore 

into tree trunks and branches, causing 

heavy sap flow from wounds and 

sawdust accumulating at tree bases. 

The regulations in 7 CFR 301.51–1 

through 301.51–9 restrict the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from 

quarantined areas to prevent the 

artificial spread of ALB to noninfested 

areas of the United States. 

In an interim rule 1 effective and 

published in the Federal Register on 

August 23, 2011 (76 FR 52541–52543, 

Docket No. APHIS–2010–0128), we 

amended the regulations by expanding 

the quarantined area in Worcester 

County, MA, and adding portions of 

Suffolk and Norfolk Counties, MA, after 

surveys revealed that infestations of 

ALB have occurred in those areas. We 

also amended the list of regulated 

articles by adding Koelreuteria spp. 

(golden raintree) because studies 

conducted in China by APHIS scientists 

have found ALB completing a full life 

cycle in trees of this genus in the 

environment. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before 

October 24, 2011. We did not receive 

any comments. Therefore, for the 

reasons given in the interim rule, we are 

adopting the interim rule as a final rule 

without change. 

This action also affirms the 

information contained in the interim 

rule concerning Executive Order 12866 

and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 

Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and 

the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Further, for this action, the Office of 

Management and Budget has waived its 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ Accordingly, we are adopting as a 

final rule, without change, the interim 

rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and 

that was published at 76 FR 52541– 

52543 on August 23, 2011. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of 

April 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9178 Filed 4–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0024] 

RIN 0579–AD38 

Importation of Pomegranates From 

Chile Under a Systems Approach 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the fruits 

and vegetables regulations to allow the 

importation into the continental United 

States of pomegranates from Chile, 

subject to a systems approach. Under 

this systems approach, the fruit would 

have to be grown in a place of 

production that is registered with the 

national plant protection organization of 

Chile and certified as having a low 

prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis. The 

fruit would have to undergo pre-harvest 

sampling at the registered production 

site. Following post-harvest processing, 

the fruit would have to be inspected in 

Chile at an approved inspection site. 

Each consignment of fruit would have to 

be accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate with an additional 

declaration stating that the fruit had 

been found free of Brevipalpus chilensis 

based on field and packinghouse 

inspections. This action will allow for 

the safe importation of fresh 

pomegranates from Chile using 

mitigation measures other than 

fumigation with methyl bromide. 

DATES: Effective Date: May 17, 2012. 


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22664 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 17, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

1To view the proposed rule, supporting 

documents, and the comments we received, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and 

Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 851–2352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart—Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–54, referred to below as 

the regulations) 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 within 

the United States. 

On March 16, 2011, we published in 

the Federal Register (76 FR 14320– 

14323, Docket No. APHIS–2010–0024) a 

proposal 1 to amend the regulations by 

allowing pomegranates and figs from 

Chile to be imported into the United 

States subject to a systems approach. 

Under this systems approach, the fruit 

would have to be grown in a place of 

production that is registered with the 

national plant protection organization of 

Chile and certified as having a low 

prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis. The 

fruit would have to undergo pre-harvest 

sampling at the registered production 

site. Following post-harvest processing, 

the fruit would have to be inspected in 

Chile at an approved inspection site. 

Each consignment of fruit would have to 

be accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate with an additional 

declaration stating that the fruit had 

been found free of Brevipalpus chilensis 

based on field and packinghouse 

inspections. 

We solicited comments concerning 

our proposal for 60 days ending May 16, 

2011. We received 28 comments by that 

date. They were from private citizens, 

port terminal operators, fruit 

wholesalers, producers, importers, 

exporters, trade associations, and 

representatives of State and foreign 

governments. 

Several of the comments we received 

were focused on figs, with the 

commenters raising concerns about the 

efficacy of the systems approach in 

addressing the risks associated with figs 

grown in Chile. In order to allow us 

more time to consider those issues 

without delaying action on approving 

the use of the systems approach for 

pomegranates, we have decided to not 

finalize the proposed provisions related 

to the importation of figs from Chile at 

this time, but may do so in a subsequent 

action. This final rule only addresses 

the comments we received on the 

proposed importation of pomegranates 

from Chile. 

Twenty-two of the commenters 

supported the proposed rule in its 

entirety. One comment concerning the 

importation of Chilean pomegranates 

did not raise any issues related to the 

pest risk analysis or proposed rule. The 

remaining comments on the importation 

of pomegranates are discussed below by 

topic. 

One commenter opposed the use of 

the methods described in the proposed 

rule to mitigate the potential entry of the 

quarantine pest Brevipalpus chilensis 

(Acari: Tenuipalpidae) into the 

commenter’s State until a pest-free track 

record is established in shipments of 

pomegranate from Chile that are 

received in areas that are lower risk than 

the commenter’s State for the pest’s 

establishment in the United States. 

The mitigation measures for B. 

chilensis on pomegranates from Chile 

have been previously evaluated and 

proven effective in mitigating the risks 

presented by B. chilensis on other 

commodities from Chile, and we will 

continuously monitor the effectiveness 

of those mitigations with port-of-entry 

inspections. We do not consider it 

necessary to restrict the distribution of 

pomegranates from Chile when proven 

mitigations are available to mitigate the 

pest risk and will be required as a 

condition of importation. 

One commenter asked that the 

proposed rule be revised to specify that 

Chilean pomegranates may not be 

imported into Hawaii in order to protect 

locally grown pomegranate crops. 

We proposed that pomegranates from 

Chile would only be eligible for 

importation into the continental United 

States. By definition, the continental 

United States encompasses the lower 48 

states, Alaska, and the District of 

Columbia, while excluding Hawaii. Our 

permitting process will allow us to 

effectively implement the distribution 

limitation, as it currently does for many 

other commodities that are not allowed 

to be imported into Hawaii. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

proposed rule and in this document, we 

are adopting the proposed rule as a final 

rule, with the change discussed in this 

document. 

Note: In our March 2011 proposed rule, we 

proposed to add the conditions governing the 

importation of pomegranates from Chile as 

§ 319.56–51. In this final rule, those 

conditions are added as § 319.56–56. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This 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 footnote 1 

for a link to Regulations.gov). 

Pomegranates may be imported into 

the continental United States when 

fumigated with methyl bromide. This 

rule will allow the importation of fresh 

pomegranate fruit from Chile using a 

systems approach to pest risk 

mitigation. Under this systems 

approach, the fruit will be grown in a 

place of production that is registered 

with the Government of Chile and 

certified as having a low prevalence of 

B. chilensis. The fruit will undergo preharvest sampling and post-harvest 

inspection. Each consignment of fruit 

will be accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate with an additional 

declaration stating that the fruit had 

been found free of B. chilensis based on 

field and packinghouse inspections. 

Entities potentially affected by the 

rule are U.S. pomegranate fruit growers. 

They are classified within the industry 

Other Non-citrus Fruit Farming, for 

which the Small Business 

Administration’s small entity standard 

is annual sales of not more than 

$750,000. Annual receipts for this 

industry averaged about $112,000 in 

2007, well below the small-entity 

standard. 

While most U.S. pomegranate 

operations are small, they are not 

expected to be significantly affected by 

the rule. Relatively small quantities of 

pomegranates are expected to be 

imported from Chile because of this 

rule, equivalent to less than 4 percent of 

the estimated U.S. production of 

pomegranates consumed domestically 

in recent years. Moreover, Chilean 

pomegranates will be imported during 

the U.S. off-season. The counterseasonality will preclude negative price 

impacts for U.S. producers. Off-season 

availability of pomegranates from Chile 

may help broaden demand for this fruit, 

thereby benefiting domestic producers 

over time. 

Under these circumstances, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 17, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 22665 

determined that this action will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule allows fresh 

pomegranates to be imported into the 

continental United States from Chile. 

State and local laws and regulations 

regarding fresh pomegranates imported 

under this rule will be preempted while 

the fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh 

pomegranates are generally imported for 

immediate distribution and sale to the 

consuming public and would remain in 

foreign commerce until sold to the 

ultimate consumer. The question of 

when foreign commerce ceases in other 

cases must be addressed on a case-bycase basis. No retroactive effect will be 

given to this rule, and this rule will not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.), the information collection or 

recordkeeping requirements included in 

this rule have been approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under OMB control number 

0579–0375. Because we are not 

finalizing the provisions in the 

proposed rule related to the importation 

of figs from Chile, this approval covers 

only the information collection and 

recordkeeping requirements associated 

with the importation of pomegranates 

from Chile. 

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 rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste 

Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2908. 

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 are amending 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. A new § 319.56–56 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–56 Fresh pomegranates from 

Chile. 

Fresh pomegranates (Punica 

granatum) may be imported into the 

continental United States from Chile 

under the following conditions: 

(a) Production site registration. The 

production site where the fruit is grown 

must be registered with the national 

plant protection organization (NPPO) of 

Chile. Harvested pomegranates must be 

placed in field cartons or containers that 

are marked to show the official 

registration number of the production 

site. Registration must be renewed 

annually. 

(b) Low-prevalence production site 

certification. The fruit must originate 

from a low-prevalence production site 

to be imported under the conditions in 

this section. Between 1 and 30 days 

prior to harvest, random samples of fruit 

must be collected from each registered 

production site under the direction of 

the NPPO of Chile. These samples must 

undergo a pest detection and evaluation 

method as follows: The fruit must be 

washed using a flushing method, placed 

in a 20-mesh sieve on top of a 200-mesh 

sieve, sprinkled with a liquid soap and 

water solution, washed with water at 

high pressure, and washed with water at 

low pressure. The process must then be 

repeated. The contents of the 200-mesh 

sieve must then be placed on a petri 

dish and analyzed for the presence of 

live Brevipalpus chilensis mites. If a 

single live B. chilensis mite is found, the 

production site will not qualify for 

certification as a low-prevalence 

production site. Each production site 

may have only one opportunity per 

season to qualify as a low-prevalence 

production site, and certification of low 

prevalence will be valid for one harvest 

season only. The NPPO of Chile will 

present a list of certified production 

sites to APHIS. 

(c) Post-harvest processing. After 

harvest, all damaged or diseased fruits 

must be culled at the packinghouse and 

must be packed into new, clean boxes, 

crates, or other APHIS-approved 

packing containers. Each container in 

which the fruit is packed must have a 

label identifying the registered 

production site where the fruit 

originated and the packing shed where 

it was packed. 

(d) Phytosanitary inspection. Fruit 

must be inspected in Chile at an APHISapproved inspection site under the 

direction of APHIS inspectors in 

coordination with the NPPO of Chile 

following any post-harvest processing. 

A biometric sample must be drawn and 

examined from each consignment. 

Pomegranates in any consignment may 

be shipped to the continental United 

States under the conditions of this 

section only if the consignment passes 

inspection as follows: 

(1) Fruit presented for inspection 

must be identified in the shipping 

documents accompanying each lot of 

fruit to specify the production site or 

sites in which the fruit was produced 

and the packing shed or sheds in which 

the fruit was processed. This 

identification must be maintained until 

the fruit is released for entry into the 

United States. 

(2) A biometric sample of the boxes, 

crates, or other APHIS-approved 

packing containers from each 

consignment will be selected by the 

NPPO of Chile, and the fruit from these 

boxes, crates, or other APHIS-approved 

packing containers will be visually 

inspected for quarantine pests. A 

portion of the fruit must be washed with 

soapy water and the collected filtrate 

must be microscopically examined for 

B. chilensis. If a single live B. chilensis 

mite is found during the inspection 

process, the certified low-prevalence 

production site where the fruit was 

grown will lose its certification. 

(e) Phytosanitary certificate. Each 

consignment of fresh pomegranates 

must be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate issued by the 

NPPO of Chile that contains an 

additional declaration stating that the 

fruit in the consignment was inspected 

and found free of Brevipalpus chilensis 

based on field and packinghouse 

inspections. 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0579–0375) 

Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of 

April 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–9184 Filed 4–16–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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