32310 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 8, 2010 / 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. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0022] 

RIN 0579-AD14 

Importation of Fresh Unshu Oranges 

from the Republic of Korea into the 

Continental United States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the regulations concerning the 

importation of citrus fruit to remove 

certain restrictions on the importation of 

Unshu oranges from the Republic of 

Korea that are no longer necessary. 

Specifically, we propose to remove 

requirements for the fruit to be grown in 

specified canker-free export areas and 

for joint inspection in the groves and 

packinghouses by the Government of 

the Republic of Korea and the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service. We 

would also clarify that surface 

sterilization of the fruit must be 

conducted in accordance with 7 CFR 

part 305, and we would expand the area 

in the continental United States where 

Unshu oranges from the Republic of 

Korea may be distributed. Finally, we 

would require that each shipment be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate containing an additional 

declaration stating that the fruit was 

given the required surface sterilization 

and inspected and found free of Elsinoe 

australis. These proposed changes 

would make the regulations concerning 

the importation of Unshu oranges from 

the Republic of Korea consistent with 

our domestic regulations concerning the 

interstate movement of citrus fruit from 

areas quarantined because of citrus 

canker. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before August 9, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

∑ Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

(http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2010-0022) to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

∑ Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send one copy of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0022, 

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. APHIS2010-0022. 

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: Ms. 

Meredith C. Jones, Regulatory 

Coordination Specialist, Regulations, 

Permits, and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 156, Riverdale, 

MD 20737; (301) 734-7467. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Citrus canker is a disease that affects 

citrus and is caused by the infectious 

bacterium Xanthomonas citri subsp. 

citri. Currently, the regulations in 7 CFR 

319.28 (referred to below as the 

regulations) allow the importation of 

Unshu oranges (Citrus reticulata var. 

unshu) from certain areas in Japan and 

from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea 

(South Korea), into the United States 

under permit and after the specified 

safeguards of a preclearance program 

have been met to prevent the 

introduction of citrus canker. 

Under the current regulations, Unshu 

oranges intended for export to the 

United States from the specified regions 

in Japan and South Korea must be 

grown and packed in isolated, cankerfree export areas established by the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of the country of origin. The 

regulations also require the joint 

inspection of the fruit by the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) of the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) and the NPPO of 

the country of origin in the groves prior 

to and during harvest, and in the 

packinghouses during packing 

operations. Surface sterilization of the 

fruit, as prescribed by the USDA, is 

required prior to packing. Because 

commercial citrus-producing areas in 

the United States have a higher density 

of citrus plantings than do other areas 

and unless adequate risk mitigation 

measures are in place may be more 

susceptible to the introduction of citrus 

diseases, Unshu oranges from Cheju 

Island, South Korea, cannot be imported 

under the existing regulations into 

American Samoa, Arizona, California, 

Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, the Northern 

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands (referred to 

collectively in this document as 

commercial citrus-producing States). 

Currently, Unshu oranges from South 

Korea are only being imported into 

Alaska. Importation of Unshu oranges 

from South Korea into other authorized 

areas of the United States was 

administratively suspended in 2002 due 

to an increased number of interceptions 

of fruit with symptoms of citrus canker 

during inspection at various 

packinghouses in South Korea. In 2005, 

however, the NPPO of South Korea 

requested that APHIS allow the 

importation of Unshu oranges into the 

State of Alaska until the pest risks 

associated with Unshu oranges from 

South Korea could be mitigated to a 

level sufficient to allow shipments to 

resume to the rest of the United States. 

In response to that request, APHIS 

prepared a pest risk analysis (PRA), and 

on October 25, 2007, we published in 

the Federal Register (72 FR 60537- 

60541, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0133) a 

final rule allowing Unshu oranges into 

Alaska, provided that the oranges were 

prepared for shipping in accordance 

with our requirements for culling, 

cleaning, and labeling and were 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate stating that the fruit was 

inspected and determined to be free of 

citrus canker and arrowhead scale. 

The NPPO of the Republic of Korea 

has more recently submitted a request to 

APHIS to allow the importation of 

Unshu oranges from Cheju Island, 

Republic of Korea, into the continental 

United States. In response to that 

request, we have developed an updated 

PRA, which is based on the previous 

PRA for imports into Alaska and which 

incorporates new evidence found in the 

ensuing 2 years. The updated PRA can 

be viewed on the Internet on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room.1

The updated PRA, ‘‘Importation of 

Unshu Orange Fruit, Citrus reticulata 

Blanco var. unshu Swingle, from Korea 

into the Continental United States’’ 

(December 2009), identifies two pests, 

Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri and 

Elsinoe australis (the causal agents of 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 32311 

2 International Plant Protection Convention 

Glossary, (https://www.ippc.int/ 

index.php?id=1110483), 2007. 

3Part 305 contains requirements for 

administering approved treatments. As noted in 

§ 305.2(b), approved treatment schedules are set out 

in the Plant Protection and Quarantine Treatment 

Manual, available at (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

import_export/plants/manuals/ports/

treatment.shtml). The approved citrus canker 

treatment schedule for imported citrus fruit is the 

same as that for domestic citrus fruit. 

citrus canker and sweet orange scab, 

respectively), that are associated with 

Unshu oranges as quarantine pests. A 

quarantine pest is defined by the 

International Plant Protection 

Convention 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.’’2 Elsinoe australis, which we 

have considered to be a quarantine pest, 

had not been identified previously as 

such in relation to the importation of 

Unshu oranges from South Korea 

because it had not been known to be 

present in that country. It was detected 

in South Korea, however, in 2009. 

Conversely, arrowhead scale, Unaspis 

yanonensis, which we had identified as 

a quarantine pest in the earlier version 

of the PRA that we published in 

conjunction with the rulemaking 

allowing Unshu oranges from South 

Korea to be imported into Alaska, does 

not fall into that category in the updated 

PRA. A recent critical review of the 

scientific literature and our own 

operational data led us to conclude that, 

even assuming high quantities of 

imported fruit infested with armored 

scale species, such as arrowhead scale, 

the specific pathway represented by 

commercially produced fruit shipped 

without leaves, stems, or contaminants, 

in accordance with our general 

requirements for the importation of 

fruits and vegetables in § 319.56-3, 

poses an extremely low risk of 

introducing such pests to the U.S. citrus 

crop. 

In our updated PRA, the two 

identified quarantine pests, 

Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri and 

Elsinoe australis, were rated as having a 

medium pest risk potential. Pests 

receiving a rating within the medium 

range may require specific 

phytosanitary measures in addition to 

standard port-of-entry inspection. 

The PRA included a risk management 

document outlining the conditions 

under which Unshu oranges from Cheju 

Island, Republic of Korea, could safely 

be imported into the continental United 

States and Alaska. The conditions 

include surface treatment of the fruit in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305 prior to 

packing, registration of the 

packinghouse in which the treatment is 

applied and the fruit is packed with the 

NPPO of South Korea, and certification 

that the fruit has been treated in 

accordance with the regulations and has 

been inspected and found to be free of 

sweet orange scab. Scientific evidence 

indicates that commercially packed and 

disinfected fresh citrus fruit is not an 

epidemiologically significant pathway 

for the spread of Xanthomonas citri 

subsp. citri. Therefore, Unshu oranges 

from South Korea meeting those 

conditions can be imported into the 

United States without posing an 

epidemiologically significant risk to the 

U.S. citrus crop of infection with citrus 

canker. Inspection by the NPPO of 

South Korea of Unshu oranges for 

symptoms of sweet orange scab prior to 

export is considered to offer adequate 

protection against introducing that 

disease to the U.S. citrus crop because 

the symptoms can be detected if 

present, and if the symptoms are not 

present, the Unshu oranges are unlikely 

to be a pathway for sweet orange scab. 

We are therefore proposing to 

incorporate those requirements into the 

regulations in § 319.28 pertaining to the 

importation of Unshu oranges from 

South Korea. (As noted above, the 

existing regulations do require surface 

sterilization of the fruit as prescribed by 

the USDA. Because we have determined 

that the use of a post-harvest 

disinfectant in accordance with 7 CFR 

part 305 is the most effective mitigation 

for citrus canker, we are proposing to 

state explicitly that the treatment must 

be conducted in accordance with part 

305.)3 We are also proposing additional 

changes that would eliminate certain 

requirements associated with the 

importation of Unshu oranges from 

South Korea that we consider no longer 

to be necessary. Specifically, we would 

remove the requirements for the oranges 

to be grown in specified canker-free 

areas and for joint inspection of the fruit 

by the South Korean NPPO and APHIS 

prior to and during harvest and in the 

packinghouses during packing 

operations. 

Some of the changes we are 

proposing, in addition to eliminating 

restrictions that are no longer necessary, 

would also help to harmonize the 

regulations with our domestic citrus 

canker regulations. In a final rule 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 22, 2009 (74 FR 54431-54445, 

Docket No. APHIS-2009-0023), we 

amended the conditions under which 

fruit may be moved interstate from an 

area quarantined for citrus canker by 

removing certain restrictions that we 

considered to be no longer necessary. 

That final rule removed a requirement 

for an APHIS inspector to be in the 

packinghouse and inspect fruit leaving 

an area quarantined for citrus canker, as 

well as a prohibition on the interstate 

movement of citrus fruit from 

quarantined areas to commercial citrusproducing States. Our proposed removal 

of the requirements for Unshu oranges 

exported to the United States to have 

been produced in specified canker-free 

areas and jointly inspected by the NPPO 

of South Korea and APHIS in the groves 

and packinghouses, and our proposed 

removal of the prohibition on the 

exportation of the fruit into commercial 

citrus-producing States in the 

continental United States would parallel 

those changes to the domestic 

regulations. Similarly, our proposed 

requirement that South Korean 

packinghouses be registered with the 

NPPO of South Korea would also 

contribute to harmonizing our import 

requirements with our domestic ones by 

paralleling a requirement in § 301.75-7 

that owners or operators of 

packinghouses where packing of fruit 

regulated for citrus canker occurs enter 

into compliance agreements with 

APHIS. 

Reorganization of the Regulations 

Pertaining to the Importation of Unshu 

Oranges 

The requirements for the importation 

of Unshu oranges from Japan and South 

Korea are contained in § 319.28(b) and 

(c) of the current regulations. Paragraph 

(b) contains provisions applicable to 

imports from both countries, while the 

requirements governing the importation 

of Unshu oranges from South Korea into 

Alaska, codified in our October 2007 

final rule, are found in paragraph (c). 

Because our PRA covered imports from 

South Korea only, we are not proposing 

to make any changes at this time to the 

requirements regarding the importation 

of Unshu oranges from Japan. The 

import requirements discussed in 

paragraph (b) that heretofore have 

applied to both countries would, under 

this proposed rule, remain in effect only 

for Japan. It is, therefore, necessary to 

reorganize paragraphs (b) and (c) of 

§ 319.28 to separate the provisions for 

South Korea and Japan. Under this 

proposed rule, the requirements for the 

importation of Unshu oranges from 

Japan would continue to be contained in 

paragraph (b). The proposed 

requirements discussed above 

pertaining to the importation of Unshu 

oranges from South Korea would be 

located in paragraph (c). Since the 

importation of Unshu oranges into 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
32312 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

Alaska would be subject to the same 

conditions as fruit imported into other 

areas of the United States, the Alaskaspecific requirements contained in 

current paragraph (c) would be 

removed. 

Proposed paragraph (c)(1) would state 

that before packing, the oranges would 

have to be given a surface sterilization 

in accordance with part 305. Paragraph 

(c)(2) would contain the requirement for 

the packinghouse to be registered with 

the NPPO of the Republic of Korea. 

Paragraph (c)(3) would state that the 

oranges would have to be accompanied 

by a phytosanitary certificate issued by 

the NPPO of South Korea that would 

include an additional declaration stating 

that the fruit was subjected to the 

required sterilization and was inspected 

and found free of Elsinoe australis, the 

causal agent of sweet orange scab. 

Finally, paragraph (c)(4) would state 

that the Unshu oranges could be 

imported into any area of the United 

States except Hawaii and the U.S. 

territories listed in that paragraph. The 

PRA did not evaluate the risk of 

importing Unshu oranges from South 

Korea into Hawaii and the listed 

territories, so we would not remove the 

restrictions on such imports. 

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 remove 

certain restrictions on the importation of 

Unshu oranges from South Korea that 

are no longer necessary and expand the 

area in the continental United States 

where Unshus from South Korea may be 

distributed. 

The impact of Unshu orange imports 

from South Korea is expected to be 

minimal for U.S. domestic producers. 

The United States does not 

commercially produce Unshu oranges, 

and price differences suggest that they 

are not a close substitute for U.S.-grown 

mandarin varieties, such as tangerines. 

Effects of the proposed rule in terms of 

product displacement may be borne by 

Japanese exporters, since Japan is 

currently the other major supplier of 

Unshu oranges to the United States. 

Even if all Unshu orange imports from 

South Korea were to directly replace a 

portion of U.S.-grown tangerine 

consumption, the effect on U.S. 

producers would be still insignificant. 

Under such a scenario, annual imports 

of Unshu oranges from South Korea of 

2,000 metric tons (the upper limit of the 

projected range of imports, which 

would well surpass the peak import 

volume of 1,611 metric tons recorded in 

2002) would displace only 0.6 percent 

of fresh tangerines produced by U.S. 

operations in 2008-2009. Even a small 

impact such as this for U.S. producers 

is highly unlikely. 

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 would allow 

Unshu oranges to be imported into the 

United States from Cheju Island, 

Republic of Korea. If this proposed rule 

is adopted, State and local laws and 

regulations regarding Unshu oranges 

imported under this rule would be 

preempted while the fruit is in foreign 

commerce. Fresh fruits and vegetables 

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-by-case basis. If this 

proposed rule is adopted, 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 

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 319.28 is amended by 

revising paragraphs (b) and (c) to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.28 Notice of quarantine. 

* * * * * 

(b) Unshu oranges from Japan. The 

prohibition does not apply to Unshu 

oranges (Citrus reticulata Blanco var. 

unshu, Swingle [Citrus unshiu 

Marcovitch, Tanaka]), also known as 

Satsuma mandarin, grown in Japan and 

imported under permit into any area of 

the United States except for those areas 

specified in paragraph (b)(7) of this 

section: Provided, that each of the 

following safeguards is fully carried out: 

(1) The Unshu oranges must be grown 

and packed in isolated, canker-free 

export areas established by the plant 

protection service of Japan. Only Unshu 

orange trees may be grown in these 

areas, which must be kept free of all 

citrus other than the propagative 

material of Unshu oranges. The export 

areas must be inspected and found free 

of citrus canker and prohibited plant 

material by qualified plant protection 

officers of both Japan and the United 

States. The export areas must be 

surrounded by 400-meter-wide buffer 

zones. The buffer zones must be kept 

free of all citrus other than the following 

10 varieties: Buntan Hirado (Citrus 

grandis); Buntan Vietnam (C. grandis); 

Hassaku (C. hassaku); Hyuganatsu (C. 

tamurana); Kinkan (Fortunella spp. non 

Fortunella hindsii); Kiyomi tangor 

(hybrid); Orange Hyuga (C. tamurana); 

Ponkan (C. reticulata); Unshu (C. unshiu 

Marcovitch, Tanaka [Citrus reticulata 

Blanco var. unshu, Swingle]); and Yuzu 

(C. junos). The buffer zones must be 

inspected and found free of citrus 

canker and prohibited plant material by 

qualified plant protection officers of 

both Japan and the United States. 

(2) In Unshu orange export areas and 

buffer zones on Kyushu Island, Japan, 

trapping for the citrus fruit fly 

(Bactrocera tsuneonis) must be 

conducted as prescribed by the Japanese 

Government’s Ministry of Agriculture, 

Forestry, and Fisheries and the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. If fruit flies 

are detected, then shipping will be 

suspended from the export area until 

negative trapping shows the problem 

has been resolved. 

(3) Inspection of the Unshu oranges 

shall be performed jointly by plant 

protection officers of Japan and the 

United States in the groves prior to and 

during harvest, and in the 

packinghouses during packing 

operations. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 109 / Tuesday, June 8, 2010 / Proposed Rules 32313 

(4) Before packing, such oranges shall 

be given a surface sterilization as 

prescribed by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture. 

(5) To be eligible for importation into 

Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, 

Louisiana, or Texas, each shipment of 

oranges grown on Honshu Island or 

Shikoku Island, Japan, must be 

fumigated with methyl bromide in 

accordance with part 305 of this chapter 

after harvest and prior to exportation to 

the United States. Fumigation will not 

be required for shipments of oranges 

grown on Honshu Island or Shikoku 

Island, Japan, that are to be imported 

into States other than Arizona, 

California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, 

or Texas. 

(6) The identity of the fruit shall be 

maintained in the following manner: 

(i) The individual boxes in which the 

oranges are shipped must be stamped or 

printed with a statement specifying the 

States into which the Unshu oranges 

may be imported, and from which they 

are prohibited removal under a Federal 

plant quarantine. 

(ii) Each shipment of oranges handled 

in accordance with these procedures 

shall be accompanied by a certificate of 

the plant protection service of Japan 

certifying that the fruit is apparently 

free of citrus canker disease. 

(7) The Unshu oranges may be 

imported into the United States only 

through a port of entry identified in 

§ 319.37-14 that is located in an area of 

the United States into which their 

importation is authorized. The 

following importation restrictions 

apply: 

(i) Unshu oranges from Honshu Island 

or Shikoku Island, Japan, that have been 

fumigated in accordance with part 305 

of this chapter may be imported into 

any area of the United States except 

American Samoa, the Northern Mariana 

Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands. 

(ii) Unshu oranges from Honshu 

Island or Shikoku Island, Japan, and 

from Kyushu Island, Japan (Prefectures 

of Fukuoka, Kumanmoto, Nagasaki, and 

Saga only), that have not been fumigated 

in accordance with part 305 of this 

chapter may be imported into any area 

of the United States except American 

Samoa, Arizona, California, Florida, 

Hawaii, Louisiana, the Northern 

Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

(c) Unshu oranges from the Republic 

of Korea. The prohibition does not 

apply to Unshu oranges (Citrus 

reticulata Blanco var. unshu, Swingle 

[Citrus unshiu Marcovitch, Tanaka]), 

also known as Satsuma mandarin, 

grown on Cheju Island, Republic of 

Korea, and imported under permit into 

any area of the United States except for 

those specified in paragraph (c)(4) of 

this section, Provided, that each of the 

following safeguards is fully carried out: 

(1) Before packing, such oranges shall 

be given a surface sterilization in 

accordance with part 305 of this 

chapter. 

(2) The packinghouse in which the 

surface sterilization treatment is applied 

and the fruit is packed must be 

registered with the national plant 

protection organization of the Republic 

of Korea. 

(3) The Unshu oranges must be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate issued by the national plant 

protection organization of the Republic 

of Korea, which includes an additional 

declaration stating that the fruit was 

given a surface sterilization in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305 and was 

inspected and found free of Elsinoe 

australis. 

(4) The Unshu oranges may be 

imported into any area of the United 

States except American Samoa, Hawaii, 

the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 

Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

* * * * * 

Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day 

of June 2010. 

Kevin Shea 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–13718 Filed 6–7–10: 6:37 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–S 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

7 CFR Part 1755 

Specifications and Drawings for 

Construction Direct Buried Plant 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed Rule. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS) proposes to amend its regulations 

on Telecommunications Standards and 

Specifications for Materials, Equipment 

and Construction, by revising RUS 

Bulletin 1753F–150, Specifications and 

Drawings for Construction of Direct 

Buried Plant (Form 515a). The revised 

specification will include new 

construction units for Fiber-to-theHome, remove redundant or outdated 

requirements, and simplify the 

specification format. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by RUS or be postmarked no 

later than August 9, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments by either 

of the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and, in the 

lower ‘‘Search Regulations and Federal 

Actions’’ box, select ‘‘Rural Utilities 

Service’’ from the agency drop-down 

menu, then click on ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

Docket ID column, select RUS–2010– 

Telecom-0003 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 your comment addressed to 

Michele Brooks, Director, Program 

Development and Regulatory Analysis, 

USDA–Rural Utilities Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue, STOP 1522, 

Room 5159, Washington, DC 20250– 

1522. Please state that your comment 

refers to Docket No. RUS–2010– 

Telecom-0003. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about Rural Development 

and its programs is available on the 

Internet at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ 

index.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Norberto Esteves, Chair, Technical 

Standards Committee ‘‘A’’ 

(Telecommunications), Advanced 

Services Division, Telecommunications 

Program, USDA–Rural Utilities Service, 

STOP 1550, Washington, DC 20250– 

1550. Telephone: (202) 720–0699; Fax: 

(202) 205–2924; e-mail: 

norberto.esteves@wdc.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Executive Order 12866 

This rule is exempted from the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

review for purposes of Executive Order 

12866 and, therefore, has not been 

reviewed by OMB. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. USDA Rural 

Development has determined that this 

proposed rule meets the applicable 

standards provided in section 3 of the 

Executive Order. In addition, all state 

and local laws and regulations that are 

in conflict with this proposed rule will 

be preempted; no retroactive effect will 

be given to the rule, and, in accordance 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS