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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 92887-92888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27563]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0032]

Deregulation of Light Brown Apple Moth for the Importation of 
Fruit From New Zealand Into the United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a commodity 
import evaluation document (CIED) relative to deregulating light brown 
apple moth (LBAM) requirements for fruit imported from New Zealand into 
the United States. Currently, fruit imported from New Zealand into the 
United States must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with 
an additional declaration stating that the fruit is free of LBAM. Based 
on the findings of the CIED, we are proposing to remove the requirement 
for the additional declaration. Accordingly, we propose to revise the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements database regarding 
LBAM requirements for fruit imported from New Zealand into the United 
States. These proposed changes would harmonize our domestic and import 
requirements. We are making the CIED available to the public for review 
and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
January 24, 2025.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS-2020-0032 in the Search field.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2020-0032, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 2C-10.16, 4700 River Road, Unit 25, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov by entering APHIS-2020-0032 in 
the Search field, or in our reading room, which is located in room 1620 
of the USDA South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to 
help you, please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Julie Orr, Regulatory Policy 
Specialist, IRM, PPQ, APHIS, USDA, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-4022; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under the regulations in ``Subpart L--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 
CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-12, referred to below as the regulations), 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prohibits or 
restricts the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United 
States from certain parts of the world to prevent plant pests from 
being introduced into or disseminated within the United States.
    Section 319.56-4 of the regulations provides the requirements for 
authorizing the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United 
States, as well as revising existing requirements for the importation 
of fruits and vegetables. Paragraph (c) of that section provides that 
the name and origin of all fruits and vegetables authorized importation 
into the United States, as well as the requirements for their 
importation, are listed online; they are listed on the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture's APHIS Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements 
(ACIR) database (https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/).\1\ It also provides 
that, if the Administrator of APHIS determines that any of the 
phytosanitary measures required for the importation of a particular 
fruit or vegetable are no longer necessary to reasonably mitigate the 
plant pest risk posed by the fruit or vegetable, APHIS will publish a 
notice in the Federal Register making its pest risk documentation and 
determination available for public comment.
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    \1\ On September 30, 2022, the APHIS Fruits and Vegetables 
Import Requirements (FAVIR) database was replaced by the ACIR 
database.
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    The light brown apple moth (LBAM), Epiphyas postvittana 
(Tortricidae), is a native pest of Australia and is now widely 
distributed in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New 
Caledonia. LBAM is a pest of concern in the United States and elsewhere 
because it can damage a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and other 
valuable plants. It was reported in Hawaii in the late 1800s and 
detected in Alameda County, California in 2007. In response to the 2007 
detection, APHIS conducted delimiting surveys and issued a series of 
Federal Orders to establish quarantines and host lists and to regulate 
the movement of LBAM hosts from affected areas.
    However, since 2007, APHIS has developed pest risk assessments 
(PRAs) for a number of LBAM hosts and established that standard 
commercial production practices are sufficient to remove any risk from 
the spread of LBAM in commercially produced commodities. As a result, 
APHIS has determined that due to both the absence of significant damage 
in commercial agriculture and the availability of effective treatments, 
Federal involvement to regulate LBAM as a pest of quarantine 
significance for these

[[Page 92888]]

commodities appears to be no longer necessary.\2\
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    \2\ The Federal Order removing domestic quarantines and other 
restrictions imposed by previous orders may be viewed at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/downloads/da-2021-29-lbam-deregulation.pdf.
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    Currently, fruit from New Zealand imported into the United States 
must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional 
declaration that the fruit is free of LBAM. However, under 
International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures 20,\3\ APHIS cannot 
regulate an imported commodity for a specific pest more stringently 
than it regulates the commodity domestically unless this discrepancy is 
technically justified. However, based on the findings of PRAs cited in 
the commodity import evaluation document (CIED), APHIS has concluded 
that there is no technical basis for such a discrepancy, and 
consignments of commercially produced fresh fruit from New Zealand may 
safely be imported to the United States without significant risk of 
introducing LBAM. We propose, then, to no longer require the additional 
declaration of LBAM freedom for the following commodities imported from 
New Zealand into the United States:
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    \3\ The document may be viewed at https://www.fao.org/3/a-y5721e.pdf.
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    New Zealand:

Apple--Malus domestica
Apricot--Prunus armeniaca
Avocado--Persea americana
Blackberry--Rubus sp.
Blueberry--Vaccinium angustifolium, Vaccinium ashei, Vaccinium 
corymbosum, Vaccinium virgatum
Cherry--Prunus avium
Currant--Ribes spp.
Feijoa--Acca sellowiana
Grapes--Vitis vinifera
Kiwi--Actinidia spp. (A. deliciosa, A. arguta, A. chinensis, A. 
kolomikta, A. melanandra, A. polygama, A. rubricaulis var. coriacea
Loquat--Eriobotrya japonica (Into Guam and CNMI)
Nectarine--Prunus persica nucipersica
Peach--Prunus persica var. persica
Pear--Pyrus communis
Plum--Prunus domestica ssp. domestica
Raspberry--Rubus sp.
Sand Pear--Pyrus pyrifolia var. culta
Strawberry--Fragaria x ananassa

    Phytosanitary Certificate: If the consignment is not precleared, 
the consignment must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate 
issued by the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of New 
Zealand.

Citrus spp.
Persimmon Diospyros kaki

    Phytosanitary Certificate: Citrus (or Persimmon) consignments must 
be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of New 
Zealand with an additional declaration stating the fruit is free of 
Cnephasia jactatana, Coscinoptycha improbana, Ctenopseustis obliquana, 
Pezothrips kellyanus, and Planotortrix excessana.
    In accordance with Sec.  319.56-4(c)(3), we are announcing the 
availability of our CIED for public review and comment. This document, 
as well as a description of the economic considerations associated with 
removing the LBAM declaration requirement for fruit imported from New 
Zealand into the United States, may be viewed on the Regulations.gov 
website or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to 
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room). You may request paper copies of these documents by 
calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of the analysis you wish to review 
when requesting copies.
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding whether to remove the declaration requirement for 
LBAM freedom for the importation of fruit from New Zealand in a 
subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of our analysis and the 
Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following our 
consideration of the comments, then we will remove the requirement for 
the importation of fruit from New Zealand as described in this notice.
    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 
and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of November 2024.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-27563 Filed 11-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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