This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

24838 

Vol. 80, No. 84 

Friday, May 1, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2015–0005] 

RIN 0579–AE09 

Importation of Citrus From Peru; 

Expansion of Citrus-Growing Area 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the fruits and vegetable regulations to 

allow citrus fruit from the entire country 

of Peru into the continental United 

States. Currently, the regulations allow 

the importation of citrus fruit to the 

United States from five approved citrusproducing zones in Peru, subject to a 

systems approach. However, based on 

the findings of a pest list and 

commodity import evaluation 

document, we have determined that this 

systems approach also mitigates the 

plant pest risk associated with citrus 

fruit produced in all other areas of Peru. 

This action would allow the importation 

of citrus fruit from the entire country of 

Peru while continuing to provide 

protection against the introduction of 

plant pests into the continental United 

States. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before June 30, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket

Detail;D=APHIS-2015-0005. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2015–0005, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://www.

regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

APHIS-2015-0005 or in our reading 

room, which is located in room 1141 of 

the USDA South Building, 14th Street 

and Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 799–7039 before 

coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Tony Roma ́n, Senior Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 851–2242. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart—Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–71, 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. 

Under § 319.56–41, grapefruit (Citrus 

paradisi), limes (C. aurantiifolia), 

mandarins or tangerines (C. reticulata), 

sweet oranges (C. sinensis), and tangelos 

(C. tangelo) may be imported into the 

United States from approved growing 

areas in Peru under a systems approach 

designed to mitigate the risk presented 

by four species of fruit flies (Anastrepha 

fracterculus, A. obliqua Macquart, A. 

serpentina, and Ceratitis capitata) and a 

Tortricid (Ecdytolopha aurantiana). The 

systems approach requires the 

following: 

• The fruit must be accompanied by 

a permit issued in accordance with 

§ 319.56–3(b); 

• The fruit may be imported in 

commercial consignments only; 

• The fruit must be grown in an 

approved growing area (Zone I, Piura; 

Zone II, Lambayeque; Zone III, Lima; 

Zone IV, Ica; Zone V, Junin); 

• The production site where the fruit 

is grown must be registered for export 

with the national plant protection 

organization (NPPO) of Peru, and the 

producer must have signed an 

agreement with the NPPO of Peru 

whereby the producer agrees to 

participate in and follow the fruit fly 

management program established by the 

NPPO of Peru; 

• The NPPO of Peru’s fruit fly 

management program must be approved 

by the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS), must 

require participating citrus producers to 

allow APHIS inspectors access to 

production areas in order to monitor 

compliance with the fruit fly 

management program, and must follow 

certain trapping, control, and 

recordkeeping requirements; 

• The fruit, except limes, must be 

cold treated for fruit flies in accordance 

with 7 CFR part 305; 

• Each consignment of fruit must be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate issued by the NPPO of Peru 

stating that the fruit has been inspected 

and found free of E. aurantiana; and 

• Citrus fruits imported from Peru are 

subject to inspection and sampling by 

an inspector at the port of first arrival 

into the United States in accordance 

with § 319.56–3(d), and if a single living 

fruit fly in any stage of development or 

E. aurantiana is found, the consignment 

will be held until an investigation is 

completed and appropriate remedial 

actions have been implemented. 

The NPPO of Peru has requested that 

APHIS amend the regulations to allow 

citrus fruit from the entire country of 

Peru to be imported into the continental 

United States. 

As part of our evaluation of Peru’s 

request, we prepared a pest list, titled 

‘‘Pest List for the Importation of Fresh 

Commercial Citrus Fruit: Grapefruit 

(Citrus x paradisi); Lime (C. 

aurantiifolia); Mandarin Orange, 

Tangerine, or Hybrids (C. reticulata); 

Sweet Orange (C. sinensis); and Tangelo 

(C. x tangelo) from Peru into the 

Continental United States’’ (November 

2012). The pest list examines the plant 

pest risks associated with the 

importation of citrus from the entire 

country of Peru into the continental 

United States. The pest list identified 

the same four fruit flies and one 

Tortricid identified in the 2003 pest risk 

assessment for the importation of citrus 

from the five zones in Peru as 

potentially following the pathway of 

citrus fruit from the entire country of 

Peru to the United States. 

Based on the pest list, we prepared a 

commodity import evaluation document 

(CIED), titled, ‘‘Expansion of Areas 

Allowed to Export Fresh Commercial 

Citrus Fruit Including Grapefruit (Citrus 

x paradisi); Lime (C. aurantiifolia); 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 84 / Friday, May 1, 2015 / Proposed Rules 24839 

Mandarin Orange, Tangerine, or Hybrids 

(C. reticulata); Sweet Orange (C. 

sinensis); and Tangelo (C. x tangelo) 

from Peru into the Continental United 

States’’ (November 2012), to assess the 

risks associated with the importation of 

citrus from the entire country of Peru 

and recommend mitigation measures to 

prevent the introduction and 

dissemination of plant pests and 

diseases of quarantine concern. The 

CIED recommends applying the systems 

approach in § 319.56–41 to citrus fruit 

from the entire country of Peru. 

Based on the conclusions of the pest 

list and CIED, we are proposing to 

amend the regulations to allow the 

importation of citrus from the entire 

country of Peru into the continental 

United States under the systems 

approach in § 319.56–41. Specifically, 

we are proposing to remove paragraph 

(c), which contains the list of approved 

growing areas that are allowed to export 

citrus to the United States, and 

redesignate the subsequent paragraphs. 

Currently, the regulations allow the 

importation of citrus from Peru into the 

United States, including Hawaii and the 

U.S. Territories. Between 2006 and 

2012, Peru shipped small consignments 

to one U.S. Territory, Puerto Rico, but 

has never exported citrus fruit to Hawaii 

or the other U.S. territories. As a result, 

in preparing this rule, we asked the 

NPPO of Peru whether they intended to 

ship to markets in Hawaii and the U.S. 

Territories in the future. Peru indicated 

that they do not intend to do so, and 

that their request for market access 

could be limited to the continental 

United States. As a result, the pest list 

and CIED prepared for this proposed 

rule only evaluated the risk associated 

with the importation of citrus from Peru 

into the continental United States, 

which excludes Hawaii and the U.S. 

Territories. Therefore, we are proposing 

to amend the introductory text of the 

section to limit the importation of citrus 

from Peru to the continental United 

States. 

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). 

Currently, the regulations allow the 

importation of fresh grapefruit, lime, 

mandarin, orange, tangerine or hybrids, 

sweet orange, and tangelo from five 

approved citrus-producing zones in 

Peru to the United States. The proposed 

rule would allow the importation of 

these fruits from the entire country of 

Peru into the continental United States 

under the same conditions that are 

currently in place. The proposed rule is 

expected to increase the area in Peru 

approved to produce citrus for export to 

the United States to about 1,500 

hectares over 3 years. Additional 

volumes of citrus expected to be 

shipped to the United States are 5,000 

metric tons (MT) in the first year that 

the rule is in effect, 6,500 MT in the 

second year, and 8,000 MT in the third 

year. These quantities are equivalent to 

less than 1 percent of annual U.S. citrus 

production or U.S. citrus imports. 

The primary entities that may be 

affected by the rule are citrus producers, 

citrus importers, and support industries 

such as packinghouses. Based on data 

from the 2012 Census of Agriculture and 

Small Business Administration smallentity standards, the majority of these 

operations are small. 

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 fresh 

citrus to be imported from Peru into the 

continental United States. If this 

proposed rule is adopted, State and 

local laws and regulations regarding 

fresh citrus imported under this rule 

would be preempted while the fruit is 

in foreign commerce. Fresh fruits 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 

In accordance with section 3507(d) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

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

collection or recordkeeping 

requirements included in this proposed 

rule have been submitted for approval to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). Please send written comments 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: 

Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington, DC 

20503. Please state that your comments 

refer to Docket No. APHIS–2015–0005. 

Please send a copy of your comments to: 

(1) APHIS, using one of the methods 

described under ADDRESSES at the 

beginning of this document, and (2) 

Clearance Officer, OCIO, USDA, room 

404–W, 14th Street and Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. A 

comment to OMB is best assured of 

having its full effect if OMB receives it 

within 30 days of publication of this 

proposed rule. 

APHIS is proposing to amend the 

fruits and vegetables regulations to 

allow the importation of fresh citrus 

into the continental United States from 

Peru. As a condition of entry, the fruit 

would have to be produced in 

accordance with a systems approach 

that would include requirements for 

fruit fly trapping and monitoring, 

production sites, recordkeeping, and 

inspections designed to exclude 

quarantine pests. The fruit would also 

be required to be imported in 

commercial consignments and 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate issued by the NPPO of Peru 

stating that the fruit has been inspected 

and found free of E. aurantiana. At the 

port of first arrival, an inspector will 

sample and cut citrus fruits from each 

consignment to detect pest infestation. 

Allowing the importation of fresh 

citrus into the continental United States 

from Peru will require information 

collection activities, including permit 

applications to import plants or plant 

products, registered production sites 

and agreements, fruit fly trapping and 

control, trapping records, and 

phytosanitary certificates. 

We are soliciting comments from the 

public (as well as affected agencies) 

concerning our proposed information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements. These comments will 

help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

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 proposed 

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 

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24840 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 84 / Friday, May 1, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

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 2.6 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: NPPO of Peru, 

producers/growers, and importers. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 67. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 14. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 912. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 2,334 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 Ms. Kimberly 

Hardy, APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2727. 

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 proposed rule, please contact Ms. 

Kimberly Hardy, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851– 

2727. 

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. 

§ 319.56–41 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 319.56–41 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. In the introductory text, by adding 

the word ‘‘continental’’ between the 

words ‘‘the’’ and ‘‘United States’’. 

■ b. By removing paragraph (c). 

■ c. By redesignating paragraphs (d) 

through (h) as paragraphs (c) through 

(g), respectively. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of 

April 2015. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–10199 Filed 4–30–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 3 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0098] 

Petition To Develop Specific 

Ethologically Appropriate Standards 

for Nonhuman Primates in Research 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of petition. 

SUMMARY: We are notifying the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has received a 

petition requesting that we amend the 

Animal Welfare Act regulations to 

specify ethologically appropriate 

standards that researchers must adhere 

to in order to promote the psychological 

well-being of nonhuman primates used 

in research. We are making this petition 

available to the public and soliciting 

comments regarding the petition and 

any issues raised by the petition that we 

should take into account as we consider 

this petition. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before June 30, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket

Detail;D=APHIS-2014-0098. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0098, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0098 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 

14th Street and Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC. Normal reading 

room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Carol Clarke, Research Program 

Manager, USDA, APHIS, Animal Care, 

4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1234; (301) 851–3751. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Animal Welfare Act (AWA, 7 U.S.C. 

2131 et seq.), among other things, 

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture 

(Secretary) to promulgate standards and 

other requirements governing research 

facilities. The Secretary has delegated 

the responsibility for enforcing the 

AWA to the Administrator of the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS). Within APHIS, the 

responsibility for administering the 

AWA has been delegated to the Deputy 

Administrator for Animal Care. 

Regulations and standards 

promulgated under the AWA are 

contained in Title 9 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations, parts 1, 2, and 3 

(referred to collectively below as the 

AWA regulations). Part 3 of the AWA 

regulations contains specific standards 

regarding the humane handling, care, 

treatment, and transportation of species 

of animals covered under the AWA. 

Within part 3 of the AWA regulations, 

subpart D (§§ 3.75–3.92) contains 

standards for the humane handling, 

care, treatment, and transportation of 

nonhuman primates. 

Section 3.81 of the AWA regulations 

requires research facilities that house 

nonhuman primates to develop, 

document, and follow an appropriate 

plan for environmental enhancement 

adequate to promote the psychological 

well-being of nonhuman primates. The 

section further specifies that the plan 

must be in accordance with currently 

accepted professional standards as cited 

in appropriate professional journals or 

reference guides, and as directed by the 

attending veterinarian for the facility. 

The plan must be available to APHIS 

upon request, and in the case of 

research facilities, it must also be 

available to the funding agency. The 

plan must address at a minimum: Social 

grouping, environmental enrichment, 

special considerations, and use of 

restraint devices. Exemptions to the 

plan can be made by the attending 

veterinarian for the facility because of a 

particular animal’s health or condition, 

or in consideration of that animal’s 

well-being. Additionally, the 

Institutional Animal Care and Use 

Committee (IACUC), a committee 

entrusted with ensuring the research 

facility’s compliance with the AWA 

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