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.

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REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

31887

Vol. 63, No. 112

Thursday, June 11, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 97–056–13]

Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Addition to

Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: We are amending the

Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by

adding a portion of Manatee County, FL,

to the list of quarantined areas and

restricting the interstate movement of

regulated articles from the quarantined

area. This action is necessary on an

emergency basis to prevent the spread of

the Mediterranean fruit fly into

noninfested areas of the continental

United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective June 5,

1998. Consideration will be given only

to comments received on or before

August 10, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 97–056–13, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 97–056–13. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA,

room 1141, South Building, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Michael B. Stefan, Operations Officer,

Domestic and Emergency Programs,

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1236, (301) 734–

8247; or e-mail:

mstefan@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis

capitata (Wiedemann), is one of the

world’s most destructive pests of

numerous fruits and vegetables. The

Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) can

cause serious economic losses. Heavy

infestations can cause complete loss of

crops, and losses of 25 to 50 percent are

not uncommon. The short life cycle of

this pest permits the rapid development

of serious outbreaks.

The regulations in 7 CFR part 301.78

through 301.78–10 (referred to below as

the regulations) restrict the interstate

movement of regulated articles from

quarantined areas to prevent the spread

of Medfly to noninfested areas of the

United States.

In an interim rule effective on April

17, 1998, and published in the Federal

Register on April 23, 1998 (63 FR

20053–20054, Docket No. 98–046–1), we

added a portion of Dade County, FL, to

the list of quarantined areas and

restricted the interstate movement of

regulated articles from the quarantined

area. In a second interim rule effective

on May 5, 1998, and published in the

Federal Register on May 11, 1998 (63

FR 25748–25750, Docket No. 97–056–

11), we expanded the quarantined area

in Dade County, FL. In a third interim

rule effective May 13, 1998, and

published in the Federal Register on

May 19, 1998 (63 FR 27439–27440,

Docket No. 97–056–12), we added a

portion of Lake and Marion Counties,

FL, to the list of quarantined areas and

restricted the interstate movement of

regulated articles from the quarantined

area.

Recent trapping surveys by inspectors

of Florida State and county agencies and

by inspectors of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have

revealed that an infestation of Medfly

has occurred in a portion of Manatee

County, FL.

The regulations in § 301.78–3 provide

that the Administrator of APHIS will list

as a quarantined area each State, or each

portion of a State, in which the Medfly

has been found by an inspector, in

which the Administrator has reason to

believe that the Medfly is present, or

that the Administrator considers

necessary to regulate because of its

inseparability for quarantine

enforcement purposes from localities in

which the Medfly has been found.

Less than an entire State will be

designated as a quarantined area only if

the Administrator determines that the

State has adopted and is enforcing

restrictions on the intrastate movement

of regulated articles that are equivalent

to those imposed on the interstate

movement of regulated articles, and the

designation of less than the entire State

as a quarantined area will prevent the

interstate spread of the Medfly. The

boundary lines for a portion of a State

being designated as quarantined are set

up approximately four-and-one-half

miles from the detection sites. The

boundary lines may vary due to factors

such as the location of Medfly host

material, the location of transportation

centers such as bus stations and

airports, the patterns of persons moving

in that State, the number and patterns

of distribution of the Medfly, and the

use of clearly identifiable lines for the

boundaries.

In accordance with these criteria and

the recent Medfly findings described

above, we are amending § 301.78–3 by

adding a portion of Manatee County, FL,

to the list of quarantined areas. The new

quarantined area is described in the rule

portion of this document.

Emergency Action

The Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has

determined that an emergency exists

that warrants publication of this interim

rule without prior opportunity for

public comment. Immediate action is

necessary to prevent the Medfly from

spreading to noninfested areas of the

United States.

Because prior notice and other public

procedures with respect to this action

are impracticable and contrary to the

public interest under these conditions,

we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553

to make it effective upon signature. We

will consider comments that are

received within 60 days of publication

of this rule in the Federal Register.

After the comment period closes, we

will publish another document in the

Federal Register. It will include a

discussion of any comments we receive

and any amendments we are making to

the rule as a result of the comments.
31888 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 112 /Thursday, June 11, 1998 /Rules and Regulations

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. For this action,

the Office of Management and Budget

has waived its review process required

by Executive Order 12866.

This interim rule amends the Medfly

regulations by adding a portion of

Manatee County, FL, to the list of

quarantined areas. This action is

necessary on an emergency basis to

prevent the spread of the Medfly into

noninfested areas of the United States.

This interim rule affects the interstate

movement of regulated articles from the

quarantined area in Manatee County,

FL. We estimate that there are 225

entities in the quarantined area of

Manatee County, FL, that sell, process,

handle, or move regulated articles; this

estimate includes 82 commercial

growers, 1 transportation terminal, 37

fruit stands, 8 flea markets, 1 processing

plant, 14 vegetable packinghouses, 20

farmer’s markets, 15 mobile vendors,

and 47 food stores. The number of these

entities that meet the U.S. Small

Business Administration’s (SBA)

definition of a small entity is unknown,

since the information needed to make

that determination (i.e., each entity’s

gross receipts or number of employees)

is not currently available. However, it is

reasonable to assume that most of the

225 entities are small in size, since the

overwhelming majority of businesses in

Florida, as well as the rest of the United

States, are small entities by SBA

standards.

We believe that few, if any, of the 225

entities will be significantly affected by

the quarantine action taken in this

interim rule because few of these types

of entities move regulated articles

outside the State of Florida during the

normal course of their business. Nor do

consumers of products purchased from

these types of entities generally move

those products interstate. The effect on

the small entities that do move

regulated articles interstate from the

quarantined area will be minimized by

the availability of various treatments

that, in most cases, will allow those

small entities to move regulated articles

interstate with very little additional

costs. Also, many of these types of small

entities sell other items in addition to

the regulated articles, so the effect, if

any, of the interim rule should be

minimal.

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.

National Environmental Policy Act

An environmental assessment and

finding of no significant impact have

been prepared for this rule. The site

specific environmental assessment and

programmatic Medfly environmental

impact statement provide a basis for our

conclusion that implementation of

integrated pest management to achieve

eradication of the Medfly would not

have a significant impact on human

health and the natural environment.

Based on the finding of no significant

impact, the Administrator of the Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service has

determined that an environmental

impact statement need not be prepared.

The environmental assessment and

finding of no significant impact were

prepared in accordance with: (1) The

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2)

Regulations of the Council on

Environmental Quality for

implementing the procedural provisions

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3)

USDA regulations implementing NEPA

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part

372).

Copies of the environmental

assessment and finding of no significant

impact are available for public

inspection at USDA, room 1141, South

Building, 14th Street and Independence

Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between

8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday, except holidays. Persons

wishing to inspect copies are requested

to call ahead on (202) 690–2817 to

facilitate entry into the reading room. In

addition, copies may be obtained by

writing to the individual listed under

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule contains no 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 301

Agricultural commodities, Plant

diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Transportation.

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is

amended as follows:

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE

NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 301

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150bb, 150dd,

150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and 164–167; 7 CFR

2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

2. In § 301.78–3, paragraph (c), the

entry for Florida is amended by adding

an entry for Manatee County, FL, to read

as follows:

§ 301.78–3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

FLORIDA

* * * * *

Manatee County. That portion of Manatee

County beginning at the intersection of

Interstate Highway 75 and Linger Lodge

Road; then west along Linger Lodge Road,

along the section line, to Whitfield Avenue;

then west along Whitfield Avenue, along the

section line, to 69th Avenue West; then west

along 69th Avenue West to Bay Drive; then

west along Bay Drive to the Sarasota Bay;

then north along the shoreline of the Sarasota

Bay, including Tidy Island, Cortez, Perico

Island, and Mead Point; then across the

Manatee River, including Snead Island, Little

Bird Key and crossing Terra Ceia Bay to 33rd

Street West; then north along the southern

shoreline of the Terra Ceia Bay to the Terra

Ceia River; then along the eastern shoreline

of the Terra Ceia River to Interstate Highway

275; then east along Interstate Highway 275

to Interstate Highway 75; then south along

Interstate Highway 75 to 69th Street East;

then east along 69th Street East to its end;

then south along Erie Road to its end; then

directly south along an imaginary line to the

Manatee River Basin; then west along the

northern shoreline of the Manatee River

Basin to Interstate Highway 75; then south

along Interstate Highway 75 to the point of

beginning.

Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of

June 1998.

Charles P. Schwalbe,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98–15580 Filed 6–10–98; 8:45 am]

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