Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 206 / Thursday, October 24, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 63373 

1The PPQ Treatment Manual is available at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/

manuals/ports/downloads/treatment.pdf. 

2To view the proposed rule and the comment we 

received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0089. 

Operationally, this prohibition was 

removed when we imposed a quarantine 

for ACP on the Northern Mariana 

Islands, and we are not aware of any 

movement of regulated articles from 

such quarantined areas to the Northern 

Mariana Islands since then. 

Because the Northern Mariana Islands 

are geographically isolated from most of 

the United States, the producers most 

likely to benefit from market access to 

the Northern Mariana Islands are 

producers in Guam, the closest U.S. 

commercial citrus-producing area that is 

quarantined only for ACP. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

Accordingly, the interim rule 

amending 7 CFR part 301 that was 

published at 76 FR 23449–23459 on 

April 27, 2011, is adopted as a final 

rule, with the following changes: 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 301 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781– 

7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Section 301.75–15 issued under Sec. 204, 

Title II, Public Law 106–113, 113 Stat. 

1501A–293; sections 301.75–15 and 301.75– 

16 issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 

106–224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note). 

§ 301.76–6 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 301.76–6, paragraph (c)(1) is 

amended by removing the words 

‘‘Northern Mariana Islands and’’ and 

paragraph (c)(2) is amended by 

removing the words ‘‘Northern Mariana 

Islands or’’. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of 

October 2013. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–25019 Filed 10–23–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 305 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0089] 

Cold Treatment for Fresh Fruits and 

Vegetables; MidAmerica St. Louis 

Airport, Mascoutah, IL 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations to allow, under certain 

conditions, the cold treatment of 

imported fruits and vegetables upon 

arrival at the MidAmerica St. Louis 

Airport, Mascoutah, IL. We have 

determined that there are biological 

barriers at this port that, along with 

certain safeguards, would prevent the 

introduction of fruit flies and other 

insect pests into the United States in the 

unlikely event that they escape from 

shipments of fruits or vegetables before 

the fruits or vegetables undergo cold 

treatment. This action will facilitate the 

importation of fruit requiring cold 

treatment while continuing to provide 

protection against the introduction of 

fruit flies and other insect pests into the 

United States. 

DATES: Effective Date: November 25, 

2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Inder P. S. Gadh, Senior Risk Manager– 

Treatments, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1236; (301) 851–2018. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The phytosanitary treatments 

regulations in 7 CFR part 305 set out 

general requirements for certifying or 

approving treatment facilities and for 

performing treatments listed in the Plant 

Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 

Treatment Manual 1 for fruits, 

vegetables, and other articles to prevent 

the introduction or dissemination of 

plant pests or noxious weeds into or 

through the United States. Within part 

305, § 305.6 (referred to below as the 

regulations) sets out requirements for 

treatment procedures, monitoring, 

facilities, and enclosures needed for 

performing sustained refrigeration (cold 

treatment) sufficient to kill certain 

insect pests associated with imported 

fruits and vegetables and with regulated 

articles moved interstate from 

quarantined areas within the United 

States. 

Most imported fruits or vegetables 

that require cold treatment undergo that 

treatment while in transit to the United 

States. However, the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) also 

allows imported fruits or vegetables to 

undergo cold treatment at an approved 

cold treatment facility in either the 

country of origin or after arrival in the 

United States at a cold storage 

warehouse approved by the APHIS 

Administrator. 

In § 305.6, paragraph (b) limits cold 

treatment facilities to those cold storage 

warehouses approved by the 

Administrator and located in the area 

north of 39° latitude and east of 104° 

longitude, or under special conditions at 

one of the following ports, which are 

outside the geographic area stipulated in 

the regulations: The maritime ports of 

Wilmington, NC; Seattle, WA; Corpus 

Christi, TX; and Gulfport, MS; SeattleTacoma International Airport, Seattle, 

WA; and Hartsfield-Atlanta 

International Airport, Atlanta, GA. The 

location restrictions serve as an 

additional safeguard against the 

possibility that fruit flies or other pests 

could escape from imported articles 

prior to treatment and become 

established in the United States. 

As stated previously, the regulations 

do allow cold treatment facilities to be 

located outside the geographical area 

stipulated by the regulations. In order to 

approve those locations, APHIS 

conducts site-specific evaluations and 

determines whether regulated articles 

can be safely transported to cold 

treatment facilities under special 

conditions to mitigate the possible 

escape of pests of concern. 

On May 13, 2013, we published in the 

Federal Register (78 FR 27864–27866, 

Docket No. APHIS–2012–0089) a 

proposal 2 to amend the regulations by 

adding the MidAmerica St. Louis 

Airport, Mascoutah, IL, to the list of 

ports that are designated as approved 

locations for cold treatment of imported 

fruits or vegetables. This proposal was 

based on our determination that there 

are biological barriers in the area of this 

port that, along with certain safeguards, 

would prevent the introduction of fruit 

flies and other insect pests in the 

unlikely event that they escape from 

shipments of fruits or vegetables before 

the fruits or vegetables undergo cold 

treatment. 


Emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with RULES
63374 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 206 / Thursday, October 24, 2013 / Rules and Regulations 

We solicited comments concerning 

our proposal for 60 days ending July 12, 

2013. We received one comment by that 

date from a private individual, which 

supported the proposed action. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

proposed rule, we are adopting the 

proposed rule as a final rule, without 

change. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This final rule is subject to Executive 

Order 12866. However, for this action, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

has waived its review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604, we 

have performed a final regulatory 

flexibility analysis, which is 

summarized below, regarding the 

economic effects of this rule on small 

entities. Copies of the full analysis are 

available on the Regulations.gov Web 

site (see footnote 1 in this document for 

a link to Regulations.gov) or by 

contacting the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

This final rule will amend the 

regulations to allow a new cold 

treatment facility to be located at 

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, 

Mascoutah, IL. The facility is expected 

to be used mainly to treat imported 

blueberries. While most if not all 

blueberry farms in the United States are 

small entities, the final rule will not 

significantly affect the market for 

blueberries because the facility is not 

projected to result in a significant 

increase in the quantity of blueberries 

imported by the United States. The 

United States is the world’s largest 

producer of blueberries and U.S. 

blueberry exports exceed imports fourfold. 

The cold treatment facility will 

benefit the MidAmerica St. Louis 

Airport and the local economy. The 

facility is expected to result in at least 

800 flights of produce requiring cold 

treatment per year, raising at least $8 

million in direct income for the airport. 

MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is 

classified as a small entity for which the 

small-entity standard is annual revenue 

of not more than $30 million. 

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 final 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. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This final 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 305 

Irradiation, Phytosanitary treatment, 

Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

part 305 as follows: 

PART 305—PHYTOSANITARY 

TREATMENTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 305 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781– 

7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 

2.80, and 371.3. 

■ 2. Section 305.6 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (b), by adding the 

words ‘‘MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, 

Mascoutah, IL;’’ after the words 

‘‘Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, 

Seattle, WA;’’ and 

■ b. By adding a new paragraph (h)(5) to 

read as set forth below. 

§ 305.6 Cold treatment requirements. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

(5) Airport of Mascoutah, IL. 

Consignments of fruits or vegetables 

arriving at the MidAmerica St. Louis 

Airport, Mascoutah, IL, for cold 

treatment, in addition to meeting all 

other applicable requirements of this 

section, must meet the following special 

conditions: 

(i) Bulk and containerized 

consignments of fruits or vegetables 

arriving for cold treatment must be cold 

treated within the area over which the 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

is assigned the authority to accept 

entries of merchandise, to collect duties, 

and to enforce the various provisions of 

the customs and navigation laws in 

force. 

(ii) APHIS will evaluate facility 

safeguards in light of the plant health 

risks involved and approve the 

operation of a facility in that location 

subject to the following conditions to be 

agreed upon by the involved parties and 

included in the compliance agreement 

required in § 305.6(f): 

(A) The facility will only be certified 

if the Administrator determines that the 

regulated articles could be safely 

transported to the facility from the point 

of entry or origin without significant 

risk that plant pests will escape in 

transit to the facility or while the 

regulated articles are at the facility. 

(B) Bulk consignments (those 

consignments which are stowed and 

unloaded by the case or bin) of fruit 

must arrive in pest-proof packaging that 

prevents the escape of the pests of 

concern. 

(C) The facility must ensure that the 

pest-proof cartons are off-loaded from 

containers in a safeguarded 

environment and at no time are the 

articles to be removed from the cartons 

prior to treatment. 

(D) Arrangements for treatment must 

be made before the departure of a 

consignment from its port of entry or 

points of origin in the United States. 

The cold treatment facility and APHIS 

must agree in advance on the route by 

which consignments are allowed to 

move between the aircraft on which 

they arrived at the airport and the cold 

treatment facility. The movement of 

consignments from aircraft to a cold 

treatment facility will not be allowed 

until an acceptable route has been 

agreed upon. 

(E) The facility must have 

contingency plans, approved by the 

Administrator, for safely destroying or 

disposing of fruits or vegetables. 

(F) The facility must maintain 

physical separation of treated articles 

from untreated articles and apply all 

required safeguards (e.g., larger 

consignments are broken up into 

smaller boxes following treatment and 

those treated articles are required to be 

packaged in pest-proof containers per an 

agreement between the treatment 

facility and the importer) before 

releasing to local markets or for 

movement to other States. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of 

October 2013. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–25005 Filed 10–23–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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