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.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

19373 

Vol. 74, No. 81 

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Office of the Secretary 

7 CFR Part 2 

Revision of Delegations of Authority 

AGENCY: Department of Agriculture. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule revises certain 

delegations of authority by the Secretary 

of Agriculture published at 7 CFR part 

2. The Secretary delegates to the 

Assistant Secretary for Administration 

authority to serve as the USDA Chief 

Freedom of Information Act Officer; 

delegates to the Department of 

Agriculture Chief Information Officer 

the authority to appoint the USDA 

Privacy Act Officer; and, removes those 

delegations from the Department of 

Agriculture Director of the Office of 

Communications. 

DATES: Effective Date: April 29, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rita 

Morgan, USDA FOIA Service Center, 

202–720–8164. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

December 31, 2007, the Openness 

Promotes Effectiveness in our National 

Government Act of 2007 became 

effective. It directs the head of each 

agency to appoint a senior official to 

serve as the Chief Freedom of 

Information Act Officer. 

Therefore, this document amends 7 

CFR part 2 section 2.24 of the 

delegations of authority by the Secretary 

of Agriculture to the Assistant Secretary 

of Agriculture for Administration to 

serve as Department of Agriculture 

Chief Freedom of Information Act 

Officer; amends 7 CFR part 2 section 

2.37 of the delegations of authority by 

the Secretary of Agriculture to the Chief 

Information Officer to appoint a 

Department of Agriculture Privacy Act 

Officer; and further amends 7 CFR Part 

2 section 2.36 to remove those 

delegations by the Secretary of 

Agriculture to the Director of the Office 

of Communications. 

The Chief Freedom of Information Act 

Officer is responsible to oversee 

efficient and appropriate compliance 

with the provisions of the Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); to 

monitor implementation of 5 U.S.C. 552 

throughout the agency and to keep the 

Secretary, the General Counsel, and the 

Attorney General informed regarding 

agency performance of that 

implementation; to recommend to the 

Secretary any necessary adjustments to 

agency practices, policies, personnel, 

and funding to improve the 

implementation of 5 U.S.C. 552; to 

review agency implementation and 

report to the Attorney General, through 

the Secretary, as the Attorney General 

may direct; and, to facilitate public 

understanding of the purposes of the 

statutory exemptions contained in 5 

U.S.C. 552. 

The delegation of authority to the 

Chief Information Officer related to the 

Privacy Act reflects the practice that is 

already in place. 

This rule relates to internal agency 

management. Therefore, pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(a)(2), notice of proposed 

rulemaking and opportunity for 

comment are not required, and this rule 

may be made effective less than 30 days 

after publication in the Federal 

Register. Further, because this rule 

relates to internal agency management, 

it is exempt from the provisions of 

Executive Orders Nos. 12291 and 12866. 

Finally, this action is not a rule as 

defined by the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., and is, 

therefore, exempt from the provisions of 

the Act. Accordingly, as authorized by 

5 U.S.C. 808, this rule may be made 

effective upon publication. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 2 

Authority delegations (government 

agencies). 

■ Accordingly, Title 7 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations is amended as set 

forth below. 

PART 2—DELEGATIONS OF 

AUTHORITY BY THE SECRETARY OF 

AGRICULTURE AND GENERAL 

OFFICERS OF THE DEPARTMENT 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 2 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 6912(a); 5 U.S.C. 301; 

Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953, 3 CFR 

parts 1949–1953 Comp. p. 1024. 

Subpart C—Delegations of Authority to 

the Deputy Secretary, the Under 

Secretaries and Assistant Secretaries 

■ 2. Section 2.24 is amended by adding 

paragraph (a)(3) to read as follows:§ 2.24 

Assistant Secretary for Administration. 

(a) * * * 

(3) Related to the Freedom of 

Information Act. (i) Serve as the Chief 

Freedom of Information Act Officer for 

the Department. 

(ii) Oversee general officers and 

agency heads in efficient and 

appropriate compliance with the 

provisions of the Freedom of 

Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); monitor 

implementation of 5 U.S.C. 552 

throughout the agency and keep the 

Secretary, the General Counsel, and the 

Attorney General informed regarding 

agency performance in its 

implementation; recommend to the 

Secretary necessary adjustments to 

agency practices, policies, personnel, 

and funding to improve implementation 

of 5 U.S.C. 552; review and report to the 

Attorney General, through the Secretary, 

as the Attorney General may direct; and, 

facilitate public understanding of the 

purposes of the statutory exemptions 

contained in 5 U.S.C. 552. 

* * * * * 

Subpart D—Delegation of Authority to 

Other General Officers and Agency 

Heads 

■ 3. Section 2.36 is amended by 

removing and reserving paragraph 

(a)(2)(viii) to read as follows: 

§ 2.36 Director, Office of Communications. 

(a) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(viii) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Section 2.37 is amended by adding 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 2.37 Chief Information Officer. 

* * * * * 

(b) Related to the Privacy Act. (i) 

Appoint a Department Privacy Act 

Officer. 

(ii) Oversee general officers and 

agency heads in the development and 

implementation of policies issued 

pursuant to the provisions of the 


tjames on PRODPC75 with RULES
19374 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 29, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

1To view the interim rule and the comments we 

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

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS–2006–0143. 

Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, and provide 

consultation and guidance regarding 

those policies. 

Thomas J. Vilsack, 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. E9–9726 Filed 4–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Parts 301 and 305 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0143] 

RIN 0579–AC54 

Pale Cyst Nematode; Quarantine and 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final 

rule, with two changes, an interim rule 

that amended the regulations by 

quarantining parts of Bingham and 

Bonneville Counties, ID, due to the 

discovery of the potato cyst nematode 

there and establishing restrictions on 

the interstate movement of regulated 

articles from the quarantined area. As 

amended by this document, the rule 

refers to the nematode of concern, 

Globodera pallida, by the common 

name ‘‘pale cyst nematode’’ rather than 

by the name ‘‘potato cyst nematode;’’ 

allows the movement of Phaseolus spp. 

(beans) and Pisum spp. (peas) under the 

same conditions that apply to the 

movement of other crops to which soil 

is often attached; and requires that a 

protocol approved by the Administrator 

as sufficient to support removal of 

infested fields from quarantine, rather 

than a 3-year biosurvey protocol, be 

completed in order to remove an 

infested field from quarantine. We are 

also making minor, nonsubstantive 

changes. These actions will prevent the 

spread of the pale cyst nematode via 

potatoes, soil, and other host material to 

noninfested areas of the United States. 

DATES: Effective Date: April 29, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Eileen Y. Smith, National Program 

Manager, Emergency and Domestic 

Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737–1236; 

(301) 734–5235. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In an interim rule 1 published in the 

Federal Register on September 12, 2007, 

and effective on November 1, 2007 (72 

FR 51975–51988, Docket No. APHIS– 

2006–0143), we quarantined parts of 

Bingham and Bonneville Counties, ID, 

due to the discovery of the potato cyst 

nematode (Globodera pallida) and 

established restrictions on the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from the 

quarantined area. This action was 

necessary to prevent the spread of this 

pest to noninfested areas of the United 

States. 

We solicited comments concerning 

our interim rule for 60 days ending 

November 13, 2007. We received three 

comments by that date. They were from 

a State department of agriculture and 

two private citizens. We have carefully 

considered the comments we received. 

They are discussed below. 

The regulations established by the 

interim rule referred to G. pallida as the 

potato cyst nematode. One commenter 

stated that our use of the term ‘‘potato 

cyst nematode’’ to refer to G. pallida 

was confusing, as the term ‘‘potato cyst 

nematode’’ is used generically to refer to 

many cyst nematodes that infest 

potatoes. The commenter suggested that 

we amend the regulations to instead 

refer to the ‘‘pale potato cyst nematode.’’ 

We agree that the use of the term 

‘‘potato cyst nematode’’ may make the 

species to which we refer unclear. For 

example, in our regulations for the 

importation of nursery stock in 

§ 319.37–5(a), we refer to G. 

rostochiensis (the golden nematode) and 

G. pallida collectively as ‘‘potato cyst 

nematodes.’’ To avoid confusion, this 

final rule amends the regulations 

established by the interim rule to refer 

instead to the ‘‘pale cyst nematode,’’ or 

PCN. 

Section 301.86–2 of the interim rule 

lists certain articles that present a risk 

of spreading PCN if they are moved 

from quarantined areas without 

restriction. These articles are referred to 

as regulated articles and include garden 

and dry beans (Phaseolus spp.) and peas 

(Pisum spp.). 

One commenter asked why Phaseolus 

spp. and Pisum spp. were listed as 

regulated articles, since these articles 

are not hosts of PCN. The commenter 

also noted that we had not included 

provisions for their movement under 

certificate in the regulations and asked 

us to explain why. 

Phaseolus spp. and Pisum spp. are 

listed as regulated articles because these 

articles are often moved with soil 

attached; it is the soil that poses a risk 

of spreading PCN, rather than the 

commodity itself. (Phaseolus spp. and 

Pisum spp. are produced both for 

consumption and as seed; in both cases, 

the risk arises from the potential 

movement of soil with the articles.) The 

risk posed by these articles is thus 

similar to the risk posed by potatoes and 

root crops intended for consumption, 

which are also often moved with soil 

attached. 

The regulations established by the 

interim rule provide conditions under 

which potatoes and root crops intended 

for consumption can be moved 

interstate with a certificate. Paragraph 

(a)(3) of § 301.86–5 states that an 

inspector may issue a certificate for the 

interstate movement of potatoes or root 

crops intended for consumption from 

the quarantined area only if the field in 

which the potatoes or root crops have 

been grown meets the following 

requirements: 

• The field has been surveyed by an 

inspector for PCN at least once in the 

last 3 years and prior to the planting of 

the potatoes or root crops; 

• PCN has not been found in the 

field; and 

• No more than one PCN host crop 

has been grown in the field the last 3 

years. 

We should have allowed Phaseolus 

spp. and Pisum spp. to move interstate 

under the same conditions, as the risk 

posed by these articles is the same as 

the risk posed by potatoes and root 

crops for consumption, and the 

conditions under which potatoes and 

root crops are allowed to be moved will 

also be effective for Phaseolus spp. and 

Pisum spp. Therefore, we are amending 

the regulations established by the 

interim rule to allow Phaseolus spp. and 

Pisum spp. to move under the same 

conditions as potatoes and root crops 

that are moved for consumption. (We 

are also making minor editorial changes 

to § 301.86–5(a)(3) to make it consistent 

with the other provisions in § 301.86–5.) 

Paragraph § 301.86–3(a) of the 

regulations provide that the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will 

publish the description of the 

quarantined area on the Plant Protection 

and Quarantine (PPQ) Web site, http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ 

plant_pest_info/potato/pcn.shtml. The 

description of the quarantined area will 

include the date the description was last 

updated and a description of the 

changes that have been made to the 

quarantined area. 


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