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

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new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

32209

Vol. 66, No. 115

Thursday, June 14, 2001

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 01–058–1]

Karnal Bunt; Regulated Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: We are amending the Karnal

bunt regulations by adding

Throckmorton and Young Counties in

Texas to the list of areas regulated

because of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease

of wheat, due to the detection of bunted

kernels in grain grown in this area. This

action will help prevent the spread of

Karnal bunt into noninfected areas of

the United States.

DATES: This interim rule was effective

June 8, 2001. We invite you to comment

on this docket. We will consider all

comments that we receive by August 13,

2001.

ADDRESSES: Please send four copies of

your comment (an original and three

copies) to: Docket No. 01–058–1,

Regulatory Analysis and Development,

PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River

Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1238.

Please state that your comment refers

to Docket No. 00–058–1.

You may read any comments that we

receive on this docket in our reading

room. The reading room 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) 690–2817

before coming.

APHIS documents published in the

Federal Register, and related

information, including the names of

organizations and individuals who have

commented on APHIS dockets, are

available on the Internet at http://

www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/

webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Vedpal S. Malik, National Karnal Bunt

Coordinator, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River

Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1231; (301) 734–6774.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Karnal bunt is a fungal disease of

wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum

wheat (Triticum durum), and triticale

(Triticum aestivum X Secale cereale), a

hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is

caused by the fungus Tilletia indica

(Mitra) Mundkur and is spread by

spores, primarily through the planting

of infected seed. Some countries in the

international wheat market regulate

Karnal bunt as a fungal disease

requiring quarantine; therefore, without

measures taken by the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service (APHIS),

United States Department of Agriculture

(USDA), to prevent its spread, the

presence of Karnal bunt in the United

States could have significant

consequence with regard to the export

of wheat to international markets. The

regulations regarding Karnal bunt are set

forth in 7 CFR 301.89–1 through

301.89–16 (referred to below as the

regulations).

Regulated Areas

The regulations in § 301.89–3(e)

provide that we will classify a field or

area as a regulated area when it is:

• A field planted with seed from a lot

found to contain a bunted wheat kernel;

• A distinct definable area that

contains at least one field that was

found during a survey to contain a

bunted wheat kernel. The distinct

definable area may include an area

where Karnal bunt is not known to exist

but where intensive surveys are

required because of the areas’s

proximity to a field found during survey

to contain a bunted kernel; or

• A distinct definable area that

contains at least one field that was

found during survey to contain spores

consistent with Karnal bunt and has

been determined to be associated with

grain at a handling facility containing a

bunted wheat kernel. The distinct

definable area may include an area

where Karnal bunt is not known to exist

but where intensive surveys are

required because of that area’s

proximity to a field that has been

associated with grain at a handling

facility containing a bunted kernel.

The boundaries of distinct definable

areas are determined using the criteria

in paragraphs (b) through (d) of

§ 301.89–3, which provide for the

regulation of less than an entire State,

the inclusion of noninfected acreage in

a regulated area, and the temporary

designation of nonregulated areas as

regulated areas. Paragraph (c) of

§ 301.89–3 states that the Administrator

may include noninfected acreage within

a regulated area due to its proximity to

an infestation or inseparability from the

infected locality for regulatory purposes,

as determined by:

• Projections of the spread of Karnal

bunt along the periphery of the

infestation;

• The availability of natural habitats

and host materials within the

noninfected acreage that are suitable for

establishment and survival of Karnal

bunt; and

• The necessity of including

noninfected acreage within the

regulated area in order to establish

readily identifiable boundaries.

The regulations at § 301.89–3(f) set

the boundaries for regulated areas in

Arizona, California, New Mexico, and

Texas. Certain regulated areas in

Arizona, California, and Texas include

noninfected acreage that functions as a

buffer zone to guard against the spread

of Karnal bunt.

When we include noninfected acreage

in a regulated area for one or more of the

reasons previously listed, the

noninfected acreage, along with the rest

of the acreage in the regulated area, is

intensively surveyed. Negative results

from surveys of the noninfected acreage

provide assurance that all infected

acreage is within the regulated area. In

effect, the noninfected acreage serves as

a buffer zone between fields or areas

associated with a bunted kernel and

areas outside of the regulated area.

In this document, we are adding to

the list of regulated areas in Texas

Throckmorton and Young Counties in

their entirety. This action is necessary

due to the discovery of bunted wheat

32210 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 115 / Thursday, June 14, 2001 / Rules and Regulations

kernels in several wheat fields in

western Young County, adjacent to

Throckmorton County. Initial surveys

indicate that Karnal bunt is also present

in other fields in the area we are

regulating, and that the spread of the

disease to the infected fields may have

occurred as a result of the movement of

contaminated seed into the area or

through the movement into the area of

cattle that may have grazed in infected

fields. Until we are able to determine

the extent of this new infection by

conducting detection and delimiting

surveys, it is essential that we delineate

a large enough regulated area to include

any fields for which there is a

reasonable possibility of infection.

Emergency Action

This rulemaking is necessary on an

emergency basis to prevent Karnal bunt

from spreading to noninfected areas of

the United States. Under these

circumstances, the Administrator has

determined that prior notice and

opportunity for public comment are

contrary to the public interest and that

there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 533

for making this rule effective less than

30 days after publication in the Federal

Register.

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. The document will

include a discussion of any comments

we receive and any amendments we are

making to the rule as a result of the

comments.

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 emergency situation makes

timely compliance with section 604 of

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601 et seq.) impracticable. We are

currently assessing the potential

economic effects of this action on small

entities. Based on that assessment, we

will either certify that the rule will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities or

publish a final regulatory flexibility

analysis.

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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This interim 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, we are amending 7 CFR

part 301 as follows:

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE

NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 301

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 166, 7711, 7712, 7714,

7731, 7735, 7751, 7752, 7753, and 7754; 7

CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

2. In § 301.89–3, paragraph (f), under

the heading for ‘‘Texas’’, add two new

entries in alphabetical order to read as

follows:

§ 301.89–3 Regulated areas.

* * * * *

Texas

* * * * *

Throckmorton County. The entire

county.

Young County. The entire county.

Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of

June, 2001.

Bobby R. Acord,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 01–14942 Filed 6–13–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 93–131–2]

Importation of Mangoes From the

Philippines

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are amending the

regulations governing the importation of

fruits and vegetables to allow the

importation of mangoes from Guimaras

Island in the Republic of the

Philippines, subject to inspection and

the completion of a prescribed vapor

heat treatment. We believe that this

action is warranted because there

appears to be no significant pest risk

associated with the importation of

mangoes from Guimaras Island in the

Philippines under these circumstances.

This action will relieve restrictions on

the importation of mangoes from the

Philippines without presenting a

significant risk of introducing plant

pests into the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 14, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Paul Gadh, Import Specialist,

Phytosanitary Issues Management Team,

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1236; (301) 734–

6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 7 CFR 319.56

through 319.56–8 (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 that are

new to or not widely distributed within

the United States.

On January 22, 2001, we published in

the Federal Register (66 FR 6488–6491,

Docket No. 93–131–1) a proposal to

amend the regulations to allow the

importation of mangoes from Guimaras

Island in the Republic of the

Philippines, subject to inspection and

the completion of a prescribed vapor

heat treatment.

We solicited comments concerning

our proposal for 60 days ending March

23, 2001. We received four comments by

that date. They were from a State

agriculture agency, a foreign

government, and a firm representing

foreign governmental and

nongovernmental organizations.