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

44615 

Vol. 73, No. 148 

Thursday, July 31, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0080] 

RIN 0579–AC81 

Citrus Canker; Movement of Fruit From 

a Quarantined Area; Bag Markings 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations governing the interstate 

movement of fruit from an area 

quarantined for citrus canker to extend 

the temporary exception that allows 

fruit to be packed for interstate 

movement in bags that are clearly 

marked with only a limited distribution 

statement, if those bags are then packed 

in a box that is marked with both the 

limited distribution statement and the 

statement ‘‘Limited Permit: USDA– 

APHIS–PPQ.’’ We are extending the 

ending date for this temporary 

exemption from August 1, 2008, to 

August 1, 2010. This action provides for 

the continued use of existing 

inventories of bags in which regulated 

fruit are packed while maintaining 

safeguards against the movement of 

regulated fruit to commercial citrusproducing States. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective July 

31, 2008. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

September 29, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2008-0080 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0080, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2008–0080. 

Reading Room: 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. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Stephen Poe, Senior Staff Officer, 

Emergency and Domestic Programs, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 137, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 301–734– 

8899. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Citrus canker is a plant disease caused 

by the bacterium Xanthomonas citri 

subsp. citri that affects plants and plant 

parts, including fresh fruit, of citrus and 

citrus relatives (Family Rutaceae). Citrus 

canker can cause defoliation and other 

serious damage to the leaves and twigs 

of susceptible plants. It can also cause 

lesions on the fruit of infected plants, 

which render the fruit unmarketable, 

and cause infected fruit to drop from the 

trees before reaching maturity. The 

aggressive A (Asiatic) strain of citrus 

canker can infect susceptible plants 

rapidly and lead to extensive economic 

losses in commercial citrus-producing 

areas. Citrus canker is only known to be 

present in the United States in the State 

of Florida. 

The regulations to prevent the 

interstate spread of citrus canker are 

contained in §§ 301.75–1 through 

301.75–14 of ‘‘Subpart—Citrus Canker’’ 

(7 CFR 301.75–1 through 301.75–17, 

referred to below as the regulations). 

The regulations restrict the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from and 

through areas quarantined because of 

citrus canker and provide, among other 

things, conditions under which 

regulated fruit may be moved into, 

through, and from quarantined areas for 

packing. These regulations are 

promulgated pursuant to the Plant 

Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). 

On June 21, 2007, we published in the 

Federal Register (72 FR 34180–34191, 

Docket No. APHIS–2007–0022) a 

proposal to amend the citrus canker 

regulations by modifying the conditions 

under which fruit may be moved 

interstate from quarantined areas. 

Among other things, we proposed to 

require that boxes in which fruit are 

packed be marked with the statement 

‘‘Limited Permit: USDA–APHIS–PPQ’’ 

in addition to the limited distribution 

statement, ‘‘Not for distribution in AZ, 

CA, HI, LA, TX, and American Samoa, 

Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 

Rico, and Virgin Islands of the United 

States,’’ that the regulations already 

required. We also proposed that only 

fruit that has been treated, inspected, 

and found free of visible symptoms of 

citrus canker would be allowed to leave 

packinghouses in boxes marked with 

the limited permit statement. 

We proposed adding the limited 

permit statement in order to help ensure 

that only fruit that was handled in 

accordance with all of the requirements 

in § 301.75–7 would be moved 

interstate. In addition, the limited 

permit statement indicates under whose 

authority the distribution of the fruit to 

commercial citrus-producing States is 

prohibited, thus further assuring that 

packers and handlers comply with the 

limited distribution requirement. It was 

also our understanding that boxes and 

other containers in which fruit would be 

moving interstate would be large 

enough to bear the proposed limited 

permit statement, by adding either a 

sticker or stamp to the existing 

inventory of boxes or containers. 

We received comments on the 

proposed rule stating that bags of fruit, 

which are typically packed in boxes, 

also bore the limited distribution 

statement but that it was not practical to 

add the limited permit statement using 

a sticker or stamp, as the surface area of 

the label on bags was not large enough 

to accommodate the additional limited 

permit statement. Existing inventories of 


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44616 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 148 / Thursday, July 31, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

bags would have to be destroyed, and 

new bags would have to be printed. 

On November 19, 2007, we published 

in the Federal Register (72 FR 65171–

65204, Docket No. APHIS–2007–0022) a 

final rule that required the limited 

permit and limited distribution 

statements on all boxes and containers 

in which regulated fruit is packaged for 

interstate movement, but provided a 

temporary exception for the use of bags 

that are marked only with the limited 

distribution statement. This exception 

was intended to allow industry to 

exhaust its existing inventory of bags 

pre-marked with the limited 

distribution statement. 

The regulations in paragraph (a)(5)(ii) 

of § 301.75–7 have provided that, until 

August 1, 2008, fruit that meets all the 

requirements of § 301.75–7 may be 

packed in bags that are clearly marked 

with the statement ‘‘Not for distribution 

in AZ, CA, HI, LA, TX, and American 

Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana 

Islands, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands 

of the United States,’’ as long as the bags 

of fruit are packed in boxes that are 

marked with both the limited permit 

and limited distribution statements. 

Fruit that does not meet all the 

requirements of § 301.75–7 may not be 

packed in either bags or boxes that are 

marked with the limited distribution 

statement. 

We determined that this requirement 

would ensure that fruit moved interstate 

meets the requirements of § 301.75–7 

and would provide protection against 

the distribution of fruit to commercial 

citrus-producing States because the bags 

must be packed in boxes that are 

marked with both the limited permit 

statement and the limited distribution 

statement, and because bagged fruit is 

not unloaded from the boxes in which 

it is shipped until it reaches the point 

of sale. Since the final rule became 

effective on November 19, 2007, there 

have been no instances where bags of 

fruit have been unloaded from the boxes 

in which they were shipped and 

distributed prior to the final point of 

sale. This requirement has provided an 

effective means of ensuring that the 

information regarding the permitted 

distribution of the fruit is apparent to 

enforcement personnel, distributors, 

and consumers. 

Recently, regulated entities have 

informed us that the existing inventory 

of bags marked only with the limited 

distribution statement has not yet been 

depleted. They have requested an 

additional 2 years to use their remaining 

inventory. Given that the provisions 

allowing the use of the existing bags 

have been working successfully, this 

interim rule extends the temporary 

exception until August 1, 2010, to allow 

for the depletion of the existing 

inventory of such bags. This action 

maintains the current safeguards against 

the movement of regulated fruit to 

commercial citrus-producing States. 

Because this exception will eventually 

expire, when regulated entities deplete 

their existing inventory of bags marked 

only with the limited distribution 

statement, they will replenish their 

inventory with bags marked with both 

the limited permit statement and the 

limited distribution statement, thus 

making clear under whose authority the 

distribution of the fruit to commercial 

citrus-producing States is prohibited. 

Immediate Action 

This rule extends until August 1, 

2010, a temporary exception that is 

scheduled to end on August 1, 2008. 

That exception allows fruit to be packed 

for interstate movement in bags if those 

bags are clearly marked with the limited 

distribution statement and if those bags 

are then packed in a container that is 

marked with both the limited permit 

statement and the limited distribution 

statement. Immediate action is 

warranted to alleviate what would 

otherwise be the negative economic 

effects on citrus packers who would 

have no practical option to comply with 

the regulations other than destroying 

their current inventory of bags premarked with the limited distribution 

statement and having replacement bags 

printed with both the limited permit 

and limited distribution statements. 

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. 553 for making this 

action effective less than 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register. 

We will consider comments we 

receive during the comment period for 

this interim rule (see DATES above). 

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. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This interim rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12866. The 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. 

We are amending the regulations to 

extend the temporary exception that 

allows fruit to be packed for interstate 

movement in bags that are clearly 

marked with only a limited distribution 

statement, if those bags are then packed 

in a box that is marked with both the 

limited distribution statement and the 

statement ‘‘Limited Permit: USDA–

APHIS–PPQ.’’ We are extending the 

ending date for this temporary 

exemption from August 1, 2008, to 

August 1, 2010. This action provides for 

the continued use of existing 

inventories of bags in which regulated 

fruit are packed while maintaining 

safeguards against the movement of 

regulated fruit to commercial citrusproducing States. 

APHIS has determined that displaying 

the limited permit language on boxes or 

other containers containing fruit for 

interstate movement is a sufficient 

mitigation for controlling the 

distribution of this fruit for the 

interstate market. Since the final rule 

became effective on November 19, 2007, 

there have been no instances where bags 

of fruit have been unloaded from the 

boxes in which they were shipped and 

distributed prior to the final point of 

sale. 

Additionally, the inventory of bags 

that had been printed prior to the 

November 19, 2007, final rule continues 

to be significant. The value of the 

current inventory of bags, in 

combination with the projected costs of 

printing new bags with the limited 

permit statement, has been estimated by 

industry to be up to $6 million. APHIS 

has determined that the adverse 

economic impact associated with having 

packers print new bags in order to 

comply with the regulations is not 

warranted. 

The current inventory of bags printed 

with the limited distribution statement, 

but not the limited permit statement, is 

expected to be depleted by August 1, 

2010. 

APHIS does not believe small entities 

will be subject to significant economic 

impacts as a result of this interim rule, 

as its effect is to allow regulated entities 

to continue their current packing 

process. However, if the ending date of 

the exception was not extended, entities 

affected by the interim rule would not 

be able to deplete any current inventory 

of bags they may possess. 

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. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 148 / Thursday, July 31, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 44617 

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 rule contains no new 

information collection or recordkeeping 

requirements under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). 

List of Subjects 

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. 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). 

§ 301.75–7 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 301.75–7, paragraph (a)(5)(ii) is 

amended by removing the word ‘‘2008’’

and adding the word ‘‘2010’’ in its 

place. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of 

July 2008. 

Cindy J. Smith, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–17592 Filed 7–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1000 

[Docket No. AMS–DA–07–0026; AO–14–A77, 

et al.; DA–07–02–A] 

Milk in the Northeast and Other 

Marketing Areas; Interim Order 

Amending the Orders 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim final rule. 

SUMMARY: This order amends the 

manufacturing cost allowances and the 

butterfat yield factor used in the Class 

III and Class IV product-price formulas 

applicable to all Federal milk marketing 

orders. More than the required 

producers approved the issuance of the 

interim order as amended. 

DATES: Effective Date: September 1, 

2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack 

Rower, Marketing Specialist, USDA/ 

AMS/Dairy Programs, Order 

Formulation and Enforcement Branches, 

STOP 0231–Room 2971, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0231, (202) 720–

2357, e-mail address: 

jack.rower@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

decision adopts provisions to amend the 

manufacturing (make) allowances for 

cheese, butter, nonfat dry milk (NFDM) 

and dry whey powder contained in the 

Class III and Class IV product-price 

formulas. Specifically, this decision 

adopts the following make allowances: 

cheese—$0.2003 per pound; butter—

$0.1715 per pound; NFDM—$0.1678 per 

pound; and dry whey—$0.1991 per 

pound. This decision also increases the 

butterfat yield factor in the butterfat 

price formula from 1.20 to 1.211. 

This administrative rule is governed 

by the provisions of Sections 556 and 

557 of Title 5 of the United States Code 

and, therefore, is excluded from the 

requirements of Executive Order 12866. 

This interim rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. This rule is not intended 

to have a retroactive effect. This rule 

will not preempt any state or local laws, 

regulations, or policies, unless they 

present an irreconcilable conflict with 

this rule. 

The Agricultural Marketing 

Agreement Act of 1937, as amended (7 

U.S.C. 601–674) (AMAA), provides that 

administrative proceedings must be 

exhausted before parties may file suit in 

court. Under Section 608c(15)(A) of the 

AMAA, any handler subject to an order 

may request modification or exemption 

from such order by filing with the 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) a 

petition stating that the order, any 

provision of the order, or any obligation 

imposed in connection with the order is 

not in accordance with the law. A 

handler is afforded the opportunity for 

a hearing on the petition. After a 

hearing, the Department would rule on 

the petition. The AMAA provides that 

the district court of the United States in 

any district in which the handler is an 

inhabitant, or has its principal place of 

business, has jurisdiction in equity to 

review the Department’s ruling on the 

petition, provided a bill in equity is 

filed not later than 20 days after the date 

of the entry of the ruling. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601–612), the 

Agricultural Marketing Service has 

considered the economic impact of this 

action on small entities and has certified 

that this interim rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. For 

the purpose of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, a dairy farm is considered a small 

business if it has an annual gross 

revenue of less than $750,000, and a 

dairy products manufacturer is a small 

business if it has fewer than 500 

employees. 

For the purposes of determining 

which dairy farms are small businesses, 

the $750,000 per year criterion was used 

to establish a marketing guideline of 

500,000 pounds per month. Although 

this guideline does not factor in 

additional monies that may be received 

by dairy producers, it should be an 

inclusive standard for most ‘‘small’’

dairy farmers. For purposes of 

determining a handler’s size, if the plant 

is part of a larger company operating 

multiple plants that collectively exceed 

the 500-employee limit, the plant will 

be considered a large business even if 

the local plant has fewer than 500 

employees. 

During February 2007, the month the 

initial public hearing was held, the milk 

of 49,712 dairy farmers was pooled on 

the Federal order system. Of the total, 

46,729 dairy farmers, or 94 percent, 

were considered small businesses. 

During the same month, 352 plants were 

regulated by or reported their milk 

receipts to be pooled and priced on a 

Federal order. Of the total, 186 plants, 

or 53 percent, were considered small 

businesses. 

This interim final rule amends all 

orders by changing the make allowances 


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