Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 7189 

1To view the interim rule and the comment we 

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

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0129. 

■ 2. The heading of subpart C is revised 

to read as set forth above. 

■ 3. The undesignated center heading 

‘‘Allotments for Savings’’ following 

§ 550.351 is removed. 

■ 4. Revise the heading to § 550.361 to 

read as follows: 

§ 550.361 Scope. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E8–2131 Filed 2–6–08; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0129] 

RIN 0579–AC32 

Wood Packaging Material; Treatment 

Modification 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final 

rule, without change, an interim rule 

that amended the regulations for the 

importation of unmanufactured wood 

articles to bring the methyl bromide 

treatment schedule into alignment with 

current international phytosanitary 

standards. The interim rule was 

necessary because international 

phytosanitary standards had changed, 

and our regulations needed to be 

updated to reflect the current standards. 

DATES: Effective on February 7, 2008, we 

are adopting as a final rule the interim 

rule published at 72 FR 30460–30462 on 

June 1, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

John T. Jones, II, Forestry Products 

Trade Director, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1236; (301) 734–8860. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In an interim rule 1 effective and 

published in the Federal Register on 

June 1, 2007 (72 FR 30460–30462, 

Docket No. APHIS–2006–0129), we 

amended the regulations for the 

importation of unmanufactured wood 

articles to bring the methyl bromide 

treatment schedule into alignment with 

current international phytosanitary 

standards. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before July 

31, 2007. We received one comment by 

that date, from a State agriculture 

department. The commenter stated that 

methyl bromide treatments do not 

control deep wood insects, but did not 

provide any evidence to support that 

assertion. The commenter also stated 

that more effective treatments should be 

required, but did not offer any 

suggestions for such treatments. 

We agree that the methyl bromide 

treatment standards adopted in the 

interim rule would be inappropriate for 

the treatment of logs or large pieces of 

lumber. However, these standards apply 

specifically to wood packaging 

materials, such as pallets, crating, and 

boxes, which are typically made of stock 

1⁄2-inch to 3 inches in thickness. 

Research has demonstrated that 

fumigation of wood packaging material 

in accordance with these standards will 

be sufficient to penetrate wood stock of 

the sizes typically used for wood 

packaging materials and will provide an 

appropriate level of phytosanitary 

protection. We are making no changes to 

the interim rule in response to this 

comment. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

interim rule and in this document, we 

are adopting the interim rule as a final 

rule without change. 

This action also affirms the 

information contained in the interim 

rule concerning Executive Orders 12866 

and 12988 and the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. 

Further, this action 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. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

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

have performed a final regulatory 

flexibility analysis, which is set out 

below, regarding the economic effects of 

this rule on small entities. 

We invited the public to comment on 

the potential effects of the interim rule 

on small entities, in particular the 

number and kind of small entities that 

may incur benefits or costs from the 

implementation of the interim rule. 

However, we did not receive any 

additional information or data in 

response to those requests. 

The rule affects foreign exporters of 

goods that are shipped using wood 

packaging materials. No U.S. entities 

involved in the production or supply of 

unmanufactured wood packaging 

materials are expected to be negatively 

affected by the rule because the revised 

treatment must occur in the country of 

origin. The impact on foreign entities is 

not expected to be large because only 

the treatment time and concentration 

reading have been changed; the methyl 

bromide dosage rate remains the same. 

It is possible that some foreign entities 

might pass on additional treatment 

costs, if any, to U.S. buyers. 

The rule has no mandatory reporting, 

recordkeeping, or other compliance 

requirements for U.S. entities, other 

than the requirements that normally 

pertain to commodity importation. 

APHIS has not identified any 

duplication, overlap, or conflict of the 

interim rule with other Federal rules. 

We do not foresee the rule having a 

significant economic impact on small 

entities, and therefore have not 

proposed significant alternatives to 

minimize impacts. The rule simply 

aligns the U.S. methyl bromide 

treatment requirements for wood 

packaging materials with the standards 

established by the International Plant 

Protection Convention. The rule benefits 

the United States by reducing the risk of 

introduction of pests via 

unmanufactured wood packaging 

materials. It may impact foreign 

exporters of goods to the United States 

who use unmanufactured wood 

packaging materials, which in turn may 

affect importers of these goods. 

However, cost increases, if any, due to 

the revised treatment requirements are 

not expected to significantly affect 

domestic entities and thus will not have 

a measurable impact on the flow of 

trade. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, 

Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Vegetables. 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ Accordingly, we are adopting as a 

final rule, without change, the interim 

rule that amended 7 CFR part 319 and 

that was published at 72 FR 30460– 

30462 on June 1, 2007. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

February 2008. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–2262 Filed 2–6–08; 8:45 am] 

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