[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 189 (Monday, September 29, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56544-56545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22837]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0088]


Mexican Fruit Fly; Removal of Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of changes to quarantined area.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have made changes to the 
areas quarantined for Mexican fruit fly. The quarantined area was 
updated on July 15, 2008, by removing from quarantine the area in San 
Diego County, CA, that had been quarantined, and on August 20, 2008, by 
removing from quarantine the area in Willacy County, TX, that had been 
quarantined.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Wayne D. Burnett, National 
Coordinator, USDA-APHIS-Fruit Fly Exclusion and Detection Programs, 
4700 River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens) is a destructive pest of 
fruit. In the United States, the Mexican fruit fly attacks apples, 
apricots, avocados, grapefruit, mangos, nectarines, peaches, pears, 
plums, prunes, oranges, and tangerines, as well as other fruits.
    In a final rule published in the Federal Register (73 FR 32431-
32439, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0084) on June 9, 2008, and effective on 
July 9, 2008, we established a new subpart that consolidated our 
domestic fruit fly quarantine regulations (Sec. Sec.  301.32

[[Page 56545]]

through 301.32-10, referred to below as the regulations). These 
regulations set out procedures for determining the areas quarantined 
for fruit flies and impose restrictions on the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from quarantined areas.
    Section 301.32-3 of the regulations sets out the procedures for 
determining the areas quarantined for fruit flies. Paragraph (a) of 
Sec.  301.32-3 states that the Administrator will designate as a 
quarantined area each State, or each portion of a State, in which a 
fruit fly population subject to the regulations has been found by an 
inspector or in which the Administrator has reason to believe that a 
fruit fly population is present, or that the Administrator considers 
necessary to quarantine because of its inseparability for quarantine 
enforcement purposes from localities in which a fruit fly population 
has been found.
    Section 301.32-3 of the regulations provides that a State, or a 
portion of a State, will be removed from quarantine when the 
Administrator determines that sufficient time has passed without 
finding additional flies or other evidence of infestation in the area 
to conclude that the fruit fly no longer exists in that area.
    Section 301.32-3 of the regulations further provides that the 
Administrator 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/fruit_flies/index.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. The description of the 
quarantined area may also be obtained by request from any local office 
of PPQ; local officials are listed in telephone directories. Finally, 
Sec.  301.32-3 establishes that, after a change is made to the 
quarantined area, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register 
informing the public that the change has occurred and describing the 
change to the quarantined area.
    On July 15, 2008, we removed the area in San Diego County, CA, from 
quarantine and updated the quarantined area for Mexican fruit fly on 
the PPQ Web site.
    On August 20, 2008, we removed the area in Willacy County, TX, from 
quarantine and updated the quarantined area for Mexican fruit fly on 
the PPQ Web site.
    This notice is to inform the public of these changes.

Previous Interim Rules

    This notice also serves to inform the public that we are taking no 
action on the following fruit fly quarantine interim rules because the 
lists of areas quarantined for fruit flies were removed from the 
regulations in the June 2008 final rule.
    <bullet> Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Add Portions of Santa Clara and 
Solano Counties, CA, to the List of Quarantined Areas (72 FR 69137-
69139, Docket No. APHIS-2007-0133), published and effective December 7, 
2007;
    <bullet> Mexican Fruit Fly; Removal of Quarantined Area (73 FR 
5086-5087, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0129), published and effective January 
29, 2008, which removed Willacy County, TX, from the list of Mexfly 
quarantined areas;
    <bullet> Mediterranean Fruit Fly; Add Portion of Los Angeles 
County, CA, to the List of Quarantined Areas (73 FR 9171-9172, Docket 
No. APHIS-2008-0004), published and effective February 20, 2008; and
    <bullet> Mexican Fruit Fly; Designation of Portion of Willacy 
County, TX, as a Quarantined Area (73 FR 31929-31930, Docket No. APHIS-
2008-0057), published and effective June 5, 2008.
    The current fruit fly quarantined areas can be viewed on the PPQ 
Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/fruit_flies/index.shtml .

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, 
and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of September 2008.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E8-22837 Filed 9-26-08; 8:45 am]
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