[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 26 (Thursday, February 7, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 7189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2262]


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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.

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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.
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    \1\ To view the interim rule and the comment we received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0129.
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    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

0
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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