[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 233 (Thursday, December 4, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 71973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28488]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 2014 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 71973]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Parts 318 and 319

[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0082]
RIN 0579-AD71


Establishing a Performance Standard for Authorizing the 
Importation and Interstate Movement of Fruits and Vegetables

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that 
would amend our regulations governing the importation and interstate 
movement of fruits and vegetables by broadening our existing 
performance standard to provide for approval of all new fruits and 
vegetables for importation or interstate movement into or within the 
United States using a notice-based process. This action will allow 
interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published on September 
9, 2014 (79 FR 53346-53352) is reopened. We will consider all comments 
that we receive on or before January 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0082.
    <bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2010-0082, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-
0082 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nicole L. Russo, Assistant 
Director, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2159.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 9, 2014, we published in the 
Federal Register (79 FR 53346-53352) a proposal to amend our 
regulations governing the importations of fruits and vegetables by 
broadening our existing performance standard to provide for approval of 
all new fruits and vegetables for importation into the United States 
using a notice-based process. We also proposed to remove the region- or 
commodity-specific phytosanitary requirements currently found in these 
regulations. Likewise, we proposed an equivalent revision of the 
performance standard in our regulations governing the interstate 
movement of fruits and vegetables from Hawaii and the U.S. territories 
(Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands) and the removal of commodity-specific phytosanitary 
requirements from those regulations. This proposal would allow for the 
approval of requests to authorize the importation or interstate 
movement of new fruits and vegetables in a manner that enables a more 
flexible and responsive regulatory approach to evolving pest situations 
in both the United States and exporting countries. It would not 
however, alter the science-based process in which the risk associated 
with importation or interstate movement of a given fruit or vegetable 
is evaluated or the manner in which risks associated with the 
importation or interstate movement of a fruit or vegetable are 
mitigated.
    Comments on the proposed rule were required to be received on or 
before November 10, 2014. We are reopening the comment period on Docket 
No. APHIS-2010-0082 for an additional 60 days. We will also accept all 
comments received between November 11, 2014 (the day after the close of 
the original comment period) and the date of this notice. This action 
will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit 
comments.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of December 2014.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-28488 Filed 12-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P