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.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

45955 

Vol. 82, No. 190 

Tuesday, October 3, 2017 

1To view the proposed rule, supporting 

documents, and the comments we received, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

APHIS-2015-0052. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2015–0052] 

RIN 0579–AE26 

Importation of Fresh Persimmons 

From New Zealand Into the United 

States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations concerning the importation 

of fruits and vegetables to allow the 

importation of fresh persimmons from 

New Zealand into the United States. As 

a condition of entry, the persimmons 

must be produced in accordance with a 

systems approach that includes 

requirements for orchard certification, 

orchard pest control, post-harvest 

safeguards, fruit culling, traceback, 

sampling, and treatment with either hot 

water or modified atmosphere 

treatment. The persimmons will also 

have to be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate with an 

additional declaration stating that they 

were produced under, and meet all the 

components of, the systems approach 

and were inspected and found to be free 

of quarantine pests in accordance with 

the requirements. This action allows the 

importation of fresh persimmons from 

New Zealand while continuing to 

protect against the introduction of plant 

pests into the United States. 

DATES: Effective November 2, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David B. Lamb, Senior Regulatory 

Policy Specialist, IRM, PPQ, APHIS, 

4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, 

MD 20737–1231; (301) 851–2103. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart–Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–79, referred to below as 

the regulations) prohibit or restrict the 

importation of fruits and vegetables into 

the United States from certain parts of 

the world to prevent the introduction 

and dissemination of plant pests that are 

new to or not widely distributed within 

the United States. 

On August 26, 2016, we published in 

the Federal Register (81 FR 58870– 

58873, Docket No. APHIS–2015–0052) a 

proposal 1 to amend the fruits and 

vegetables regulations to allow the 

importation of fresh persimmons 

(Diospyros kaki Thunb.) from New 

Zealand into the United States. As a 

condition of entry, the persimmons 

would have to be produced in 

accordance with a systems approach 

that includes requirements for orchard 

certification, orchard pest control, postharvest safeguards, fruit culling, 

traceback, sampling, and treatment with 

either hot water or modified atmosphere 

treatment. The persimmons would also 

have to be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate with an 

additional declaration stating that they 

were produced under, and meet all the 

components of, the systems approach 

and were inspected and found to be free 

of quarantine pests in accordance with 

the proposed requirements. 

We solicited comments concerning 

our proposal for 60 days ending October 

25, 2016. We received two comments by 

that date, from a private citizen and the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of New Zealand. One 

commenter generally objected to the 

importation of all fruits and vegetables 

into the United States, but did not 

otherwise address any issues germane to 

the proposal. The other comment is 

discussed in greater detail below. 

In paragraph (d)(3) of the proposal, we 

proposed to require that diseased or 

insect-infested fruit and fruit with 

surface pests be culled either before or 

during packing and removed from the 

packinghouse. We also proposed to 

require that the culling include any 

damaged or deformed fruit. The NPPO 

of New Zealand stated that the removal 

of deformed fruit is a grading concern 

rather than a phytosanitary issue. 

We disagree. As explained in the 

proposed rule, deformed fruit is more 

susceptible to infestation, as is damaged 

fruit. 

In paragraph (d)(4), we proposed to 

require that shipping containers be 

marked to identify the place of 

production and packinghouse from 

which the consignment of fruit 

originated. The NPPO of New Zealand 

asked for clarification of the term ‘‘final 

shipping container,’’ which we used in 

the preamble of the proposed rule. The 

NPPO stated that each individual 

packed unit of New Zealand 

persimmons will be marked to identify 

the place of production and 

packinghouse from which the packed 

unit of fruit originated. 

Our use of the term ‘‘final shipping 

container’’ was intended to refer to the 

individually packed units of the 

consignment and not the container in 

which the individually packed units are 

shipped. We have amended the text of 

paragraph (d)(4) to clarify that. 

In paragraph (e), we proposed to 

require that inspectors from the NPPO 

of New Zealand visually inspect a 

sample of fruit from each consignment 

at a rate jointly agreed upon by the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) and the NPPO of New 

Zealand, and cut fruit to inspect for 

quarantine pests that are internal 

feeders. The NPPO of New Zealand 

stated that, because there are no 

quarantine pests that are internal 

feeders on persimmons in New Zealand, 

cutting of fruit is not necessary. 

As described in the pest risk 

assessment, there are seven Lepidoptera 

pests of quarantine significance present 

in New Zealand that could be 

introduced into the United States 

through the importation of fresh 

persimmons. The larvae of some or all 

of these pests, which are classified as 

leafroller moths, may bore into the fruit 

and feed internally. Evidence of 

infestation, including entrance holes 

and frass, would easily be detected 

during visual inspection except for the 

extensive calyx on persimmon fruit. 

Therefore, we proposed to require fruit 

cutting as an addition to visual 

inspection. We agree that fruit cutting is 

not necessary as long as the area of the 

fruit under the calyx is thoroughly 

examined for the presence of internally 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with RULES
45956 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 3, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 

feeding pests. Therefore, we are 

amending the language in paragraph (e) 

to state that fruit cutting will be 

required only when visual evidence of 

internally feeding insects is discovered. 

In paragraph (c)(2), we proposed to 

require that the NPPO of New Zealand 

or its approved designee visit and 

inspect the places of production 

monthly beginning at blossom drop and 

continuing until the end of the shipping 

season for quarantine pests. In 

paragraph (f), we also proposed that the 

persimmons be treated with hot water 

treatment or with modified atmosphere 

treatment by being packed in semipermeable polymeric bags and stored at 

0 °C for a minimum of 28 days. The 

NPPO of New Zealand stated that, 

because the persimmons will undergo a 

28-day cold treatment prior to export, by 

the time persimmons are shipped, there 

will not be any persimmons in the place 

of production to inspect. 

We agree with the commenter and are 

amending paragraph (c)(2) to state that 

inspection of places of production will 

continue until the end of the harvest 

season rather than the end of the 

shipping season. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

proposed rule and in this document, we 

are adopting the proposed rule as a final 

rule, with the changes discussed in this 

document. 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13771 and 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This final 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. Further, 

because this rule is not significant, it is 

not a regulatory action under Executive 

Order 13771. 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, we have analyzed the 

potential economic effects of this action 

on small entities. The analysis is 

summarized below. Copies of the full 

analysis are available on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1 

in this document for a link to 

Regulations.gov) or by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

APHIS is amending the regulations in 

7 CFR 319.56, to allow the importation 

of fresh persimmon fruit (Diospyros 

kaki) into the entire United States from 

New Zealand subject to a systems 

approach. Most U.S. persimmon 

production takes place in California, 

where the 2011 value of production 

totaled about $13.6 million. The most 

recent data on U.S. persimmon imports 

show a total value of about $4.4 million 

in 2015. 

The wholesale value of the 

persimmon fruit for which New Zealand 

has requested import access will be 

about $90,000 initially. The value of 

future imports is forecast to reach about 

$330,000, or about 2 percent of the U.S. 

persimmon market. 

The Small Business Administration’s 

(SBA) small-entity standard for entities 

involved in fruit farming is $750,000 or 

less in annual receipts (NAICS 111339). 

It is probable that most or all U.S. 

persimmon producers are small 

businesses by the SBA standard. We 

expect any impact of the rule for these 

entities will be minimal, given New 

Zealand’s expected small share of the 

U.S. persimmon market. 

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. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule allows fresh 

persimmons to be imported into the 

United States from New Zealand. State 

and local laws and regulations regarding 

fresh persimmons imported under this 

rule will be preempted while the fruit 

is in foreign commerce. Fresh fruits are 

generally imported for immediate 

distribution and sale to the consuming 

public, and remain in foreign commerce 

until sold to the ultimate consumer. The 

question of when foreign commerce 

ceases in other cases must be addressed 

on a case-by-case basis. No retroactive 

effect will be given to this rule, and this 

rule will not require administrative 

proceedings before parties may file suit 

in court challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with section 3507(d) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information 

collection or recordkeeping 

requirements included in this final rule, 

which were filed under 0579–0456, 

have been submitted for approval to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). When OMB notifies us of its 

decision, if approval is denied, we will 

publish a document in the Federal 

Register providing notice of what action 

we plan to take. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance with the E-Government Act 

to promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this final rule, please contact Ms. 

Kimberly Hardy, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851– 

2483. 

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. 

Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

Part 319 as follows: 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

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. 

■ 2. Section 319.56–80 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–80 Persimmons from New 

Zealand. 

Fresh persimmons (Diospyros kaki 

Thunb.) may be imported into the 

United States only under the conditions 

described in this section. These 

conditions are designed to prevent the 

introduction of the quarantine pests 

Colletotrichum horii B. Weir & P.R. 

Johnst., Cnephasia jactatana (Walker), 

Cryptosporiopsis actinidiae P.R. Johnst., 

M.A. Manning & X. Meier, 

Ctenopseustis herana (Felder and 

Rogenhofer), Ctenopseustis obliquana 

(Walker), Epiphyas postvittana 

(Walker), Planotortrix excessana 

(Walker), Sperchia intractana (Walker), 

and Stathmopoda skelloni (Butler). 

(a) Operational workplan. The 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of New Zealand must provide 

an operational workplan to APHIS that 

details the activities that the NPPO of 

New Zealand will, subject to APHIS’ 

approval of the workplan, carry out to 

meet the requirements of this section. 

The operational workplan must include 

and describe the quarantine pest survey 

intervals and other specific 

requirements as set forth in this section. 

(b) Commercial consignments. 

Persimmons from New Zealand may be 

imported in commercial consignments 

only. 

(c)(1) Place of production 

requirements. All places of production 

that participate in the export program 

must be approved by and registered 

with the New Zealand NPPO in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

operational workplan. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 190 / Tuesday, October 3, 2017 / Rules and Regulations 45957 

(2) The NPPO of New Zealand or its 

approved designee must visit and 

inspect the places of production 

monthly beginning at blossom drop and 

continuing until the end of the harvest 

season for quarantine pests. Appropriate 

pest controls must be applied in 

accordance with the operational 

workplan. If the NPPO of New Zealand 

finds that a place of production is not 

complying with the requirements of this 

section, no fruit from the place of 

production will be eligible for export to 

the United States until APHIS and the 

NPPO of New Zealand conduct an 

investigation and appropriate remedial 

actions have been implemented. 

(d)(1) Packinghouse requirements. All 

packinghouses that participate in the 

export program must be approved by 

and registered with the New Zealand 

NPPO in accordance with the 

requirements of the operational 

workplan. 

(2) During the time the packinghouse 

is in use for exporting persimmons to 

the United States, the packinghouse 

may only accept persimmons from 

registered approved places of 

production and the fruit must be 

segregated from fruit intended for other 

markets. 

(3) All diseased or insect-infested fruit 

and fruit with surface pests must be 

culled either before or during packing 

and removed from the packinghouse. 

Culling must also include any damaged 

or deformed fruit. 

(4) Boxes or other containers in which 

the fruit is shipped must be marked to 

identify the place of production where 

the fruit originated and the 

packinghouse where it was packed. 

(5) The NPPO of New Zealand must 

monitor packinghouse operations to 

verify that the packinghouses are 

complying with the requirements of the 

systems approach. If the NPPO of New 

Zealand finds that a packinghouse is not 

complying with the requirements of this 

section, no fruit from the packinghouse 

will be eligible for export to the United 

States until APHIS and the NPPO of 

New Zealand conduct an investigation 

and appropriate remedial actions have 

been implemented. 

(e) Sampling. Inspectors from the 

NPPO of New Zealand must inspect a 

biometric sample of the fruit from each 

consignment at a rate jointly agreed 

upon by APHIS and the NPPO of New 

Zealand. The inspectors must visually 

inspect for quarantine pests listed in the 

operational workplan required by 

paragraph (a) of this section and must 

cut fruit to inspect for the Lepidoptera 

pests of concern when visual signs of 

the internal feeders are present. If 

quarantine pests are detected in this 

inspection, the consignment will be 

prohibited entry into the United States. 

(f) Treatment. Each consignment of 

persimmons must be subjected to a postharvest treatment by either: 

(1) Hot water treatment. The 

persimmons are held for 20 minutes in 

hot water at 50 °C (122 °F); or 

(2) Modified atmosphere treatment. 

The persimmons are packed in semipermeable polymeric bags and stored at 

0 °C for a minimum of 28 days. 

(g) Phytosanitary certificate. Each 

consignment of persimmons must be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate of inspection issued by the 

New Zealand NPPO with an additional 

declaration stating that the fruit in the 

consignment were grown, packed, and 

inspected and found to be free of 

quarantine pests in accordance with the 

requirements of the systems approach. 

(Approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget under control number 0579– 

0456) 

Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of 

September 2017. 

Michael C. Gregoire, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–21185 Filed 10–2–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 71 

[Docket No. FAA–2017–0320; Airspace 

Docket No. 17–ASO–12] 

Establishment of Class E Airspace; 

Picayune, MS 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This action establishes Class 

E airspace extending upward from 700 

feet above the surface at Picayune, MS, 

to accommodate new area navigation 

(RNAV) global positioning system (GPS) 

standard instrument approach 

procedures (SIAPs) serving Highland 

Community Hospital Heliport. 

Controlled airspace is necessary for the 

safety and management of instrument 

flight rules (IFR) operations at the 

heliport. 

DATES: Effective 0901 UTC, December 7, 

2017. The Director of the Federal 

Register approves this incorporation by 

reference action under title 1, Code of 

Federal Regulations, part 51, subject to 

the annual revision of FAA Order 

7400.11 and publication of conforming 

amendments. 

ADDRESSES: FAA Order 7400.11B, 

Airspace Designations and Reporting 

Points, and subsequent amendments can 

be viewed online at http://www.faa.gov/ 

air_traffic/publications/. For further 

information, you can contact the 

Airspace Policy Group, Federal Aviation 

Administration, 800 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; 

telephone: (202) 267–8783. The Order is 

also available for inspection at the 

National Archives and Records 

Administration (NARA). For 

information on the availability of FAA 

Order 7400.11B at NARA, call (202) 

741–6030, or go to https://

www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ 

ibr-locations.html. 

FAA Order 7400.11, Airspace 

Designations and Reporting Points, is 

published yearly and effective on 

September 15. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Fornito, Operations Support Group, 

Eastern Service Center, Federal Aviation 

Administration, P.O. Box 20636, 

Atlanta, Georgia 30320; telephone (404) 

305–6364. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

The FAA’s authority to issue rules 

regarding aviation safety is found in 

Title 49 of the United States Code. 

Subtitle I, Section 106 describes the 

authority of the FAA Administrator. 

Subtitle VII, Aviation Programs, 

describes in more detail the scope of the 

agency’s authority. This rulemaking is 

promulgated under the authority 

described in Subtitle VII, Part A, 

Subpart I, Section 40103. Under that 

section, the FAA is charged with 

prescribing regulations to assign the use 

of airspace necessary to ensure the 

safety of aircraft and the efficient use of 

airspace. This regulation is within the 

scope of that authority as it establishes 

Class E airspace extending upward from 

700 feet above the surface at Highland 

Community Hospital Heliport, 

Picayune, MS, to support IFR operations 

under standard instrument approach 

procedures at the heliport. 

History 

The FAA published a notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM in the 

Federal Register (82 FR 25991, June 6, 

2017) Docket No. FAA–2017–0320 to 

establish Class E airspace extending 

upward from 700 feet above the surface 

at Highland Community Hospital 

Heliport, Picayune, MS, due to the new 

RNAV (GPS) standard instrument 

approach procedures developed for IFR 

operations at the heliport. Interested 

parties were invited to participate in 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with RULES