Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/10/01/2012-24112/citrus-greening-and-asian-citrus-psyllid-quarantine-and-interstate-movement-regulations
Timestamp: 2018-10-21 07:48:06
Document Index: 494511532

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', 'arts 301', '§\u2009301', '§\u2009301', 'art 305', '§\u2009301']

Federal Register :: Citrus Greening and Asian Citrus Psyllid; Quarantine and Interstate Movement Regulations
A Rule by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on 10/01/2012
77 FR 59709
59709-59712 (4 pages)
0579-AC85
Conditions for Interstate Movement
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-24112 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2012-24112
We are adopting as a final rule, with several changes, an interim rule that quarantined the States of Florida and Georgia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, two parishes in Louisiana, and two counties in South Carolina due to the presence of citrus greening and quarantined Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, three counties in South Carolina, portions of one county in Arizona, and all of three and portions of an additional three counties in California due to the presence of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), a vector of the bacterial pathogen that causes citrus greening. The rule also established restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas. In this final rule, we are making several nonsubstantive editorial amendments to the interim rule to improve its clarity and facilitate regulatory compliance. This final rule also provides notice that we have quarantined American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands for ACP, have extended the boundaries of the quarantined area for ACP in California to incorporate all of one and portions of another additional county, and have quarantined portions of one county in Texas and an area comprising portions of two counties in California for citrus greening.
Citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing disease of citrus, is considered to be one of the most serious citrus diseases in the world. Citrus greening is a bacterial disease caused by strains of the bacterial pathogen “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” that attacks the vascular system of host plants. The pathogen is phloem-limited, inhabiting the food-conducting tissue of the host plant, and causes yellow shoots, blotchy mottling and chlorosis, reduced foliage, and tip dieback of citrus plants. Citrus greening greatly reduces production, destroys the economic value of the fruit, and can kill trees. Once infected, there is no cure for a tree with citrus greening disease. In areas of the world where the disease is endemic, citrus trees decline and die within a few years and may never produce usable fruit.
In an interim rule [1] published in the Federal Register and effective on June 17, 2010 [2] (75 FR 34322-34336, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0015), we amended our domestic quarantine regulations in 7 CFR part 301 by adding a new subpart, “Citrus Greening and Asian Citrus Psyllid” (§§ 301.76 through 301.76-11, referred to below as the regulations). The interim rule quarantined the States of Florida and Georgia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, two parishes in Louisiana, and two counties in South Carolina due to the presence of citrus greening and quarantined Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, three counties in South Carolina, portions of one county in Arizona, and all of three and portions of an additional three counties in California due to the presence of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), a vector of the bacterial pathogen that causes citrus greening. The interim rule also established restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas. The interim rule was necessary on an emergency basis in order to prevent the spread of the plant pathogen and its vector to noninfested areas of the United States.
We solicited comments concerning the interim rule for 60 days, ending August 16, 2010. We received five comments by that date, from State departments of agriculture, commercial citrus nurseries, and a commercial distributor of citrus plants. The comments received are discussed below, by topic.
In § 301.76-2 of the interim rule, we designated all plant parts, including leaves (except fruit), of several genera and species, including Murraya paniculata (orange jasmine), as regulated articles for ACP and citrus greening.
We agree with the commenter that recent studies suggest that, if citrus greening is transmitted from an orange jasmine plant to other host plants, these host plants do not exhibit high densities of the bacterial pathogen associated with the disease. However, the preponderance of available scientific evidence, including the evidence cited by the commenter, suggests that orange jasmine can serve as a source of transmission of citrus greening. Hence we are making no change to the regulations in response to this comment.
In § 301.76-4 of the interim rule, in order to forestall the inadvertent but unauthorized noncommercial interstate movement of regulated nursery stock from an area quarantined for citrus greening, we required all nursery stock offered for commercial sale in such an area to be affixed with a plastic or metal tag with a prominent and legible statement alerting consumers to Federal prohibitions on the movement of the article. Alternatively, if the article is sold in a box or container, we allowed the statement to be printed on the box or container. We stated that the operator of the site of propagation of the nursery stock and the person offering the plants for commercial sale are jointly responsible for all such labeling.
Finally, we appreciate the commenter's concern that commercial retailers may be disinclined to label such nursery stock in accordance with § 301.76-4. To that end, we have been working with commercial retailers since issuance of the interim rule to find methods to ensure that means exist for the retailers to comply with the provisions of § 301.76-4 in a manner that is not economically burdensome or disruptive.
Section 301.76-6 of the interim rule contained regulations governing the interstate movement of regulated articles from areas quarantined for ACP, but not for citrus greening. Paragraph (b) provides for the issuance of limited permits for the interstate movement of regulated nursery stock to areas of the United States other than American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and those portions of Arizona, California, and South Carolina not quarantined due to the presence of ACP or citrus greening, if certain conditions were fulfilled.
The points raised by these commenters were addressed in an interim rule published in the Federal Register and effective on April 27, 2011 (76 FR 23449-23459, Docket No. APHIS-2010-0048). In that rule, we amended the regulations to provide that soil drenches may be applied no more than 90 but no less than 30 days prior to shipment, thus widening the window of time for applications to 60 days. We also amended the regulations to provide that nursery stock does not have to be moved interstate in a sealed shipping container unless it will transit a commercial citrus-producing area.
We are making several nonsubstantive editorial amendments to various provisions of the June 2009 interim rule in order to improve their clarity and facilitate regulatory compliance. These changes are described below.
In the interim rule, § 301.76-7 provided for the issuance of limited permits from areas quarantined for citrus greening. Paragraph (a) of § 301.76-7 provided for the issuance of limited permits for the interstate movement of regulated nursery stock for immediate export, if, among other conditions, the nursery stock is treated with an APHIS-approved soil drench or in-ground granular application, followed by an APHIS-approved foliar spray; with methyl bromide; or with irradiation. We intended these treatment options to mirror those contained in § 301.76-6 for regulated nursery stock moved interstate from an area quarantined only for ACP. However, while § 301.76-6 authorized regulated nursery stock to be treated with APHIS-approved soil drenches, granular applications, and foliar sprays, or fumigated with methyl bromide, it did not authorize nursery stock to be treated with irradiation. We are amending § 301.76-7 accordingly. (The April 2011 interim rule referenced above redesignated paragraph (a) as paragraph (b); hence we would amend paragraph (b) of § 301.76-7.)
In § 301.76-3 of the interim rule, paragraph (c) provided that a State or territory within the United States will be designated a quarantined area for ACP in which an established population of ACP has been detected. Paragraph (b) of § 301.76-3 provided that we may designate less than an entire State or territory as a quarantined area for ACP if the State or territory has adopted and is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of regulated articles that are equivalent to those imposed by the regulations on the interstate movement of regulated articles; and if the designation of less than the entire State or territory will still prevent the interstate spread of ACP.
Accordingly, we are designating both American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands, in their entireties, as quarantined areas for ACP, and are expanding the quarantined area for ACP in California to include Ventura County in its entirety and portions of Santa Barbara County. We are also designating portions of Hidalgo County, TX, and an area comprising portions of Los Angeles County and Orange County, CA, as quarantined areas for citrus greening. The updated list of quarantined areas is available on the Internet, at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/citrus_greening/index.shtml.
Further, this action has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive Orders 12866, and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
This final rule follows an interim rule that quarantined the States of Florida and Georgia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, two parishes in Louisiana, and two counties in South Carolina due to the presence of citrus greening and quarantined Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, three counties in South Carolina, portions of one county in Arizona, and all of three and portions of an additional three counties in California due to the presence of Asian citrus psyllid, a vector of the bacterial pathogen that causes citrus greening. In this final rule, the list of quarantined areas for Asian citrus psyllid is being updated to include American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and all of one and portions of another additional county in California. Likewise, the list of quarantined areas for citrus greening is being updated to include portions of one county in Texas and an area comprising portions of two counties in California. The analysis that accompanies this rule considers the economic effects of the regulations on the current quarantined area and the benefits of imposing the quarantine.
Accordingly, the interim rule amending 7 CFR parts 301 and 305 that was published at 75 FR 34322 on June 10, 2011, is adopted as a final rule, with the following changes:
§ 301.76-1
§§ 301.76-6, 301.76-7, 301.76-8, and 301.76-9
Additional conditions for issuance of certificates and limited permits for regulated articles moved interstate from areas quarantined for Asian citrus psyllid, but not for citrus greening.
(1) The article is treated with methyl bromide [3] in accordance with 7 CFR part 305 of this chapter.
§ 301.76-7
1. To view the interim rule, its supporting and related materials, and the comments we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2008-0015.
2. Section 301.76-4 of that rule was effective on September 15, 2010, rather than June 17, 2010.
3. EPA and State and local environmental authorities may restrict the use of methyl bromide on certain articles.
[FR Doc. 2012-24112 Filed 9-28-12; 8:45 am]