Source: http://thefederalregister.com/2012/10/01/2012-24112.html
Timestamp: 2017-12-11 05:40:52
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Federal Register | Citrus Greening and Asian Citrus Psyllid; Quarantine and Inte
SUMMARY: 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Lynn Evans-Goldner, National Program Manager, Emergency and Domestic Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 160, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2286.
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 “CandidatusLiberibacter 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.
The bacterial pathogen causing citrus greening can be transmitted by grafting and, under laboratory conditions, by parasitic plants. There also is some evidence that seed transmission may occur. The pathogen can also be transmitted by two insect vectors in the familyPsyllidae: Diaphorina citriKuwayama, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), andTrioza erytreae(del Guercio), the African citrus psyllid. ACP can also cause economic damage to citrus in groves and nurseries by direct feeding. Both adults and nymphs feed on young foliage, depleting the sap and causing galling or curling of leaves. High populations feeding on a citrus shoot can kill the growing tip. The African citrus psyllid is not known to exist in the United States.
In an interim rule1 published in theFederal Registerand effective on June 17, 20102 (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.
1To view the interim rule, its supporting and related materials, and the comments we received, go tohttp://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2008-0015.
2Section 301.76-4 of that rule was effective on September 15, 2010, rather than June 17, 2010.
In § 301.76-2 of the interim rule, we designated all plant parts, including leaves (except fruit), of several genera and species, includingMurraya paniculata(orange jasmine), as regulated articles for ACP and citrus greening.
One commenter agreed that orange jasmine is a host of ACP and citrus greening. Moreover, the commenter stated that recent studies conducted by American, Brazilian, and Chinese phytopathologists have determined that orange jasmine that is infected with citrus greening may spread the disease to other plants if ACP serves as the means of transmission. However, the commenter stated that the sameresearchers had also found titer levels of the bacterial pathogen associated with citrus greening in these newly infected plants to be low, and to decrease over time. (Titers are antibodies for a particular pathogen that are present within an organism's vascular system.) For this reason, the commenter suggested that APHIS should reevaluate whether to consider orange jasmine a regulated article for citrus greening.
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.
Another commenter pointed out that, as written, § 301.76-4 would require nursery stock produced in an area that is not quarantined for citrus greening, but shipped to a quarantined area for commercial sale, to be labeled prior to shipment or to be labeled by the person offering the plant for commercial sale. The commenter stated that commercial retailers of citrus nursery stock are unlikely to label their inventory; hence, it would fall to producers to label the nursery stock prior to shipment. The commenter further stated that smaller producers in the citrus industry often do not know the final destination of their nursery stock prior to shipment. The commenter concluded that § 301.76-4 would effectively require such producers to label their entire inventory, unless they were certain the nursery stock would not be shipped to an area quarantined for citrus greening. Accordingly, the commenter suggested that we modify the section so that all producers who ship regulated nursery stock interstate would have to label their plants, or so that the requirement would pertain to regulated nursery stock that is produced within an area quarantined for citrus greening, rather than offered for commercial sale within such an area.
Requiring all regulated nursery stock that will be moved in interstate commerce to be labeled in accordance with § 301.76-4 would place an undue burden on producers in areas that are not quarantined for citrus greening who ship primarily or exclusively to areas of the United States that also are not quarantined for this disease, and lacks a basis in risk.
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.
The points raised by these commenters were addressed in an interim rule published in theFederalRegisterand 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.
In § 301.76-1 of the interim rule, we definedcitrus greeningas “a plant disease caused by several strains of the uncultured, phloem-limited bacterial pathogen `CandidatusLiberibacter asiaticus'.” This definition, while accurate, did not specify that citrus greening is also commonly referred to as Huanglongbing disease of citrus by the international taxonomic community. We are amending the definition to specify that the disease is known by both names.
In the interim rule, paragraph (a) of § 301.76-6 provided for the issuance of certificates for the unrestricted movement of any regulated article from an area quarantined only for ACP, if, among other conditions, the article was treated with methyl bromide prior to movement. While the preamble of the rule noted that EPA and State and local environmental authorities may not authorize the use of methyl bromide on certain regulated articles, the regulatory text for paragraph (a) of § 301.76-6 did not. We are adding a footnote containing this information to paragraph (a).
As we mentioned above, in the interim rule, paragraph (b) of § 301.76-6 provided for the issuance of limited permits for the interstate movement of regulated nursery stock from an area quarantined only for ACP, subject to certain conditions. As we also mentioned above, one of these conditions required the nursery stock to be affixed prior to movement with a plastic or metal tag on which the statement “Limited permit: USDA-APHIS-PPQ. Not for distribution in American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, or those portions of AZ, CA, and SC not quarantined due to the presence of Asian citrus psyllid or citrus greening” is prominently and legibly displayed, or to be otherwise labeled with this statement. We stated that the limited permit statement was necessary in order to help prevent the introduction of ACP into areas with commercial citrus production but without established populations of ACP through the movement of regulated nursery stock.
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, athttp://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/citrus_greening/index.shtml.
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 toinclude 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.
PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES 1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows: Authority:
2. In § 301.76-1, the definition of citrus greening is revised to read as follows:
§ 301.76-1 Definitions.
Citrus greening.A plant disease, also commonly referred to as Huanglongbing disease of citrus, that is caused by several strains of the uncultured, phloem-limited bacterial pathogen “CandidatusLiberibacter asiaticus”.
§§ 301.76-6, 301.76-7, 301.76-8, and 301.76-9 [Amended]
3. In §§ 301.76-6, 301.76-7, 301.76-8, and 301.76-9, footnotes 3 through 7 are redesignated as footnotes 4 through 8, respectively. 4. Section 301.76-6 is amended as follows: a. In paragraph (a)(1), by adding a footnote 3; and b. In paragraph (c)(1)(iv), by removing the words “Northern Mariana Islands or”.
(1) The article is treated with methyl bromide3 in accordance with 7 CFR part 305 of this chapter.
§ 301.76-7 [Amended]
5. In § 301.76-7, paragraph (b)(1) is amended by removing the words “or irradiation”. Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of September 2012. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.