[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 227 (Monday, November 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64825-64826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25439]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2018-0066]
Plants for Planting Whose Importation Is Not Authorized Pending
Pest Risk Analysis; Notice of Availability of Data Sheets for Taxa of
Plants for Planting That are Quarantine Pests or Hosts of Quarantine
Pests
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have determined that 26
taxa of plants for planting are quarantine pests, and that all
Myrtaceae taxa (when destined to Hawaii), all subfamily Bambusoideae
taxa, and 43 other taxa of plants for planting are hosts of 18
quarantine pests, and therefore should be added to our lists of taxa of
plants for planting whose importation is not authorized pending pest
risk analysis. We have prepared data sheets that detail the scientific
evidence we evaluated in making the determination that the taxa are
quarantine pests or hosts of quarantine pests. We are making these data
sheets available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
January 24, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0066.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2018-0066, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
The data sheets and any comments we receive may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0066 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: Dr. Indira Singh, Botanist, Plants for
Planting Policy, IRM, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale,
MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-2020.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart H--Plants for Planting'' (7 CFR
319.37-1 through 319.37-23, referred to below as the regulations), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture prohibits or restricts the importation of
plants for planting (including living plants, plant parts, seeds, and
plant cuttings) to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests into
the United States. Quarantine pest is defined in Sec. 319.37-2 as a
plant pest or noxious weed that is of potential economic importance to
the United States and not yet present in the United States, or present
but not widely distributed and being officially controlled.
Section 319.37-4 of the regulations provides that certain plants
for planting are not authorized importation into the United States
pending pest risk analysis (NAPPRA) in order to prevent the
introduction of quarantine pests into the United States. There are two
lists of taxa whose importation is NAPPRA: A list of taxa of plants for
planting that are quarantine pests themselves, and a list of taxa of
plants for planting that are hosts of quarantine pests. For taxa of
plants for planting that have been determined to be quarantine pests,
the list includes the names of the taxa. For taxa of plants for
planting that are hosts of quarantine pests, the list includes the
names of the taxa, the foreign countries from which the taxa's
importation is not authorized, and the quarantine pests of concern.
Paragraph (b) of Sec. 319.37-4 describes the process for adding
taxa to the NAPPRA lists. In accordance with that process, this notice
announces our determination that 26 taxa of plants for planting are
quarantine pests, and that all Myrtaceae taxa (when destined to
Hawaii), all subfamily Bambusoideae taxa, and 43 other taxa of plants
for planting are hosts of 18 quarantine pests.
This notice also makes available data sheets that detail the
scientific evidence
[[Page 64826]]
we evaluated in making the determination that the taxa are quarantine
pests or hosts of a quarantine pest. The data sheets include references
to the scientific evidence we used in making these determinations.
A complete list of the taxa of plants for planting that we have
determined to be quarantine pests or hosts of quarantine pests, along
with the data sheets supporting those determinations, may be viewed on
the internet \1\ or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may
request paper copies of the list and data sheets by calling or writing
to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. For taxa of
plants for planting that are hosts of quarantine pests, the data sheets
specify the countries from which the taxa's importation would not be
authorized pending pest risk analysis.
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\1\ See https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/permits/plants-and-plant-products-permits/plants-for-planting/ct_nappra.
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Proposed Revision to Criteria for ``Significant Trade''
In a notice published in the Federal Register on May 6, 2013 (78 FR
26316-26317, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0076), we proposed to exempt taxa
from NAPPRA requirements if there was ``significant trade'' between an
exporting country and the United States in the taxon and if the
imported plants had generally been determined to be pest free based on
inspection at ports of entry. We stated that, generally, we would
consider the importation from a country of 10 or more plants in each of
last 3 fiscal years to constitute ``significant trade.'' We affirmed
this as our criterion for an exemption from NAPPRA requirements in a
notice published in the Federal Register on June 19, 2017 (82 FR 27786-
27792, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0076).
In this notice, we are proposing to add Jasminum spp. plants for
planting from South Africa to NAPPRA, and Catharanthus spp. plants for
planting from Canada to NAPPRA, even though, in both instances, import
history of the taxa slightly exceeds the ``significant trade''
threshold articulated in the 2013 and 2017 notices. This is because we
consider the plant pest associated with Jasminum spp. and Catharanthus
spp. plants for planting, Brevipalpus chilensis, to be high risk.
Because of the possibility of significant adverse impacts on U.S.
agriculture if B. chilensis were to become established within the
United States, we decided that imports of at least 10 plants for each
of the last 3 fiscal years would not be sufficient in order for us to
have assurances that the importation of the taxa does not present a
risk of introducing B. chilensis. For those two taxa, we decided that
imports would also have to exceed 100 or more plants at least once in
the previous 3 fiscal years for this to constitute ``significant
trade'' in the taxa. For other taxa that we are proposing to list on
NAPPRA, the ``significant trade'' criterion articulated in the 2013 and
2017 notices still apply.
Zea spp. From Guatemala and Pennisetum glaucum From Chile
On a related matter, in the 2017 final notice, we added corn (Zea
spp.) seed imports from Guatemala and Pennisetum glaucum (Cenchrus
americanus) seed imports from Chile to NAPPRA due to an apparent lack
of ``significant trade.'' Since then, U.S. importers have provided
import data, which we have corroborated, indicating that corn seed
imports from Guatemala and P. glaucum seed imports from Chile met the
threshold for ``significant trade'' set forth in that notice and should
not have been added to NAPPRA. We are therefore proposing to remove
corn seed imports from Guatemala and P. glaucum seed imports from Chile
from NAPPRA.
After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the addition of the taxa described in the data
sheets to the NAPPRA lists, our proposed revision to the ``significant
trade'' criterion, and our proposed removal of Zea spp. from Guatemala
and P. glaucum from Chile from NAPPRA, in a subsequent notice. If the
Administrator's determination that the taxa are quarantine pests or
hosts of quarantine pests remains unchanged following our consideration
of the comments, then we will add the taxa described in the data sheets
to the appropriate NAPPRA list.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633 and 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 18th day of November 2019.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-25439 Filed 11-22-19; 8:45 am]
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