Citrus Canker; Movement of Fruit From Quarantined Areas

AGENCY:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

SUMMARY:

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend the citrus canker regulations by modifying the conditions under which fruit may be moved interstate from quarantined areas. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

DATES:

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before August 7, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov,, select “Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service” from the agency drop-down menu, then click “Submit.” In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2007-0022 to submit or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through the site's “User Tips” link.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0022, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0022.

Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our reading room. The reading room 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) 690-2817 before coming.

Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Stephen Poe, Senior Operations Officer, Emergency Domestic Programs, Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On June 21, 2007, we published in the Federal Register (72 FR 34180-34191, Docket No. APHIS-2007-0022) a proposal to amend the citrus canker regulations by modifying the conditions under which fruit may be moved interstate from quarantined areas. Under this proposed rule, we would eliminate the requirement that the groves in which the fruit is produced be inspected and found free of citrus canker, and instead require that fruit produced in the quarantined area be treated with a surface disinfectant treatment in a packinghouse operating under a compliance agreement and that each lot of finished fruit be inspected at the packinghouse and found free of visible symptoms of citrus canker. We would, however, retain the current prohibition on the movement of fruit from a quarantined area into commercial citrus-producing States.

Comments on the proposed rule were required to be received on or before July 23, 2007. We are reopening the comment period on Docket No. APHIS-2007-0022 for an additional 15 days. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments. We will also consider all comments received between July 24, 2007, and the date of this notice. We have allowed comments to be submitted through Regulations.gov (see ADDRESSES block) during that period.

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