Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 75, April 21, 2009, Pages 18115-18284 Page: 18,163
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Federal Register/Vol. 74, No. 75/Tuesday, April 21, 2009/Proposed Rules
papayas to Hawaii or any U.S. territory
or possession.
We note that the regulations in
319.56-25(f) state that papayas from
Central America and Brazil must be
shipped in individual cartons or boxes
stamped or marked with the statement:
"Not for importation into or distribution
within Hawaii." That distribution
limitation was put in place because the
papaya fruit fly (Toxotrypana
curvicauda), which occurs in Central
America and Brazil, does not occur in
Hawaii, where the majority of U.S.
commercial papaya production takes
place.
In developing this proposed rule, we
considered using similar box marking
requirements to communicate the
distribution limitations for papayas
from Colombia and Ecuador. However,
as noted above, we concluded that the
permitting process would allow us to
effectively implement the distribution
limitations. The same factors that led us
to conclude that box marking would not
be necessary for papayas from Colombia
and Ecuador also led us to consider
whether it was necessary to continue
requiring box marking for papayas from
Central America and Brazil. As a result
of that consideration, we have
concluded that the permitting process
would also allow us to effectively
implement the distribution limitations
on papayas from Central America and
Brazil. Therefore, we are proposing to
remove the requirement in 319.56-
25(f) that papayas from Central America
and Brazil be shipped in individual
cartons or boxes stamped or marked
with the statement: "Not for importation
into or distribution within Hawaii."
Fruit Fly Trapping
Beginning at least 1 year before
harvest begins and continuing through
the completion of harvest, fruit fly traps
would have to be maintained in the
field where the papayas were grown.
Fifty percent of the traps would have to
be of the McPhail type, and 50 percent
of the traps of the Jackson type. The
traps would have to be placed at the rate
of 1 trap per hectare and checked for
fruit flies at least once a week by plant
health officials of the NPPO. The NPPO
would have to keep records of the fruit
fly finds for each trap, updating the
records each time the traps are checked,
and make the records available to
APHIS upon request. The records would
have to be maintained for at least 1 year.
This condition would ensure the earliest
possible detection of increasing
populations of fruit flies in and around
fields where papayas are grown.
If the average Jackson fruit fly trapcatch is greater than seven Medflies per
trap per week, measures would have to
be taken to control the Medfly
population in the production area. If the
average Jackson trap catch exceeds 14
Medflies per trap per week,
importations of papayas from that
production area would be halted until
the rate of capture drops to an average
of 7 or fewer Medflies per trap per week.
If the average McPhail trap catch is
greater than seven South American fruit
flies per trap per week, measures would
have to be taken to control the South
American fruit flies population in the
production area. If the average McPhail
trap catch exceeds 14 South American
fruit flies per trap per week,
importations of papayas from that
production area would be halted until
the rate of capture drops to an average
of 7 or fewer South American fruit flies
per trap per week.
These thresholds for Medfly and
South American fruit fly trapping would
help detect increasing populations of
these fruit flies in growing areas; as
such, this condition would help ensure
that these fruit flies are not associated
with imports of papayas into the
continental United States.
All activities would have to be
conducted under the supervision and
direction of plant health officials of the
NPPO of the exporting country to help
ensure that all activities required by the
regulations are properly carried out.
Currently, fruit fly trapping is not listed
as an activity to which this requirement
applies. Therefore, we are proposing to
amend 319.56-25 to make it clear that
this requirement applies to all activities,
including fruit fly trapping.
Phytosanitary Certificate
All shipments of papayas would have
to be accompanied by a phytosanitary
certificate issued by the NPPO of the
exporting country stating that the
papayas were grown, packed, and
shipped in accordance with the
proposed requirements. This condition
would help ensure that the provisions of
the regulations have been met. In
addition, as part of issuing the
phytosanitary certificate, the NPPO
would inspect the commodities and
certify that they are free of quarantine
pests.
The existing regulations in 319.56-
25(k), which we are proposing to
redesignate as paragraph (j), provide
that all consignments of papayas must
be accompanied by a phytosanitary
certificate issued by the national
Ministry of Agriculture. However,
throughout the regulations we identify
the official service responsible for
discharging functions specified by theInternational Plant Protection
Convention, including the issuance of
phytosanitary certificates, as the NPPO
of the exporting country, rather than the
national Ministry of Agriculture. For
clarity and consistency, we propose to
amend 319.56-25(k) to refer to the
NPPO.
Miscellaneous
We would amend the regulations in
319.56-25 in order to clarify that the
continental United States includes
Alaska, rather than referring to Alaska
as a separate entity.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory
Flexibility Act
This proposed rule has been reviewed
under Executive Order 12866. The 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.
We are proposing to allow, under
certain conditions, the importation of
commercial shipments of fresh papaya
from Colombia and Ecuador into the
continental United States. The
conditions for the importation of
papayas from Colombia and Ecuador
include requirements for approved
production locations; field sanitation;
hot water treatment; procedures for
packing and shipping the papayas; and
fruit fly trapping in papaya production
areas. This action would allow for the
importation of papayas from Colombia
and Ecuador while continuing to
provide protection against the
introduction of injurious plant pests
into the continental United States.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act
requires agencies to evaluate the
potential effects of their proposed and
final rules on small businesses, small
organizations and small governmental
jurisdictions. Section 605 of the Act
relieves an agency of the requirement to
prepare and make available for public
comment an initial regulatory flexibility
analysis describing the expected impact
of a proposed rule on small entities if
the head of the agency certifies that the
rule will not, if promulgated, have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
Businesses most likely to be affected
by this rule would be U.S. papaya
producers. Papaya production is
classified under North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS)
111339, other non-citrus fruit farming.
The Small Business Administration
(SBA) classifies papaya producers as
small entities if they have annual sales
of not more than $750,000. In the
United States in 2002, the U.S.Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
18163
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United States. Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 75, April 21, 2009, Pages 18115-18284, periodical, April 21, 2009; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc132937/m1/55/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.