Notice of Proposed Revision to Requirements for the Importation of Plums From Chile Into the United States

AGENCY:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice of availability.

SUMMARY:

We are advising the public that we have prepared a commodity import evaluation document (CIED) relative to the importation into the United States of plums from Chile. Chile plums are currently subject to irradiation, either in Chile or in the United States, as a mitigation for European grapevine moth (EGVM). Based on the findings of the CIED, in addition to the option of irradiation, we are also proposing to authorize the importation of plums from Chile under a systems approach for EGVM, as well as an option for fumigation with methyl bromide. We are making the CIED available to the public for review and comment.

DATES:

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before January 3, 2022.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2021-0041 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab, then select the Comment button in the list of documents.

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2021-0041, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at www.regulations.gov or in our reading room, which is located in room 1620 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:

Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Senior Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, Imports, Regulations, and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2352; claudia.ferguson@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Under the regulations in “Subpart L—Fruits and Vegetables” (7 CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-12, referred to below as the regulations), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prohibits or restricts the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world to prevent plant pests from being introduced into or disseminated within the United States.

Section 319.56-4 of the regulations provides the requirements for authorizing the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States, as well as revising existing requirements for the importation of fruits and vegetables. Paragraph (c) of that section provides that the name and origin of all fruits and vegetables authorized importation into the United States, as well as the requirements for their importation, are listed on the internet in APHIS' Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements database, or FAVIR ( https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual ). It also provides that, if the Administrator of APHIS determines that any of the phytosanitary measures required for the importation of a particular fruit or vegetable are no longer necessary to reasonably mitigate the plant pest risk posed by the fruit or vegetable, APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register making its pest risk documentation and determination available for public comment.

Chile plums ( Prunus domestica ) are currently listed in FAVIR as authorized for importation into the United States; however, the requirements for such imports have recently changed. Following detections during preclearance inspections in Chile of European grapevine moth (EGVM; Lobesia botrana ) larvae and pupae in plums intended for shipment to the United States, on April 1, 2021, APHIS issued a Federal Order (DA-2021-04) modifying the requirements for such imports to prevent the introduction of EGVM. The Federal Order required plums exported to the United States from Chile to be irradiated with a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy upon arrival in the United States or subjected to methyl bromide fumigation that was conducted in Chile under an APHIS preclearance program. The allowance for methyl bromide fumigation provided for in the Federal Order ended on May 31, 2021.

The national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Chile has requested that APHIS revise the import requirements for plums from Chile to the United States to allow for alternative mitigations to address EGVM other than irradiation. In response to this request from the NPPO, APHIS prepared a commodity import evaluation document (CIED) titled “Importation of Fresh Plums and Plum hybrids ( Prunus domestica ) from Chile into the United States using a systems approach to mitigate for European Grapevine Moth ( Lobesia botrana ).” The CIED recommends that, in addition to irradiation, the EGVM risk associated with the importation of plums from Chile could also be mitigated by a systems approach or by methyl bromide fumigation in Chile or at the port of entry in the United States.

Therefore, in accordance with § 319.56-4(c), we are announcing the availability of our CIED for public review and comment. This document, as well as a description of the economic considerations associated with alternatives to the irradiation requirement, may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may request paper copies of these documents by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT . Please refer to the subject of the analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.

After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our decision regarding whether to revise the requirements for the importation of plums from Chile in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of our analysis and the Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following our consideration of the comments, then we will revise the requirements for the importation of plums from Chile as described in this notice.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.