[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 31478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10548]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 17, 2023 /
Notices
[[Page 31478]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0105]
Importation of Fresh Pumpkin, Squash, and the Hybrid Tetsukabuto
From Brazil Into the Continental United States
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 prepared a pest risk
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with importation of fresh
pumpkin, squash, and the interspecific hybrid tetsukabuto from Brazil
into the continental United States. Based on the analysis, we have
determined that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary
measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or
disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh
pumpkin, squash, and tetsukabuto from Brazil. We are making the pest
risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July
17, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2020-0105 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-2020-0105, 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,
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301)
851-2352.
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 contains a performance-based process for approving
the importation of fruits and vegetables that, based on the findings of
a pest risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one or more of
the five designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph (b) of
that section.
APHIS received a request from the national plant protection
organization (NPPO) of Brazil to allow the importation of fresh pumpkin
(Cucurbita moschata), squash (Cucurbita maxima), and the interspecific
hybrid tetsukabuto (C. moschata x C. maxima) from Brazil into the
continental United States. Currently, the importation of those items is
not authorized. As part of our evaluation of Brazil's request, we have
prepared a pest risk assessment to identify the pests of quarantine
significance that could follow the pathway of the importation of fresh
pumpkin, squash, and tetsukabuto into the continental United States
from Brazil. Based on the pest risk assessment, a risk management
document (RMD) was prepared to identify phytosanitary measures that
could be applied to those commodities to mitigate the pest risk.
Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 319.56-4(c), we are announcing
the availability of our pest risk assessment and RMD for public review
and comment. Those documents, as well as a description of the economic
considerations associated with the importation of fresh pumpkin,
squash, and tetsukabuto from Brazil, 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 the pest risk
assessment and RMD 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 the importation status of fresh pumpkin, squash, and
tetsukabuto from Brazil 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 authorize the importation of fresh pumpkin, squash, and
tetsukabuto from Brazil into the continental United States subject to
the requirements specified in the RMD.
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.
Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of May 2023.
Michael Watson,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-10548 Filed 5-16-23; 8:45 am]
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