Melissa O’Dell (301) 734-5222
Jerry Redding (202) 720-4623
USDA PROPOSES TO REMOVE VAPOR HEAT AS AN APPROVED TREATMENT FOR CERTAIN COMMODITIES MOVING INTERSTATE FROM HAWAII
WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2006--The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced a proposal to remove vapor heat as an approved pest prevention treatment for bell pepper, eggplant, Italian squash and tomato moving interstate from Hawaii.
This action is necessary because these commodities can serve as hosts for the solanum fruit fly, which was recently detected in Hawaii. Vapor heat is not an approved treatment for this specific pest.
As an alternative, APHIS is proposing to allow the use of irradiation as an approved treatment for all peppers and squash moving interstate from Hawaii. This action will relieve unnecessary restrictions on the interstate movement of these commodities and allow a greater variety of peppers (Capsicum spp.) and squash (Curcurbita spp.) to be moved interstate from Hawaii while continuing to protect the U.S. mainland against quarantine pests and diseases. Irradiation is already an approved treatment for eggplant and tomato moving interstate from Hawaii. Fumigation with methyl bromide is another approved treatment for moving tomatoes interstate.
If introduced into the United States, the solanum fruit fly has the potential to have a substantial economic impact on many fruit and vegetable crops.
This proposed rule is scheduled for publication in the Oct. 11 Federal Register.
Consideration will be given to comments received on or before Dec. 11. Send an original and three copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. APHIS-2006-0027, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1238. If you wish to submit a comment using the Internet, go to the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov, select "Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service" from the agency drop-down menu; then click on "Submit." In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2006-0027 to submit or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Comments are posted on the Regulations.gov Web site and may also be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th St. and Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call (202) 690-2817.
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