[Federal Register: February 2, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 21)]
[Notices]
[Page 4918]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02fe04-15]
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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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[[Page 4918]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 03-091-1]
Availability of a Draft Commodity Risk Assessment for the
Importation of Potatoes From Mexico
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared a draft commodity risk assessment
relative to a request we have received to amend the regulations to
allow the importation of potatoes from Mexico into the continental
United States. We are making this draft commodity risk assessment
available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April
2, 2004.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket
No. 03-091-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. 03-091-1. If you use e-mail,
address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files.
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No.
03-091-1'' on the subject line.
You may read any comments that we receive on the draft commodity
risk assessment 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.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert L. Griffin, Director, Plant
Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory, Center for Plant Health
Science and Technology, PPQ, APHIS, 1017 Main Campus Drive Suite 1550,
Raleigh, NC 27606-5202; (919) 513-1590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 (referred to below as the
regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of various articles
into the United States from certain parts of the world to prevent the
introduction and dissemination of plant pests that are new to or not
widely distributed within the United States.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is considering a
request to amend the regulations to allow the importation of potatoes
(Solanum tuberosum L.) from Mexico into the continental United States
for consumption. To evaluate the risks associated with the importation
of potatoes from Mexico, a draft commodity risk assessment, entitled
``Importation of Fresh Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Tubers from Mexico
into the Continental United States'' (November 2003), has been
prepared. We are making the draft commodity risk assessment available
to the public for review and comment. We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before the date listed under the heading DATES at
the beginning of this notice.
The draft commodity risk assessment may be viewed on the Internet
at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pra/. You may request paper copies of
the draft commodity risk assessment by calling or writing to the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title
of the draft commodity risk assessment when requesting copies. The
draft commodity risk assessment is also available for review in our
reading room (information on the location and hours of the reading room
is provided under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this
notice).
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450 and 7701-7772; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7
CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of January 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-2022 Filed 1-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P