[Federal Register: October 24, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 204)]
[Rules and Regulations]              
[Page 61351-61362]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24oc05-2]                        

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 319
[Docket No. 03-019-3]

Certification Program for Imported Articles of Pelargonium spp. and Solanum spp. To Prevent Introduction of Potato Brown Rot

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, with changes, an interim rule that amended the regulations by establishing a certification program for articles of Pelargonium spp. and Solanum spp. imported from countries where the bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 (R3B2) is known to occur. The interim rule prohibited the importation of articles of Pelargonium spp. and Solanum spp. from countries where R. solanacearum R3B2 is known to occur unless the articles are produced in accordance with the certification program. This final rule amends the regulations by modifying some of the requirements of the certification program to make them clearer and more flexible, by providing for the establishment of areas that are free of R. solanacearum R3B2 within countries where the bacterium is known to occur, and by exempting imported seeds of Pelargonium spp. and Solanum spp. from all requirements related to R. solanacearum R3B2. The requirements of the certification program are designed to ensure that R. solanacearum R3B2 will not be introduced into the United States through the importation of articles of Pelargonium spp. and Solanum spp. This certification program is necessary to prevent the introduction of this bacterial strain into the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 24, 2005.

Complete document in PDF format:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-21168.pdf