Hearing on Citrus Imports On Track

Clinton administration officials Wednesday denied a request by members of the state’s congressional delegation to postpone a hearing scheduled next week in Thousand Oaks on a plan to allow imports of Argentine citrus into the United States.

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Richard Rominger said the administration had considered a request for a two-month delay from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. George Radanovich (R-Mariposa), among other legislators.

Some leading California citrus growers, including some from Ventura County, had lobbied to delay the Monday hearing and extend a public comment period on the import plan that is now scheduled to expire Feb. 11.

The growers, hit recently by a disastrous crop freeze, fear that Argentine citrus, unless properly screened, could bring unwanted pests and crop diseases into the United States.

But Rominger said federal officials last fall had already extended public comment by four months at the request of California lawmakers. “We didn’t think another two months will make a difference,” he said.