[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 201 (Tuesday, October 20, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53673-53674]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25184]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 201 / Tuesday, October 20, 2009 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 53673]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 330
[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0076]
Environmental Impact Statement; Movement of Plant Pests,
Biological Control Organisms, and Associated Articles
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service intends to prepare an environmental impact statement
relative to proposed regulatory requirements that are being developed
for the movement of plant pests, biological control organisms, and
associated articles. This notice identifies potential issues and
alternatives that will be studied in the environmental impact statement
and requests public comment to further delineate the scope of those
issues and alternatives.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
November 19, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to (http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0076) to submit or view comments.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0076, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0076.
Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on this
docket 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.
Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at (http://www.aphis.usda.gov).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. David A. Bergsten, APHIS
Interagency NEPA Contact, Environmental Services, PPD, APHIS, 4700
River Road, Unit 149, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238; (301) 734-6103.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The purpose of the regulations in ``Subpart --Movement of Plant
Pests'' (7 CFR 330.200 through 330.212, referred to below as the
regulations) is to prevent the dissemination of plant pests within the
United States by regulating their importation and interstate movement.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is planning
to revise its regulations regarding the movement of plant pests. APHIS
intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzing
the potential environmental impacts associated with proposed regulatory
requirements for movement not only of plant pests, but also of
biological control organisms, and associated articles.
Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq., referred to
below as the Act) the Secretary of Agriculture has broad authority to
carry out operations or measures to detect, control, eradicate,
suppress, prevent, or retard the spread of plant pests. Section 411(a)
of the Act provides that ``no person shall import, enter, export, or
move in interstate commerce any plant pest, unless the importation,
entry, exportation, or movement is authorized under general or specific
permit and is in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may
issue to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United
States.'' Moreover, section 412(a) of the Act provides that the
Secretary may prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, exportation,
or movement in interstate commerce of, among other things, any
biological control organism, if the Secretary determines that the
prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the introduction
into or the dissemination within the United States of a plant pest or
noxious weed.
Accordingly, APHIS has the authority to regulate not only plant
pests, but also biological control organisms, noxious weeds, and
associated articles. APHIS is therefore considering revising the
regulations to establish provisions for the movement and environmental
release of biological control organisms and associated articles. APHIS
is also considering revising the regulations for the movement of soil,
and establishing regulations governing the biocontainment facilities in
which plant pests, biological control organisms, and associated
articles are held. The impacts associated with these changes to the
regulations will also be analyzed in a programmatic EIS.
In addition to establishing a regulatory framework for the movement
of new organisms and articles in a manner that protects U.S.
agriculture, these proposed regulations would help clarify the existing
requirements for the importation and domestic movement of plant pests.
APHIS may also consider including within the proposed regulations other
mitigating measures with the potential to equally reduce pest risk. We
are requesting public comment to help us identify or confirm potential
alternatives and environmental issues that should be examined in the
EIS. We have identified three broad alternatives that we plan to
consider in the EIS, as follows:
Take no action. This would be characterized as no change
in the existing regulations that apply to the movement of plant pests
(while not contributing to the further mitigation of pest risk, the
analysis of the no action alternative provides a baseline and is
required by the National Environmental Policy Act and its implementing
regulations).
Revise requirements for movement of plant pests consistent
with the scope of the Plant Protection Act (preferred alternative).
This would be characterized by amendment or revision of the plant pest
regulations to also cover biological control organisms and associated
articles. It would also include revisions to the regulations for the
movement of soil and the establishment
[[Page 53674]]
of regulations for biocontainment facilities.
Implement a comprehensive risk reduction program (more
expansive regulations to address specific risk categories). This would
be characterized as a broad risk mitigation strategy that could involve
various options such as increased inspection, regulations specific to a
certain organism or group of related organisms, or extensive
biocontainment requirements. While not the preferred alternative at
this time, the risk mitigation strategy considered within this
alternative could provide the basis at some point for future Agency
regulatory actions, either to establish a new and more appropriate
regulatory framework for the movement of plant pests, biological
control organisms, and associated articles, or to augment the existing
regulations with more effective mitigation measures to address the risk
of such movement.
We will examine the potential effects on the human environment of
each alternative. We are also interested in comments that identify
other issues that should be examined in the EIS. Potential issues
include other new mitigation measures, logistical considerations,
environmental regulations and constraints, and harmonization of
regulatory efforts.
The EIS will be prepared in accordance with: (1) The National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),
(2) regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), (3) USDA regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4)
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Comments regarding the proposed scope of the EIS are welcome and
will be considered fully. When APHIS has completed a draft EIS, a
notice announcing its availability and an invitation to comment on it
will be published in the Federal Register.
Done in Washington, DC, this 14\th\ day of October, 2009.
Kevin Shea
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-25184 Filed 10-19-09: 8:45 am]
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