[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34320-34322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14658]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0004]
Asian Longhorned Beetle; Quarantined Area and Regulated Articles
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the Asian longhorned beetle regulations by
adding a portion of Worcester County, MA, to the list of quarantined
areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles
from that area. We are also updating the list of regulated articles in
order to reflect new information concerning host plants. These actions
are necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the Asian longhorned
beetle to noninfested areas of the United States.
DATES: This interim rule is effective June 17, 2010. We will consider
all comments that we receive on or before August 16, 2010.
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-2010-0004) to submit or view comments
and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send one copy of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0004,
[[Page 34321]]
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-2010-0004.
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: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory
Policy Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and Import Manuals, PPQ,
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-
0754.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB, Anoplophora glabripennis), an
insect native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Isle of Hainan, is a
destructive pest of hardwood trees. It attacks many healthy hardwood
trees, including maple, horse chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, and elm.
In addition, nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps,
roots, branches, and wood debris of half an inch or more in diameter
are subject to infestation. The beetle bores into the heartwood of a
host tree, eventually killing the tree. Immature beetles bore into tree
trunks and branches, causing heavy sap flow from wounds and sawdust
accumulation at tree bases. They feed on, and over-winter in, the
interiors of trees. Adult beetles emerge in the spring and summer
months from round holes approximately three-eighths of an inch in
diameter (about the size of a dime) that they bore through branches and
trunks of trees. After emerging, adult beetles feed for 2 to 3 days and
then mate. Adult females then lay eggs in oviposition sites that they
make on the branches of trees. A new generation of ALB is produced each
year. If this pest moves into the hardwood forests of the United
States, the nursery, maple syrup, and forest product industries could
experience severe economic losses. In addition, urban and forest ALB
infestations will result in environmental damage, aesthetic
deterioration, and a reduction of public enjoyment of recreational
spaces.
Quarantined Areas
The regulations in 7 CFR 301.51-1 through 301.51-9 restrict the
interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas to
prevent the artificial spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United
States. Surveys conducted in Massachusetts by inspectors of the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have revealed that
infestations of ALB have occurred outside the existing quarantined area
in Worcester County. Officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and officials of State, county, and city agencies in Massachusetts are
conducting intensive survey and eradication programs in the infested
area. The State of Massachusetts has quarantined the infested area and
is restricting the intrastate movement of regulated articles from the
quarantined area to prevent the further spread of ALB within the State.
However, Federal regulations are necessary to restrict the interstate
movement of regulated articles from the quarantined area to prevent the
spread of ALB to other States and other countries.
The regulations in Sec. 301.51-3(a) provide that the Administrator
of APHIS will list as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of
a State in which ALB has been found by an inspector, where the
Administrator has reason to believe that ALB is present, or where the
Administrator considers regulation necessary because of its
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities
where ALB has been found. Less than an entire State will be quarantined
only if (1) the Administrator determines that the State has adopted and
is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of regulated
articles that are equivalent to those imposed by the regulations on the
interstate movement of regulated articles and (2) the designation of
less than an entire State as a quarantined area will be adequate to
prevent the artificial spread of ALB. In accordance with these criteria
and the recent ALB findings described above, we are amending the list
of quarantined areas in Sec. 301.51-3(c) to update the previously
quarantined area in Worcester County, MA. The updated quarantined area
is described in the regulatory text at the end of this document.
Regulated Articles
Section 301.51-2 of the regulations designates certain items as
regulated articles. Regulated articles may not be moved interstate from
quarantined areas except in accordance with the conditions specified in
Sec. Sec. 301.51-4 through 301.51-9 of the regulations. Regulated
articles listed in Sec. 301.51-2(a) have included green lumber and
other material living, dead, cut, or fallen, inclusive of nursery
stock, logs, stumps, roots, branches, and debris of half an inch or
more in diameter of the following genera: Acer (maple), Aesculus (horse
chestnut), Albizia (mimosa), Betula (birch), Celtis (hackberry),
Fraxinus (ash), Platanus (sycamore), Populus (poplar), Salix (willow),
Sorbus (mountain ash), and Ulmus (elm). This list of genera was based
on scientific literature provided by government officials, scientists,
and government and individual researchers from China as well as survey
information collected in the United States since the time of discovery
of the pest.
Based on additional survey experience and research, we are amending
the list of regulated articles by adding Katsura (Cercidiphyllum spp.).
This action is necessary because inspectors have found ALB completing
its development in trees of this genus within the quarantined area.
Emergency Action
This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the
artificial spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United States.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator has determined that prior
notice and opportunity for public comment are contrary to the public
interest and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 for making
this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal
Register.
We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for
this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes,
we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document
will include a discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments
we are making to the rule.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This interim rule is subject to Executive Order 12866. However, for
this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review
under Executive Order 12866.
We have prepared an economic analysis for this action. The action
identifies nurseries, site developers or construction companies, tree
service companies or landscapers, garden centers, firewood dealers, and
utility
[[Page 34322]]
companies as the small entities most likely to be affected by this
action and considers the costs associated with complying with the
inspection and other requirements imposed by the regulations on the
interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas. Based
on the information presented in the analysis, we expect that affected
entities would not experience any additional compliance costs as a
result of this rule because a State-imposed quarantine is already in
place that applies the same movement restrictions and inspection
requirements. We invite comment on our economic analysis, which is
posted with this interim rule on the Regulations.gov Web site (see
ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov) and may
be obtained from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This rule contains no new information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80,
and 371.3.
Section 301.75-15 issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Public Law
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 106-224, 114 Stat. 400
(7 U.S.C. 1421 note).
0
2. In Sec. 301.51-2, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.51-2 Regulated articles.
(a) Firewood (all hardwood species), and green lumber and other
material living, dead, cut, or fallen, inclusive of nursery stock,
logs, stumps, roots, branches, and debris of half an inch or more in
diameter of the following genera: Acer (maple), Aesculus (horse
chestnut), Albizia (mimosa), Betula (birch), Celtis (hackberry),
Cercidiphyllum (katsura), Fraxinus (ash), Platanus (sycamore), Populus
(poplar), Salix (willow), Sorbus (mountain ash), and Ulmus (elm).
* * * * *
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3. In Sec. 301.51-3, paragraph (c), under the heading
``Massachusetts,'' the entry for Worcester County is revised to read as
follows:
Sec. 301.51-3 Quarantined areas.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
Massachusetts
Worcester County. The portion of Worcester County, including the
municipalities of Worcester, Holden, West Boylston, Boylston, and
Shrewsbury, that is bounded by a line starting at the intersection of
Route 140 (Grafton Circle) and Route 9 (Belmont Street) in Shrewsbury;
then north and northwest on Route 140 through Boylston into West
Boylston until it intersects Muddy Brook (body of water); then east
along Muddy Brook to the Wachusett Reservoir; then along the shoreline
of the Wachusett Reservoir in an easterly, northerly, and then westerly
direction until it intersects the West Boylston Town boundary; then
along the West Boylston Town boundary until it intersects Interstate
190 at River Road; then south along Interstate 190 to Malden Street;
then west on Malden Street to Bullard Street in Holden; then west on
Bullard Street to Wachusett Street; then northwest on Wachusett Street
to Union Street; then southwest on Union Street until it becomes
Highland Street; then southwest on Highland Street to Main Street; then
southeast on Main Street to Bailey Road; then south on Bailey Road to
Chapin Road; then south on Chapin Road to its end; then continuing in a
southeasterly direction to Fisher Road; then southwest on Fisher Road
to Stonehouse Hill Road; then south on Stonehouse Hill Road to
Reservoir Street; then southeast on Reservoir Street until it
intersects the Worcester City boundary; then along the Worcester City
boundary until it intersects Route 20 (Hartford Turnpike); then east on
Route 20 to Lake Street, then north and northeast on Lake Street to
Route 9 (Belmont Street), then east on Route 9 to the point of
beginning.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 14\th\ day of June 2010.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-14658 Filed 6-16-10; 2:08 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-S