[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1338-1339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-227]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0072]
Emerald Ash Borer; Quarantined Areas; Maryland, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and
Wisconsin
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim
rule that amended the regulations to add areas in Maryland, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and
Wisconsin to the list of areas quarantined because of emerald ash borer
(EAB). The interim rule was necessary to prevent the artificial spread
of EAB into noninfested areas of the United States. As a result of the
interim rule, the interstate movement of regulated articles from those
areas is restricted.
DATES: Effective on January 10, 2011, we are adopting as a final rule
the interim rule published at 74 FR 47999-48001 on September 21, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Paul Chaloux, National Program
Coordinator, Emerald Ash Borer Program, Emergency and Domestic
Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1231; (301) 734-0917.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis) is a destructive
woodboring insect that attacks ash trees (Fraxinus spp., including
green ash, white ash, black ash, and several horticultural varieties of
ash). The insect, which is indigenous to Asia and known to occur in
China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, the Russian Far East, Taiwan, and
Canada, eventually kills healthy ash trees after it bores beneath their
bark and disrupts their vascular tissues.
The EAB regulations in 7 CFR 301.53-1 through 301.53-9 (referred to
below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of regulated
articles from quarantined areas to prevent the artificial spread of EAB
to noninfested areas of the United States.
In an interim rule \1\ effective and published in the Federal
Register on September 21, 2009 (74 FR 47999-48001, Docket No. APHIS-
2008-0072), we amended Sec. 301.53-3(c) to add portions of Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia,
and Wisconsin to the list of areas quarantined for EAB.
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\1\ To view the interim rule, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0072.
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Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or
before November 20, 2009. We did not receive any comments. Therefore,
for the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim
rule as a final rule without change.
This action also affirms the information contained in the interim
rule concerning Executive Orders 12866, 12372, and 12988, and the
Paperwork Reduction Act.
Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule affirms an interim rule that amended the EAB regulations
by adding areas in Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin to the list of
areas quarantined because of EAB.
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604, we have performed a final
regulatory flexibility analysis, which is summarized below, regarding
the economic effects of this rule on small entities. Copies of the full
analysis are available on the Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 1
in this document for a link to Regulations.gov) or by contacting the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
If left unregulated, the spread of EAB could negatively impact
several industries including nurseries, timber operations, and
landscaping. These potential economic impacts would likely be much
greater than government program costs and any additional costs incurred
from the expansion of the quarantine area. While some firms may have
been negatively affected by the interim rule, those effects will be
limited to those firms that ship regulated products interstate or from
quarantined areas to areas that are not under quarantine. Such firms
will be required to obtain a certificate or limited permit from an
APHIS inspector in order to comply with the regulation or enter into a
compliance agreement with APHIS for the inspection and certification of
the articles to be moved. Additional restrictions on movement during
adult fly season (roughly May through September) may result in
additional impacts on entities in some quarantined counties. Limited
information was available on the extent to which firms in the
potentially affected industries deal in ash products.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
[[Page 1339]]
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and that was published at 74
FR 47999-48001 on September 21, 2009.
Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of January 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-227 Filed 1-7-11; 8:45 am]
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