[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 42 (Thursday, March 2, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11281-11283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-5053]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 00-008-1]
Public Meetings; Imported Fire Ant
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service plans to hold
four public meetings to discuss issues related to how we should
administer our imported fire ant program in light of reduced funding.
DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all
comments that we receive by May 1, 2000.
The public meetings will be held in: (1) Raleigh, NC, on March 21,
2000; (2) Orlando, FL, on March 23, 2000; (3) Austin, TX, on March 28,
2000; and (4) Santa Ana, CA, on March 30, 2000. Each public meeting
will begin at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: If you cannot attend a public meeting, please send your
written comment and three copies to: Docket No. 00-008-1, Regulatory
Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road, Unit
118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 00-008-1.
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.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
The public meetings will be held at the following locations:
(1) Raleigh, NC: Wake County Commons Buildings, 4011 Carya Drive,
Raleigh, NC.
(2) Orlando, FL: Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 8444 International Drive,
Orlando, FL.
(3) Austin, TX: Clements Building, Committee Room 5, 15th and
Lavaca Streets, Austin, TX.
[[Page 11282]]
(4) Santa Ana, CA: Hall of Administration, Board of Supervisors
Ante Room--First Floor, 10 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ron Milberg, Operations Officer, PPQ,
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-
5255.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) plans to hold four public meetings to discuss how we
should administer our imported fire ant program in light of reduced
funding.
Our imported fire ant program is based on our imported fire ant
regulations (7 CFR 301.81-1 through 301.81-10, referred to below as the
regulations). The regulations govern the interstate movement of
regulated articles from areas quarantined because of imported fire ant.
Section 301.81-2 of the regulations provides a list of articles
regulated because of imported fire ant. Regulated articles are imported
fire ant queens and reproducing colonies of imported fire ants, soil
(except potting soil shipped in its original container), baled hay or
straw stored in direct contact with the ground, nursery stock (except
plants maintained indoors in a home or office environment and not for
sale), used soil-moving equipment, and any other article determined to
present a risk of spreading imported fire ant. Section 301.81-3 of the
regulations lists areas quarantined because of imported fire ant.
Quarantined areas are all or portions of the following States and
territories: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia,
Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto
Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Sections 301.81-4 through
301.81-10 provide requirements for moving regulated articles interstate
from quarantined areas to nonquarantined areas. These sections include
requirements for certificates and limited permits and for treatment of
regulated articles.
For fiscal year (FY) 2000, Congress gave APHIS $100,000 to cover
the costs of administering the imported fire ant program and directed
APHIS to use $58,000 of that amount to administer the program in New
Mexico. Although $100,000 is considerably less than the amount allotted
to the program for FY 1999, this amount is actually more than APHIS
requested. For several years, APHIS has sought to eliminate its
imported fire ant control activities because no economical,
environmentally acceptable control agents specific to imported fire ant
are available for large-scale application on agricultural land. Also,
APHIS has not received any requests from States for cooperative
treatment programs since 1985. In past years, APHIS has provided States
with technical knowledge, treatment guidelines, and regulatory
guidelines to help control imported fire ant populations; the States
have conducted regulatory and survey activities. Through this
arrangement, States have maintained a strong regulatory program and
have even eradicated small, isolated infestations outside quarantined
areas.
In support of these efforts to control imported fire ant, APHIS
successfully tested the insecticide fipronil in FY 1998. Fipronil would
be used to treat nursery stock and grass sod moving interstate from
quarantined areas. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
currently reviewing this insecticide; it may be registered by the EPA
for use in the spring of 2001. APHIS plans to continue to evaluate the
efficacy of new regulatory treatments for imported fire ant under its
plant methods development laboratories? budget line item.
The public meetings will provide an opportunity for interested
persons to comment on whether APHIS should continue to administer the
imported fire ant program in accordance with the regulations (and if
so, how we should manage the program in light of current funding) or if
we should pursue another course of action. Please note, however, that
while the information gathered during the meetings may indicate the
need for changes to our current regulatory program, the meetings will
not directly result in any changes to the regulations. If we determine
that changes to the regulations are appropriate, we will propose those
changes in the Federal Register.
Issues
We have identified three potential courses of action with respect
to the imported fire ant program. They are:
(1) Maintain our imported fire ant program with minimal Federal
regulatory activity, in line with current funding.
This option would, through APHIS regulations, continue to provide
uniform standards for the regulated industry and consistent interstate
shipping requirements. Under this option, States would continue to
enforce the Federal quarantine without Federal funding. When alerted by
States, APHIS personnel would continue to investigate noncompliance
with the regulations and examine the origin and pathway of introduction
of imported fire ants found on regulated articles.
(2) Eliminate the imported fire ant regulations (i.e., rescind the
Federal quarantine) and develop model guidelines for States to use in
harmonizing their quarantines.
This option would reduce Federal resource requirements and may
provide uniformity without Federal regulation. However, in the absence
of Federal regulations, States may independently impose more or less
stringent requirements for the entry of currently regulated articles.
Requirements could differ from State to State.
(3) Eliminate the imported fire ant regulations (i.e., rescind the
Federal quarantine) and establish a voluntary nursery self-
certification program.
This option would also reduce Federal resource requirements and may
provide uniformity without Federal regulation. However, a voluntary
self-certification program is not a mandatory program and could,
therefore, result in less than 100 percent participation by producers.
Comments on these, or any other options, are welcome during the
public meetings.
Meeting Procedures/Registration
A representative of APHIS will preside at each public meeting. Any
interested person may appear and be heard in person, by attorney, or by
another representative. Written statements may be submitted and will be
made part of the meeting record. Persons who wish to speak at a meeting
will be asked to provide their names and organizations. We ask that
anyone who reads a statement or submits a written statement provide two
copies to the presiding officer at the meeting.
Registration for each public meeting will take place from 8:30 a.m.
to 9 a.m. on the day of the meeting at the meeting room. Each public
meeting will begin at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 5 p.m., local
time. However, any meeting may end at any time after it begins if all
persons desiring to speak have been heard. If the number of speakers at
a meeting warrants it, the presiding officer may limit the time for
presentations so that everyone wishing to speak has the opportunity.
Written Comments
If you cannot attend a public meeting, you may submit written
comments on the issues raised in this notice. To submit written
comments, please follow the instructions listed under the heading
ADDRESSES near the beginning of this document.
[[Page 11283]]
Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of February 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-5053 Filed 3-1-00; 8:45 am]
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