[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 204 (Monday, October 24, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61349-61351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21169]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 2005 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 61349]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 05-066-1]
Asian Longhorned Beetle; Addition and Removal of Quarantined
Areas in New Jersey
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 Middlesex and Union Counties, NJ, to the list of
quarantined areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated
articles from those areas. This action is necessary to prevent the
artificial spread of the Asian longhorned beetle to noninfested areas
of the United States. We are also removing the areas within Hudson
County, NJ, from the list of quarantined areas and removing
restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from
those areas. We have determined that the Asian longhorned beetle no
longer presents a risk of spread from those areas and that the
quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary.
DATES: This interim rule is effective October 18, 2005. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before December 23, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov and, in the ``Search for Open Regulations'' box,
select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service'' from the agency
drop-down menu, then click on ``Submit.'' In the Docket ID column,
select APHIS-2005-0078 to submit or view public comments and to view
supporting and related materials available electronically. After the
close of the comment period, the docket can be viewed using the
``Advanced Search'' function in Regulations.gov.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 05-066-1,
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your
comment refers to Docket No. 05-066-1.
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: Mr. Michael B. Stefan, National
Coordinator, Pest Detection and Management Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-7338.
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 in public enjoyment of recreational
spaces.
The ALB regulations in 7 CFR 301.51-1 through 301.51-9 (referred to
below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of regulated
articles from quarantined areas to prevent the artificial spread of ALB
to noninfested areas of the United States. Portions of Illinois, New
Jersey, and New York are designated as quarantined areas.
Addition to Quarantined Area
Recent surveys conducted in New Jersey by inspectors of State,
county, and city agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have revealed that an infestation of
ALB has occurred outside the existing quarantined areas in Middlesex
and Union Counties, NJ. Officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and officials of State, county, and city agencies in New Jersey are
conducting intensive survey and eradication programs in the infested
area, and the State of New Jersey 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 that
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, where 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
[[Page 61350]]
for quarantine 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 include an additional area in Middlesex and Union
Counties, NJ. The quarantined area is described in the rule portion of
this document.
Removal of Quarantined Areas
The regulations currently list two quarantined areas in Hudson
County, NJ, one in the city of Jersey City, the other in the city of
Hoboken. Based on surveys conducted by inspectors of New Jersey State
and county agencies and by APHIS inspectors, we are removing those
areas in Hudson County from the list of quarantined areas. The last
findings of ALB in the regulated areas in Hudson County were in October
2002. Since then, no evidence of ALB infestation has been found in
those areas. Based on our experience, we have determined that
sufficient time has passed without finding additional beetles or other
evidence of infestation to conclude that ALB constitutes a negligible
risk to those areas in the Jersey City and Hoboken communities.
Therefore, we are removing the entry for Hudson County, NJ, from the
list of quarantined areas in Sec. 301.51-3(c).
Immediate Action
This rulemaking is necessary on an immediate basis to help prevent
the artificial spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United States.
This rule will also relieve restrictions on certain areas that are no
longer warranted. 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 action 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 rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review under
Executive Order 12866.
We are amending the ALB regulations by adding a portion of
Middlesex and Union Counties, NJ, to the list of quarantined areas and
restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from those
areas. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the
ALB to noninfested areas of the United States. We are also removing the
areas within Hudson County, NJ, from the list of quarantined areas and
removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles
from those areas. We have determined that the ALB no longer presents a
risk of spread from those areas and that the quarantine and
restrictions are no longer necessary.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires that agencies
consider the economic impact of rules on small entities, i.e., small
businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions. The
businesses potentially affected by this rule are nurseries, arborists,
tree removal services, firewood dealers, garden centers, landscapers,
recyclers of waste material, and lumber and building material outlets.
Middlesex and Union Counties
Within the quarantined area added by this interim rule, there are
103 entities potentially affected, including tree care businesses,
plant nurseries and retailers, and firewood dealers. These businesses
could be affected by the regulations in two ways. First, if a business
wishes to move regulated articles interstate from a quarantined area,
that business must either: (1) Enter into a compliance agreement with
APHIS for the inspection and certification of regulated articles to be
moved interstate from the quarantined area; or (2) present its
regulated articles for inspection by an inspector and obtain a
certificate or a limited permit, issued by the inspector, for the
interstate movement of regulated articles. The inspections may be
inconvenient, but not costly; businesses operating under a compliance
agreement would perform the inspections themselves and for those
businesses that elect not to enter into a compliance agreement, APHIS
would provide the services of an inspector without cost. There is also
no cost for the compliance agreement, certificate, or limited permit
for the interstate movement of regulated articles.
Second, there is a possibility that, upon inspection, a regulated
article could be determined by the inspector to be potentially infested
with the ALB and, as a result, the inspector would not issue a
certificate. In this case, the entity's ability to move regulated
articles interstate would be restricted. However, the affected entity
could conceivably obtain a limited permit under the conditions of Sec.
301.51-5(b).
Hudson County
In the area within Hudson County, NJ, deregulated by this interim
rule, which is about 3.7 square miles in size and includes Jersey City
and Hoboken, there are 31 entities that will be affected by this
interim rule. These entities are mainly tree and yard care companies;
there are also a few local government agencies that are responsible for
tree care. These entities will no longer be subject to the restrictions
in the regulations. While the size of these 31 entities is unknown, it
is reasonable to assume that most are small entities, based on SBA size
standards. Any benefit for these entities is likely to be minimal,
given that the costs associated with the restrictions being relieved
were themselves minimal.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
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 interim rule contains no information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
[[Page 61351]]
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 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7
U.S.C. 1421 note).
0
2. In Sec. 301.51-3, paragraph (c), under the heading New Jersey, the
entry for Hudson County is removed and the entry for Middlesex and
Union Counties is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.51-3 Quarantined areas.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
New Jersey
Middlesex and Union Counties. That portion of the counties bounded
by a line drawn as follows: Beginning at the intersection of St.
Georges Avenue and Wood Avenue; then east on Wood Avenue to Curtis
Street; then north on Curtis Street to East Baltimore Avenue; then east
on East Baltimore Avenue to Dill Avenue; then north on Dill Avenue to
Grant Street; then southeast on Grant Street to Alberta Avenue; then
northeast on Alberta Avenue to County Road 616 (Park Avenue); then
southeast on County Road 616 (Park Avenue) to U.S. Route 1; then north
on U.S. Route 1 to Allen Street; then southeast on Allen Street to the
east side of the New Jersey Turnpike right-of-way; then south along the
east side of the New Jersey Turnpike right-of-way to Marshes Creek;
then southeast along Marshes Creek to the Rahway River; then west along
the south side of the Rahway River to Cross Creek; then south along
Cross Creek through the wetlands to Peter J. Sica Industrial Drive;
then east and south on Peter J. Sica Industrial Drive to Roosevelt
Avenue (State Route 602); then west on Roosevelt Avenue to Port Reading
Avenue (State Route 604); then west southwest on Port Reading Avenue to
the Conrail railroad; then north and west along the Conrail railroad
right-of-way to the NJ Transit railroad right-of-way; then north and
northwest along the NJ Transit railroad right-of-way to the south
branch of the Rahway River; then west along the south branch of the
Rahway River to St. Georges Avenue; then north on St. Georges Avenue to
the point of beginning.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of October 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-21169 Filed 10-21-05; 8:45 am]
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