[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 11, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59649-59651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16755]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 11, 2006 /
Rules and Regulations
[[Page 59649]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0127]
Asian Longhorned Beetle; Additions to Quarantined Areas
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
expanding the boundaries of the quarantined areas in New Jersey and
restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from these
areas. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the
Asian longhorned beetle to noninfested areas of the United States.
DATES: This interim rule was effective October 4, 2006. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before December 11, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov, select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, then click ``Submit.'' In the
Docket ID column, select APHIS-2006-0127 to submit or view public
comments and to view supporting and related materials available
electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including
instructions for accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing
the docket after the close of the comment period, is available through
the site's ``User Tips'' link.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS-
2006-0127, 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-2006-0127.
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, ALB National
Coordinator, Emergency and Domestic Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River
Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (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 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. 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 infestations of
ALB have occurred outside the existing quarantined areas. 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 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
[[Page 59650]]
findings described above, we are amending the list of quarantined areas
in Sec. 301.51-3(c) to include the City of Linden in Union County, as
well as portions of the Borough of Roselle, the City of Elizabeth, and
Clark Township, also in Union County. In addition, the quarantined area
in the City of Carteret in Middlesex County is also being expanded. The
expanded quarantined area is described in the regulatory text at the
end of this document.
Emergency Action
This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to 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 has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.
For this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its
review under Executive Order 12866.
This interim rule amends the ALB regulations by expanding the
boundaries of the quarantined areas in New Jersey and restricting the
interstate movement of regulated articles from these areas. This action
is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the ALB to noninfested
areas of the United States.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires that agencies
consider the economic impact of their rules on small entities, i.e.
small businesses, organizations, and governmental jurisdictions. We
estimate that about 124 small entities, including 4 local governments,
may be affected. Types and numbers of entities located within the newly
quarantined areas, and corresponding small-entity criteria, are shown
in table 1. We expect that most if not all of the affected entities are
small.
Table 1.--Types of Establishment, Number, and Small Entity Size Standard for Businesses and Local Governments
Located Within the Areas Newly Quarantined for ALB
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Number of
Establishment type entities Code Industry title Small entity size standard
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Tree service................. 30 561730............... Landscaping < $6.5m.
services.
Landscaping company.......... 30 561730............... Landscaping < $6.5m.
services.
Excavator.................... 30 238910............... Site preparation < $13.0m.
contractors.
Garden center................ 10 444220............... Nursery and < $6.5m.
garden centers.
Firewood dealer.............. 5 454319............... Other fuel < $6.5m.
dealers.
Local government............. 4 RFA Sec. 601....... Small < 50,000 population.
governmental
jurisdiction.
Utility...................... 5 237130............... Power and < $31.0m.
communication
lines and
related
structures
construction.
Waste management............. 10 562111............... Solid waste < $11.5m.
collection.
........... 562219............... Other non- < $11.5m.
hazardous waste
treatment and
disposal.
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The regulations in Sec. 301.51-4 set conditions for the interstate
movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas. An affected
entity may (1) enter into a compliance agreement with APHIS for the
inspection and certification of regulated articles to be moved
interstate, or (2) present its regulated articles for inspection and
obtain a certificate or a limited permit, issued by an inspector, for
the interstate movement of regulated articles. Inspections may be
inconvenient, but they should not be costly in most cases, even for
entities operating under a compliance agreement that would perform the
inspections themselves. For those entities that elect not to enter into
a compliance agreement, APHIS provides the services of an inspector
without cost. There is also no fee 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
by ALB and, as a result, the inspector would not be able to 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). Whether an affected entity would be denied certificates as
a result of inspections of regulated articles is unknown. However,
because the newly regulated area is primarily urban, the entities
located in that area are more likely to be receiving regulated articles
from outside the quarantined area than they are to be shipping
regulated articles interstate to nonquarantined areas. It is unlikely,
therefore, that most entities located in the newly regulated area would
be moving regulated articles that would require inspection in the first
place.
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
[[Page 59651]]
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. 301.51-3, paragraph (c), the entry for New Jersey is
revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.51-3 Quarantined areas.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
New Jersey
Middlesex and Union Counties. That portion of the counties,
including the municipalities of Roselle, Elizabeth City, Linden,
Carteret, Woodbridge, Rahway, and Clark, that is bounded by a line
drawn as follows: Beginning at the intersection of Locust Street
(County Road 619) and West Grand Avenue (Union County 610) in Roselle,
NJ; then east on West Grand Avenue to Chilton Street; then south on
Chilton Street to South Street; then east on South Street to Broad
Street; then south on Broad Street to Summer Street; then east on
Summer Street to the Elizabeth River; then east along the Elizabeth
River to the Arthur Kill; then south along the Arthur Kill (New Jersey
and New York State border) to the point where Roosevelt Avenue (State
Route 602) meets the Arthur Kill in Carteret, NJ; then south along
Roosevelt Avenue to Port Reading Avenue (State Route 604); then west
southwest along 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
(State Highway 27); then north along St. Georges Avenue to its
intersection with the eastern border of Rahway River Park (Union County
Park); then north along the eastern border of Rahway River Park to the
intersection of Valley Road and Union County Parkway; then north along
Union County Parkway to North Stiles Street; then northwest along North
Stiles Street to Raritan Road; then northeast along Raritan Road to the
perpendicular intersection of Raritan Road and the Cranford/Linden
township border (144 Raritan Road); then north along the Cranford/
Linden border to Myrtle Street; then east along Myrtle Street to the
intersection of Amsterdam Avenue and Wood Avenue; then southeast along
Wood Avenue to 5th Avenue; then northeast along 5th Avenue to Locust
Street; then north along Locust Street to the point of beginning.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of October 2006.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E6-16755 Filed 10-10-06; 8:45 am]
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