[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 154 (Friday, August 10, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 44951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15711]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 154 / Friday, August 10, 2007 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 44951]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0170]
Witchweed Quarantine Regulations; Regulated Areas in North
Carolina and South Carolina
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, with one change, an interim
rule that amended the witchweed regulations by adding or removing areas
in North Carolina and South Carolina from the list of regulated areas.
Based on information provided by the State of South Carolina, this
final rule removes one farm from the list of suppressive areas that
appeared in the interim rule. This action is necessary to remove
restrictions that are no longer necessary on the interstate movement of
regulated articles from areas where witchweed has been eradicated.
DATES: Effective Date: August 10, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Alan V. Tasker, Noxious Weeds
Program Manager, Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-5708.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Witchweed (Striga spp.) is a parasitic plant that attacks some of
the most important crops in the United States (corn, sorghum, sugar
cane, and rice), feeding off the roots of its host and causing
degeneration. Within the United States, witchweed is only found in
parts of North Carolina and South Carolina.
The witchweed quarantine and regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.80
through 301.80-10 (referred to below as the regulations), quarantine
affected areas within the States of North Carolina and South Carolina
and restrict the interstate movement of certain articles from regulated
areas in those States for the purpose of preventing the spread of
witchweed.
In an interim rule \1\ effective February 15, 2007, and published
in the Federal Register on February 22, 2007 (72 FR 7923-7926, Docket
No. APHIS-2006-0170), we amended the list of regulated areas in Sec.
301.80-2a by removing areas in Cumberland, Pender, Robeson, and Sampson
Counties, NC, and Horry and Marion Counties, SC, from the list of
suppressive areas. In addition to removing these areas from the list of
regulated areas in Sec. 301.80-2a, we also added several areas to the
list and revised the descriptions of several areas on the list.
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\1\ To view the interim rule, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2006-0170.
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We solicited comments on the interim rule for 60 days ending on
April 23, 2007. We did not receive any comments. However, subsequent to
the publication of the interim rule, agricultural officials with the
State of South Carolina informed us that one farm in Marion County, SC,
where witchweed had been eradicated was erroneously listed in the
interim rule as a suppressive area. Therefore, in this final rule, we
are removing that farm from the list of regulated areas.
Therefore, for the reasons given in the interim rule and this
document, we are adopting the interim rule as a final rule, with the
change discussed in this document.
This final rule also affirms the information contained in the
interim rule concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
Effective Date
Pursuant to the administrative procedure provisions in 5 U.S.C.
553, we find good cause for making this rule effective less than 30
days after publication in the Federal Register. The interim rule
adopted as final by this rule became effective on February 15, 2007.
This rule amends the description of the regulated areas to remove a
farm where witchweed has been eradicated. Immediate action is warranted
to relieve restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated
articles from that farm.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
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Accordingly, the interim rule amending 7 CFR part 301 that was
published at 72 FR 7923-7926 on February 22, 2007, is adopted as a
final rule with the following change:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
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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).
Sec. 301.80-2a [Amended]
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2. In Sec. 301.80-2a, under the heading ``South Carolina'', the list
of suppressive areas is amended by removing, under Marion County, the
entry ``The Porter, Hubert, farm located on the south side of an
unpaved road known as Bubba Road, 1.3 miles south from its intersection
with State Highway 76.''
Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of August 2007.
Cindy Smith,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-15711 Filed 8-9-07; 8:45 am]
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