[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 97 (Thursday, May 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28232-28233]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12024]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0029]
Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Biological
Control Agent for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to
the control of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). The
environmental assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to,
the release of an insect, Laricobius osakensis, into the continental
United States for use as a biological control agent to reduce the
severity of hemlock woolly adelgid infestations. We are making the
environmental assessment available to the public for review and
comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June
21, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to (http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0029) to submit or view comments
and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send one copy of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0029, 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-2010-0029.
Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on the
environmental assessment 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
[[Page 28233]]
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: Dr. Shirley A. Wager-Page, Chief, Pest
Permitting Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD
20737-1237; (301) 734-8453.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing
to issue permits for the release of an insect, Laricobius osakensis,
into the continental United States for use as a biological control
agent to reduce the severity of hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA)
infestations.
HWA, an introduced insect pest destructive to forest and ornamental
hemlock trees, was first discovered in Virginia in 1951. HWA now
infests 18 States due to the movements of infested nursery plants as
well as non-human modes of dispersal that include birds, deer, and
wind. HWA feeds at the bases of hemlock needles, causing them to dry
out and resulting in needle loss. This prevents trees from producing
new buds for the next year's growth, and leads to branch dieback and,
often, the eventual death of the tree. HWA infestation is fatal to
eastern hemlocks of all ages, regardless of health prior to
infestation, with tree mortality occurring between four and ten or more
years after infestation, depending on environmental conditions.
Existing HWA management options include chemical control and
silvicultural control, which, in this instance, would involve close
management of trees on a site-by-site basis. However, these management
measures can be expensive, temporary, or have non-target impacts. Thus,
a permit application has been submitted to APHIS for the purpose of
releasing an insect, L. osakensis, into the continental United States
for use as a biological control agent to reduce the severity of HWA
infestations.
APHIS' review and analysis of the proposed action are documented in
detail in an environmental assessment (EA) titled ``Proposed Field
Release of Laricobius osakensis (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), a Predatory
Beetle for Biological Control of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges
tsugae), in the Continental United States'' (December 2009). We are
making the EA available to the public for review and comment. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed
under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice.
The EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the
reading room). You may request paper copies of the EA by calling or
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Please refer to the title of the EA when requesting copies.
The EA has been prepared in accordance with: (1) The National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for
implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), (3) USDA regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4)
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Done in Washington, DC, this 14\th\ day of May 2010.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-12024 Filed 5-19-10; 8:45 am]
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