[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 167 (Tuesday, August 30, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21349]


  Federal Register / Vol. 59, No. 167 / Tuesday, August 30, 1994 /
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[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 30, 1994]


                                                   VOL. 59, NO. 167

                                           Tuesday, August 30, 1994

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 94-082-1]

 

Pink Bollworm Regulated 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 pink bollworm regulations by adding 
certain portions of Dyer and Lauderdale Counties in Tennessee to the 
list of suppressive areas for pink bollworm and by adding Tennessee to 
the list of States quarantined because of pink bollworm. This action 
will impose restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from those regulated areas in Dyer and Lauderdale Counties, 
TN. This action is necessary to prevent the interstate movement of pink 
bollworm into noninfested areas.

DATES: Interim rule effective August 30, 1994. Consideration will be 
given only to comments received on or before October 31, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804, 
Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please 
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 94-082-1. Comments 
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th 
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to 
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to 
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Coanne E. O'Hern, Assistant 
Operations Officer, Domestic and Emergency Operations, Plant Protection 
and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, room 645, Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest 
Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-6365.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), is one of 
the world's most destructive pests of cotton. This insect spread to the 
United States from Mexico in 1917, and now exists throughout most of 
the cotton-producing States west of the Mississippi River.
    The pink bollworm regulations, contained in 7 CFR 301.52 through 
301.52-10 (referred to below as the regulations), quarantine certain 
States and restrict the interstate movement of regulated articles from 
regulated areas in quarantined States for the purpose of preventing the 
spread of pink bollworm.
    Regulated areas for the pink bollworm are designated as either 
suppressive areas or generally infested areas. Restrictions are imposed 
on the interstate movement of regulated articles from both types of 
areas in order to prevent the movement of pink bollworm into 
noninfested areas. However, eradication of pink bollworm infestations 
is undertaken as an objective only in places that are designated as 
suppressive areas.
    Prior to the effective date of this document, Tennessee contained 
no areas regulated because of pink bollworm. However, surveys conducted 
by inspectors of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and 
by State agencies in Tennessee have established that pink bollworm has 
spread into areas of Dyer and Lauderdale Counties, TN. Therefore, in 
order to prevent the further spread of pink bollworm, we are amending 
the list of regulated areas in Sec. 301.52-2a of the regulations by 
designating portions of Dyer and Lauderdale Counties, TN, as pink 
bollworm suppressive areas. Descriptions of those areas designated as 
suppressive areas are set forth in the rule portion of this document. 
We are also adding Tennessee to the list in Sec. 301.52(a) of States 
that are quarantined because of pink bollworm.
    Section 301.52-2 of the regulations states that less than an entire 
quarantined State will be designated as a regulated area only if the 
State is enforcing a quarantine or regulations that impose restrictions 
on the intrastate movement of regulated articles that are substantially 
the same as those imposed with respect to the interstate movement of 
such articles under the Federal regulations. Tennessee has elected to 
regulate the intrastate movement of regulated articles from the 
designated areas of Dyer and Lauderdale Counties under the State's 
Plant Pest Act of 1955.

Emergency Action

    The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
has determined that an emergency exists that warrants publication of 
this interim rule without prior opportunity for public comment. 
Immediate action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of pink 
bollworm to noninfested areas of the United States.
    Because prior notice and other public procedures with respect to 
this action are impracticable and contrary to the public interest under 
these conditions, we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 to make it 
effective upon publication in the Federal Register. We will consider 
comments that are received within 60 days of publication of this rule 
in the Federal Register. After the comment period closes, we will 
publish another document in the Federal Register. It will include a 
discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments we are making 
to the rule as result of the comments.

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 process required by Executive Order 12866.
    This interim rule restricts the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from the regulated areas of Dyer and Lauderdale Counties in 
Tennessee. Based on information compiled by the Department, we have 
determined that there are nine cotton farms and four gin and seed 
disposal companies that will be affected by the new restrictions. All 
of these farms and gin and seed disposal companies are considered to be 
small entities under Small Business Administration criteria.
    Approximately 834,000 bales of cotton and 332,000 metric tons of 
cottonseed were produced in Tennessee in 1992; of that total, 3,963 
bales of cotton and 1,530 metric tons of cottonseed were produced in 
those areas of Dyer and Lauderdale Counties affected by this interim 
rule. Thus, production in the affected areas of Dyer and Lauderdale 
Counties represents only about 0.5 percent of the cotton and 0.5 
percent of the cottonseed produced in Tennessee in 1992.
    The costs of treating unprocessed cotton and cottonseed to qualify 
them for interstate movement is approximately $1.90 per bale of cotton 
and $0.13 per bushel of cottonseed. For the 3 most recent marketing 
years (1990-1992), the average price per bale of cotton received by 
farmers was about $284; the average price per bushel of cottonseed 
received by farmers was about $1.60 (USDA, ``Agricultural Statistics 
1993,'' U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1993). Thus, 
the costs of treatment, seen as a percentage of value, range between 
0.5 and 0.8 percent of the value of cotton and between 6 and 9 percent 
of the value of cottonseed. The majority of the cotton and cottonseed 
produced in the affected areas of Dyer and Lauderdale Counties is sold 
for processing, so the amount of cotton and cottonseed produced in the 
affected areas that will require treatment for interstate movement is 
expected to be small.
    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 12778

    This interim rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 
Civil Justice Reform. This interim rule: (1) Preempts all State and 
local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with it; (2) has no 
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings 
before parties may file suit in court challenging this interim rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This document contains no information collection or recordkeeping 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (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.

    Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is amended as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

    1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C., 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff; 161, 162, and 
164-167; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).


Sec. 301.52  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 301.52, paragraph (a) is amended by adding 
``Tennessee,'' immediately after ``Oklahoma,''.
    3. Section 301.52-2a is amended by adding an entry for Tennessee in 
alphabetical order to read as follows:


Sec. 301.52-2a  Regulated areas; suppressive and generally infested 
areas.

* * * * *
Tennessee
    (1) Generally infested area. None.
    (2) Suppressive area.
    Dyer County. That portion of the county lying within a 1.5-mile 
radius of the intersection of 36 deg. 04'' latitude and 89 deg. 35.5'' 
longitude; that portion of the county lying within a 1.5-mile radius of 
the intersection of 36 deg. 02'' latitude and 89 deg. 36'' longitude; 
and that portion of the county lying within a 1.5-mile radius of the 
intersection of 36 deg. 05'' latitude and 89 deg. 32'' longitude.
    Lauderdale County. That portion of the county lying within a 1.5-
mile radius of the intersection of 35 deg. 54.5'' latitude and 89 deg. 
32'' longitude.
* * * * *
    Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of August 1994.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 94-21349 Filed 8-29-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P