[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 2321-2323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-424]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 5 / Monday, January 9, 1995 / Rules 
and Regulations  
[[Page 2321]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 92-139-8]


Pine Shoot Beetle

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the pine shoot beetle regulations by adding 
Adams and Jay Counties, IN, to the list of quarantined areas. This 
action is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the spread of the 
pine shoot beetle, a highly destructive pest of pine trees, into 
noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective December 29, 1994. Consideration will be 
given only to comments received on or before March 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, P.O. 
Drawer 810, Riverdale, MD 20738. Please state that your comments refer 
to Docket No. 92-139-8. 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: Mr. C. David McNeal, Operations 
Officer, Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, P.O. Drawer 810, 
Riverdale, MD 20738. The telephone number for the agency contact will 
change when agency offices in Hyattsville, MD, move to Riverdale, MD, 
during January. Telephone: (301) 436-8247 (Hyattsville); (301) 734-8247 
(Riverdale).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The pine shoot beetle is a highly destructive pest of pine trees. 
The pine shoot beetle can cause damage in weak and dying trees, where 
reproduction and immature stages of pine shoot beetle occur, and in the 
new growth of healthy trees. The ``maturation feeding'' of young 
beetles takes the form of boring up the center of pine shoots (usually 
of the current year's growth), causing stunted and distorted growth in 
the host trees. The pine shoot beetle is also a vector of several 
diseases of pine trees. Adults can fly at least 1 kilometer, and the 
wood, nursery stock, and Christmas trees they infest are often 
transported long distances. This pest damages urban trees, and can 
cause economic losses to the timber, Christmas tree, and nursery 
industries.
    The regulations in 7 CFR 301.50 (referred to below as the 
regulations) impose restrictions on the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from quarantined areas in order to prevent the 
spread of the pine shoot beetle into noninfested areas of the United 
States.
    Surveys recently conducted by State and Federal inspectors revealed 
that Adams and Jay Counties, IN, are infested with the pine shoot 
beetle. The regulations in Sec. 301.50-3 provide that the Administrator 
of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will list as 
a quarantined area each State, or each portion of a State, in which the 
pine shoot beetle has been found by an inspector, in which the 
Administrator has reason to believe the pine shoot beetle is present, 
or that the Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of 
its inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities 
in which the pine shoot beetle has been found.
    In accordance with these criteria, we are designating Adams and Jay 
Counties, IN, as quarantined areas, and adding them to the list of 
quarantined areas in Sec. 301.50-3(c).

Emergency Action

    The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
has determined that an emergency situation exists that warrants 
publication of this interim rule without prior opportunity for public 
comment. Immediate action is necessary to prevent the pine shoot beetle 
from spreading 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 signature. 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 a 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.
    In Adams County, IN, there are four nurseries and one logging 
operation; in Jay County, IN, there are four nurseries and two 
Christmas tree producers. All could probably be classified as small 
entities by Small Business Administration criteria (for nurseries, 
annual gross receipts of $150,000 or less; for loggers, annual gross 
receipts of $3.5 million or less; for Christmas tree producers, annual 
gross receipts of $0.5 million or less). The logging operation in Adams 
County harvests only deciduous trees.
    This action will restrict the movement of certain pine products 
from quarantined areas to nonquarantined areas. If inspected and found 
to be infested with the pine shoot beetle, these pine products can be 
either diverted for sale within local markets or treated in accordance 
with Sec. 301.50-10 prior to shipment to a nonquarantined area. Based 
on information acquired from extension agents, we estimate that, in the 
newly quarantined counties, most producers of regulated pine products 
make approximately 90 percent of their sales locally or to buyers 
within the county or other quarantined areas in Indiana and thus will 
not be affected by this action. Producers can treat the small amount of 
regulated pine products [[Page 2322]] sold interstate with an approved 
methyl bromide treatment at a reasonable cost (approximately $1 per 
tree).
    We anticipate, therefore, that this action will not have a 
significant economic impact on small nurseries, Christmas tree farmers, 
or other forest product producers in the two newly quarantined 
counties.
    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 rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 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

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 
3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements 
included in this rule have been approved by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB), and there are no new requirements. The assigned OMB 
control number is 0579-0088.

National Environmental Policy Act

    An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact 
have been prepared for this rule. The assessment provides a basis for 
the conclusion that the treatment of regulated articles, under the 
conditions specified in this rule, will not present a risk of 
introducing or disseminating plant pests and will not have a 
significant impact on the quality of the human environment. Based on 
the finding of no significant impact, the Administrator of the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that an 
environmental impact statement need not be prepared.
    The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact 
were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA) (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 Guidelines 
Implementing NEPA (44 FR 50381-50384, August 28, 1979, and 44 FR 51272-
51274, August 31, 1979).
    Copies of the environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact are available for public inspection 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 copies are requested to 
call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the reading room. 
In addition, copies may be obtained by writing to the individual listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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).

    2. In Sec. 301.50-3, paragraph (c), under Indiana, new counties are 
added, in alphabetical order; and paragraph (d) is revised to read as 
set forth below:


Sec. 301.50-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

Indiana

    Adams County. The entire county.
* * * * *
    Jay County. The entire county.
* * * * *
    (d) A map of the quarantined areas follows:

                                                 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
[[Page 2323]]

[GRAPHIC][TIFF OMITTED]TR09JA95.002



    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of December 1994.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 95-424 Filed 1-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P