[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 39497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19362]



[[Page 39497]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 97-064-1]


Boll Weevil Control Program; Availability of Environmental 
Assessments and Findings of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared two environmental assessments and 
findings of no significant impact for proposed programs to eradicate 
the boll weevil in Mississippi and in the Red River Valley area of 
Arkansas and Louisiana. The environmental assessments provide the basis 
for our conclusion that the implementation of the proposed boll weevil 
eradication programs in Mississippi and in the Red River Valley area of 
Arkansas and Louisiana will not have a significant impact on the 
quality of the human environment.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the environmental assessments and findings 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 those documents are 
requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the 
reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Bill Grefenstette, Senior 
Operations Officer, National Boll Weevil Eradication Program, PPQ, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 138, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-
8676. Copies of the environmental assessments and findings of no 
significant impact may be obtained by contacting Mr. Grefenstette.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with 7 U.S.C. 147a, 148, and 450, the Secretary of 
Agriculture is authorized to cooperate with the States and certain 
other organizations and individuals to control and eradicate plant 
pests.
    The boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis Boheman) is a destructive pest 
of cotton which causes annual economic losses to the agricultural 
industry and consumers. Since its introduction in southern Texas in the 
late 1800's, the boll weevil has spread across the area of the United 
States known as the Cotton Belt. Since the early 1950's, the United 
States agricultural community has acknowledged the need for a beltwide 
strategy for controlling the boll weevil. Since the first pilot program 
in 1971, programs implemented in an incremental fashion have been 
successful in eradicating the boll weevil from over 3.5 million acres 
in major areas of the Cotton Belt.
    On December 24, 1991, we published in the Federal Register (56 FR 
66615-66616, Docket No. 91-173) a notice announcing the availability of 
a final environmental impact statement for the National Boll Weevil 
Cooperative Control Program (national program). This comprehensive 
programmatic environmental impact statement evaluated the impacts of 
the national program to eradicate boll weevil.
    The national program relies on integrated control methods, 
including the use of chemicals, on cotton crops. Therefore, as the 
national program expands to include new areas, the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prepares site specific environmental 
assessments to analyze the potential effects of eradication program 
alternatives and actions on the quality of the human environment in the 
local area of the proposed eradication program.
    APHIS, in cooperation with the other Federal and State agencies, 
cotton growers, and cotton grower organizations in Arkansas, Louisiana, 
and Mississippi, proposes to add Mississippi and the Red River Valley 
area of Arkansas and Louisiana to the national program to eradicate 
boll weevil from cotton fields in these areas.
    APHIS has prepared site specific environmental assessments for the 
proposed eradication activities in Mississippi and in the Red River 
Valley area of Arkansas and Louisiana. The analyses for these sites 
focused on potential effects of chemical pesticides and potential 
outbreaks of secondary pests. In addition to the routine operational 
procedures and mitigation measures that are followed in all areas of 
the national program, these site specific environmental assessments 
recommend additional protective measures to further reduce the 
potential for adverse environmental effects.
    These site specific environmental assessments and the programmatic 
environmental impact statement provide the basis for our conclusion 
that the implementation of the proposed boll weevil eradication 
programs in Mississippi and in the Red River Valley area of Arkansas 
and Louisiana will not have a significant impact on the quality of the 
human environment in either area.
    The environmental assessments and findings of no significant impact 
have been prepared in accordance with: (1) the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (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' NEPA 
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of July 1997.
Terry L. Medley,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 97-19362 Filed 7-22-97; 8:45 am]
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