[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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