[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 102 (Thursday, May 27, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28713-28715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13516]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 99-033-1]


Asian Longhorned Beetle; Addition to Quarantined 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 Asian longhorned beetle regulations by 
expanding the quarantined areas in the State of New York to include new 
areas in New York City and in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. As a result 
of this action, the interstate movement of regulated articles from 
those areas are restricted. This action is necessary on an emergency 
basis to prevent the artificial spread of the Asian longhorned beetle 
to noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: This interim rule is effective May 21, 1999. We invite you to 
comment on this docket. We will consider all comments that we receive 
by July 26, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 99-
033-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that 
your comment refers to Docket No. 99-033-1.
    You may read any comments that we receive on this docket 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 through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of

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organizations and individuals who have commented on APHIS rules, are 
available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/
webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ronald P. Milberg, Operations 
Officer, Program Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-5255; or e-mail: 
Ron.P.M[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) (Anoplophora glabripennis), an 
insect native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Isle of Hainan, is a 
destructive pest of hardwood trees. It is known to attack healthy 
maple, horse chestnut, birch, Rose of Sharon, poplar, willow, elm, 
locust, mulberry, chinaberry, apple, cherry, pear, and citrus trees. It 
may also attack other species of hardwood trees. In addition, nursery 
stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, branches, and 
debris of a half an inch or more in diameter are subject to 
infestation. The beetle bores into the heartwood of a host tree, 
eventually killing it. Immature beetles bore into tree trunks and 
branches, causing heavy sap flow from wounds and sawdust accumulation 
at tree bases. They feed on, and over-winter in, the interiors of 
trees. Adult beetles emerge in the spring and summer months from round 
holes approximately 3/8-inch diameter (about the size of a dime) that 
they bore through the trunks of trees. After emerging, adult beetles 
feed for 2 to 3 days and then mate. Adult females then lay eggs in 
oviposition sites that they make on the branches of trees. A new 
generation of ALB is produced each year. If this pest moves into the 
hardwood forests of the United States, the nursery and forest products 
industries could experience severe economic losses.
    The Asian longhorned beetle regulations (7 CFR 301.51-1 through 
301.51-9, referred to below as the regulations) restrict the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas to prevent the 
artificial spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United States. 
Portions of New York City and Nassau and Suffolk Counties in the State 
of New York and portions of the city of Chicago, DuPage County, and the 
village of Summit in the State of Illinois are already designated as 
quarantined areas.
    Recent surveys conducted by inspectors of New York State, county, 
and city agencies and by inspectors of the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) have revealed that infestations of ALB have 
occurred outside the quarantined areas in the State of New York. 
Specifically, infestations have been found outside the quarantined 
areas in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and in Nassau and Suffolk 
Counties. Officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and officials 
of State, county, and city agencies in New York are conducting an 
intensive survey and eradication program in the infested areas. The 
State of New York has quarantined the infested areas and is restricting 
the intrastate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined 
areas to prevent the artificial spread of ALB within the State. 
However, Federal regulations are necessary to restrict the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from the quarantined area to prevent the 
artificial spread of ALB to other States and Canada.
    The regulations in Sec. 301.51-3(a) provide that the Administrator 
of APHIS will list as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of 
a State, in which ALB has been found by an inspector, in which the 
Administrator has reason to believe that ALB is present, or that the 
Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its 
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities 
where ALB has been found.
    Less than an entire State will be designated as a quarantined area 
only if the Administrator determines that the State has adopted and is 
enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of regulated articles 
that are equivalent to those imposed by the regulations on the 
interstate movement of regulated articles and the designation of less 
than an entire State as a quarantined area will be adequate to prevent 
the artificial spread of ALB.
    In accordance with these criteria and the recent ALB findings 
described above, we are amending Sec. 301.51-3(c) by expanding the 
quarantined areas in New York City and in Nassau and Suffolk Counties 
in the State of New York. The new quarantined areas are described in 
the rule portion of this document.

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 ALB 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 this 
action 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. The document 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 emergency situation makes compliance with section 603 and 
timely compliance with section 604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) impracticable. If we determine that this rule would 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities, then we will discuss the issues raised by section 604 of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act in our Final Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis.

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 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 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.

National Environmental Policy Act

    An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact 
have been prepared for this program. The assessment provides a basis 
for the conclusion that a Federal quarantine for ALB 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

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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).
    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, by calling the Plant Protection 
and Quarantine Fax Service at (301) 734-3560, or by visiting the 
following Internet site: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/ead/
ppqdocs.html.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping 
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (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, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

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

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, 
and 164-167; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

    2. In Sec. 301.51-3, paragraph (c) is amended by revising the entry 
for the State of New York to read as follows:


Sec. 301.51-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
* * * * *
New York
    New York City. That area in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in 
the city of New York that is bounded as follows: Beginning at the point 
where the Manhattan Bridge intersects the bank of the East River; then 
south from the Manhattan Bridge along Flatbush Avenue to Lafayette 
Avenue; then east along Lafayette Avenue to Himrod Street; then 
northeast along Himrod Street to Myrtle Avenue; then east along Myrtle 
Avenue to Fresh Pond Road; then north along Fresh Pond Road to Flushing 
Avenue; then northeast along Flushing Avenue to Grand Avenue; then 
northeast along Grand Avenue to 69th Street; then north along 69th 
Street to 37th Avenue; then east along 37th Avenue to 70th Street; then 
north along 70th Street to Northern Boulevard; then west along Northern 
Boulevard to Queens Plaza North; then west along Queens Plaza North to 
the point where the Queensborough Bridge intersects the bank of the 
East River; then south and west along the bank of the East River to the 
point of beginning.
    That area in the borough of Queens in the city of New York that is 
bounded as follows: Beginning at the point where Utopia Parkway 
intersects the shoreline of Little Bay; then south along Utopia Parkway 
to the Grand Central Parkway; then east along the Grand Central Parkway 
to the New York City/Nassau County line; then northwest along the New 
York City/Nassau County line to the shoreline of Little Neck Bay; then 
west along the shorelines of Little Neck Bay, Willets Point, and Little 
Bay to the point of beginning.
    Nassau and Suffolk Counties. That area in the villages of 
Amityville, West Amityville, North Amityville, Babylon, West Babylon, 
Copiague, Lindenhurst, Massapequa, Massapequa Park, and East 
Massapequa; in the towns of Oyster Bay and Babylon; in the counties of 
Nassau and Suffolk that is bounded as follows: Beginning at the point 
where West Main Street intersects the west bank of Carlis Creek; then 
west along West Main Street to Route 109; then north along Route 109 to 
Arnold Avenue; then northwest along Arnold Avenue to Albin Avenue; then 
west along Albin Avenue to East John Street; then west along East John 
Street to Wellwood Avenue; then south along Wellwood Avenue to West 
Hoffman Avenue; then west along West Hoffman Avenue to Marconi 
Boulevard; then west along Marconi Boulevard to Great Neck Road; then 
north and northwest along Great Neck Road to the Southern State 
Parkway; then west along the Southern State Parkway to Broadway; then 
south along Broadway to Hicksville Road; then south along Hicksville 
Road to Division Avenue; then south along Division Avenue to the 
shoreline of South Oyster Bay; then east along the shoreline of South 
Oyster Bay to Carlis Creek; then north along the west bank of Carlis 
Creek to the point of beginning.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of May 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-13516 Filed 5-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P