[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 49 (Monday, March 13, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 13356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-6069]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 99-098-1]


Environmental Impact Statement; Importation of Unmanufactured 
Wood Articles From Mexico

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service intends to prepare an environmental impact statement 
relative to our proposed rule for the importation of pine and fir logs 
and lumber and other unmanufactured wood articles from Mexico. The 
environmental impact statement will examine the potential effects of 
the proposed rule on the human environment, including cumulative 
impacts of methyl bromide use that could result if our proposed rule is 
adopted. In order to identify cumulative impacts, the environmental 
impact statement will consider the incremental impact of the proposed 
rule when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable 
future actions. We invite the public to comment on what specific issues 
we should address in the environmental impact statement.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive by April 12, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 99-
098-1, 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. 99-098-1.
    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 organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Arnold Foudin, Senior Operations 
Officer, Policy Planning and Critical Issues, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-7601.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On June 11, 1999, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register (64 FR 31512-
31518, Docket No. 98-054-1) to amend the regulations in 7 CFR part 319 
to add restrictions on the importation of pine and fir logs and lumber 
and other unmanufactured wood articles from Mexico. Under the proposal, 
certain unmanufactured wood articles would be required to be treated in 
order to be eligible for importation into the United States. The 
proposed rule would allow treatment with methyl bromide as an 
alternative to heat treatment.
    Several of the comments we received on the proposed rule and its 
accompanying environmental assessment indicated the need to consider 
the cumulative environmental impacts of methyl bromide use. Regulations 
issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), define ``cumulative impact'' as ``the impact on the 
environment which results from the incremental impact of the action 
when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future 
actions regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person 
undertakes such other actions. Cumulative impacts can result from 
individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place 
over a period of time.''
    Based on the comments described above, APHIS intends to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) relative to our proposed rule for 
the importation of pine and fir logs and lumber and other 
unmanufactured wood articles from Mexico. The EIS will consider, among 
other things, the cumulative environmental impacts of methyl bromide 
use that could result if the proposed rule is adopted. As provided in 
the definition above, to fully consider the incremental impacts of 
methyl bromide use that could result if our proposed rule is adopted, 
we also need to identify other past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable uses of methyl bromide.
    We plan to seek assistance from, and coordinate closely with, among 
others, experts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the 
United Nations Environmental Programme in drafting the EIS and in 
identifying uses of methyl bromide. This notice also requests public 
comments to help us identify other significant environmental issues 
that should be addressed or analyzed in the EIS and to help us identify 
additional uses of methyl bromide.
    The EIS will analyze the full range of alternatives available to 
the decisionmaker in the APHIS rulemaking proceeding described above, 
including ``no action'; use of the entire range of treatment options, 
including methyl bromide; and treatment options other than methyl 
bromide.
    The EIS will also identify other APHIS and non-APHIS uses of methyl 
bromide in order to determine the potential incremental cumulative 
impacts that could result if our proposed rule is adopted.
    This notice and the upcoming EIS are intended to fulfill the 
requirements of both NEPA and Executive Order 12114, ``Environmental 
Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions,'' to the extent applicable. A 
notice announcing the availability of the draft EIS for review will be 
published in the Federal Register. The notice will also request 
comments on the draft EIS.
    This notice is issued in accordance with: (1) NEPA, (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 7th day of March 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-6069 Filed 3-10-00; 8:45 am]
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