[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20185-20186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-9791]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 77 / Friday, April 20, 2001 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 20185]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 99-101-2]


Pine Shoot Beetle; Addition to Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim 
rule that amended the pine shoot beetle regulations by adding 28 
counties in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, 
Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin to the list of 
quarantined areas. As a result of that action, the interstate movement 
of regulated articles from those areas is restricted. The interim rule 
was necessary to prevent the spread of the pine shoot beetle, a pest of 
pine products, into noninfested areas of the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The interim rule became effective on June 13, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Philip Bell, Regional Program 
Manager, PPQ, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 
27606-5202, (919) 716-5582; or Mr. Jonathan M. Jones, Operations 
Officer, Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In an interim rule effective June 13, 2000, and published in the 
Federal Register on June 19, 2000 (65 FR 37841-37842, Docket No. 99-
101-1), we amended the pine shoot beetle (PSB) regulations contained in 
Secs. 301.50 through 301.50-10 by adding 28 counties in Illinois, 
Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West 
Virginia, and Wisconsin to the list of quarantined areas Sec. 301.50-3. 
That action was necessary to prevent the spread of PSB into noninfested 
areas of the United States.
    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before August 18, 2000. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for 
the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim rule 
as a final rule.
    This action also affirms the information contained in the interim 
rule concerning Executive Orders 12866, 12372, and 12988 and the 
Paperwork Reduction Act. Further, for this action, the Office of 
Management and Budget has waived the review process required by 
Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This action affirms an interim rule that amended the PSB 
regulations by adding 28 counties in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New 
Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and 
Wisconsin to the list of quarantined areas. As a result of that action, 
the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas is 
restricted. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the artificial 
spread of PSB to noninfested areas of the United States.
    The following analysis addresses the economic effect of the interim 
rule on small entities, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
    The interim rule affects entities engaged in the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from and through the 28 counties in 
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, 
Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin that were added to the list of 
quarantined areas by the interim rule. Affected entities may include 
nursery stock growers, Christmas tree farms, logging operations, and 
others who sell, process, or move regulated articles. As a result of 
the interim rule, any such entities moving regulated articles 
interstate from one of those 28 counties must first inspect and/or 
treat the regulated articles in order to obtain a certificate or 
limited permit authorizing the movement.
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established size 
standards to determine whether an entity would be considered small. We 
have determined that there are 765 nurseries, Christmas tree farms, 
logging operations, and other entities who sell, process, or move 
regulated articles in the 28 counties added to the list of quarantined 
areas by the interim rule. According to SBA standards, the vast 
majority of the entities may be considered small.
    We have determined that the nurseries, Christmas tree growers, and 
logging operations in most of the 28 counties that are now listed as 
quarantined areas will not be significantly affected by the interim 
rule, either because pine species comprise a very minor share of their 
products or because their shipments do not leave the quarantined areas.
    However, some nurseries and Christmas tree growers affected by the 
interim rule have markets that are predominantly out-of-county and out-
of-State. These affected entities can maintain their markets outside 
the quarantined areas by arranging for the issuance of certificates or 
limited permits based on inspection or treatment of the regulated 
articles. Inspections, in some cases, are already occurring for other 
purposes; therefore, inspecting for PSB will add minimal cost. Also, 
any person engaged in growing, handling, or moving regulated articles 
may enter into a compliance agreement with the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service whereby that person, rather than an inspector, may 
issue a certificate or limited permit for the interstate movement of 
eligible regulated articles. Costs and potential inconveniences are 
most likely for producers of live pine nursery stock, since inspection 
is required for each live plant before it may move interstate from a 
quarantined area. However, many producers must already have their 
products inspected for other pests, and adding another inspection will 
likely be a relatively small burden.
    In contrast to the losses associated with the damage caused by PSB, 
the potential costs and inconvenience associated with inspections and 
treatment are minimal. The effect on those few small entities that do 
move regulated articles out-of-county and interstate is minimized by 
the availability of treatments and

[[Page 20186]]

compliance agreements that, in most cases, allow these small entities 
to move regulated articles with very little additional cost.
    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.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

    Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

    Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the 
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and that was published at 65 
FR 37841-37842 on June 19, 2000.

    Authority: Title IV, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 438, 7 U.S.C. 
7701-7702; 7 U.S.C. 166; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of April 2001.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-9791 Filed 4-19-01; 8:45 am]
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