[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48610-48611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18845]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 143 / Thursday, July 25, 2002 / 
Notices  

[[Page 48610]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 02-060-1]


Availability of an Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that an environmental assessment 
has been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
relative to the control of rush skeletonweed, Chondrilla juncea 
(Asteraceae). The environmental assessment considers the effects of, 
and alternatives to, the release of a nonindigenous organism, 
Bradyrrhoa gilveolella (Treitschke) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), into the 
environment for use as a biological control agent to reduce the 
severity of rush skeletonweed infestations. We are making this 
environmental assessment available to the public for review and 
comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
August 26, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery 
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send 
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket 
No. 02-060-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No.02-060-1. If you use e-mail, 
address your comment to [email protected]. Your comment must 
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. 
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 
02-060-1'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on the environmental 
assessment 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. Tracy A. Horner, Entomologist, 
Biological and Technical Services, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1228; (301) 734-5213.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
considering an application from the University of Montana for a permit 
to release a nonindigenous organism, Bradyrrhoa gilveolella 
(Treitschke) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), to reduce the severity of rush 
skeletonweed, Chondrilla juncea (Asteraceae), in the continental United 
States.
    Native to Eurasia, rush skeletonweed has become established in the 
District of Columbia and several States including California, Delaware, 
Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New 
York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. 
This invasive weed infests roadsides, railways, rangelands, pastures, 
grain fields, coastal sand dunes, and shaley hillsides in mountainous 
regions. Rush skeletonweed causes losses in infested grain fields, 
reduces rangeland forage production, and reduces plant and animal 
diversity.
    While chemical, mechanical, and cultural methods are available to 
control rush skeletonweed, these methods may damage the environment. In 
addition, the effectiveness of biological control agents that are 
currently used to control rush skeletonweed appears to vary depending 
upon the location; e.g., in California, a rust (Puccinia chondrillina) 
appears to be more effective in controlling rush skeletonweed, and in 
eastern Washington, a gall mite (Aceria chondrillae) appears to be more 
effective in controlling it.
    The biological control agent B. gilveolella has the potential to 
suppress rush skeletonweed populations in the continental United 
States. B. gilveolella larvae feed on the roots of rush skeletonweed, 
causing the plant to die or increasing its susceptibility to pathogenic 
fungi. APHIS has completed an environmental assessment that considers 
the effects of, and alternatives to, releasing B. gilveolella into the 
environment for the biological control of rush skeletonweed 
infestations.
    APHIS' review and analysis of the potential environmental impacts 
associated with releasing B. gilveolella into the environment are 
documented in detail in the environmental assessment, entitled ``Field 
Release of Bradyrrhoa gilveolella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), for 
Biological Control of Rush Skeletonweed, Chondrilla juncea 
(Asteraceae)'' (May 2002). We are making this environmental assessment 
available to the public for review and comment. We will consider all 
comments that we receive by the date listed under the heading DATES at 
the beginning of this notice.
    The environmental assessment may be viewed on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ by accessing ``Document/Forms Retrieval 
System,'' then ``3-Permits-Pests''; the environmental assessment is 
document number 0032. You may request copies of the environmental 
assessment by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the environmental 
assessment when requesting copies. The environmental assessment is also 
available for review in our reading room (information on the location 
and hours of the reading room is listed under the heading ADDRESSES at 
the beginning of this notice).
    The environmental assessment has been prepared in accordance with: 
(1) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 
Environmental Quality for

[[Page 48611]]

implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), (3) USDA regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1), and (4) 
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of July 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-18845 Filed 7-24-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P