[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52893-52894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20523]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 157 / Wednesday, August 14, 2002 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 52893]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 02-032-1]


Environmental Impact Statement for the Importation of Wood 
Packaging Material

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement, 
scope of study, and notice of public meetings.

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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 
in connection with regulations we are considering regarding the 
importation of wood packaging material. This notice identifies 
potential alternatives and issues that we plan to examine in the 
environmental impact statement, requests public comment to further 
delineate the scope of the alternatives and issues, and provides notice 
of public meetings.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
September 13, 2002. We will also consider comments made at public 
hearings that will be held in Washington, DC, on September 3, 2002, 
beginning at 10 a.m., and in Long Beach, CA, on September 5, 2002, 
beginning at 1 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. (two sessions).

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. 02-032-1, 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. 02-032-1. 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. 
02-032-1'' on the subject line.
    The September 3, 2002, public hearing will be held at the USDA 
South Building, Jefferson Auditorium, 14th Street and Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC. The September 5, 2002, public hearing will 
be held at the Hilton of Long Beach, 701 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 
CA.
    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: Mr. Harold Smith, Environmental 
Protection Officer, Environmental Services, PPD, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road, Unit 149, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238; (301) 734-6742.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is planning to amend 
its regulations on the importation of logs, lumber, and other 
unmanufactured wood articles to decrease the risk of wood packaging 
material (e.g., crates, dunnage, wooden spools, pallets, and packing 
blocks) introducing exotic plant pests into the United States. Under 
the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 
as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), we are required to consider the 
potential environmental effects of our proposed actions and 
alternatives. The purpose of this notice is to inform the public of our 
intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS), to advise 
the public of the schedule for two public meetings, and to solicit 
public comments on the scope of the environmental issues to be examined 
in the EIS.
    The regulations in 7 CFR 319.40-1 through 319.40-11 (referred to 
below as the regulations) are intended to mitigate the plant pest risk 
presented by the importation of logs, lumber, and other unmanufactured 
wood articles, including wood packaging material (WPM). Introductions 
into the United States of exotic plant pests such as the pine shoot 
beetle and the Asian longhorned beetle have been linked to the 
importation of WPM. Recently, the emerald ash borer has been found in 
five counties in Michigan. These and other plant pests that could be 
carried by imported WPM pose a serious threat to U.S. agriculture and 
to natural, cultivated, and urban forests.
    In 1998, we took regulatory action to require that WPM from China 
be heat treated, fumigated, or treated with preservatives prior to 
arrival in the United States. This action has decreased interceptions 
of pests associated with WPM from China. However, since then, a number 
of factors, including increased international trade, additional 
interceptions of serious exotic plant pests in WPM from other 
countries, and the adoption by the International Plant Protection 
Convention (IPPC) of international standards to mitigate pest risk from 
WPM, have demonstrated the need for the United States to take further 
measures to mitigate the pest risk from WPM from other countries.
    In addition to establishing the necessary framework for protecting 
U.S. agriculture and forests, we must give full consideration to 
harmonizing our regulations with the new international standards (the 
``International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures--Guidelines for 
Regulating Wood Packaging Materials in International Trade,'' 
Publication 15 of the Secretariat of the IPPC of the Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, 2002).
    The continually increasing risk of invasive exotic plant pest 
species imparts a degree of urgency to our development of regulations 
to mitigate risk from the importation of WPM. Therefore, our rulemaking 
and environmental processes are being undertaken at an accelerated 
rate. This is entirely consistent with regulations implementing NEPA 
(40 CFR 1501.8(b)). We anticipate that the proposed rule we publish 
will provide advance notice to industry of specific regulatory

[[Page 52894]]

requirements that may be made final and implemented within 30 days of 
the publication of a final rule.
    We are requesting public comment to help us identify and/or confirm 
potential alternatives and environmental issues that should be examined 
in the EIS. We have identified five broad alternatives that we plan to 
consider in the EIS, as follows:
     Take no action. This would be characterized as no change 
in the existing regulations that apply to the importation of WPM (while 
not contributing to the further mitigation of risk, the analysis of the 
no action alternative provides a baseline and is required by NEPA and 
its implementing regulations);
     Apply the same requirements concerning WPM from China to 
WPM from the rest of the world (i.e., require WPM imported from any 
part of the world to be heat treated, fumigated, or treated with 
preservatives prior to arrival in the United States);
     Implement a comprehensive risk reduction program (more 
expansive than the regulations currently applying to China or provided 
for under the new international standards). This would be categorized 
as a broad risk mitigation strategy that involves various options such 
as increased inspection, heat treatment, fumigation, wood 
preservatives, irradiation, controlled atmosphere, selective 
prohibition, and disposal;
     Adopt the new international standards and apply their 
methods (heat treatment at 56  deg.C for 30 minutes, fumigation with 
methyl bromide, and marking of WPM) to all countries; and
     Require the use of substitute materials that are not hosts 
of plant pests or diseases (e.g., metal, rubber, or fiberglass).
    We will examine the potential effects on the human environment of 
each alternative. We also are interested in comments that identify 
other issues that should be examined in the EIS. Potential issues could 
include new treatment methods, logistical considerations, environmental 
regulations and constraints, and harmonization of regulatory efforts.
    Comments regarding the proposed scope of the EIS are welcome and 
will be considered fully. When the draft EIS is completed, a notice 
announcing its availability and an invitation to comment on it will be 
published in the Federal Register.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of August 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-20523 Filed 8-13-02; 8:45 am]
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