[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17007-17008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-8518]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-034-1]


Ivy Gourd; Availability of an Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to 
a proposed field release of a nonindigenous leaf-mining weevil, 
Acythopeus cocciniae, into Guam and Saipan for the biological control 
of ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis). The environmental assessment documents 
our review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with 
widespread release of this agent. We are making the environmental 
assessment available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May 
8, 2003.

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. 03-034-1, 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. 03-034-1. 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. 
03-034-1'' in the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on the environmental 
assessment in our reading room. The

[[Page 17008]]

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, Ecologist, 
Environmental Services, PPD, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 149, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1237; (301) 734-5213.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
considering several applications for permits to release the 
nonindigenous leaf-mining weevil Acythopeus cocciniae in order to 
reduce the severity and extent of ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis) 
infestations in Guam and Saipan.
    Ivy gourd is native to Africa, Asia, Fiji, and northern Australia. 
This invasive weed is a rapidly growing, climbing or trailing vine that 
forms thick mats, overgrowing trees and other vegetation, walls, 
fences, and utility poles. Ivy gourd also serves as a host for numerous 
pests of cucurbitaceous crops, including black leaf-footed bug 
(Leptoglossus australis), leafminers (Liriomyza spp.), melon aphid 
(Aphis gossypii), melon fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae), pumpkin 
caterpillar (Diaphania indica), red pumpkin beetle (Aulacophora 
foveicollis), and whiteflies (Bemisia spp.).
    Ivy gourd has been detected in the United States in Guam, Hawaii, 
and Saipan. In July 1999, we prepared an environmental assessment (EA) 
that examined the potential release of A. cocciniae and another weevil 
of the same genus, A. burkhartorum, into the environment for use as 
biological control agents to reduce the severity and extent of ivy 
gourd infestations in the State of Hawaii. APHIS has subsequently 
received permit applications for additional releases of A. cocciniae 
beyond the area considered in the 1999 EA. The applicants propose to 
release A. cocciniae in Guam and Saipan to reduce the severity and 
extent of ivy gourd infestation on those islands.
    A. cocciniae is native to Africa. Adults live up to 200 days and 
feed on the leaves of the ivy gourd, creating numerous holes in the 
lamina. Eggs are laid singly by insertion into the lamina of the 
leaves. The eggs hatch in about 8 days, and the larvae mine the leaves 
for 9 to 10 days thereafter. Pupation takes place within the mine and 
lasts for 15 days. Adult feeding and larval mining can cause drying of 
the leaves and eventual defoliation.
    APHIS'' review and analysis of the proposed action and its 
alternatives are documented in detail in an EA entitled, ``Field 
Release of Acythopeus cocciniae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a 
nonindigenous leaf-mining weevil for control of ivy gourd, Coccinia 
grandis (Cucurbitaceae), in Guam and Saipan'' (February 2003). We are 
making the EA available to the public for review and comment. We will 
consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed 
under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice.
    The EA may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ by following the link for ``Document/Forms Retrieval System'' then 
clicking on the triangle beside ``6--Permits--Environmental 
Assessments,'' and selecting document number 0034. You may request 
paper copies of the EA by calling or writing to the person listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the EA 
when requesting copies. The EA 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 EA 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 
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 2nd day of April 2003 .
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-8518 Filed 4-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P