[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28191-28192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-12991]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-046-1]


Pigeonpea Pod Fly; 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 the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to 
the control of pigeonpea pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa (Malloch) 
(Diptera: Agromyzidae). The environmental assessment documents our 
review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with 
alternatives for control of pigeonpea pod fly, as well as a 
recommendation for the use of biological control agents to suppress 
pigeonpea pod fly in the United States. 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 June 
23, 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. 03-046-1, 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. 03-046-1. 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. 
03-046-1'' 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. Dale Meyerdirk, Agriculturalist, 
National Biological Control Institute, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
135, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-5220.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Pigeonpea pod fly, Melanagromyza obtusa (Malloch) (Diptera: 
Agromyzidae), is a foreign plant pest that attacks numerous species of 
plants. The potential host range appears to be primarily restricted to 
legumes such as peas and beans, with some questionable exceptions such 
as okra and sesame. This pest can easily spread without detection. When 
the female pigeonpea pod fly punctures the legume pod and lays its eggs 
within, the only external evidence is varying degrees of damage caused 
by the punctures.
    The pest is found throughout the world, including India, Ceylon, 
Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and as far north 
as Japan. It also occurs in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. 
Pigeonpea pod fly is acclimated to cooler, northern climates and can 
tolerate dry conditions for part of the year. Therefore, suitable 
habitat exists throughout the United States, and the potential 
geographical distribution of the pigeonpea pod fly in the contiguous 
United States is extensive. Pigeonpea pod fly could enter the 
contiguous United States, Hawaii, or other U.S. territories from Puerto 
Rico, the Dominican Republic, or countries in the Pacific and become a 
serious agricultural threat to the United States.
    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has 
completed an environmental assessment that considers various methods of 
suppression of the pigeonpea pod fly that could be used in the United 
States. Based on our findings, we believe that the most effective 
alternative available is the use of biological control agents. 
Specifically, the parasitic Chalcid wasps of the genera Euderus, 
Eurytoma, and Ormyrus would be released in the United States to 
suppress pigeonpea pod fly. In preparation for their release into the 
environment, these imported biological control agents would be reared 
on pigeonpea pod fly in U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified insect 
quarantine facilities.
    It is expected that the biological control agents would be 
introduced into areas where pigeonpea pod fly occurs

[[Page 28192]]

and reproduce naturally without further human intervention, and that 
these stingless, parasitic wasps would become established throughout 
the eventual geographical distribution of pigeonpea pod fly in the 
United States. The biological characteristics of the organisms under 
consideration preclude any possibility of harmful effects on human 
health.
    APHIS' review and analysis of the potential environmental impacts 
associated with each of the possible alternatives are documented in 
detail in an environmental assessment entitled ``Control of Pigeonpea 
Pod Fly, Melanagromyza obtusa (Diptera: Agromyzidae)'' (April 14, 
2003). We are making this environmental assessment 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.
    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 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 16th day of May 2003.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-12991 Filed 5-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P