[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 112 (Wednesday, June 11, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34898-34899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-14722]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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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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 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 112 / Wednesday, June 11, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 34898]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 98-035-4]


Importation of Phalaenopsis spp. From Taiwan in Growing Media; 
Availability of Environmental Assessment and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of reopening and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We are reopening and extending the comment period for an 
environmental assessment for a proposal to allow orchids of the genus 
Phalaenopsis to be imported from Taiwan in approved growing media. This 
action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and 
submit comments.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July 
9, 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. 98-035-3, 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. 98-035-3. 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. 
98-035-3'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on this 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: Mr. William Thomas, Import Specialist, 
Phytosanitary Issues Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On September 1, 1998, we published in the Federal Register (63 FR 
46403-46406, Docket No. 98-035-1) a proposal to amend the regulations 
in 7 CFR 319.37-8 to add orchids of the genus Phalaenopsis to the list 
of plants that may be imported from all areas of the world in an 
approved growing medium subject to specified growing, inspection, and 
certification requirements. We accepted comments on our proposal for a 
total of 90 days, ending December 1, 1998.\1\
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    \1\ The comment period on the proposed rule was extended from 60 
to 90 days in a notice published in the Federal Register on October 
29, 1998 (63 FR 57932).
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    In response to comments received on the proposed rule, APHIS 
narrowed the application of the rule to Phalaenopsis spp. from Taiwan 
only and entered into informal section 7 consultation with the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to assess the potential effects of the 
proposed action on endangered or threatened species, as required under 
the Endangered Species Act. On April 7, 2003, FWS concluded the section 
7 consultation process by concurring with APHIS's determination that 
the importation of Phalaenopsis spp. from Taiwan in growing media will 
not adversely affect federally listed or proposed endangered or 
threatened species or their habitats.
    Upon receiving concurrence from FWS, APHIS prepared an 
environmental assessment in accordance with: (1) The National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (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 1b), and (4) 
APHIS'' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
    On May 9, 2003, we published in the Federal Register (68 FR 24915, 
Docket No. 98-035-3) a notice announcing the availability of the 
environmental assessment. In that notice, we requested public comments 
on the environmental assessment, which is titled ``Proposed Rule for 
the Importation of Moth Orchids (Phalaenopsis spp.) in Growing Media 
From the Republic of China (Taiwan)'' and dated April 2003.
    Comments on the environmental assessment were required to be 
received on or before June 9, 2003. We are reopening and extending the 
comment period on Docket No. 98-035-3 until July 9, 2003. This action 
will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit 
comments. We will also consider all comments received between June 9, 
2003 (the day after the close of the original comment period) and the 
date of this notice.
    Please note that on June 4, 2003, we made a correction to the 
version of the environmental assessment that had been posted on our 
website since May 9, 2003. This correction involved removing references 
to a specific document (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service, Policy Analysis and Development. 2002. 
PAD Response to Public Comments on NPR in Docket 98-035-1, 8 pp.) and 
replacing them with references to a personal communication. This 
correction has no substantive bearing on the environmental assessment, 
and is reflected in the version currently posted on APHIS's website.
    The environmental assessment may be viewed on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/es/ppqdocs.html. You may request paper 
copies of the environmental assessment from 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

[[Page 34899]]

available for review in our reading room (the location and hours of the 
reading room are listed under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of 
this notice).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of June 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-14722 Filed 6-10-03; 8:45 am]
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