[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 142 (Thursday, July 24, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 43613-43614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18851]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 142 / Thursday, July 24, 2003 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 43613]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 03-057-1]


Japanese Beetle; Domestic Quarantine and Regulations

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the Japanese beetle quarantine and regulations 
to add Colorado and Montana to the list of protected States. This 
action is necessary to prevent the spread of Japanese beetle into 
noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: This interim rule is effective July 18, 2003. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before September 22, 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. 03-057-1, 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. 03-057-1. 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. 
03-057-1'' on the subject line.
    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: Dr. S. Anwar Rizvi, Program Manager, 
Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-4313.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Japanese beetle feeds on fruits, vegetables, and ornamental 
plants and is capable of causing damage to over 300 potential hosts. 
The Japanese beetle quarantine and regulations, contained in 7 CFR 
301.48 through 301.48-8 (referred to below as the regulations), 
quarantine the States of Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, 
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, 
Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North 
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, 
Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of 
Columbia and restrict the interstate movement of aircraft from 
regulated airports in these States in order to prevent the spread of 
the Japanese beetle to noninfested States where the Japanese beetle 
could become established. Those noninfested States where the Japanese 
beetle could become established (referred to below as protected States) 
are listed in Sec.  301.48(b).
    The Japanese beetle is active during daylight hours only. Under 
Sec.  301.48-2 of the regulations, an inspector of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) may designate any airport within a 
quarantined State as a regulated airport if he or she determines that 
adult populations of Japanese beetle exist during daylight hours at the 
airport to the degree that aircraft using the airport constitute a 
threat to spread the Japanese beetle and aircraft destined for 
protected States may be leaving the airport.
    Also, under Sec.  301.48-4 of the regulations, aircraft from 
regulated airports may move interstate to a protected State only if: 
(1) An inspector, upon visual inspection of the airport and/or the 
aircraft, determines that the aircraft does not present a threat to 
spread the Japanese beetle because adult beetle populations are not 
present; or (2) the aircraft is opened and loaded only while it is 
enclosed in a hangar that APHIS has determined to be free of and 
safeguarded against Japanese beetle; or (3) the aircraft is loaded 
during the hours of 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. (generally non-daylight hours) 
only or lands and departs during those hours and, in either situation, 
is kept completely closed while on the ground during the hours of 7 
a.m. to 8 p.m.; or (4) if opened and loaded during daylight hours, the 
aircraft is inspected, treated, and safeguarded in accordance with the 
requirements described in Sec.  301.48-4(d).
    As noted previously, paragraph (b) of Sec.  301.48 lists 
noninfested States that are protected by the regulations. Prior to the 
effective date of this interim rule, the States listed were Arizona, 
California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. When the list 
in Sec.  301.48(b) was established in the 1970's, Colorado and Montana 
opted not to be listed because of the belief that the Japanese beetle 
could not survive in the States' climates. However, in recent years, 
State officials in Colorado and Montana have trapped increasing numbers 
of Japanese beetles in the vicinity of Denver International Airport and 
Billings Logan International Airport, respectively. In the case of 
Colorado, Japanese beetles have been found at several nurseries 
receiving stock from Japanese beetle infested Eastern States. In view 
of the increase in trap catches and the growing amount of shrub and 
turf areas under irrigation (especially in urban areas) in those 
States, Colorado and Montana State officials have informed APHIS that 
they now wish to be listed as protected States. Therefore, in this 
interim rule we are amending the regulations in Sec.  301.48(b) by 
adding Colorado and Montana to the list of protected States.

[[Page 43614]]

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to provide 
protection from the Japanese beetle to Colorado and Montana during the 
2003 season of Japanese beetle activity, which begins in mid-June in 
many parts of the country. Under these circumstances, the Administrator 
has determined that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are 
contrary to the public interest and that there is good cause under 5 
U.S.C. 553 for making this rule effective less than 30 days after 
publication in the Federal Register.
    We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for 
this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes, 
we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document 
will include a discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments 
we are making to the rule.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this 
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review under 
Executive Order 12866.
    This emergency situation makes timely compliance with section 604 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) impracticable. 
We are currently assessing the potential economic effects of this 
action on small entities. Based on that assessment, we will either 
certify that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities or publish a final regulatory 
flexibility analysis.

Executive Order 12372

    This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372, 
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local 
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and 
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no 
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings 
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This interim rule contains no information collection or 
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

    Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

0
Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is amended as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L. 
106-113, Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also 
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 
U.S.C. 1421 note).


Sec.  301.48  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  301.48, paragraph (b) is amended by adding the word 
``Colorado,'' after the word ``California,'' and by adding the word 
``Montana,'' after the word ``Idaho,''.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of July 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-18851 Filed 7-23-03; 8:45 am]
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