[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 109 (Monday, June 7, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31723-31725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-12758]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 04-036-1]


Pine Shoot Beetle; Additions to Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the pine shoot beetle regulations by adding 
Decatur, Jennings, and Ripley Counties, IN, and Franklin County, NY, to 
the list of quarantined areas. This action is necessary to prevent the 
spread of pine shoot beetle, a pest of pine products, into noninfested 
areas of the United States.

DATES: This interim rule is effective June 7, 2004. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before August 6, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-036-1, 
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. 04-036-1.
     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. 04-036-1'' on the subject 
line.
     Agency Web Site: Go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/cominst.html for a form you can use to submit an e-mail comment through 
the APHIS Web site.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for locating this 
docket and submitting comments.
    Reading Room: 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.
    Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the 
Federal Register and related information, including the names of groups 
and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Weyman Fussell, Program Manager, 
Pest Detection and Management Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 
Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-5705.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 7 CFR 301.50 through 301.50-10 (referred to 
below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of certain 
regulated articles from quarantined areas in order to prevent the 
spread of pine shoot beetle (PSB) into noninfested areas of the United 
States.
    PSB is a pest of pine trees that can cause damage in weak and dying 
trees, where reproduction and immature stages of PSB occur. During 
``shoot

[[Page 31724]]

feeding,'' young beetles tunnel into the center of pine shoots (usually 
of the current year's growth), causing stunted and distorted growth in 
host trees. PSB is also a vector of several diseases of pine trees. 
Factors that may result in the establishment of PSB populations far 
from the location of the original host tree include: (1) Adults can fly 
at least 1 kilometer, and (2) infested trees and pine products are 
often transported long distances. This pest damages urban ornamental 
trees and can cause economic losses to the timber, Christmas tree, and 
nursery industries.
    PSB hosts include all pine species. The beetle has been found in a 
variety of pine species (Pinus spp.) in the United States. Scotch pine 
(P. sylvestris) is the preferred host of PSB. The Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has determined, based on scientific 
data from European countries, that fir (Abies spp.), larch (Larax 
spp.), and spruce (Picea spp.) are not hosts of PSB.
    Surveys conducted by State and Federal inspectors have revealed 
that Decatur, Jennings, and Ripley Counties, IN, and Franklin County, 
NY, are infested with PSB. Copies of the surveys may be obtained by 
writing to the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The regulations in Sec.  301.50-3 provide that the Administrator of 
APHIS will list as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of a 
State, in which PSB has been found by an inspector, in which the 
Administrator has reason to believe PSB is present, or that the 
Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its 
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities in 
which PSB has been found.
    In accordance with these criteria, we are designating Decatur, 
Jennings, and Ripley Counties, IN, and Franklin County, NY, as 
quarantined areas, and we are adding them to the list of quarantined 
areas in Sec.  301.50-3(c).
    Entities affected by this interim rule may include nursery stock 
growers, Christmas tree farms, logging operations, and others who sell, 
process, or move regulated articles. As a result of this interim rule, 
any regulated articles to be moved interstate from a quarantined area 
must first be inspected and/or treated in order to qualify for a 
certificate or limited permit authorizing the movement.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent PSB 
from spreading to noninfested areas of the United States. 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.
    We are amending the PSB regulations by adding Decatur, Jennings, 
and Ripley Counties, IN, and Franklin County, NY, to the list of 
quarantined areas. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of 
PSB into noninfested areas of the United States.
    This change will affect entities in the four newly regulated 
counties in Indiana and New York that are engaged in moving regulated 
articles interstate from the regulated area. Christmas tree farms, 
nurseries and greenhouses, logging operations, and other entities 
engaged in the movement of pine trees or pine products located in the 
newly designated regulated areas will be required to inspect and/or 
treat regulated articles in order to obtain a certificate or limited 
permit before moving them interstate.
    APHIS has identified 86 entities that sell, process, or move forest 
products in the newly regulated area that are likely to be affected by 
this action. Of these entities, 68 are nurseries and 18 are cut 
Christmas tree farms. Specifically, in Franklin County, NY, APHIS has 
identified 24 nurseries and greenhouses and 6 cut Christmas tree farms 
that sell, process, or move forest products. In the 3 Indiana counties, 
the rule is likely to impact 44 nurseries and greenhouses and 12 cut 
Christmas tree farms.
    According to the Agricultural Extension Offices in Franklin County, 
NY, and Decatur, Jennings, and Ripley Counties, IN, all of the cut 
Christmas tree farms within the newly regulated counties sold cut pine 
trees and pine tree products that remained solely within the regulated 
areas. In addition, nurseries in New York and Indiana specialize in the 
production of deciduous landscape products and not in the production of 
rooted pine Christmas trees and pine nursery stock. For these reasons, 
these entities should not be significantly affected by this rule.

Impact on Small Entities

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies consider the 
economic effects of their rules on small entities and to use 
flexibility to provide regulatory relief when regulations create 
economic disparities between different sized entities. According to the 
Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Office of Advocacy, regulations 
create disparities based on size when they have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    According to SBA size standards, nursery stock growers are 
considered small entities when they have annual sales of $750,000 or 
less, and Christmas tree growers are considered small entities when 
they have annual sales of $5 million or less. According to the 1997 
Agricultural Census, almost all of the previously mentioned 68 
nurseries and greenhouses and the 18 cut Christmas tree farms within 
the newly regulated areas meet the SBA's criteria and are considered 
small entities.
    As noted previously, those nurseries and greenhouses within the 
newly regulated area specialize in production of deciduous landscape 
products, not the production of regulated articles such as rooted pine 
trees and pine nursery stock. Further, the Christmas trees and pine 
products from cut Christmas tree farms remain exclusively within the 
regulated areas. For these reasons, the impact of this rule on 
regulated entities as a whole is not expected to be significant.
    Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

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

[[Page 31725]]

before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This interim rule contains no new 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, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 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, 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).


0
2. In Sec.  301.50-3, paragraph (c), the entries for Indiana and New 
York are amended by adding new counties in alphabetical order to read 
as follows:


Sec.  301.50-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
Indiana
* * * * *
    Decatur County. The entire county.
* * * * *
    Jennings County. The entire county.
* * * * *
    Ripley County. The entire county.
* * * * *
New York
* * * * *
    Franklin County. The entire county.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of June 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-12758 Filed 6-4-04; 8:45 am]
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