[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 6, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40533-40534]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-15214]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 6, 2004 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 40533]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 04-032-1]


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 the State of Arkansas to the list of quarantined States. This 
action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of Japanese beetle 
into noninfested areas of the United States.

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

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     EDOCKET: Go to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or 
view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the 
official public docket, and to access those documents in the public 
docket that are available electronically. Once you have entered 
EDOCKET, click on the ``View Open APHIS Dockets'' link to locate this 
document.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-032-1, 
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. 04-032-1.
     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. 04-032-1'' 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: 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 (Popillia japonica) 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 artificial spread of the Japanese beetle to noninfested States 
where the Japanese beetle could become established (referred to below 
as protected States). The list of quarantined States, as well as the 
list of protected States, can be found in Sec.  301.48.
    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 of artificially spreading the Japanese beetle and aircraft 
destined for any of the nine protected States (Arizona, California, 
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) 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 of 
artificially spreading 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).
    APHIS and State plant health officials constantly monitor the 
Japanese beetle population in the United States. Trapping surveys 
indicate that the State of Arkansas is now infested with the Japanese 
beetle. In addition, two new commercial air carriers have recently 
begun service from Little Rock, AR, to some of those protected Western 
States listed in Sec.  301.48(b). In view of these developments, we 
have determined that the State of Arkansas should be listed as

[[Page 40534]]

a quarantined State prior to the start of the 2004 season of Japanese 
beetle activity, which begins in mid-June in many parts of the country. 
Therefore, in this interim rule we are amending the regulations in 
Sec.  301.48(a) by adding Arkansas to the list of quarantined States.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the 
artificial spread of Japanese beetle 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 Japanese beetle quarantine and regulations to 
add the State of Arkansas to the list of quarantined States. This 
action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of Japanese beetle 
into noninfested areas of the United States.
    In 2002, agricultural crop receipts for the nine Japanese beetle 
protected States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, 
Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) totaled $32 billion. A majority 
of the agricultural producers in those States can be classified as 
small entities under the guidelines set by the Small Business 
Administration (SBA) of $750,000 or less in annual receipts. 
Agricultural production is an important part of these nine protected 
States' economies. The benefits of protecting these States from 
Japanese beetle are worth the slight costs associated with inspections 
and/or occasional treatments within quarantined States as required by 
the regulations.
    The groups affected by this action will be air carriers flying from 
regulated airports in Arkansas to protected States. The cost incurred 
by these entities is not expected to significantly change due to the 
few flights that will ultimately require treatment. While it is 
impossible to know exactly how many flights will require inspection 
and/or treatment for Japanese beetle, the number is expected to be 
small.
    The majority of air cargo is transported by large businesses. 
According to SBA size standards, an air carrier with more than 1,500 
employees is considered to be large. The exact number or percentage of 
small air carriers who may be affected is not currently known, however 
the economic impacts will be limited since many entities are already 
required to treat cargo transported to those States currently listed as 
protected States.
    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 
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, 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 (a) is amended by adding the word 
``Arkansas,'' after the word ``Alabama,''.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of June, 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-15214 Filed 7-2-04; 8:45 am]
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