[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 19, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 20271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-7766]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 74 / Tuesday, April 19, 2005 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 20271]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 04-130-2]


Asian Longhorned Beetle; Addition to Quarantined Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim 
rule that amended the Asian longhorned beetle regulations by adding 
portions of Middlesex and Union Counties, NJ, to the list of 
quarantined areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from those areas. That action was necessary to prevent the 
artificial spread of the Asian longhorned beetle into noninfested areas 
of the United States.

DATES: The interim rule became effective on January 24, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael B. Stefan, Director of 
Emergency Programs, Pest Detection and Management Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-7338.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is an insect native to China, 
Japan, Korea, and the Isle of Hainan. It is a destructive pest of 
hardwood trees. In addition, nursery stock, logs, green lumber, 
firewood, stumps, roots, branches and debris of half an inch or more in 
diameter are also subject to infestation. The ALB regulations (7 CFR 
301.51-1 through 301.51-9) restrict the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from quarantined areas to prevent the artificial 
spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United States.
    The regulations in Sec.  301.51-3(a) provide that the Administrator 
of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will list as 
a quarantined area each State, or each portion of a State, in which ALB 
has been found by an inspector, in which there is reason to believe ALB 
is present, or because of the area's inseparability for quarantine 
enforcement purposes from localities where ALB has been found.
    In an interim rule effective January 24, 2005, and published in the 
Federal Register on January 28, 2005 (70 FR 4003-4005, Docket No. 04-
130-1), we amended the ALB regulations by adding portions of Middlesex 
and Union Counties, NJ, to the list of quarantined areas in Sec.  
301.51-3(c). That action was necessary on an emergency basis to help 
prevent the artificial spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United 
States.
    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before March 29, 2005. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for 
the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim rule 
as a final rule.
    This action also affirms the information contained in the interim 
rule concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has 
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

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

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the 
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and that was published at 70 
FR 4003-4005 on January 28, 2005.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of April 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-7766 Filed 4-18-05; 8:45 am]
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