[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21326-21328]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8302]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 05-011-1]


Asian Longhorned Beetle; Removal of Regulated 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 Asian longhorned beetle regulations by 
removing portions of Cook and DuPage Counties, IL, from the list of 
quarantined areas and removing restrictions on the interstate movement 
of regulated articles from those areas. We have determined that the 
Asian longhorned beetle no longer presents a risk of spread from those 
areas and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary.

DATES: This interim rule was effective April 21, 2005. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before June 27, 2005.

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. 05-011-1, 
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. 05-011-1.
     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 on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael B. Stefan, Director, Pest 
Detection and Management Programs, Emergency Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-7338.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) (Anoplophora glabripennis), an 
insect native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Isle of Hainan, is a 
destructive pest of

[[Page 21327]]

hardwood trees. It attacks many healthy hardwood trees, including 
maple, horse chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, and elm. In addition, 
nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, branches, 
and wood debris of half an inch or more in diameter are subject to 
infestation. The beetle bores into the heartwood of a host tree, 
eventually killing the tree. Immature beetles bore into tree trunks and 
branches, causing heavy sap flow from wounds and sawdust accumulation 
at tree bases. They feed on, and over-winter in, the interiors of 
trees. Adult beetles emerge in the spring and summer months from round 
holes approximately three-eighths of an inch in diameter (about the 
size of a dime) that they bore through branches and trunks of trees. 
After emerging, adult beetles feed for 2 to 3 days and then mate. Adult 
females then lay eggs in oviposition sites that they make on the 
branches of trees. A new generation of ALB is produced each year. If 
this pest moves into the hardwood forests of the United States, the 
nursery, maple syrup, and forest product industries could experience 
severe economic losses. In addition, urban and forest ALB infestations 
will result in environmental damage, aesthetic deterioration, and a 
reduction in public enjoyment of recreational spaces.
    The ALB regulations in 7 CFR 301.51-1 through 301.51-9 (referred to 
below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from quarantined areas to prevent the artificial spread of ALB 
to noninfested areas of the United States. Portions of Illinois, New 
Jersey, and New York are designated as quarantined areas. Quarantined 
areas are listed in Sec.  301.51-3 of the regulations.
    The regulations currently list two quarantined areas in Illinois. 
One, in Cook County, includes the Ravenswood community in the City of 
Chicago, and the other, in Cook and DuPage Counties, includes portions 
of O'Hare International Airport and its surrounding area.
    Based on surveys conducted by inspectors of Illinois State and 
county agencies and by APHIS inspectors, we are removing from 
quarantine those areas in DuPage and Cook Counties and Chicago's 
Ravenswood area. The last findings of ALB in the regulated area in Park 
Ridge in Cook County was November 24, 2000. The last finding in the 
regulated area around O'Hare International Airport, including 
Bensenville, in DuPage County, was November 28, 2000. In Chicago's 
Ravenswood area, the last finding in the Kilbourn Park community was 
October 18, 1999, and the last finding in the Loyola community was 
March 8, 2001.
    Since then, no evidence of ALB infestation has been found in these 
areas. Based on our experience, we have determined that sufficient time 
has passed without finding additional beetles or other evidence of 
infestation to conclude that ALB constitutes a negligible risk to those 
areas in Cook and DuPage Counties and the Kilbourn Park and Loyola 
communities in the Ravenswood area. Therefore, we are removing the 
entries for these areas from the list of quarantined areas in Sec.  
301.51-3(c). However, the Oz Park community in the City of Chicago, 
which falls within the larger Ravenswood area, remains under 
quarantine. A description of that quarantined area may be found in the 
regulatory text at the end of this document.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no 
longer necessary. 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 action 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

    For this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    This emergency situation makes timely compliance with 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 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, 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.  301.51-3(c), under the heading ``Illinois,'' the entry for 
Cook County is revised to read as follows and the entry for Cook and 
DuPage Counties is removed.


Sec.  301.51-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
Illinois
    Cook County. That area in the Oz Park community in the City of 
Chicago that is bounded as follows: Beginning at the intersection of 
North Damen Avenue and West Addison Street; then east and east-
northeast on West Addison Street to North Lake Shore Drive; then due 
east from that point to the Lake Michigan shoreline; then south along 
the Lake Michigan shoreline to a point due east of the intersection of 
North Lake Shore Drive and Chicago Avenue; then west from that point to 
the intersection of North Lake Shore Drive and Chicago Avenue; then 
west on Chicago Avenue to North Damen Avenue; then north on

[[Page 21328]]

North Damen Avenue to the point of beginning.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of April 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-8302 Filed 4-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P