[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 21, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 35491-35493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9728]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0081]


Japanese Beetle; Addition of Iowa to the List of Quarantined 
States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

[[Page 35492]]


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 Iowa 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 June 21, 2006. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before August 21, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and, in the lower ``Search Regulations and Federal 
Actions'' box, select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service'' 
from the agency drop-down menu, then click on ``Submit.'' In the Docket 
ID column, select APHIS-2006-0081 to submit or view public comments and 
to view supporting and related materials available electronically. 
Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for 
accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after 
the close of the comment period, is available through the site's ``User 
Tips'' link.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS-
2006-0081, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-
03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No. APHIS-2006-0081.
    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: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

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, Arkansas, 
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 Iowa is now infested with the Japanese 
beetle. In view of this development, we have determined that the State 
of Iowa should be listed as a quarantined State prior to the start of 
the 2006 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 Iowa to the list 
of quarantined States.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the 
spread of Japanese beetle into 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 Iowa 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, all agricultural crop receipts for the nine protected 
States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, 
Utah, and Washington) totaled $30.6 billion.\1\ The majority of these 
agricultural producers can be classified as small entities under the 
Small Business Administration's (SBA) criterion of $750,000 or less in 
annual

[[Page 35493]]

receipts. Agricultural production is an important part of these nine 
protected States' economies. Reducing the risk of Japanese beetle 
introduction into protected States is worth the slight costs associated 
with inspection and occasional treatment for air carriers with flights 
to these States that originate in Iowa.
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    \1\ Source: United States Department of Agriculture, National 
Agricultural Statistics Service, 2002 Census of Agriculture.
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    Entities affected by this action will be air carriers flying from 
regulated airports in Iowa to a protected State. The majority of air 
cargo is transported by large businesses. According to the SBA, an air 
carrier with more than 1,500 employees is considered large. The number 
of small air carriers that will be impacted is not known. We expect 
economic impacts of the rule may be limited because many air carriers 
are already treating cargo transported from other quarantined States to 
the 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 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 and 7781-7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, 
and 371.3.
    Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Public 
Law 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 
also issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 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 
``Iowa,'' before the word ``Kentucky''.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of June 2006.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E6-9728 Filed 6-20-06; 8:45 am]
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