[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 22 (Friday, February 2, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 4945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1720]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0131]


Emerald Ash Borer; Quarantined Areas; MI

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 emerald ash borer regulations by adding areas in 
Michigan to the list of areas quarantined because of emerald ash borer. 
As a result of that action, the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from those areas is restricted. The interim rule was necessary 
to prevent the artificial spread of the emerald ash borer from infested 
areas in the State of Michigan into noninfested areas of the United 
States.

DATES: Effective on February 2, 2007, we are adopting as a final rule 
the interim rule published at 71 FR 57871-57873 on October 2, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Deborah McPartlan, Operations 
Officer, Pest Detection and Management Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-4387.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis) is a destructive 
wood-boring insect that attacks ash trees (Fraxinus spp., including 
green ash, white ash, black ash, and several horticultural varieties of 
ash). The insect, which is indigenous to Asia and known to occur in 
China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, the Russian Far East, Taiwan, and 
Canada, eventually kills healthy ash trees after it bores beneath their 
bark and disrupts their vascular tissues.
    The EAB regulations in 7 CFR 301.53-1 through 301.53-9 (referred to 
below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from quarantined areas to prevent the artificial spread of EAB 
to noninfested areas of the United States. Portions of the States of 
Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio are already designated as quarantined 
areas.
    In an interim rule \1\ effective September 25, 2006, and published 
in the Federal Register on October 2, 2006 (71 FR 57871-57873, Docket 
No. APHIS-2006-0131), we amended the EAB regulations in Sec.  301.53-
3(c) by designating the entire Lower Peninsula of Michigan as a 
quarantined area. That action was necessary to prevent the artificial 
spread of the EAB from infested areas in the State of Michigan into 
noninfested areas of the United States.
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    \1\ To view the interim rule, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
click on the ``Advanced Search'' tab, and select ``Docket Search.'' 
In the Docket ID field, enter APHIS-2006-0131, then click 
``Submit.'' Clicking on the Docket ID link in the search results 
page will produce a list of all documents in the docket.
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    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before December 1, 2006. 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 71 
FR 57871-57873 on October 2, 2006.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of January 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-1720 Filed 2-1-07; 8:45 am]
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