[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 116 (Thursday, June 17, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34320-34322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14658]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0004]


Asian Longhorned Beetle; Quarantined Area and Regulated Articles

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 
adding a portion of Worcester County, MA, to the list of quarantined 
areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles 
from that area. We are also updating the list of regulated articles in 
order to reflect new information concerning host plants. These actions 
are necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the Asian longhorned 
beetle to noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: This interim rule is effective June 17, 2010. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before August 16, 2010.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to (http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0004) to submit or view comments 
and to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send one copy of 
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2010-0004,

[[Page 34321]]

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-2010-0004.
    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: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory 
Policy Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and Import Manuals, PPQ, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-
0754.

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 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 of public enjoyment of recreational 
spaces.

Quarantined Areas

    The regulations in 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. Surveys conducted in Massachusetts by inspectors of the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have revealed that 
infestations of ALB have occurred outside the existing quarantined area 
in Worcester County. Officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
and officials of State, county, and city agencies in Massachusetts are 
conducting intensive survey and eradication programs in the infested 
area. The State of Massachusetts has quarantined the infested area and 
is restricting the intrastate movement of regulated articles from the 
quarantined area to prevent the further spread of ALB within the State. 
However, Federal regulations are necessary to restrict the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from the quarantined area to prevent the 
spread of ALB to other States and other countries.
    The regulations in Sec.  301.51-3(a) provide that the Administrator 
of APHIS will list as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of 
a State in which ALB has been found by an inspector, where the 
Administrator has reason to believe that ALB is present, or where the 
Administrator considers regulation necessary because of its 
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities 
where ALB has been found. Less than an entire State will be quarantined 
only if (1) the Administrator determines that the State has adopted and 
is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of regulated 
articles that are equivalent to those imposed by the regulations on the 
interstate movement of regulated articles and (2) the designation of 
less than an entire State as a quarantined area will be adequate to 
prevent the artificial spread of ALB. In accordance with these criteria 
and the recent ALB findings described above, we are amending the list 
of quarantined areas in Sec.  301.51-3(c) to update the previously 
quarantined area in Worcester County, MA. The updated quarantined area 
is described in the regulatory text at the end of this document.

Regulated Articles

    Section 301.51-2 of the regulations designates certain items as 
regulated articles. Regulated articles may not be moved interstate from 
quarantined areas except in accordance with the conditions specified in 
Sec. Sec.  301.51-4 through 301.51-9 of the regulations. Regulated 
articles listed in Sec.  301.51-2(a) have included green lumber and 
other material living, dead, cut, or fallen, inclusive of nursery 
stock, logs, stumps, roots, branches, and debris of half an inch or 
more in diameter of the following genera: Acer (maple), Aesculus (horse 
chestnut), Albizia (mimosa), Betula (birch), Celtis (hackberry), 
Fraxinus (ash), Platanus (sycamore), Populus (poplar), Salix (willow), 
Sorbus (mountain ash), and Ulmus (elm). This list of genera was based 
on scientific literature provided by government officials, scientists, 
and government and individual researchers from China as well as survey 
information collected in the United States since the time of discovery 
of the pest.
    Based on additional survey experience and research, we are amending 
the list of regulated articles by adding Katsura (Cercidiphyllum spp.). 
This action is necessary because inspectors have found ALB completing 
its development in trees of this genus within the quarantined area.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the 
artificial spread of ALB 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 interim rule is subject to Executive Order 12866. However, for 
this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review 
under Executive Order 12866.
    We have prepared an economic analysis for this action. The action 
identifies nurseries, site developers or construction companies, tree 
service companies or landscapers, garden centers, firewood dealers, and 
utility

[[Page 34322]]

companies as the small entities most likely to be affected by this 
action and considers the costs associated with complying with the 
inspection and other requirements imposed by the regulations on the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas. Based 
on the information presented in the analysis, we expect that affected 
entities would not experience any additional compliance costs as a 
result of this rule because a State-imposed quarantine is already in 
place that applies the same movement restrictions and inspection 
requirements. We invite comment on our economic analysis, which is 
posted with this interim rule on the Regulations.gov Web site (see 
ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov) and may 
be obtained from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

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 issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Public Law 
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 
(7 U.S.C. 1421 note).


0
2. In Sec.  301.51-2, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  301.51-2  Regulated articles.

    (a) Firewood (all hardwood species), and green lumber and other 
material living, dead, cut, or fallen, inclusive of nursery stock, 
logs, stumps, roots, branches, and debris of half an inch or more in 
diameter of the following genera: Acer (maple), Aesculus (horse 
chestnut), Albizia (mimosa), Betula (birch), Celtis (hackberry), 
Cercidiphyllum (katsura), Fraxinus (ash), Platanus (sycamore), Populus 
(poplar), Salix (willow), Sorbus (mountain ash), and Ulmus (elm).
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  301.51-3, paragraph (c), under the heading 
``Massachusetts,'' the entry for Worcester County is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  301.51-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
Massachusetts
    Worcester County. The portion of Worcester County, including the 
municipalities of Worcester, Holden, West Boylston, Boylston, and 
Shrewsbury, that is bounded by a line starting at the intersection of 
Route 140 (Grafton Circle) and Route 9 (Belmont Street) in Shrewsbury; 
then north and northwest on Route 140 through Boylston into West 
Boylston until it intersects Muddy Brook (body of water); then east 
along Muddy Brook to the Wachusett Reservoir; then along the shoreline 
of the Wachusett Reservoir in an easterly, northerly, and then westerly 
direction until it intersects the West Boylston Town boundary; then 
along the West Boylston Town boundary until it intersects Interstate 
190 at River Road; then south along Interstate 190 to Malden Street; 
then west on Malden Street to Bullard Street in Holden; then west on 
Bullard Street to Wachusett Street; then northwest on Wachusett Street 
to Union Street; then southwest on Union Street until it becomes 
Highland Street; then southwest on Highland Street to Main Street; then 
southeast on Main Street to Bailey Road; then south on Bailey Road to 
Chapin Road; then south on Chapin Road to its end; then continuing in a 
southeasterly direction to Fisher Road; then southwest on Fisher Road 
to Stonehouse Hill Road; then south on Stonehouse Hill Road to 
Reservoir Street; then southeast on Reservoir Street until it 
intersects the Worcester City boundary; then along the Worcester City 
boundary until it intersects Route 20 (Hartford Turnpike); then east on 
Route 20 to Lake Street, then north and northeast on Lake Street to 
Route 9 (Belmont Street), then east on Route 9 to the point of 
beginning.
* * * * *
    Done in Washington, DC, this 14\th\ day of June 2010.

Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-14658 Filed 6-16-10; 2:08 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-S