[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 31720-31722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-13111]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0003]


Asian Longhorned Beetle; Quarantined Areas in Massachusetts, 
Ohio, and New York

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 to 
make changes to the list of quarantined areas by adding portions of 
Worcester County, MA, and Clermont County, OH, to the list of 
quarantined areas. We are also removing a portion of Suffolk County, 
NY, from the list of quarantined areas based on our determination that 
the area meets our criteria for removal. These actions are necessary to 
prevent the artificial spread of Asian longhorned beetle to noninfested 
areas of the United States and to relieve restrictions on certain areas 
that are no longer necessary.

DATES: This interim rule is effective May 30, 2012. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before July 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0003-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0003, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-
0003 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory 
Policy Specialist, Regulations, Permits and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road, Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-2352.

[[Page 31721]]


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. 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.
    On October 25, 2011, an ALB infestation was discovered in the 
central portion of Shrewsbury in Worcester County, MA. On June 17, 
2011, an ALB infestation was discovered in the townships of Monroe and 
Tate, and in the East Fork State Park in Clermont County, OH. These 
States have quarantined the infested areas and are restricting the 
intrastate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas to 
prevent the further spread of ALB within each State. Federal 
regulations are necessary to restrict the interstate movement of 
regulated articles from the quarantined areas to prevent the interstate 
spread of ALB.
    The regulations in Sec.  301.51-3(a) provide that APHIS will list 
as a quarantined area each State, or each portion of a State, where 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 
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 adding the Town of Shrewsbury in Worcester 
County, MA, and a portion of the Township of Monroe, the entire 
Township of Tate, and the entire acreage of East Fork State Park in 
Clermont County, OH, to the list of quarantined areas in Sec.  301.51-
3(c). The quarantined areas are described in detail in the regulatory 
text of this document.
    In 2000, APHIS established a quarantined area in Islip, Suffolk 
County, NY, after ALB was first detected in the area in order to 
prevent the artificial spread of ALB. After the completion of control 
and regulatory activities, and based on the results of at least 3 years 
of negative surveys of all regulated host plants within the quarantined 
area, APHIS determined that the villages of Bayshore, East Islip, and 
Islip Terrace in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, NY, have met the 
criteria for removal of the Federal quarantine for ALB.
    Therefore, in this interim rule, we are amending the list of 
quarantined areas in Sec.  301.51-3(c) by removing the villages of 
Bayshore, East Islip, and Islip Terrace in the Town of Islip, Suffolk 
County, NY. This action relieves restrictions on the movement of 
regulated articles from those areas that are no longer warranted.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is necessary to help prevent ALB from spreading to 
noninfested areas of the United States. In addition, this rule also 
relieves restrictions on certain areas that are no longer warranted. 
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

    This interim rule is subject to under Executive Order 12866. 
However, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has 
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.
    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 603, we have performed an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis, which is summarized below, regarding 
the economic effects of this rule on small entities. The full analysis 
may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for 
instructions for accessing Regulations.gov) or obtained from the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    This rule amends the ALB regulations by adding certain areas in 
Massachusetts and Ohio to the list of quarantined areas. This rule also 
removes certain areas in New York from quarantine based on surveys that 
indicate these areas have met the criteria for release from regulation. 
Potentially, about 30 entities may be affected in the expanded 
quarantine area in Massachusetts, and about 80 entities may be affected 
in Ohio. These businesses include landscape companies, tree service 
companies, firewood dealers, construction companies, waste haulers, and 
other operations that move regulated articles from the quarantined 
areas. Additional costs of operating such businesses under ALB 
quarantine are small, and principally derive from self-inspection and 
certification of regulated material under compliance agreements. In 
Islip, New York, the approximately 90 entities that have been affected 
by the quarantine will benefit from its removal by no longer having to 
satisfy movement restrictions. Most if not all of the businesses that 
will be affected by this rule in the three States are 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 in conflict 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.

    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:


[[Page 31722]]


    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, Pub. L. 106-
113, 113 Stat. 1501 A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 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, paragraph (c) is amended as follows:
0
a. Under the heading ``Massachusetts,'' by revising the entry for 
Worcester County;
0
b. Under the entry for ``New York,'' by removing the second paragraph 
under the entry for Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
0
c. By adding, in alphabetical order, an entry for ``Ohio.''
    The revision and addition read as follows:


Sec.  301.51-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

Massachusetts

* * * * *
    Worcester County. The portion of Worcester County, including 
portions or all of the municipalities of Worcester, Holden, West 
Boylston, Boylston, Auburn, and Shrewsbury that is bounded by a line 
starting at the intersection of Route 9 (Belmont Street) and the 
eastern boundary of the town of Shrewsbury; then follow the Shrewsbury 
town boundary northerly until the Boylston town boundary; then follow 
the entirety of the Boylston town boundary until it comes to the West 
Boylston town boundary on the Massachusetts Department of Conservation 
and Recreation Watershed property; then along the West Boylston town 
boundary until it intersects Manning Street; then southwest on Manning 
Street in Holden to Wachusett Street (Route 31); then south on 
Wachusett Street to Highland Street (still Route 31); 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; turn 
south on Oxford Street to Auburn Street; then southeast on Auburn 
Street crossing under the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) and continuing 
southeast on Millbury Street; at the intersection of Washington Street, 
turn northeast and continue along Washington Street to the northern 
boundary of the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90); then east along the 
northern boundary of the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) to the Auburn 
town boundary; then follow the Auburn town boundary northerly to the 
Worcester city boundary; continue along the Worcester city boundary 
until the Shrewsbury town boundary; then follow the entirety of the 
Shrewsbury town boundary until the point of beginning.
* * * * *

Ohio

    Clermont County. The portion of Clermont County, including all of 
the municipalities of Tate and East Fork State Park, and the portions 
of the Township of Monroe that include the following land parcels: 
232609C094, 232609C113, 232609C215, 232609C085, 232609C128, 232609B224, 
232609B188, 232609E223, 232609B215, 32609B193, 232609E075, 232609B161, 
232609E156, 232609E245, 232609E037, 232609E074, 232609E230, 232609E031, 
232609E220, 232609E232, 232609E240, 232609E239, 232609E241, 232609E175, 
232609E228, 232609E250, 232609E235, 232609E238, 232609E227, 232609E242, 
32609E226, 232609E249, 232609E236, 232609E234, 232609C217, 232609C040, 
234715.008, 232609C227, 232609C222, 232609C092, 232609C093, 232609C129, 
232609C098, 232609C195, 232609C100, 232609C169, 232609C136, 232609C097, 
232609C139, 232609C148, 232609C042, 232609C150, 232609C182, 234715.009, 
234715.005, 234715.006, 234715.001, 232609E246, 232609E247, 234715.004, 
234715.003, 232609E222, 232609C228, 234425.001, 232609E233, 232609C170, 
232609C216, 232609C196, 232609C105, 232609E237, 232609C225, 232609C091, 
232609C197, 232609C218, 232609C198, 232609C041, 232609C212, 232609C194, 
232609C214, 232609E224, 232609E231, 232609E248, 234715.007, 234715.002, 
232609C120, 232609C226, 232609C229, and 232609C043.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of May 2012.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-13111 Filed 5-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P