[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50022-50023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19957]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0003]


Environmental Impact Statement; Asian Longhorned Beetle 
Eradication Program

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
and proposed scope of study.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service plans to prepare an environmental impact statement 
to analyze the effects of a program to eradicate the Asian longhorned 
beetle from wherever it might occur in the United States. This notice 
identifies potential issues and alternatives that will be studied in 
the environmental impact statement and requests public comments to 
further delineate the scope of the alternatives and environmental 
impacts and issues.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
September 16, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments regarding the environmental impact 
statement by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0003-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0003, 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-2013-
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.

[[Page 50023]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to the Asian 
Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program, contact Dr. Robyn Rose, National 
Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program Manager, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2283. For questions 
related to the environmental impact statement, contact Dr. Jim Warren, 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Environmental and Risk Analysis 
Services, PPD, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 149, Riverdale, MD 20737; 
(202) 316-3216.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) (ALB) is a 
foreign wood-boring beetle that threatens a wide variety of hardwood 
trees in North America. The native range of ALB includes China and 
Korea. ALB is believed to have been introduced into the United States 
from wood pallets and other wood packing material accompanying cargo 
shipments from Asia. ALB was first discovered in the United States in 
August 1996 in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. Since then, 
ALB has been found in limited areas in New York and New Jersey, 
Illinois, Massachusetts, and most recently, in Clermont County, OH.
    Areas where ALB has been found are quarantined in accordance with 
the regulations in 7 CFR 301.51-1 through 301.51-9. These regulations 
place restrictions on the movement of ALB host articles from the 
quarantined areas, thus helping to prevent the human-assisted spread of 
ALB. Within the quarantined areas, the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) works to eradicate ALB, after which the 
quarantine can be removed.
    To date, ALB has been eradicated from Chicago, IL; Hudson, 
Middlesex, and Union Counties, NJ; Islip, NY; and the boroughs of 
Manhattan and Staten Island in New York. The infested areas in 
Massachusetts and Ohio are active eradication areas, and APHIS is still 
working to determine the extent of those infestations.
    Current efforts to eradicate infestations in the two locations 
listed above include cutting, chipping or burning, and disposing by 
mulching of infested trees and high-risk host trees (ALB host trees 
that are located within a half-mile radius of infested trees). High-
risk host trees that are not cut are treated with either trunk 
injections or soil injections at the base of the tree using the 
insecticide imidacloprid.
    Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Federal agencies must 
examine the potential environmental effects of proposed Federal actions 
and alternatives. We are planning to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to analyze the effects of a program to eradicate the 
Asian longhorned beetle from wherever it might occur in the United 
States. The EIS will examine the environmental effects of control 
alternatives available to the Agency, including a no action 
alternative. It will be used for planning and decisionmaking and to 
inform the public about the environmental effects of APHIS' ALB 
eradication activities. It will also provide an overview of APHIS 
activities to which we can tier site-specific analyses and 
environmental assessments if new ALB infestations are discovered in the 
United States.
    We are requesting public comment to help us identify or confirm 
potential alternatives and environmental issues that should be examined 
in the EIS, as well as comments that identify other issues that should 
be examined in the EIS.
    The EIS will be prepared in accordance with: (1) NEPA, (2) 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA 
regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA 
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
    We have identified five alternatives for further examination in the 
EIS:
    Take no action. Under the no action alternative, no eradication 
efforts would be undertaken by APHIS. However, APHIS would continue to 
implement quarantine restrictions.
    Removal of infested trees. Under this alternative, APHIS would 
implement quarantine restrictions and would only remove trees infested 
with ALB. High-risk host trees would not be removed or treated.
    Full host removal. Under this alternative, APHIS would implement 
quarantine restrictions, remove infested host trees, and remove high-
risk host trees up to a half mile from infested trees.
    Insecticide treatment. Under this alternative, APHIS would 
implement quarantine restrictions, remove infested host trees, and 
treat high-risk host trees with an insecticide up to a half mile from 
infested trees.
    Integrated approach. Under this alternative, APHIS would implement 
quarantine restrictions, remove infested trees, and use a combination 
of removal and insecticide treatments of high-risk host trees.
    We have identified the following potential environmental impacts or 
issues for further examination in the EIS:
     Effects on wildlife, including consideration of migratory 
bird species and changes in native wildlife habitat and populations.
    [cir] Effects on federally listed threatened and endangered 
species.
     Effects on soil, air, and water quality.
     Effects on forests and trees in residential areas.
     Effects on the wood product industry and other economic 
impacts, including impacts on the firewood industry and on property 
values.
     Effects on human health and safety.
     Effects on cultural and historic resources.
    We welcome comments on the proposed action, and on other 
alternatives and environmental impacts or issues that should be 
considered for further examination in the EIS.
    All comments on this notice will be carefully considered in 
developing the final scope of the EIS. Upon completion of the draft 
EIS, a notice announcing its availability and an invitation to comment 
on it will be published in the Federal Register.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of August 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-19957 Filed 8-15-13; 8:45 am]
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