[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 116 (Thursday, June 16, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39175-39176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14248]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 116 / Thursday, June 16, 2016 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 39175]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2015-0097]


Asian Longhorned Beetle: Update List of 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 (ALB) regulations 
by removing plants of the genus Celtis from the list of regulated 
articles, which we have determined not to be a host plant of ALB. This 
action is necessary to relieve restrictions on the movement of 
regulated articles that are not hosts of ALB. As a result of this 
action, there are no longer any restrictions on the movement of Celtis 
spp. plants from areas quarantined for ALB.

DATES: This interim rule is effective June 16, 2016. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before August 15, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0097.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2015-0097, 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-2015-
0097 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, M.S., Senior 
Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, 
Imports, Regulations and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 
133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-2352; email: 
[email protected].

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 overwinter 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 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.
    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.
    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), 
Cercidiphyllum (katsura), Fraxinus (ash), Koelreuteria (golden rain 
tree), Platanus (sycamore), Populus (poplar), Salix (willow), Sorbus 
(mountain ash), and Ulmus (elm). This list of genera is 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 discovery of the pest.
    On April 27, 2015, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) issued a Federal Order \1\ effective on that date to 
immediately remove plants of the genus Celtis (hackberry) as regulated 
articles for ALB from the host list. This action responds to research 
conducted by APHIS indicating that ALB does not complete its life cycle 
in hackberry trees. Therefore, such trees no longer need to be 
inspected or considered for treatment, and hackberry can now be moved 
from areas under quarantine for ALB.
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    \1\ DA-2015-22, ``Updated List of Regulated Articles for Asian 
Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) removing Celtis spp. as 
a host of ALB: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/asian_lhb/downloads/DA-2015-22.pdf.
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Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no 
longer necessary because we have determined that hackberry is not a 
host for ALB. 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.

[[Page 39176]]

    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.
    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we have analyzed 
the potential economic effects of this action on small entities.
    The hackberry is a widespread small- to medium-sized fast-growing 
tree. It is widely distributed in the eastern United States from the 
southern New England States through central New York west to North and 
South Dakota. The range extends south from western Nebraska to 
northwestern Texas, then east to Arkansas, Tennessee, and North 
Carolina, with scattered occurrences in Mississippi, Alabama, and 
Georgia.
    The hackberry is not valuable as a timber tree. Hackberry wood is 
heavy, soft, light-yellow, and coarse-grained. It rots easily and 
therefore is generally undesirable commercially. Occasionally, it is 
utilized to produce fencing, crates and boxes, or inexpensive 
furniture, but more commonly it is used as firewood.\2\ Under industry 
standards for business size established by the Small Business 
Administration, most firewood retailers and wholesalers are considered 
to be small entities.
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    \2\ http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_ceoc.pdf.
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    Removal of hackberry from the ALB host list will mean that 
interstate movement of the wood from ALB-quarantined areas will not 
require a certificate or limited permit issued by an inspector or by a 
person operating under a compliance agreement. Firewood wholesalers and 
retailers and other businesses that move hackberry wood from ALB-
quarantined areas will benefit from the interim rule, but the economic 
effects will be modest.
    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 2 CFR chapter IV.)

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.

    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).


Sec.  301.51-2  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  301.51-2, paragraph (a) is amended by removing the words 
``Celtis (hackberry)''.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of June 2016.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-14248 Filed 6-15-16; 8:45 am]
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