[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 134 (Friday, July 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37732-37733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15167]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2021-0021]


Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Release 
of Ganaspis brasiliensis for Biological Control of Spotted-Wing 
Drosophila in the Continental United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to 
permitting the release of the insect Ganaspis brasiliensis for the 
biological control of spotted-wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) in 
the continental United States. Based on the environmental assessment 
and other relevant data, we have reached a preliminary determination 
that the release of this control agent within the continental United 
States will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human 
environment. We are making the environmental assessment available to 
the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
August 16, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Enter APHIS-2021-0021 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab, 
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No.

[[Page 37733]]

APHIS-2021-0021, 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 regulations.gov or in our reading room, which is located 
in room 1620 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: Dr. Colin D. Stewart, Assistant 
Director, Pests, Pathogens, and Biocontrol Permits, Permitting and 
Compliance Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238; (301) 851-2327; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) is proposing to issue permits for the release of the 
insect Ganaspis brasiliensis in the continental United States for the 
biological control of spotted-wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii). The 
action is proposed to reduce the severity of damage to small fruit 
crops from infestations of spotted-wing Drosophila (SWD) in the 
continental United States.
    SWD is native to East Asia. It was first detected in California, 
Italy, and Spain in 2008. It has since established in most fruit-
growing regions in North America. SWD lays eggs inside ripening fruits. 
Feeding by SWD larvae results in the degradation of fruits, and the 
puncturing of the fruit skin may also provide a gateway for secondary 
bacterial and fungal infections.
    Permitting the release of the G-1 lineage of Ganaspis brasiliensis 
is necessary to reduce SWD populations in non-crop habitats. This would 
reduce the number of SWD that migrate into susceptible crops and would 
thereby improve the effectiveness of other SWD control tools. 
Introducing and establishing this larval parasitoid will uniquely 
contribute to suppression of SWD because it attacks fly maggots inside 
the fruit (while most pesticides target only adult flies, and only two 
pupal parasitoids readily attack SWD). Classical biological control is 
a potentially useful management strategy for an invasive pest species 
whenever effective resident natural enemies are lacking in the new 
distribution range.
    APHIS' review and analysis of the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed release are documented in detail in an 
environmental assessment (EA) titled ``Field Release of Ganaspis 
brasiliensis (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) for Biological Control of 
Spotted-wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae), 
in the Continental United States'' (January 2021). Based on our 
findings in the EA, we are proposing to issue permits for the release 
of the insect Ganaspis brasiliensis (G-1 lineage) as a biological 
control agent to reduce SWD infestations. We are making the EA 
available to the public for review and comment. We will consider all 
comments that we receive on or before the date listed under the heading 
DATES at the beginning of this notice.
    The EA may be viewed on the regulations.gov website or in our 
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to regulations.gov and 
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may 
also request paper copies of the EA by calling or writing to the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title 
of the EA when requesting copies.
    The EA has been prepared in accordance with: (1) The National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), (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).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of July, 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-15167 Filed 7-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P