[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 62 (Thursday, March 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 18764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06760]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2022 / 
Notices  

[[Page 18764]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2022-0015]


Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Release 
of Psyllaephagus euphyllurae for Biological Control of Olive Psyllid in 
the Contiguous United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 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, Psyllaephagus euphyllurae, for 
the biological control of olive psyllid (Euphyllurae olivina) in the 
contiguous 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 contiguous 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 May 
2, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Enter APHIS-2022-0015 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. APHIS-2022-0015, 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, Psyllaephagus euphyllurae, for the biological control of olive 
psyllid (Euphyllurae olivina) in the contiguous United States. The 
action is proposed to reduce the severity of damage to olive crops from 
infestations of olive psyllid in the contiguous United States.
    The olive psyllid is native to southern Europe. It was first 
detected in North America in 2007. By the time this psyllid was found 
on olives in southern California, it was widespread in the region. This 
pest feeds exclusively on the flower blossoms and growing tissue of 
olive, causing reductions in fruit set, with reductions in fruit yield 
as high as 60 percent reported in some parts of the Mediterranean 
Basin.
    Permitting the release of P. euphyllurae is necessary to reduce the 
severity of damage to olives from infestations of olive psyllid. P. 
euphyllurae is a small, stingless parasitoid wasp specific only to 
olive psyllid. The adult wasp lays an egg inside the olive psyllid. The 
egg hatches and consumes the olive psyllid host. The P. euphyllurae 
then goes into prolonged dormancy as a preadult in the host mummy's 
remains until the following spring. The wasp poses no risk to humans, 
livestock, or wildlife.
    Current olive psyllid control relies primarily on cultural control 
and insecticides, which are expensive and temporary. They are not 
always effective, and they may cause non-target impacts. Host-
specificity testing indicates P. euphyllurae is unlikely to attack non-
target species. 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 an environmental 
assessment (EA) titled ``Release of Psyllaephagus euphyllurae 
(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) for Biological Control of Olive Psyllid, 
Euphyllura olivina (Hemiptera: Liviidae), in the Contiguous United 
States'' (November 2021). Based on our findings in the EA, we are 
proposing to issue permits for the release of the insect, P. 
euphyllurae, as a biological control agent to reduce the severity of 
infestations of olive psyllid. 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 25th day of March 2022.
Anthony Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-06760 Filed 3-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P