[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 28 (Friday, February 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8794-8795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02812]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2019-0002]


Notice of Availability of a Supplemental Environmental Assessment 
for Release of Aphalara itadori From Murakami, Japan for the Biological 
Control of Japanese, Giant, and Bohemian Knotweeds in the Contiguous 
United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared a supplemental environmental assessment 
(EA) relative to a 2020 EA for the release of Aphalara itadori for the 
biological control of Japanese, Giant, and Bohemian knotweeds (Fallopia 
japonica, F. sachalinensis, and F. x bohemica), significant invasive 
weeds, within the contiguous United States. This supplement analyzes 
the potential impacts of the release of A. itadori from Murakami, 
Japan, that may be more effective than the present Hokkaido and Kyushu 
lines of A. itadori in reducing infestations of knotweeds, particularly 
hybrid knotweed, which is the most abundant type of knotweed in the 
United States. We are making the supplemental EA available to the 
public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 
13, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     FederaleRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Enter APHIS-2019-0002 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-2019-0002, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    The supplemental environmental assessment and any comments we 
receive on this docket may be viewed at www.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. Robert S. Pfannenstiel, Acting 
Assistant Director, Pests, Pathogens and Biocontrol Permitting, Plant 
Health Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 851-2198; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Invasive knotweeds in North America are a 
complex of three closely related species in the family Polygonaceae 
that were introduced from Japan during the late 19th century. They 
include Fallopia japonica (Japanese knotweed), F. sachalinensis (Giant 
knotweed), and the hybrid between the two, F. x bohemica (Bohemian 
knotweed). These large herbaceous perennials have spread throughout 
much of North America, with the greatest infestations in the Pacific 
Northwest, the northeast of the United States, and eastern Canada. 
While capable of growing in diverse habitats, the knotweeds have become 
especially problematic along the banks and floodplains of rivers and 
streams, where they crowd out native plants and potentially affect 
stream nutrients and food webs. While several States have active 
control programs against knotweeds, the inaccessibility of some of the 
infestations and the difficulty with which the plants are killed 
suggest that complete eradication of knotweeds within the United States 
is unlikely.
    Previously, the Hokkaido and Kyushu biotypes of the insect, 
Aphalara itadori, were chosen as potential biological control 
organisms. The biotypes were expected to reduce the severity of 
infestations of Japanese, Giant, and Bohemian knotweed, and they are 
known to be highly host specific due to their intimate relationship 
with their host plants.
    On May 28, 2019, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) published in the Federal Register (84 FR 24463-24464, Docket 
No. APHIS-2019-0002) \1\ a notice in which we announced the 
availability, for public review and comment, of an environmental 
assessment (EA) that examined the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the release of A. itadori from Kyushu and Hokkaido, 
Japan, for the biological control of Japanese, Giant, and Bohemian 
knotweed within the contiguous United States. After soliciting and 
reviewing comments on the EA, we prepared a finding of no significant 
impact (FONSI). On November 30, 2020, we published in the Federal 
Register (85 FR 76515-76516, Docket No. APHIS-2019-0002) a notice in 
which we announced the availability of the final EA and FONSI.
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    \1\ To view the notice, supporting documents, and the comments 
we received, go to https://www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2019-
0002 in the Search field.
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    In June 2021, APHIS received a request to issue permits for the 
environmental release of A. itadori sourced from Murakami, Japan, into 
the contiguous United States. Environmental release of the Murakami 
line of A. itadori may be more effective than the Hokkaido and Kyushu 
lines. It is native to a climate and photoperiod better matched to the 
primary target knotweed regions of the United States. It is recently 
collected and thus field-adapted (not lab-adapted as are currently 
permitted lines). It also performs particularly well on hybrid knotweed 
(F. x bohemica), the most abundant knotweed type in the United States.
    Before permits are issued for the release of A. itadori from 
Murakami, Japan, APHIS needs to analyze the potential impacts of the 
release of A. itadori from Murakami, Japan. Accordingly, APHIS has 
prepared a supplemental EA titled ``Field Release of the Knotweed 
Psyllid Aphalara itadori (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) from Murakami, Japan 
for Classical Biological Control of Japanese, Giant, and Bohemian 
Knotweeds, Fallopia japonica, F. sachalinensis, and F. x bohemica 
(Polygonaceae), in the Contiguous United States, Supplemental 
Environmental Assessment'' (November 2022).
    We are making the supplemental 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 supplemental EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website or 
in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions accessing 
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room). In addition, paper copies may be obtained by calling or 
writing to the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The supplemental EA has been prepared in accordance with: (1) The 
National Environmental Policy Act of

[[Page 8795]]

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) Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service's NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of February 2023.
Anthony Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-02812 Filed 2-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P