Imported Fire Ant Quarantined Areas

SUMMARY: We are amending the imported fire ant regulations by adding

Laurens County, SC, as a quarantined area. We are also adding a

boundary to the existing quarantined area in York County, SC. This

action expands the quarantined areas and imposes certain restrictions

on the interstate movement of quarantined articles from those areas,

and corrects an editorial error in an interim rule that expanded the

quarantined areas in several States, including South Carolina. This

action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the imported

fire ant to noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective May 2, 1994. Consideration will be given

only to comments received on or before July 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, room 804,

Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782. Please

state that your comments refer to Docket No. 93-138-3. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to

facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert L. Brittingham, Operations

Officer, Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, room 640,

Federal Building, 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 436-

8247.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The imported fire ant regulations (contained in 7 CFR 301.81

through 301.81-10, and referred to below as the regulations) quarantine

infested States or infested areas within States and impose restrictions

on the interstate movement of certain regulated articles for the

purpose of preventing the artificial spread of the imported fire ant.

Imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren and Solenopsis

richteri Forel, are aggressive, stinging insects that, in large

numbers, can seriously injure or even kill livestock, pets, and humans.

The imported fire ant feeds on crops and builds large, hard mounds that

damage farm and field machinery. The imported fire ant is not native to

the United States. The regulations prevent the imported fire ant from

spreading throughout its ecological range within this country.

The regulations in Sec. 301.81-3 provide that the Administrator of

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will list as a

quarantined area each State, or each portion of a State, that is

infested with imported fire ants. The Administrator will designate less

than an entire State only under the following conditions: (1) The State

has adopted and is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate movement of

the regulated articles listed in Sec. 301.81-2 that are equivalent to

the interstate movement restrictions imposed by the regulations; and

(2) designating less than the entire State will prevent the spread of

the imported fire ant. The Administrator may include uninfested acreage

within a quarantined area due to its proximity to an infestation or its

inseparability from the infested locality for quarantine purposes.

We are amending Sec. 301.81-3(e) by designating all of Laurens

County, SC, as a quarantined area. We are designating all of Laurens

County, SC, as a quarantined area because recent surveys conducted by

APHIS and State and county agencies reveal that the imported fire ant

has spread to that county.

We are also adding a boundary to the existing quarantined area in

York County, SC, published in the Federal Register and effective on

January 21, 1994 (59 FR 3313-3316, Docket No. 93-138-1). In that

earlier interim rule, we inadvertently omitted a portion of the

quarantined area for York County, SC.

See the rule portion of this document for specific descriptions of

the new quarantined areas.

Emergency Action

The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

has determined that an emergency exists that warrants publication of

this interim rule without prior opportunity for public comment.

Immediate action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of

imported fire ant to noninfested areas of the United States.

Because prior notice and other public procedures with respect to

this action are impracticable and contrary to the public interest under

these conditions, we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 to make it

effective upon publication. We will consider comments that are received

within 60 days of publication of this rule in the Federal Register.

After the comment period closes, we will publish another document in

the Federal Register. It will include a discussion of any comments we

receive and any amendments we are making to the rule as a result of the

comments.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This interim rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.

For this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its

review process required by Executive Order 12866.

This action affects the interstate movement of regulated articles

from specified areas in Laurens and York counties in South Carolina.

Based on information compiled by the Department, we have determined

that approximately 24 small entities in Laurens and York counties could

be affected by this interim rule. Primarily family-owned, these small

nurseries produce nursery and greenhouse crops, with average annual

sales of about $110,000, for both the local and interstate markets.

Entities that ship containerized nursery stock to nonquarantined

areas will be required to mix bifenthrin with potting media to ensure

that imported fire ants do not become established in potted nursery

stock. Granular bifenthrin currently retails for about $38.00 per 50-

pound bag. We have estimated that the 24 affected entities could apply

bifenthrin to about 5,000 cubic yards of potting media annually. These

potting media treatments could increase costs for each of these

nurseries by about $1,600 annually. This annual cost increase could

reduce producer income by about 1.5 percent. Further, the overall

economic impact from this action is estimated to be approximately

$38,000.

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 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12778

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, 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.

National Environmental Policy Act

Two environmental assessments and findings of no significant impact

have been prepared for the imported fire ant regulatory program. The

assessments provide a basis for the conclusion that the methods

employed to regulate the imported fire ant will not significantly

affect the quality of the human environment. Based on the findings of

no significant impact, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service has determined that an environmental impact

statement need not be prepared.

The environmental assessments and findings of no significant impact

were prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy

Act of 1969 (NEPA) (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 Guidelines

Implementing NEPA (44 FR 50381-50384, August 28, 1979, and 44 FR 51272-

51274, August 31, 1979).

Copies of the environmental assessments and findings of no

significant impact are available for public inspection at USDA, room

1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. In addition, copies may be obtained by writing to the

individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The information collection and recordkeeping requirements contained

in Secs. 301.81 through 301.81-10 have been approved by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) under OMB control number 0579-0102.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 301 is amended as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and

164-167; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

2. In Sec. 301.81-3, paragraph (e), the list of quarantined areas

is amended as follows:

a. By adding, in alphabetical order, an entry for Laurens County,

SC, to read as set forth below.

b. In the entry for York County, SC, after the second reference to

``South Carolina Highway 5'', by adding a new boundary to read as set

forth below.

Sec. 301.81-3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(e) * * *

* * * * *

South Carolina

* * * * *

Laurens County. The entire county.

* * * * *

York County. * * * to its intersection with York County Road 1041;

then northeast along York County Road 1041 * * *

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of April 1994.

Patricia Jensen,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Inspection Services.

[FR Doc. 94-10408 Filed 4-29-94; 8:45 am]

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