Pine Shoot Beetle

SUMMARY: We are amending the pine shoot beetle regulations by adding

Adams and Jay Counties, IN, to the list of quarantined areas. This

action is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the spread of the

pine shoot beetle, a highly destructive pest of pine trees, into

noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: Interim rule effective December 29, 1994. Consideration will be

given only to comments received on or before March 10, 1995.

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

Chief, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, USDA, P.O.

Drawer 810, Riverdale, MD 20738. Please state that your comments refer

to Docket No. 92-139-8. 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. C. David McNeal, Operations

Officer, Plant Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, P.O. Drawer 810,

Riverdale, MD 20738. The telephone number for the agency contact will

change when agency offices in Hyattsville, MD, move to Riverdale, MD,

during January. Telephone: (301) 436-8247 (Hyattsville); (301) 734-8247

(Riverdale).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The pine shoot beetle is a highly destructive pest of pine trees.

The pine shoot beetle can cause damage in weak and dying trees, where

reproduction and immature stages of pine shoot beetle occur, and in the

new growth of healthy trees. The ``maturation feeding'' of young

beetles takes the form of boring up the center of pine shoots (usually

of the current year's growth), causing stunted and distorted growth in

the host trees. The pine shoot beetle is also a vector of several

diseases of pine trees. Adults can fly at least 1 kilometer, and the

wood, nursery stock, and Christmas trees they infest are often

transported long distances. This pest damages urban trees, and can

cause economic losses to the timber, Christmas tree, and nursery

industries.

The regulations in 7 CFR 301.50 (referred to below as the

regulations) impose restrictions on the interstate movement of

regulated articles from quarantined areas in order to prevent the

spread of the pine shoot beetle into noninfested areas of the United

States.

Surveys recently conducted by State and Federal inspectors revealed

that Adams and Jay Counties, IN, are infested with the pine shoot

beetle. The regulations in Sec. 301.50-3 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, in which the

pine shoot beetle has been found by an inspector, in which the

Administrator has reason to believe the pine shoot beetle is present,

or that the Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of

its inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities

in which the pine shoot beetle has been found.

In accordance with these criteria, we are designating Adams and Jay

Counties, IN, as quarantined areas, and adding them to the list of

quarantined areas in Sec. 301.50-3(c).

Emergency Action

The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

has determined that an emergency situation exists that warrants

publication of this interim rule without prior opportunity for public

comment. Immediate action is necessary to prevent the pine shoot beetle

from spreading 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 signature. 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.

In Adams County, IN, there are four nurseries and one logging

operation; in Jay County, IN, there are four nurseries and two

Christmas tree producers. All could probably be classified as small

entities by Small Business Administration criteria (for nurseries,

annual gross receipts of $150,000 or less; for loggers, annual gross

receipts of $3.5 million or less; for Christmas tree producers, annual

gross receipts of $0.5 million or less). The logging operation in Adams

County harvests only deciduous trees.

This action will restrict the movement of certain pine products

from quarantined areas to nonquarantined areas. If inspected and found

to be infested with the pine shoot beetle, these pine products can be

either diverted for sale within local markets or treated in accordance

with Sec. 301.50-10 prior to shipment to a nonquarantined area. Based

on information acquired from extension agents, we estimate that, in the

newly quarantined counties, most producers of regulated pine products

make approximately 90 percent of their sales locally or to buyers

within the county or other quarantined areas in Indiana and thus will

not be affected by this action. Producers can treat the small amount of

regulated pine products [[Page 2322]] sold interstate with an approved

methyl bromide treatment at a reasonable cost (approximately $1 per

tree).

We anticipate, therefore, that this action will not have a

significant economic impact on small nurseries, Christmas tree farmers,

or other forest product producers in the two newly quarantined

counties.

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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements

included in this rule have been approved by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB), and there are no new requirements. The assigned OMB

control number is 0579-0088.

National Environmental Policy Act

An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact

have been prepared for this rule. The assessment provides a basis for

the conclusion that the treatment of regulated articles, under the

conditions specified in this rule, will not present a risk of

introducing or disseminating plant pests and will not have a

significant impact on the quality of the human environment. Based on

the finding 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 assessment and finding 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 assessment and finding 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. Persons wishing to inspect copies are requested to

call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the reading room.

In addition, copies may be obtained by writing to the individual listed

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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. 301.50-3, paragraph (c), under Indiana, new counties are

added, in alphabetical order; and paragraph (d) is revised to read as

set forth below:

Sec. 301.50-3 Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

Indiana

Adams County. The entire county.

* * * * *

Jay County. The entire county.

* * * * *

(d) A map of the quarantined areas follows:

BILLING CODE 3410-34-P

[[Page 2323]]

[GRAPHIC][TIFF OMITTED]TR09JA95.002

Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of December 1994.

Terry L. Medley,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 95-424 Filed 1-6-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-34-P