05-4705. Nursery Stock Regulations

AGENCY:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Advance notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments; extension of comment period.

SUMMARY:

We are extending the comment period for our advance notice of proposed rulemaking that solicited public comment on whether and how we should amend the regulations that govern the importation of nursery stock, also known as plants for planting. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

DATES:

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April 11, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• EDOCKET: Go to http://www.epa.gov/​feddocket to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once you have entered EDOCKET, click on the “View Open APHIS Dockets” link to locate this document.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 03-069-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 03-069-1.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for locating this docket and submitting comments.

Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on Docket No. 03-069-1 in our reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 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 [phone] before coming.

Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the Federal Register and related information on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/​ppd/​rad/​webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Arnold T. Tschanz, Senior Staff Officer, Regulatory Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 141, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On December 10, 2004, we published in the Federal Register (69 FR 71736-71744, Docket No. 03-069-1) an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that solicited public comment on whether and how we should amend the regulations that govern the importation of nursery stock, also known as plants for planting.

Comments on the advance notice of proposed rulemaking were required to be received on or before March 10, 2005. We are extending the comment period on Docket No. 03-069-1 for an additional 30 days. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450 and 7701-7772; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of March 2005.

Elizabeth E. Gaston,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.