[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 78 (Monday, April 22, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17550-17551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9833]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 95-063-2]
Imported Fire Ant Quarantined Areas
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, with one change, an interim
rule that amended the imported fire ant regulations by designating all
or portions of the following as quarantined areas: The entire State of
Mississippi; Mecklenburg County in North Carolina; Bradley, Hamilton,
McMinn, and Wayne Counties in Tennessee; and Brooks, Cameron, Delta,
Dimmit, Duval, Jack, Kenedy, Kinney, Lamar, Mason, McCulloch, Montague,
San Saba, Webb, Young, and Zavala Counties in Texas. As amended by this
document, the rule expands the quarantined areas and imposes certain
restrictions on the interstate movement of quarantined articles from
those areas. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread
of the imported fire ant to noninfested areas of the United States.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 22, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael B. Stefan, Operations
Officer, Domestic and Emergency Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road
Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-7338; or e-mail:
mstefan@aphis.usda.gov.
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.
In an interim rule effective and published in the Federal Register
on October 11, 1995 (60 FR 52831-52833, Docket No. 95-063-1), we
amended the imported fire ant regulations by designating all or
portions of the following as quarantined areas: The entire State of
Mississippi; Mecklenburg County in North Carolina; Bradley, Hamilton,
McMinn, and Wayne Counties in Tennessee; and Brooks, Cameron, Delta,
Dimmit, Duval, Jack, Kenedy, Kinney, Lamar, Mason, McCulloch, Montague,
San Saba, Webb, Young, and Zavala Counties in Texas. This action
expanded the quarantined areas and imposed certain restrictions on the
interstate movement of quarantined articles from those areas. This
action was necessary because recent surveys conducted by APHIS and
State and county agencies revealed that the imported fire ant had
spread to these areas.
We solicited comments concerning the interim rule for 60 days
ending December 11, 1995. We received 1 comment by that date. The
comment was from a State Department of Agriculture.
The commenter stated that our description of the new quarantined
area in Wayne County, Tennessee, was not clear and could be misread to
describe a smaller portion of the county than what the commenter
believed we intended. We agree with the commenter and are, therefore,
amending the interim rule by revising the description of the
quarantined area in Wayne County, Tennessee, to make it clear that it
includes that portion of the county south of Highway 64 and that
portion of the county west of Longitude 87 deg. 55'.
Therefore, based on the rationale set forth in the interim rule and
in this document, we are adopting the provisions of the interim rule as
a final rule, with the changes discussed in this document.
This final rule also affirms the information contained in the
interim rule concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12778, the National
Environmental Policy Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has
waived the review process required by Executive Order 12866.
Effective Date
Pursuant to the administrative procedure provisions in 5 U.S.C.
553, we find good cause for making this rule effective less than 30
days after publication in the Federal Register. The interim rule
adopted as final by this rule was effective on October 11, 1995. This
rule revises the description of the quarantined area in the interim
rule. Immediate action is necessary in order to prevent the artificial
spread of imported fire ant to noninfested areas of the United States.
Therefore, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service has determined that this rule should be effective upon
publication in the Federal Register.
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 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).
[[Page 17551]]
2. In Sec. 301.81-3, paragraph (e), the list of quarantined areas
is amended by revising the entry for Wayne County, Tennessee, to read
as follows:
Sec. 301.81-3 Quarantined areas.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
* * * * *
TENNESSEE
* * * * *
Wayne County. That portion of the county lying south of U.S.
Highway 64 and also that portion of the county lying west of Longitude
87 deg. 55'.
* * * * *
Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of April 1996.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 96-9833 Filed 4-19-96; 8:45 am]
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