05-8302. Asian Longhorned Beetle; Removal of Regulated Areas

AGENCY:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Interim rule and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We are amending the Asian longhorned beetle regulations by removing portions of Cook and DuPage Counties, IL, from the list of quarantined areas and removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas. We have determined that the Asian longhorned beetle no longer presents a risk of spread from those areas and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary.

DATES:

This interim rule was effective April 21, 2005. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 27, 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. 05-011-1, 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. 05-011-1.
• 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 this docket 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:

Mr. Michael B. Stefan, Director, Pest Detection and Management Programs, Emergency Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) (Anoplophora glabripennis), an insect native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Isle of Hainan, is a destructive pest of hardwood trees. It attacks many healthy hardwood trees, including maple, horse chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, and elm. In addition, nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, branches, and wood debris of half an inch or more in diameter are subject to infestation. The beetle bores into the heartwood of a host tree, eventually killing the tree. Immature beetles bore into tree trunks and branches, causing heavy sap flow from wounds and sawdust accumulation at tree bases. They feed on, and over-winter in, the interiors of trees. Adult beetles emerge in the spring and summer months from round holes approximately three-eighths of an inch in diameter (about the size of a dime) that they bore through branches and trunks of trees. After emerging, adult beetles feed for 2 to 3 days and then mate. Adult females then lay eggs in oviposition sites that they make on the branches of trees. A new generation of ALB is produced each year. If this pest moves into the hardwood forests of the United States, the nursery, maple syrup, and forest product industries could experience severe economic losses. In addition, urban and forest ALB infestations will result in environmental damage, aesthetic deterioration, and a reduction in public enjoyment of recreational spaces.

The ALB regulations in 7 CFR 301.51-1 through 301.51-9 (referred to below as the regulations) restrict the interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas to prevent the artificial spread of ALB to noninfested areas of the United States. Portions of Illinois, New Jersey, and New York are designated as quarantined areas. Quarantined areas are listed in § 301.51-3 of the regulations.

The regulations currently list two quarantined areas in Illinois. One, in Cook County, includes the Ravenswood community in the City of Chicago, and the other, in Cook and DuPage Counties, includes portions of O'Hare International Airport and its surrounding area.

Based on surveys conducted by inspectors of Illinois State and county agencies and by APHIS inspectors, we are removing from quarantine those areas in DuPage and Cook Counties and Chicago's Ravenswood area. The last findings of ALB in the regulated area in Park Ridge in Cook County was November 24, 2000. The last finding in the regulated area around O'Hare International Airport, including Bensenville, in DuPage County, was November 28, 2000. In Chicago's Ravenswood area, the last finding in the Kilbourn Park community was October 18, 1999, and the last finding in the Loyola community was March 8, 2001.

Since then, no evidence of ALB infestation has been found in these areas. Based on our experience, we have determined that sufficient time has passed without finding additional beetles or other evidence of infestation to conclude that ALB constitutes a negligible risk to those areas in Cook and DuPage Counties and the Kilbourn Park and Loyola communities in the Ravenswood area. Therefore, we are removing the entries for these areas from the list of quarantined areas in § 301.51-3(c). However, the Oz Park community in the City of Chicago, which falls within the larger Ravenswood area, remains under quarantine. A description of that quarantined area may be found in the regulatory text at the end of this document.

Immediate Action

Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions that are no longer necessary. Under these circumstances, the Administrator has determined that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are contrary to the public interest and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 for making this action effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes, we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document will include a discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments we are making to the rule.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

For this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review under Executive Order 12866.

This emergency situation makes timely compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) impracticable. We are currently assessing the potential economic effects of this action on small entities. Based on that assessment, we will either certify that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities or publish a regulatory flexibility analysis.

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 12988

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 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

This interim rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

• Agricultural commodities
• Plant diseases and pests
• Quarantine
• Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
• Transportation

Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

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

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

Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note).

2. In § 301.51-3(c), under the heading “Illinois,” the entry for Cook County is revised to read as follows and the entry for Cook and DuPage Counties is removed.

§ 301.51-3

Quarantined areas.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

Illinois

Cook County. That area in the Oz Park community in the City of Chicago that is bounded as follows: Beginning at the intersection of North Damen Avenue and West Addison Street; then east and east-northeast on West Addison Street to North Lake Shore Drive; then due east from that point to the Lake Michigan shoreline; then south along the Lake Michigan shoreline to a point due east of the intersection of North Lake Shore Drive and Chicago Avenue; then west from that point to the intersection of North Lake Shore Drive and Chicago Avenue; then west on Chicago Avenue to North Damen Avenue; then north on North Damen Avenue to the point of beginning.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of April 2005.

Elizabeth E. Gaston,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.