05-10101. Interstate Movement of Garbage From Hawaii; Availability of an Environmental Assessment

AGENCY:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice of availability and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to a request to allow the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii. The document contains a general assessment of the potential environmental effects associated with moving garbage interstate from Hawaii to the mainland United States subject to certain pest risk mitigation measures. The environmental assessment documents our review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with, and alternatives to, the proposed action. We are making this environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

DATES:

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 20, 2005.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by either 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. 05-002-1, 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. 05-002-1.

Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on the environmental assessment 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:

Ms. Susan Dublinski, Import Specialist, Permits, Registrations, and Imports, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The importation and interstate movement of garbage is regulated by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under 7 CFR 330.400 and 9 CFR 94.5 (referred to below as the regulations) in order to protect against the introduction into and dissemination within the United States of plant and animal pests and diseases.

APHIS is advising the public that we have prepared an environmental assessment relative to a request to allow the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii to the mainland United States. The environmental assessment, titled “Movement of Plastic-Baled Municipal Solid Waste from Hawaii to the Continental United States (May 2005)” examines the potential environmental effects associated with moving garbage interstate from Hawaii to the continental United States subject to certain pest risk mitigation measures. The environmental assessment documents our review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with, and alternatives to, the proposed action. We are making this environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice.

The environmental assessment may be viewed on the Internet on the EDOCKET Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing EDOCKET) or on the APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/​ppq/​enviro_​docs/​index.html. You may request paper copies of the environmental assessment by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the environmental assessment when requesting copies. The environmental assessment is also available for review in our reading room (information on the location and hours of the reading room is listed under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice).

The environmental assessment has been prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (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 1), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of May 2005.

Kevin Shea,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.