Imported Fire Ant; Additions to Quarantined Areas in Arkansas and Tennessee, 45523-45525 [05-15623]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 151 (Monday, August 8, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45523-45525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15623]



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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 151 / Monday, August 8, 2005 / Rules 
and Regulations

[[Page 45523]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 05-030-1]


Imported Fire Ant; Additions to Quarantined Areas in Arkansas and 
Tennessee

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are amending the imported fire ant regulations by 
designating as quarantined areas all of 1 county in Arkansas and all or 
portions of 18 counties in Tennessee. As a result of this action, the 
interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas will be 
restricted. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread 
of imported fire ant to noninfested areas of the United States.

DATES: This interim rule is effective August 8, 2005. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before October 7, 2005.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     EDOCKET: Go to https://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. 05-030-1, 
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. 05-030-1.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://
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 (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the 
Federal Register and related information on the Internet at https://
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Charles L. Brown, Imported Fire 
Ant Quarantine Program Manager, Pest Detection and Management Programs, 
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 
734-4838.

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 restrict the 
interstate movement of regulated articles to prevent the artificial 
spread of the imported fire ant.
    The imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren and Solenopsis 
richteri Forel) is an aggressive, stinging insect that, in large 
numbers, can seriously injure and even kill livestock, pets, and 
humans. The imported fire ant, which is not native to the United 
States, feeds on crops and builds large, hard mounds that damage farm 
and field machinery. The regulations are intended to prevent the 
imported fire ant from spreading throughout its ecological range within 
the 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 the imported fire ant. The Administrator will designate 
less than an entire State as a quarantined area 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 an 
infested locality for quarantine purposes.
    In Sec.  301.81-3, paragraph (e) lists quarantined areas. We are 
amending Sec.  301.81-3(e) by:
     Adding all of Montgomery County, AR, to the quarantined 
area;
     Adding parts of Benton, Bledsoe, Carroll, Cumberland, 
Hickman, Humphreys, and Roane Counties, TN, to the quarantined area; 
and
     Expanding the quarantined areas in Bedford, Blount, 
Coffee, Giles, Grundy, Haywood, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Perry, and 
Sequatchie Counties, TN.
    We are taking these actions because recent surveys conducted by 
APHIS and State and county agencies revealed that the imported fire ant 
has spread to these areas. See the rule portion of this document for 
specific descriptions of the new and revised quarantined areas.

Emergency Action

    This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the 
spread of imported fire ant into noninfested areas of the United 
States. 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 rule 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.

[[Page 45524]]

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this 
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review under 
Executive Order 12866.
    We are amending the imported fire ant regulations by designating as 
quarantined areas all of 1 county in Arkansas and all or portions of 18 
counties in Tennessee. As a result of this action, the interstate 
movement of regulated articles from those areas will be restricted. 
This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of imported 
fire ant to noninfested areas of the United States.
    The following analysis addresses the economic effects of this rule 
and the impact on small entities as required by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act.
    The market value of the agricultural products sold in the 19 
counties affected by this rule was about $473.11 million, according to 
the 2002 Agricultural Census.
    Potential damage by imported fire ant presents a risk to the 
agricultural economies in these 19 counties. The entities most likely 
to be affected by this interim rule are nurseries and greenhouses. 
According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture, there were at least 355 
nurseries and greenhouses in the 18 affected counties in Tennessee, and 
no nurseries listed for Montgomery County, AR. Other entities 
potentially affected by this action include farm equipment dealers, 
construction companies, and those entities that sell, process, or move 
regulated articles interstate from and through quarantined areas. These 
economic entities are now required to treat and certify their regulated 
articles before moving them interstate.
    According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) definition, a 
small agricultural producer is one having less than $750,000 in annual 
sales, and a small equipment dealer or a small agricultural service 
company is one generating less than $6 million in annual sales.
    According to this definition, all of the estimated 355 potentially 
affected entities in the counties affected by this rule are considered 
small by SBA standards. However, both the number of affected entities 
and the scope of the economic effects resulting from this action are 
dependent on any given entity's proportion of sales outside the 
quarantined area.
    The adverse economic effect on these entities can be substantially 
minimized by the availability of various treatment options that will 
allow for the movement of regulated articles from the quarantined area 
with only a small additional cost. The treatment cost for a standard 
shipment of nursery plants is estimated to be about $200, which 
represents, at most, 2 percent of the value of a standard tractor-
trailer load of nursery plants ($10,000 to $250,000). The benefits of 
this action are substantial, both ensuring continued agricultural sales 
from the affected counties and preventing human-assisted spread of 
imported fire ant.
    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 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 rule contains no new 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.

0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
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).


0
2. In Sec.  301.81-3, paragraph (e) is amended as follows:
0
a. Under the heading Arkansas, by adding, in alphabetical order, an 
entry for Montgomery County to read as set forth below.
0
b. Under the heading Tennessee, by adding, in alphabetical order, new 
entries for Benton, Bledsoe, Carroll, Cumberland, Hickman, Humphreys, 
and Roane Counties and by revising the entries for Bedford, Blount, 
Coffee, Giles, Grundy, Haywood, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Perry, and 
Sequatchie Counties to read as set forth below.


Sec.  301.81-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
Arkansas
* * * * *
    Montgomery County. The entire county.
* * * * *
Tennessee
    Bedford County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Marshall/Bedford County line and 
Tennessee Highway 270; then southeast on Tennessee Highway 270 to Halls 
Mill Road; then south on Halls Mill Road to Wheel Road; then southwest 
on Wheel Road to Lower Halls Mill Road; then southeast on Lower Halls 
Mill Road to Pass Road; then south on Pass Road to Simms Road; then 
east on Simms Road to Henslee Road; then south on Henslee Road to 
Tennessee Highway 64; then east on Tennessee Highway 64 to Knob Creek 
Road; then southeast on Knob Creek Road to Tennessee Highway 269; then 
south on Tennessee Highway 269 to Red Hill Road; then east on Red Hill 
Road to C.K. Troxler Road; then northeast on C.K. Troxler Road to the 
Bedford/Coffee County line; also, the entire city limits of 
Shelbyville, TN.
    Benton County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Carroll/Benton County line and 
Smothers-Buena Vista Road; then east on Smothers-Buena Vista Road to 
Pleasant Hill Church Road; then northwest on Pleasant Hill Church Road 
to Norwood Road; then northeast on Norwood Road to Divider and Natchez 
Trace Road; then northeast on Divider and Natchez Trace Road to 
Hargrove Road; then southeast on Hargrove Road to James Walker Road; 
then northeast on James Walker Road to Dodd Road; then north on Dodd 
Road to Divider and Natchez Trace Road; then north on Divider and 
Natchez Trace Road to Airport Road; then east on Airport Road to U.S. 
Highway 641; then

[[Page 45525]]

south on U.S. Highway 641 to Shiloh Church Road; then northeast on 
Shiloh Church Road to Tennessee Highway 191; then northwest on 
Tennessee Highway 191 to the line of latitude 36[deg] N.; then east 
along the line of latitude 36[deg] N. to the Benton/Humphreys County 
line.
    Bledsoe County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Van Buren/Bledsoe County line and 
Tennessee Highway 285; then southeast on Tennessee Highway 285 to 
Bellview Road; then northeast on Bellview Road to Big Spring Gap Road; 
then southeast on Big Spring Gap Road to Old State Highway 28; then 
northeast on Old State Highway 28 to the Bledsoe/Cumberland County 
line.
    Blount County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Knox/Blount County line and 
Interstate 140; then southeast on Interstate 140 to U.S. Highway 129; 
then south on U.S. Highway 129 to U.S. Highway 321; then east on U.S. 
Highway 321 to Montvale Road; then south on Montvale Road to Happy 
Valley Road; then southeast on Happy Valley Road to Foothills Parkway; 
then southwest on Foothills Parkway to U.S. Highway 129; then southeast 
on U.S. Highway 129 to the Tennessee/North Carolina State line.
* * * * *
    Carroll County. That portion of the county lying southeast of a 
line beginning at the intersection of the Henderson/Carroll County line 
and New Bethel Road; then northwest on New Bethel Road to U.S. Highway 
70; then northeast on U.S. Highway 70 to Purdy Road; then south on 
Purdy Road to Dollar Hill Road; then east on Dollar Hill Road to 
Tennessee Highway 22; then south on Tennessee Highway 22 to Clarksburg 
Road; then northeast on Clarksburg Road to Westport Road; then east on 
Westport Road to Tennessee Highway 114; then north on Tennessee Highway 
114 to McKee Levee Road; then east on McKee Levee Road to Pond Branch 
Road; then north on Pond Branch Road to New Friendship Road; then east 
on New Friendship Road to Roland Mill Road; then southeast on Roland 
Mill Road to the Carroll/Benton County line.
* * * * *
    Coffee County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Bedford/Coffee County line and 
Sixteenth Model Road; then east on Sixteenth Model Road to U.S. Highway 
41; then northwest on U.S. Highway 41 to Interstate 24; then southeast 
on Interstate 24 to Tennessee Highway 55; then northeast on Tennessee 
Highway 55 to Ragsdale Road; then south on Ragsdale Road to New Bushy 
Branch Road; then southeast on New Bushy Branch Road to Cornelison 
Road; then east on Cornelison Road to Clifton Scott Road; then south on 
Clifton Scott Road to Asbury Road; then east on Asbury Road to Benson 
Road; then southeast on Benson Road to Buck Jones Road; then south on 
Buck Jones Road to Old Airport Road; then southwest on Old Airport Road 
to U.S. Highway 41; then southeast on U.S. Highway 41 to Bailey Road; 
then east on Bailey Road to Lusk Cove Road; then northeast on Lusk Cove 
Road to the line of latitude 35[deg]25' N.; then east along the line of 
latitude 35[deg]25' N. to the Coffee/Grundy County line.
    Cumberland County. That portion of the county lying southeast of a 
line beginning at the intersection of the Rhea/Cumberland County line 
and the line of longitude 84[deg]50' W.; then north along the line of 
longitude 84[deg]50' W. to Interstate 40; then east on Interstate 40 to 
the Cumberland/Roane County line.
* * * * *
    Giles County. The entire county.
    Grundy County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Coffee/Grundy County line and the 
line of latitude 35[deg]20' N.; then east along the line of latitude 
35[deg]20' N. to Homer White Road; then north on Homer White Road to 
Tennessee Highway 50; then northeast on Tennessee Highway 50 to 
Tennessee Highway 56; then south on Tennessee Highway 56 to Colony 
Road; then east on Colony Road to Gruetli Road; then north on Gruetli 
Road to the line of latitude 35[deg]25' N.; then east along the line of 
latitude 35[deg]25' N. to Tennessee Highway 399; then northeast on 
Tennessee Highway 399 to the Grundy/Sequatchie County line.
* * * * *
    Haywood County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Tipton/Haywood County line and 
U.S. Highway 70/79; then northeast on U.S. Highway 70/79 to the Hatchie 
River; then east along the Hatchie River to Interstate 40; then 
northeast on Interstate 40 to the Haywood/Madison County line.
* * * * *
    Hickman County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Perry/Hickman County line and the 
Duck River; then east along the Duck River to Tennessee Highway 50; 
then northwest on Tennessee Highway 50 to Coble to Only Road; then 
southeast on Coble to Only Road to Lowes Bend Road; then northeast on 
Lowes Bend Road to Capshaw Hollow Road; then east on Capshaw Hollow 
Road to Taylor's Creek Road; then northeast on Taylor's Creek Road to 
Dodd Hollow Road; then southeast on Dodd Hollow Road to Elkins Switch 
Road; then southeast on Elkins Switch Road to Grinders Switch Road; 
then south on Grinders Switch Road to Tennessee Highway 50; then 
southeast on Tennessee Highway 50 to the Hickman/Maury County line.
    Humphreys County. That portion of the county lying south of 
Interstate 40.
* * * * *
    Marshall County. That portion of the county lying south of a line 
beginning at the intersection of the Maury/Marshall County line and 
Moses Road; then northeast on Moses Road to Wilson School Road; then 
southeast on Wilson School Road to Lunns Store Road; then south on 
Lunns Store Road to Tennessee Highway 99; then east on Tennessee 
Highway 99 to U.S. Highway 31A; then south on U.S. Highway 31A to James 
Shaw Road; then south on James Shaw Road to Clay Hill Road; then east 
on Clay Hill Road to Warner Road; then south on Warner Road to Batten 
Road; then southeast on Batten Road to the Marshall/Bedford County 
line.
    Maury County. That portion of the county lying south of Tennessee 
Highway 50.
* * * * *
    Moore County. The entire county.
    Perry County. The entire county.
* * * * *
    Roane County. That portion of the county lying south of Interstate 
40.
    Sequatchie County. That portion of the county lying south of the 
line of latitude 35[deg]30' N.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of August 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15623 Filed 8-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P