Interstate Movement of Garbage from Hawaii; Availability of a Pest Risk Assessment and an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, 78129-78130 [E6-22267]
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 249 / Thursday, December 28, 2006 / Notices
Section
203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act
of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621–1627), as
amended, directs and authorizes the
Secretary of Agriculture (To develop
and improve standards of quality,
condition, quantity, grade and
packaging and recommend and
demonstrate such standards in order to
encourage uniformity and consistency
in commercial practices.( AMS is
committed to carrying out this authority
in a manner that facilitates the
marketing of agricultural commodities.
AMS makes copies of official standards
available upon request. The United
States Standards for Grades of Fruits
and Vegetables not connected with
Federal Marketing Orders or U.S. Import
Requirements no longer appear in the
Code of Federal Regulations, but are
maintained by USDA, AMS, Fruit and
Vegetable Programs.
AMS is considering revisions to the
voluntary United States Standards for
Grades of Cantaloups using procedures
that appear in Part 36, Title 7 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR part
36). These standards were last revised
on June 30, 1968.
with the revisions, it will develop the
proposed revised standards that will be
published in the Federal Register with
a request for comments in accordance
with 7 CFR part 36.
Background
AMS has been reviewing the Fresh
Fruit and Vegetable grade standards for
usefulness in serving the industry. AMS
has identified the United States
Standards for Grades of Cantaloups for
possible revision. Prior to undertaking
detailed work developing the proposed
revisions in the standards, AMS is
soliciting comments on the proposed
revisions on the United States Standards
for Grades of Cantaloups to better serve
the industry.
AMS is considering revising the
‘‘Application of Tolerances’’ section in
the U.S. standards by replacing the
phrase ‘‘The contents of individual
packages * * * ’’ with ‘‘Samples * * *
’’ and revising ‘‘(a) A package may
contain * * * ’’ to ‘‘(a) Samples may
contain * * * ’’ This change is needed
in order to make the ‘‘Application of
Tolerances’’ applicable to larger
containers, such as bins, which may
contain several hundred melons.
AMS is also eliminating the
‘‘Unclassified’’ category. AMS is
removing this section in all standards as
they are revised. This category is not a
grade and only serves to show that no
grade has been applied to the lot. It is
no longer considered necessary due to
current marketing practices.
This notice provides for a 60-day
comment period for interested parties to
comment on the proposed changes to
the United States Standards for Grades
of Cantaloups. Should AMS go forward
SUMMARY: We are advising the public
that a pest risk assessment and an
environmental assessment and finding
of no significant impact have been
prepared by the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service relative to a
request to allow the interstate
movement of garbage from Hawaii to a
landfill in the State of Washington. The
pest risk assessment evaluates the risks
associated with the interstate movement
of garbage from Hawaii to Washington.
The environmental assessment
examines the potential environmental
effects associated with moving garbage
interstate from Hawaii to Washington,
subject to certain pest risk mitigation
measures and documents our review
and analysis of the environmental
impacts associated with, and
alternatives to, the action. Based on its
finding of no significant impact, the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service has determined that an
environmental impact statement need
not be prepared.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Shannon Hamm, Assistant Deputy
Administrator, Policy and Program
Development, APHIS, 4700 River Road
Unit 20, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231;
(301) 734–4957.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:03 Dec 27, 2006
Jkt 211001
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1621–1627.
Dated: December 21, 2006
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing
Service.
[FR Doc. E6–22235 Filed 12–27–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0172]
Interstate Movement of Garbage from
Hawaii; Availability of a Pest Risk
Assessment and an Environmental
Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
Background
The importation and interstate
movement of garbage is regulated by the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
78129
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.
On November 8, 2006, we published
in the Federal Register (71 FR 65454,
Docket No. APHIS–2006–0172) a notice
in which we announced the availability,
for public review and comment of, a
site-specific environmental assessment
and a pest risk assessment relative to a
request to allow the interstate
movement of garbage from Hawaii to the
State of Washington.
The environmental assessment, titled
‘‘Movement of Plastic-baled Municipal
Solid Waste from Honolulu, Hawaii to
Roosevelt Regional Landfill,
Washington’’ (October 2006), examines
the potential environmental effects
associated with moving garbage
interstate from Hawaii to the Roosevelt
Regional Landfill in Klickitat County,
WA, 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.
The pest risk assessment, titled ‘‘The
Risk of Introduction of Pests to
Washington State via Plastic-Baled
Municipal Solid Waste from Hawaii’’
(September 2006), evaluates the plant
pest risks associated with the interstate
movement of garbage from Hawaii to the
Roosevelt Regional Landfill.
We solicited comments on the sitespecific environmental assessment and
the pest risk assessment for 30 days
ending on December 8, 2006. We
received five comments by that date,
from three private citizens and two
representatives of local municipalities.
Of the comments, only one specifically
addressed the substance of either
assessment. That commenter noted that
the environmental assessment
incorrectly stated the capacity of the
Roosevelt Regional Landfill. We have
updated our environmental assessment
to reflect the capacity reported by the
commenter.
One commenter questioned if a copy
of the pest risk assessment had been
made available for the public to view.
The pest risk assessment was made
available to the public in several ways.
Our November 2006 notice of
availability contained specific
instructions for obtaining both
electronic and paper copies of the pest
risk assessment.
One commenter disagreed with the
idea of moving garbage from Hawaii to
the mainland, asking how we can be
sure the garbage does not harbor deadly
E:\FR\FM\28DEN1.SGM
28DEN1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
78130
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 249 / Thursday, December 28, 2006 / Notices
diseases or tiny animals. We believe that
the pest risk assessment provides a
thorough analysis of risks presented,
and that those risks are fully addressed
by the baling technology and other
safeguards that will be required.
One commenter requested
information on the companies that have
expressed interest in sending municipal
solid waste (MSW) from Hawaii to
Roosevelt Regional Landfill. As noted
on page 2 of the pest risk assessment,
Pacific Rim Environmental Resources
and Hawaii Waste Systems have
proposed moving baled MSW from
Hawaii to a landfill in Washington
State. Another commenter asked who
initiated the request for an
environmental assessment and if these
assessments are done routinely by
APHIS. For this particular action,
APHIS does routinely prepare
environmental assessments. As
explained in the ‘‘Purpose and Need’’
section of the environmental
assessment, APHIS is reviewing two
requests to move MSW from Honolulu,
HI, to the State of Washington under
compliance agreements. APHIS must
complete an environmental assessment
to evaluate the potential impact on the
human environment prior to the
issuance of these compliance
agreements. The purpose of this review
is to determine whether the transport of
Hawaiian MSW under compliance
agreements would result in a significant
impact on the human environment.
One commenter asked what measures
would be taken to ensure that
unacceptable waste would be segregated
from baled waste. APHIS recommends a
series of mitigations in the pest risk
assessment that would ensure that MSW
is separated from prohibited materials
and processed and shipped in a way
that would prevent the introduction and
dissemination of plant pests. Any
companies interested in processing and
shipping MSW from Hawaii to the
mainland would have to enter into a
compliance agreement with APHIS and
the compliance agreement would spell
out all required safeguards. If any
company failed to observe the
conditions of the compliance agreement,
that company would no longer be
permitted to process and ship MSW.
Finally, one commenter stated that
APHIS should not approve the
proposals to ship plastic-baled MSW
from Hawaii to the State of Washington.
The commenter stated that any
decisions regarding the disposition of a
community’s MSW should be left to the
local government. To clarify, the pest
risk assessment and the environmental
assessment were conducted in order to
determine if the movement of MSW
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:03 Dec 27, 2006
Jkt 211001
from Hawaii to the mainland of the
United States would present any risk of
introduction and dissemination of plant
pests or animal diseases or if that action
would have any negative impacts on the
environments. APHIS is satisfied with
the conclusions of those assessments.
Additionally, APHIS will enter into
compliance agreements with companies
that wish to move MSW from Hawaii to
the mainland United States to ensure
that the mitigations and protocols
described in our assessments are being
followed. It is entirely up to the local
jurisdiction as to whether or not the
community will avail itself of this
potential disposal option for its MSW.
The site-specific pest risk assessment
and environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact may be
viewed on the Regulations.gov Web
site.1 Copies of the pest risk assessment
and environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact are also
available for public inspection at USDA,
room 1141, South Building, 14th Street
and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect copies are requested to call
ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate
entry into the reading room. In addition,
copies may be obtained by writing to the
individual listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
The environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact have
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 21st day of
December 2006.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E6–22267 Filed 12–27–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
1 Go to https://www.regulations.gov, click on the
‘‘Advanced Search’’ tab and select ‘‘Docket Search.’’
In the Docket ID field, enter APHIS–2006–0172,
click ‘‘Submit,’’ then click on the Docket ID link in
the search results page. The pest risk assessment
and the environmental assessment and finding of
no significant impact will appear in the resulting
list of documents.
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Caribou-Targhee National Forest, ID,
WY and UT, Caribou Oil and Gas
Leasing EIS
Forest Service, USDA and
Bureau of Land Management, USDI.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Caribou-Targhee National
Forest gives notice of the intent to
prepare an environmental impact
statement (EIS) to document the
analysis and disclose the anticipated
environmental and human effects of oil
and gas leasing on the Caribou
administrative unit of the Forest and the
Curlew National Grassland in southeast
Idaho, with minor amounts of land in
northern Utah and western Wyoming.
The Federal Onshore Oil and Gas
Leasing Reform Act of 1987 (FOOGLRA)
requires the Forest Service to evaluate
National Forest System (NFS) lands for
potential oil and gas leasing. As the
agency responsible for lease issuance
and administration, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) will participate as a
cooperating agency.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis should be received
within 45 days from the date of this
notice to be most helpful. The draft
environmental impact statement is
expected by November, 2007 and the
comment period on the draft
environmental impact statement will be
45 days from the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes the notice of availability in
the Federal Register. The final
environmental impact statement is
expected in April, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
Steve Robison, Oil and Gas Team
Leader, Caribou-Targhee National
Forest, 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho
Falls, ID 83401. Electronic comments
can be submitted in rich text format
(.rtf), or Word (.doc) to commentsintermtn-caribou-targhee@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lynn Ballard, Public Affairs Officer,
Caribou-Targhee National Forest, 1405
Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401;
phone (208) 557–5765. For technical
information contact: Steve Robison, Oil
and Gas Team Leader, (208) 557–5799.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for Action
FOOGLRA requires the Forest Service
to evaluate National Forest System
(NFS) lands that are legally open to
leasing for potential oil and gas leasing
E:\FR\FM\28DEN1.SGM
28DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 249 (Thursday, December 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78129-78130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22267]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0172]
Interstate Movement of Garbage from Hawaii; Availability of a
Pest Risk Assessment and an Environmental Assessment and Finding of No
Significant Impact
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that a pest risk assessment and an
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact have been
prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to
a request to allow the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii to a
landfill in the State of Washington. The pest risk assessment evaluates
the risks associated with the interstate movement of garbage from
Hawaii to Washington. The environmental assessment examines the
potential environmental effects associated with moving garbage
interstate from Hawaii to Washington, subject to certain pest risk
mitigation measures and documents our review and analysis of the
environmental impacts associated with, and alternatives to, the action.
Based on its finding of no significant impact, the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service has determined that an environmental impact
statement need not be prepared.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Shannon Hamm, Assistant Deputy
Administrator, Policy and Program Development, APHIS, 4700 River Road
Unit 20, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-4957.
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.
On November 8, 2006, we published in the Federal Register (71 FR
65454, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0172) a notice in which we announced the
availability, for public review and comment of, a site-specific
environmental assessment and a pest risk assessment relative to a
request to allow the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii to the
State of Washington.
The environmental assessment, titled ``Movement of Plastic-baled
Municipal Solid Waste from Honolulu, Hawaii to Roosevelt Regional
Landfill, Washington'' (October 2006), examines the potential
environmental effects associated with moving garbage interstate from
Hawaii to the Roosevelt Regional Landfill in Klickitat County, WA,
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.
The pest risk assessment, titled ``The Risk of Introduction of
Pests to Washington State via Plastic-Baled Municipal Solid Waste from
Hawaii'' (September 2006), evaluates the plant pest risks associated
with the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii to the Roosevelt
Regional Landfill.
We solicited comments on the site-specific environmental assessment
and the pest risk assessment for 30 days ending on December 8, 2006. We
received five comments by that date, from three private citizens and
two representatives of local municipalities. Of the comments, only one
specifically addressed the substance of either assessment. That
commenter noted that the environmental assessment incorrectly stated
the capacity of the Roosevelt Regional Landfill. We have updated our
environmental assessment to reflect the capacity reported by the
commenter.
One commenter questioned if a copy of the pest risk assessment had
been made available for the public to view. The pest risk assessment
was made available to the public in several ways. Our November 2006
notice of availability contained specific instructions for obtaining
both electronic and paper copies of the pest risk assessment.
One commenter disagreed with the idea of moving garbage from Hawaii
to the mainland, asking how we can be sure the garbage does not harbor
deadly
[[Page 78130]]
diseases or tiny animals. We believe that the pest risk assessment
provides a thorough analysis of risks presented, and that those risks
are fully addressed by the baling technology and other safeguards that
will be required.
One commenter requested information on the companies that have
expressed interest in sending municipal solid waste (MSW) from Hawaii
to Roosevelt Regional Landfill. As noted on page 2 of the pest risk
assessment, Pacific Rim Environmental Resources and Hawaii Waste
Systems have proposed moving baled MSW from Hawaii to a landfill in
Washington State. Another commenter asked who initiated the request for
an environmental assessment and if these assessments are done routinely
by APHIS. For this particular action, APHIS does routinely prepare
environmental assessments. As explained in the ``Purpose and Need''
section of the environmental assessment, APHIS is reviewing two
requests to move MSW from Honolulu, HI, to the State of Washington
under compliance agreements. APHIS must complete an environmental
assessment to evaluate the potential impact on the human environment
prior to the issuance of these compliance agreements. The purpose of
this review is to determine whether the transport of Hawaiian MSW under
compliance agreements would result in a significant impact on the human
environment.
One commenter asked what measures would be taken to ensure that
unacceptable waste would be segregated from baled waste. APHIS
recommends a series of mitigations in the pest risk assessment that
would ensure that MSW is separated from prohibited materials and
processed and shipped in a way that would prevent the introduction and
dissemination of plant pests. Any companies interested in processing
and shipping MSW from Hawaii to the mainland would have to enter into a
compliance agreement with APHIS and the compliance agreement would
spell out all required safeguards. If any company failed to observe the
conditions of the compliance agreement, that company would no longer be
permitted to process and ship MSW.
Finally, one commenter stated that APHIS should not approve the
proposals to ship plastic-baled MSW from Hawaii to the State of
Washington. The commenter stated that any decisions regarding the
disposition of a community's MSW should be left to the local
government. To clarify, the pest risk assessment and the environmental
assessment were conducted in order to determine if the movement of MSW
from Hawaii to the mainland of the United States would present any risk
of introduction and dissemination of plant pests or animal diseases or
if that action would have any negative impacts on the environments.
APHIS is satisfied with the conclusions of those assessments.
Additionally, APHIS will enter into compliance agreements with
companies that wish to move MSW from Hawaii to the mainland United
States to ensure that the mitigations and protocols described in our
assessments are being followed. It is entirely up to the local
jurisdiction as to whether or not the community will avail itself of
this potential disposal option for its MSW.
The site-specific pest risk assessment and environmental assessment
and finding of no significant impact may be viewed on the
Regulations.gov Web site.\1\ Copies of the pest risk assessment and
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact are also
available for public inspection at USDA, room 1141, South Building,
14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing
to inspect copies are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the reading room. In addition, copies may be
obtained by writing to the individual listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Go to https://www.regulations.gov, click on the ``Advanced
Search'' tab and select ``Docket Search.'' In the Docket ID field,
enter APHIS-2006-0172, click ``Submit,'' then click on the Docket ID
link in the search results page. The pest risk assessment and the
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact will
appear in the resulting list of documents.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact
have 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 21st day of December 2006.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E6-22267 Filed 12-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
