Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Biological Control Agent for Russian Thistle, 10223-10224 [E9-5043]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Notices
programs is available on the Internet at
https://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on the Official Control
Program, contact Ms. Diane L. Schuble,
National Coordinator for Official
Control Programs, Emergency and
Domestic Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD
20737; (301) 734–8723. For copies of
more detailed information on the
information collection, contact Mrs.
Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information
Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851–
2908.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Plant Protection and
Quarantine; Official Control Program.
OMB Number: 0579–XXXX.
Type of Request: Approval of an
information collection.
Abstract: As authorized by the Plant
Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.),
the Secretary of Agriculture may
prohibit or restrict the importation,
entry, exportation, or movement in
interstate commerce of any plant, plant
product, biological control organism,
noxious weed, means of conveyance, or
other article if the Secretary determines
that the prohibition or restriction is
necessary to prevent a plant pest or
noxious weed from being introduced
into or disseminated within the United
States. This authority has been
delegated to the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
As part of this mission, APHIS’ Plant
Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)
program responds to introductions of
plant pests to eradicate, suppress, or
contain them through various programs
to prevent the interstate spread of plant
pests. APHIS’ plant pest control and
eradication programs qualify as ‘‘official
control programs,’’ as defined by the
International Plant Protection
Convention (IPPC), recognized by the
World Trade Organization as the
standard-setting body for international
plant quarantine issues. ‘‘Official
control’’ is defined as ‘‘the active
enforcement of mandatory
phytosanitary regulations and the
application of mandatory phytosanitary
procedures with the objective of
eradication or containment of
quarantine pests or for the management
of regulated non-quarantine pests.’’ As a
contracting party to the IPPC, the United
States has agreed to observe IPPC
principles as they relate to international
trade.
APHIS is aware that individual States
enforce phytosanitary regulations and
procedures within their borders to
address pests of concern, and that those
pests are not always also the subject of
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15:20 Mar 09, 2009
Jkt 217001
an APHIS response program or activity.
To strengthen APHIS’ safeguarding
system to protect agriculture and to
facilitate agriculture trade through
effective management of phytosanitary
measures, APHIS plans to begin a
process to allow a State to request
Federal recognition of that State’s
phytosanitary measures or activities as
an ‘‘official control program’’ to restrict
the spread of plant pests. Federal
recognition of a State’s pest control
activities will justify actions by Federal
inspectors at ports of entry to help
exclude pests under an official control
program in a destination State. This
process involves the use of information
collection activities, including the
submission by States of a protocol for
quarantine pests of concern and a
protocol for regulated non-quarantine
pests.
We are asking the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to
approve our use of these information
collection activities for 3 years.
The purpose of this notice is to solicit
comments from the public (as well as
affected agencies) concerning our
information collection. These comments
will help us:
(1) Evaluate whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Agency, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our
estimate of the burden of the collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, through use, as
appropriate, of automated, electronic,
mechanical, and other collection
technologies; e.g., permitting electronic
submission of responses.
Estimate of burden: The public
reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 80
hours per response.
Respondents: State plant health
regulatory officials.
Estimated annual number of
respondents: 53.
Estimated annual number of
responses per respondent: 25.
Estimated annual number of
responses: 1,325.
Estimated total annual burden on
respondents: 106,000 hours. (Due to
averaging, the total annual burden hours
may not equal the product of the annual
number of responses multiplied by the
reporting burden per response.)
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10223
All responses to this notice will be
summarized and included in the request
for OMB approval. All comments will
also become a matter of public record.
Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of
March 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9–5034 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0143]
Availability of an Environmental
Assessment for a Biological Control
Agent for Russian Thistle
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
the control of Russian thistle, Salsola
tragus. The environmental assessment
considers the effects of, and alternatives
to, the release of a nonindigenous blister
mite, Aceria salsolae, for the biological
control of Russian thistle in the
continental United States. We are
making the environmental assessment
available to the public for review and
comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before April 9,
2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov/
fdmspublic/component/
main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS–
2008–0143 to submit or view comments
and to view supporting and related
materials available electronically.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Please send two copies of your comment
to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0143,
Regulatory Analysis and Development,
PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD
20737–1238. Please state that your
comment refers to Docket No. APHIS–
2008–0143.
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
E:\FR\FM\10MRN1.SGM
10MRN1
10224
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Notices
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: Additional
information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at
https://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Carmen Soileau, Senior Entomolgist,
Evaluation and Permitting of Regulated
Organisms and Soil, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD
20737–1237; (301) 734–5055.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing
to issue permits for release of a
nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria
salsolae, for the biological control of
Russian thistle, Salsola tragus, in the
continental United States.
Russian thistle or tumbleweed, is a
highly invasive weed native to the
mountainous regions of southwest Asia.
Since the introduction of Russian thistle
to South Dakota in the early 1870s, it
has spread steadily throughout the
central and western regions of the
United States and southern Canada. It is
an agricultural pest that grows primarily
in fallow or disturbed soil, along
roadsides and irrigation canals, and in
waste areas in arid and semiarid zones.
During drought periods, it can invade
some habitats and displace native
species. The infestation of Russian
thistle causes millions of dollars of
damage by disrupting automobile traffic,
clogging irrigation canals, piling up
against fences and houses, and igniting
and spreading wildfires.
There are currently several control
methods for Russian thistle, including
herbicides, timed grazing, tilling, and
other methods. However, these
approaches have proven to be
ineffective. Therefore, APHIS is
proposing to issue permits for the
release of a blister mite, Aceria salsolae,
into the environment for use as a
biological control agent to reduce the
severity of Russian thistle infestations in
the continental United States.
The proposed biological control agent,
A. salsolae, is a mite in the insect family
Eriophyid and can be found in Turkey,
Uzbekistan, and Greece. The mites are
usually hidden in crevices of the leaf
axils, flowers, and fruits of the Russian
thistle. They feed on the target plant by
inserting stylets (needle-like mouth
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:20 Mar 09, 2009
Jkt 217001
parts) into plant cells and feeding on the
cell contents. After about 3 weeks, the
leaf meristems (growing tips) die and
the mites use the wind to disperse to
fresh meristems. Feeding on epidermal
cells in meristematic tissue causes cell
death of the leaf and flower meristems,
thus stunting growth of the plant and
delaying and reducing reproduction.
The mite is not expected to directly
harm any plants outside the targeted
Russian thistle (sensu lato). Host
specific tests of A. salsolae were
conducted using a total of 39 species
and 12 varieties of host plants from 5
families, including 25 native species of
North America. After 4 weeks of
laboratory experiments, no live mites
were found on any of the nontarget test
plants outside the genus Salsola and
none of the nontarget plants showed any
sign of feeding damage. Furthermore,
the results clearly show that there was
no population increase on these
nontarget plant species, particularly in
comparison to the population growth
observed on Russian thistle.
APHIS’ review and analysis of the
potential environmental impacts
associated with releasing a biological
control agent, A. salsolae, into the
environment are documented in detail
in an environmental assessment (EA)
entitled ‘‘Field Release of Aceria
salsolaea (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Mite
for Biological Control of Russian Thistle
(Salsola tragus), in the Continental
United States’’ (October 2008). We are
making the EA 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 EA may be viewed on the
Regulations.gov Web site or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for
instructions for accessing
Regulations.gov and information on the
location and hours of the reading room).
You may request paper copies of the EA
by calling or writing to the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the
EA when requesting copies.
The EA 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).
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Fmt 4703
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Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of
March 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9–5043 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0142]
Availability of an Environmental
Assessment for a Biological Control
Agent for Yellow Starthistle
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
the control of yellow starthistle,
Centaurea solstitialis (Asteraceae). The
environmental assessment considers the
effects of, and alternatives to, the release
of a weevil, Ceratapion basicorne, into
the environment for use as a biological
control agent to reduce the severity of
yellow starthistle infestations in the
continental United States. We are
making the environmental assessment
available to the public for review and
comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before April 9,
2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/
component/
main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2008–0142 to submit or view comments
and to view supporting and related
materials available electronically.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Please send two copies of your comment
to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0142,
Regulatory Analysis and Development,
PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD
20737–1238. Please state that your
comment refers to Docket No. APHIS–
2008–0142.
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.,
E:\FR\FM\10MRN1.SGM
10MRN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10223-10224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5043]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0143]
Availability of an Environmental Assessment for a Biological
Control Agent for Russian Thistle
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
the control of Russian thistle, Salsola tragus. The environmental
assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to, the release
of a nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria salsolae, for the biological
control of Russian thistle in the continental United States. We are
making the environmental assessment available to the public for review
and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April
9, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://
www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/
main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0143 to submit or view comments and
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0143, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0143.
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
[[Page 10224]]
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: Additional information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at https://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Carmen Soileau, Senior
Entomolgist, Evaluation and Permitting of Regulated Organisms and Soil,
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1237; (301)
734-5055.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing
to issue permits for release of a nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria
salsolae, for the biological control of Russian thistle, Salsola
tragus, in the continental United States.
Russian thistle or tumbleweed, is a highly invasive weed native to
the mountainous regions of southwest Asia. Since the introduction of
Russian thistle to South Dakota in the early 1870s, it has spread
steadily throughout the central and western regions of the United
States and southern Canada. It is an agricultural pest that grows
primarily in fallow or disturbed soil, along roadsides and irrigation
canals, and in waste areas in arid and semiarid zones. During drought
periods, it can invade some habitats and displace native species. The
infestation of Russian thistle causes millions of dollars of damage by
disrupting automobile traffic, clogging irrigation canals, piling up
against fences and houses, and igniting and spreading wildfires.
There are currently several control methods for Russian thistle,
including herbicides, timed grazing, tilling, and other methods.
However, these approaches have proven to be ineffective. Therefore,
APHIS is proposing to issue permits for the release of a blister mite,
Aceria salsolae, into the environment for use as a biological control
agent to reduce the severity of Russian thistle infestations in the
continental United States.
The proposed biological control agent, A. salsolae, is a mite in
the insect family Eriophyid and can be found in Turkey, Uzbekistan, and
Greece. The mites are usually hidden in crevices of the leaf axils,
flowers, and fruits of the Russian thistle. They feed on the target
plant by inserting stylets (needle-like mouth parts) into plant cells
and feeding on the cell contents. After about 3 weeks, the leaf
meristems (growing tips) die and the mites use the wind to disperse to
fresh meristems. Feeding on epidermal cells in meristematic tissue
causes cell death of the leaf and flower meristems, thus stunting
growth of the plant and delaying and reducing reproduction.
The mite is not expected to directly harm any plants outside the
targeted Russian thistle (sensu lato). Host specific tests of A.
salsolae were conducted using a total of 39 species and 12 varieties of
host plants from 5 families, including 25 native species of North
America. After 4 weeks of laboratory experiments, no live mites were
found on any of the nontarget test plants outside the genus Salsola and
none of the nontarget plants showed any sign of feeding damage.
Furthermore, the results clearly show that there was no population
increase on these nontarget plant species, particularly in comparison
to the population growth observed on Russian thistle.
APHIS' review and analysis of the potential environmental impacts
associated with releasing a biological control agent, A. salsolae, into
the environment are documented in detail in an environmental assessment
(EA) entitled ``Field Release of Aceria salsolaea (Acari: Eriophyidae),
a Mite for Biological Control of Russian Thistle (Salsola tragus), in
the Continental United States'' (October 2008). We are making the EA
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 EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the
reading room). You may request paper copies of the EA by calling or
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Please refer to the title of the EA when requesting copies.
The EA 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 4th day of March 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-5043 Filed 3-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
