Amendment of Asian Longhorned Beetle Quarantine Areas in Massachusetts and New York, 48001-48002 [2015-19697]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48001-48002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19697]



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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 154 / Tuesday, August 11, 2015 / 
Rules and Regulations

[[Page 48001]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2015-0016]


Amendment of Asian Longhorned Beetle Quarantine Areas in 
Massachusetts and New York

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) regulations 
by removing the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island in New York 
City, as well as the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk in Massachusetts, 
from the list of quarantined areas for ALB. These actions are necessary 
to relieve restrictions on the movement of regulated articles from 
areas no longer under ALB quarantine while preventing the artificial 
spread of ALB from infested areas to noninfested areas of the United 
States.

DATES: This interim rule is effective August 11, 2015. We will consider 
all comments that we receive on or before September 10, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0016.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2015-0016, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-
0016 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Senior 
Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, 
Regulations, Permits and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 
133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2352; 
Claudia.Ferguson@aphis.usda.gov.

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 wood-boring pest of hardwood trees. The ALB regulations 
(contained in 7 CFR 301.51-1 through 301.51-9 and 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.
    In accordance with Sec.  301.51-3(a) of the regulations, 
quarantined areas are, with certain exceptions, those States or 
portions of States in which ALB has been found by an inspector, in 
which the Administrator has reason to believe that ALB is present, or 
that the Administrator considers necessary to regulate because of its 
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from localities 
where ALB has been found. Less than an entire State will be designated 
as a quarantined area only if (1) The Administrator determines that the 
State has adopted and is enforcing restrictions on the intrastate 
movement of regulated articles that are equivalent to those imposed on 
the interstate movement of regulated articles; and (2) the designation 
of less than an entire State as a quarantined area will be adequate to 
prevent the artificial interstate spread of ALB.
    On May 14, 2013, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) issued a Federal Order \1\ to immediately remove the boroughs 
of Manhattan and Staten Island in New York City from the list of areas 
quarantined for ALB. On May 12, 2014, APHIS also issued a Federal Order 
\2\ to immediately remove Suffolk and Norfolk Counties, MA, from the 
list of areas quarantined for ALB. The removal of quarantined areas in 
both States was determined after completion of control and regulatory 
activities and based on the results of at least 3 years of negative 
surveys \3\ of all regulated host plants within those areas. As a 
result, restrictions on the movement of regulated articles from those 
areas were removed.
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    \1\ DA-2013-17: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/asian_lhb/downloads/DA-2013-17.pdf.
    \2\ DA-2014-21: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/asian_lhb/downloads/DA-2014-21.pdf.
    \3\ The APHIS ALB Survey Protocol is accessible on the APHIS 
Plant Health Web site by visiting https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wps/portal/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/sa_domestic_pests_and_diseases/ 
and selecting these links: Pest and Disease Programs>Asian 
Longhorned Beetle>Survey Components.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Therefore, in this interim rule, we are amending the regulations in 
Sec.  301.51-3(c) by removing the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten 
Island in New York City and the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk in 
Massachusetts from the list of areas quarantined for ALB. This action 
will relieve restrictions on the movement of regulated articles from 
areas no longer under ALB quarantine.

Immediate Action

    Immediate action is warranted to relieve restrictions on the 
movement of regulated articles for ALB in the boroughs of Manhattan and 
Staten Island in New York City and the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk 
in Massachusetts. 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 48002]]

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This interim rule is subject to Executive Order 12866. However, for 
this action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review 
under Executive Order 12866.
    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we have analyzed 
the potential economic effects of this action on small entities. The 
analysis is summarized below. The full analysis may be viewed on the 
Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for 
accessing Regulations.gov) or obtained from the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    APHIS is amending the ALB regulations by removing the boroughs of 
Manhattan and Staten Island in New York City and Suffolk and Norfolk 
Counties, MA, from the list of areas quarantined for ALB.
    For more than 400 establishments located in the boroughs of 
Manhattan and Staten Island in New York City, as well as nearly 250 
establishments in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in Massachusetts, 
the interim rule will have a positive impact by allowing all entities 
that previously had compliance agreements with APHIS to again offer 
services and move regulated articles without APHIS inspections or other 
time constraints resulting from the quarantine. The majority of these 
entities are nursery dealers.
    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 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

0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, 
and 371.3.
    Section 301.75-15 issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Public Law 
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 
(7 U.S.C. 1421 note).


0
2. In Sec.  301.51-3, paragraph (c) is amended as follows:
0
a. Under the heading for Massachusetts, by removing the entry for 
Suffolk and Norfolk Counties; and
0
b. Under the heading for New York, by revising the entry for New York 
City.
    The revision reads as follows:


Sec.  301.51-3  Quarantined areas.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
New York
    New York City. That area in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in 
the City of New York that is bounded by a line beginning at the point 
where the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel intersects the Brooklyn shoreline of 
the East River; then east and north along the shoreline of the East 
River to its intersection with the City of New York/Nassau County line; 
then southeast along the City of New York/Nassau County line to its 
intersection with the Grand Central Parkway; then west on the Grand 
Central Parkway to the Jackie Robinson Parkway; then west on the Jackie 
Robinson Parkway to Park Lane; then south on Park Lane to Park Lane 
South; then south and west on Park Lane South to 112th Street; then 
south on 112th Street to Atlantic Avenue; then west on Atlantic Avenue 
to 106th Street; then south on 106th Street to Liberty Avenue; then 
west on Liberty Avenue to Euclid Avenue; then south on Euclid Avenue to 
Linden Boulevard; then west on Linden Boulevard to Canton Avenue; then 
west on Canton Avenue to the Prospect Expressway; then north and west 
on the Prospect Expressway to the Gowanus Expressway; then north and 
west on the Gowanus Expressway; then north on Hamilton Avenue to the 
point of beginning.
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of August 2015.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-19697 Filed 8-10-15; 8:45 am]
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