Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Release of Lophodiplosis indentata for Biological Control of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Myrtaceae) in the Contiguous United States, 71417 [2021-27254]
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Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 86, No. 239
Thursday, December 16, 2021
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2021–0049]
Notice of Availability of an
Environmental Assessment for
Release of Lophodiplosis indentata for
Biological Control of Melaleuca
quinquenervia (Myrtaceae) in the
Contiguous United States
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
We are advising the public
that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared an
environmental assessment (EA) relative
to permitting the release of
Lophodiplosis indentata (Diptera:
Cecidomyiidae) for the biological
control of Melaleuca quinquenervia
(Myrtaceae) in the contiguous United
States. Based on the EA and other
relevant data, we have reached a
preliminary determination that the
release of this control agent within the
contiguous United States will not have
a significant impact on the quality of the
human environment. We are making the
EA available to the public for review
and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before January 18,
2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS–
2021–0049 in the Search field. Select
the Documents tab, then select the
Comment button in the list of
documents.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Send your comment to Docket No.
APHIS–2021–0049, Regulatory Analysis
and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:54 Dec 15, 2021
Jkt 256001
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 www.regulations.gov
or in our reading room, which is located
in room 1620 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: Dr.
Colin D. Stewart, Assistant Director,
Pests, Pathogens, and Biocontrol
Permits, Permitting and Compliance
Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River
Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737;
(301) 851–2327; email: Colin.Stewart@
usda.gov.
The
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is proposing to issue
permits for the release of the fly,
Lophodiplosis indentata (Diptera:
Cecidomyiidae), into the contiguous
United States for use as a biological
control agent of Melaleuca
quinquenervia (Myrtaceae) (hereinafter
referred to as melaleuca).
Melaleuca, a large tree native to
Australia, New Caledonia, and Papua
New Guinea, was imported into Florida
in the late 19th century. It was planted
extensively in Palm Beach, Broward,
Collier, and Miami-Dade Counties.
Unsuccessful treatment campaigns
during the 1970s and 1980s culminated
in Federal and State listing of melaleuca
as a noxious weed. By the 1990s,
melaleuca covered more than 200,000
hectares of wetlands in south Florida. It
dramatically disrupted normal water
cycles, fire cycles, disturbance recovery
cycles, nutrient cycling, light
availability, and tree canopy. Despite
gains in controlling melaleuca using
three other biological control insects
(Oxyops vitiosa, Boreioglycaspis
melaleucae, and Lophodiplosis trifida),
aerial herbicides, and other control
efforts, many localized areas in Florida
are still overwhelmed by melaleuca.
The fly, Lophodiplosis indentata, is a
gall-forming melaleuca specialist that
lays eggs on new foliage of the tree.
When the eggs hatch, the emerging
larvae bore into leaf tissue, instigating a
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
gall (an abnormal growth) to form
around them. These galls distort young
foliage and result in reduced sapling
height.
A permit application has been
submitted to APHIS for the purpose of
releasing L. indentata into the
contiguous United States for use as a
biological control agent to add to the
impact of the three previously released
biological control agents in reducing the
severity of melaleuca infestations.
APHIS’ review and analysis of the
proposed action are documented in
detail in an environmental assessment
(EA), titled ‘‘Field Release of
Lophodiplosis indentata (Diptera:
Cecidomyiidae), for classical biological
control of Melaleuca quinquenervia
(Myrtaceae), in the contiguous United
States’’ (March 2021). 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 website or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for
a link to Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of
the reading room). You may also 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 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part
372).
Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of
December 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–27254 Filed 12–15–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
E:\FR\FM\16DEN1.SGM
16DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 239 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 71417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27254]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 239 / Thursday, December 16, 2021 /
Notices
[[Page 71417]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2021-0049]
Notice of Availability of an Environmental Assessment for Release
of Lophodiplosis indentata for Biological Control of Melaleuca
quinquenervia (Myrtaceae) in the Contiguous United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment (EA)
relative to permitting the release of Lophodiplosis indentata (Diptera:
Cecidomyiidae) for the biological control of Melaleuca quinquenervia
(Myrtaceae) in the contiguous United States. Based on the EA and other
relevant data, we have reached a preliminary determination that the
release of this control agent within the contiguous United States will
not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment.
We are making the EA available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
January 18, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2021-0049 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2021-0049, 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 www.regulations.gov or in our reading room, which is
located in room 1620 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: Dr. Colin D. Stewart, Assistant
Director, Pests, Pathogens, and Biocontrol Permits, Permitting and
Compliance Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 133,
Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2327; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is proposing to issue permits for the release of the
fly, Lophodiplosis indentata (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), into the
contiguous United States for use as a biological control agent of
Melaleuca quinquenervia (Myrtaceae) (hereinafter referred to as
melaleuca).
Melaleuca, a large tree native to Australia, New Caledonia, and
Papua New Guinea, was imported into Florida in the late 19th century.
It was planted extensively in Palm Beach, Broward, Collier, and Miami-
Dade Counties. Unsuccessful treatment campaigns during the 1970s and
1980s culminated in Federal and State listing of melaleuca as a noxious
weed. By the 1990s, melaleuca covered more than 200,000 hectares of
wetlands in south Florida. It dramatically disrupted normal water
cycles, fire cycles, disturbance recovery cycles, nutrient cycling,
light availability, and tree canopy. Despite gains in controlling
melaleuca using three other biological control insects (Oxyops vitiosa,
Boreioglycaspis melaleucae, and Lophodiplosis trifida), aerial
herbicides, and other control efforts, many localized areas in Florida
are still overwhelmed by melaleuca.
The fly, Lophodiplosis indentata, is a gall-forming melaleuca
specialist that lays eggs on new foliage of the tree. When the eggs
hatch, the emerging larvae bore into leaf tissue, instigating a gall
(an abnormal growth) to form around them. These galls distort young
foliage and result in reduced sapling height.
A permit application has been submitted to APHIS for the purpose of
releasing L. indentata into the contiguous United States for use as a
biological control agent to add to the impact of the three previously
released biological control agents in reducing the severity of
melaleuca infestations.
APHIS' review and analysis of the proposed action are documented in
detail in an environmental assessment (EA), titled ``Field Release of
Lophodiplosis indentata (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), for classical
biological control of Melaleuca quinquenervia (Myrtaceae), in the
contiguous United States'' (March 2021). 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 website or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may
also 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 1b), and (4)
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of December 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-27254 Filed 12-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
