Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service August 3, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that a draft environmental assessment has been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to the proposed release of Aphelinus glycinis for the biological control of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, in the continental United States. We are making this environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

We are soliciting public comment on whether and how we should amend our process for responding to domestic chrysanthemum white rust (CWR) outbreaks and the importation of plant material that is a host of CWR. Domestically, CWR host plants must be surveyed and, if found to be infected with CWR, must undergo quarantine, destruction, treatment, or other sanitation measures called for in our National Management Plan. The importation of CWR host plants for planting from a number of countries and localities is currently prohibited to prevent the introduction of CWR into the United States. In addition, importation of cut flowers of CWR host plants from countries where CWR is known to occur is currently restricted. We are reevaluating our current regulatory strategy in order to improve the effectiveness and economic efficiency of our programs. After evaluating public comment on the issues presented in this document, we will determine whether to propose changes to our existing regulations.