Defense Contract Audit Agency August 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact relative to the release of a parasitic wasp, Spathius galinae, into the continental United States for use as a biological control agent to reduce the severity of emerald ash borer infestations. Based on the finding of no significant impact, we have determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.

We are advising the public that we have determined that it is necessary to add to the Plant Protection and Quarantine Treatment Manual two treatment options for use in controlling imported fire ant. We have prepared treatment evaluation documents that describe the new treatment options and provide justification as to why they are effective at neutralizing imported fire ant. In addition, we have prepared a supplemental environmental assessment to update the existing environmental assessment for imported fire ant treatments. We are making the treatment evaluation documents and the supplemental environmental assessment available for review and comment.

In a final rule published in the Federal Register on October 27, 2014, and effective on November 26, 2014, we amended the regulations concerning the importation of citrus fruit to remove certain restrictions on the importation of Unshu oranges from Japan. Among other amendments, we removed a requirement for joint inspection of the fruit at groves and packinghouses by the Government of Japan and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. As an unintended consequence of removing that requirement, we effectively precluded the Government of Japan from being able to meet another one of the requirements of the regulations, which requires oranges produced on two islands in Japan to be fumigated with methyl bromide prior to exportation to the United States, if the oranges are destined for certain commercial citrus-producing areas of the United States. This document corrects that error.

We are announcing that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have developed a pilot plan to test and assess the International Trade Data System for the electronic submission of Lacey Act import declaration data. The pilot test will use the APHIS Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set and the Automated Broker Interface to transmit, and the Automated Commercial Environment to process, trade data required by the Lacey Act for the importation of plant and paper products. Under this test, PGA Message Set data may be submitted only for Lacey Act import declarations filed at certain ports.