Melissa O’Dell (301) 734-0602
Angela Harless (202) 720-4623
USDA ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF SITE-SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT ON THE INTERSTATE MOVEMENT OF SOLID WASTE FROM HAWAII
WASHINGTON, July 30, 2008--The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today released, for review and comment, a risk assessment related to the interstate movement of municipal solid waste from Hawaii to a landfill in Gilliam County, Ore.
In February, APHIS published a regional programmatic environmental assessment analyzing the environmental impact and pest risks associated with the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii to landfills in Idaho, Oregon and Washington states. The assessment found that moving solid waste to these areas had no significant impact on the environment.
As new requests to move waste from Hawaii are received, a specific analysis is prepared to ensure that the request fits within the criteria evaluated in the regional assessment.
APHIS regulates the importation and interstate movement of solid waste to protect against the introduction of plant and animal pests and diseases.
This notice is scheduled for publication in the July 31 Federal Register.
Consideration will be given to comments received on or before Sept. 2. Send two copies of postal mail or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0062, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. You may view the risk assessment and any comments we receive on the Federal eRulemaking portal at
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0062. Clicking on “Add Comments” will allow you to submit comments electronically.
Comments are posted on the Reglations.gov Web site and also can be reviewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. To facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call (202) 690-2817.
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