[Federal Register: March 18, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 52)]
[Notices]               
[Page 13395-13396]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18mr99-40]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 99-011-1]

 
Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that a draft environmental 
assessment and finding of no significant impact have been prepared by 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to the proposed 
release into the environment of nonindigenous leaf beetles for use as 
biological control agents to suppress saltcedar, a major weed pest of 
water courses and riparian habitats.

DATES: We invite you to comment. We will consider all comments that we 
receive by April 19, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Docket No. 99-011-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, 
suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236. Please 
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 99-011-1. A copy of the 
draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact, 
and any comments we receive on them, may be inspected at USDA, room 
1141, South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except holidays. Persons wishing to inspect those documents are 
requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to facilitate entry into the 
reading room.
    Interested persons may obtain a copy of the draft environmental 
assessment and finding of no significant impact by writing to the 
address listed below under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ronald D. Hennessey, Entomologist, 
Biotechnology and Biological Analysis, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-7839; or e-mail: 
ronald.d.hennessey@usda.gov. For copies of the draft environmental 
assessment and finding of no significant impact, write to Dr. Ronald D. 
Hennessey at the same address. Please refer to the title of the draft 
environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact when 
ordering copies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service (APHIS) has received an application from the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, for a permit to release 
nonindigenous leaf beetles, Diorhabda elongata Brulle (Coleoptera: 
Chrysomelidae), for biological control of deciduous saltcedar, Tamarix 
?ramosissima Ledeb. and T. parviflora DC. (Tamaricaceae). Saltcedar is 
an introduced weed that grows as a tree or shrub in dense stands along 
waterways. The purpose of the proposed release is to reduce the 
severity of infestations of the weed.
    Saltcedar is a major weed pest of water courses and riparian 
habitats within the United States. In 1998, saltcedar infested areas 
approached, if not exceeded, 1.0 million acres. Along many water 
courses, saltcedar now constitutes more than half of the vegetation. 
Saltcedar is less desirable than native vegetation because dense stands 
of the weed interfere with camping, hiking, and picnicking; dense 
infestations extract up to 5 feet of water annually; rodent density, 
bird density, and bird species diversity are lower in riparian 
saltcedar infestations then in riparian communities of native plants; 
saltcedar has poor value as a forage plant for livestock; and saltcedar 
causes flooding, either by blocking channels directly or by increasing 
the deposition of silt.
    The applicant is proposing to release D. elongata initially at 12 
sites in 7 States: California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, 
Utah, and Wyoming. During the first year, the beetles will be released 
into field cages for study. In the second year, if all goes well in the 
first year, cages will be removed to allow beetles to move from one 
part of the site to another. Eventually, if all goes well, beetles will 
be released at many sites to promote rapid control of saltcedar.
    To provide the public with documentation of APHIS' review and 
analysis of the environmental impact and plant pest risk associated 
with releasing D. elongata into the environment, we have prepared a 
draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact 
entitled, ``Field Release of a Nonindigenous Leaf Beetle, Diorhabda 
elongata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), for Biological Control of 
Deciduous Saltcedar, Tamarix ?ramosissima and T. parviflora 
(Tamaricaceae)'' (January 1999).
    The draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant 
impact have been prepared in accordance with: (1) the National 
Environmental Policy

[[Page 13396]]

Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing 
the procedural provision of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1509), (3) USDA 
regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS= NEPA 
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of March 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-6595 Filed 3-17-99; 8:45am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P