[Federal Register: November 8, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 215)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 64639-64641]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08no04-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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[[Page 64639]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
7 CFR Part 301
[Docket No. 04-093-1]
Golden Nematode; Regulated Areas
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are amending the golden nematode regulations by adding a
field in Cayuga County, NY, to the list of generally infested regulated
areas. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of
golden nematode to noninfested areas of the United States.
DATES: This interim rule is effective November 8, 2004. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before January 7, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
EDOCKET: Go to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or
view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the
official public docket, and to access those documents in the public
docket that are available electronically. Once you have entered
EDOCKET, click on the ``View Open APHIS Dockets'' link to locate this
document.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-093-1,
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your
comment refers to Docket No. 04-093-1.
E-mail: Address your comment to
regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must be contained in the body
of your message; do not send attached files. Please include your name
and address in your message and ``Docket No. 04-093-1'' on the subject
line.
Agency Web site: Go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/cominst.html
for a form you can use to submit an e-mail comment through
the APHIS Web site.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov
and follow the instructions for locating this
docket and submitting comments.
Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on this
docket in our reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 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) 690-2817 before coming.
Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the
Federal Register and related information, including the names of groups
and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Vedpal Malik, Agriculturalist,
Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit
134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6774.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The golden nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) is a destructive pest
of potatoes and other solanaceous plants. Potatoes cannot be
economically grown on land which contains large numbers of the
nematode. The golden nematode has been determined to occur in the
United States only in parts of New York.
The golden nematode regulations (contained in 7 CFR 301.85 through
301.85-10 and referred to below as the regulations) list two entire
counties and portions of seven other counties in the State of New York
as regulated areas and restrict the interstate movement of regulated
articles from those areas. Such restrictions are necessary to prevent
the artificial spread of the golden nematode to noninfested areas of
the United States.
Regulated areas are those areas in which the golden nematode has
been found or in which there is reason to believe that the golden
nematode is present, or those areas which it is deemed necessary to
regulate because of their proximity to infestation or their
inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from infested
localities. The regulations provide that less than an entire State may
be designated as a regulated area only if the Deputy Administrator
determines that the State has adopted and is enforcing a quarantine or
regulation that imposes restrictions on the intrastate movement of the
regulated articles that are substantially the same as those that are
imposed with respect to the interstate movement of the articles and the
designation of less than the entire State as a regulated area will
otherwise be adequate to prevent the artificial interstate spread of
the golden nematode.
Regulated areas are divided into suppressive areas and generally
infested areas. Suppressive areas are regulated areas where eradication
of the golden nematode is undertaken as an objective. Generally
infested areas are regulated areas not designated as suppressive areas.
Restrictions are imposed on the interstate movement of regulated
articles from generally infested areas and suppressive areas in order
to prevent the infestation of areas where the golden nematode does not
occur.
Recent surveys conducted by inspectors of the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have revealed that an infestation of
golden nematode has occurred in one field outside the regulated area in
Cayuga County, NY. New York has quarantined the infested area and is
restricting the intrastate movement of regulated articles from that
area to prevent the further spread of golden nematode. However, Federal
regulations are necessary to restrict the interstate movement of
regulated articles from the regulated areas to prevent the spread of
golden nematode to other States and other countries.
In accordance with the criteria for listing regulated areas, we are
amending the list of regulated areas in Sec. 301.85-2a to include an
additional part of Cayuga County, NY, in response to the recent golden
nematode findings described above. The regulated area is described
[[Page 64640]]
in the rule portion of this document. Maps of the regulated area are
available by writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT or from local offices of Plant Protection and Quarantine.
Emergency Action
This rulemaking is necessary on an emergency basis to prevent the
artificial spread of golden nematode to noninfested areas of the United
States. Under these circumstances, the Administrator has determined
that prior notice and opportunity for public comment are contrary to
the public interest and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 for
making this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the
Federal Register.
We will consider comments we receive during the comment period for
this interim rule (see DATES above). After the comment period closes,
we will publish another document in the Federal Register. The document
will include a discussion of any comments we receive and any amendments
we are making to the rule.
Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review under
Executive Order 12866.
We are amending the golden nematode regulations by adding a field
in Cayuga County, NY, to the list of generally infested regulated
areas. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of
golden nematode to noninfested areas of the United States.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires that agencies consider the
economic impact of their rules on small entities and to use flexibility
to provide regulatory relief when regulations create economic
disparities between different sized entities. According to the Small
Business Administration's (SBA's) Office of Advocacy, regulations
create economic disparities based on size when they have significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Potato farms are classified as small businesses if they receive
less than $750,000 in annual sales receipts. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service does not publish
data on farm size for New York potato farms. However, it is likely that
the regulated farm in Cayuga County qualifies as a small business as
defined by the SBA.
In the United States, the potato is the leading vegetable in terms
of acreage and farm value. About 1.3 million acres are grown for a
total production yield of 31.4 billion pounds, worth $2.5 billion in
farm receipts. Over 60 percent of U.S. potato production is processed.
Growth in the chip market alone has averaged about 11 percent per year
over the past 8 years, resulting in a $4 billion industry. The market
for exported, processed potatoes is a rapidly growing one.
Golden nematode infestation of potatoes and other solanaceous
plants (e.g., tomatoes, eggplants) poses a threat to New York's
agricultural economy. New York State is the twelfth largest potato
producer nationwide. According to the New York Agricultural Statistics
Service, in 2002 New York State had approximately 22,200 planted acres
of potatoes with a production value totaling $65 million. About 55
percent of New York State's potato production is destined for the fresh
market, 40 percent for processing (i.e., potato chips), and 5 percent
for seed and livestock feed. New York State potatoes and potato
products are primarily consumed locally and within the northeastern
portion of the United States. In 2001, the production value of major
solanaceous plants in New York was $92.4 million.
The additional costs associated with our designation of the new
regulated area in Cayuga County are very small relative to the benefits
gained from agricultural sales. For example, the treatment costs for
the infected fields are borne by APHIS and not the farmer. The only
inconvenience to the farm operator might be that potatoes or any other
solanaceous plants may be planted only every other year until the
infestation is determined to be over. In the event that the farm
operator needs to move farm equipment outside the farm, that equipment
must first be treated, either chemically or with steam. The costs of
treatment are borne by APHIS. It takes one 8-hour day for a Plant
Protection and Quarantine officer and a technician to steam treat farm
equipment, including the time required to set up and tear down the
treatment site. Since the farm operator does not have to pay for any
aspect of this treatment, this rule will not have any adverse economic
impact on this farm.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12372
This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372,
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)
Executive Order 12988
This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This interim rule contains no new information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301
Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 301 as follows:
PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 301 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Section 301.75-15 also issued under Sec. 204, Title II, Pub. L.
106-113, 113 Stat. 1501A-293; sections 301.75-15 and 301.75-16 also
issued under Sec. 203, Title II, Pub. L. 106-224, 114 Stat. 400 (7
U.S.C. 1421 note).
0
2. In Sec. 301.85-2a, under the heading ``New York'', the entry for
Cayuga County is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 301.85-2a Regulated areas; suppressive and generally infested
areas.
* * * * *
New York
(1) Generally infested area:
Cayuga County. (A) The Town of Montezuma;
(B) That portion of land within the Town of Mentz owned or operated
by Martens Farm which lies in an area bounded as follows: Beginning at
the intersection of Tow Path Road and Maiden Lane; then west along Tow
Path Road to its intersection with the Town of Mentz boundary; then
north along the Town of Mentz boundary to its intersection with Maiden
Lane; then east along Maiden Lane to the point of beginning.
* * * * *
[[Page 64641]]
Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of November 2004.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-24827 Filed 11-5-04; 8:45 am]
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