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Notices Federal Register

69396 

Vol. 75, No. 218 

Friday, November 12, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0108] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Biological Control 

Agent for Arundo donax 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

environmental assessment relative to 

the control of Arundo donax (giant reed, 

Carrizo cane). The environmental 

assessment considers the effects of, and 

alternatives to, the release of Arundo 

scale into the continental United States 

for use as a biological control agent to 

reduce the severity of Arundo donax 

infestations. We are making the 

environmental assessment available to 

the public for review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before December 

13, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2010-0108 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send one copy of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2010–0108, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2010–0108. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the 

environmental assessment 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: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Shirley A. Wager-Page, Chief, Pest 

Permitting Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1237; (301) 734–8453. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for the release of 

Arundo scale, Rhizaspidiotus donacis 

(Leonardi), into the continental United 

States for use as a biological control 

agent to reduce the severity of Arundo 

donax infestations. 

A. donax is a highly invasive, 

bamboo-like weed that was introduced 

to North America in the early 1500s for 

its fiber uses. It is among the fastest 

growing plants in the continental 

United States, making it a severe threat 

to riparian areas, where it causes 

erosion, damages bridges, alters channel 

morphology, increases costs for 

chemical and mechanical control along 

transportation corridors, and impedes 

law enforcement activities along 

international borders. Additionally, A. 

donax consumes excessive amounts of 

water, competing for water resources in 

arid regions where these resources are 

critical to the environment, agriculture, 

and municipal users. 

Existing A. donax management 

options include herbicides, prescribed 

fires, biomass removal, and other 

methods. However, these management 

measures are expensive, temporary, and 

have impacts on species other than A. 

donax. Therefore, APHIS is proposing to 

issue permits for the release of Arundo 

scale into the continental United States 

in order to reduce the severity and 

extent of A. donax infestations. 

The proposed biological control agent, 

Arundo scale, is one of the most 

damaging insects to A. donax in its 

native range. The scale attacks the 

rhizome and developing underground 

buds of A. donax by feeding on cells 

that carry out photosynthesis and 

cellular respiration, resulting over time 

in gradual thinning, leaf reduction, and 

a sickly, yellowish-clouded appearance 

of the weed. While Arundo scale may 

not be singularly successful in reducing 

the A. donax population in the 

continental United States, its use is 

expected to be effective in combination 

with other control methods or biological 

control agents that may be released in 

the future. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

proposed action are documented in 

detail in an environmental assessment 

(EA) entitled ‘‘Field Release of the 

Arundo Scale, Rhizaspidiotus donacis 

(Hemiptera: Diaspididae), an Insect for 

Biological Control of Arundo donax 

(Poaceae) in the Continental United 

States’’ (September 2010). We are 

making the EA available to the public 

for review and comment. We will 

consider all comments that we receive 

on or before the date listed under the 

heading DATES at the beginning of this 

notice. 

The EA may be viewed on the 

#Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the EA 

by calling or writing to the persons 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the 

EA when requesting copies. 

The EA has been prepared in 

accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Done in Washington, DC, November 2010. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–28471 Filed 11–10–10; 8:45 am] 

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