17496 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 2014 / Notices 

1The Treatment Manual is available at http://

www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/

manuals/index.shtml or by contacting the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant 

Protection and Quarantine, Manuals Unit, 92 

Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite 200, Frederick, MD 

21702. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2013–0009] 

Notice of Availability of Treatment 

Evaluation Documents for Various 

Plant Commodities 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that we have determined that it is 

necessary to immediately add to the 

Plant Protection and Quarantine 

Treatment Manual treatment schedules 

for various plant commodities. We have 

prepared four treatment evaluation 

documents that describe the new 

treatment schedules and explain why 

we have determined that they are 

effective at neutralizing certain target 

pests. We are making these treatment 

evaluation documents available to the 

public for review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before May 27, 

2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!document

Detail;D=APHIS-2013-0009-0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2013–0009, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://www.

regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

APHIS-2013-0009 or in our reading 

room, which 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) 799–7039 before 

coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Inder P.S. Gadh, Senior Risk Manager– 

Treatments, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 851–2018. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

regulations in 7 CFR chapter III are 

intended, among other things, to 

prevent the introduction or 

dissemination of plant pests and 

noxious weeds into or within the United 

States. Under the regulations, certain 

plants, fruits, vegetables, and other 

articles must be treated before they may 

be moved into the United States or 

interstate. The phytosanitary treatments 

regulations contained in part 305 of 7 

CFR chapter III (referred to below as the 

regulations) set out standards for 

treatments required in parts 301, 318, 

and 319 of 7 CFR chapter III for fruits, 

vegetables, and other articles. 

In § 305.2, paragraph (b) states that 

approved treatment schedules are set 

out in the Plant Protection and 

Quarantine (PPQ) Treatment Manual.1

Section 305.3 sets out the processes for 

adding, revising, or removing treatment 

schedules in the PPQ Treatment 

Manual. In that section, paragraph (b) 

sets out the process for adding, revising, 

or removing treatment schedules when 

there is an immediate need to make a 

change. The circumstances in which an 

immediate need exists are described in 

§ 305.3(b)(1). They are: 

• PPQ has determined that an 

approved treatment schedule is 

ineffective at neutralizing the targeted 

plant pest(s). 

• PPQ has determined that, in order 

to neutralize the targeted plant pest(s), 

the treatment schedule must be 

administered using a different process 

than was previously used. 

• PPQ has determined that a new 

treatment schedule is effective, based on 

efficacy data, and that ongoing trade in 

a commodity or commodities may be 

adversely impacted unless the new 

treatment schedule is approved for use. 

• The use of a treatment schedule is 

no longer authorized by the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency or by 

any other Federal entity. 

We have added five and removed one 

treatment schedule, and revised one 

treatment schedule. The proposed 

changes to the PPQ Treatment Manual 

are as follows: 

Methyl Bromide Treatment of 

Asparagus Against External Pests 

Treatment T101-b-1 in the PPQ 

Treatment Manual requires asparagus to 

be fumigated using 4 lbs MB/1,000 ft 3

for 2 hours at 40–49 °F. APHIS has 

determined that treatment T101-b-1 is 

not effective against eggs of Copitarsia 

sp. and that a longer treatment or higher 

dose of methyl bromide is needed to 

ensure treatment efficacy for all stages 

of that pest. Therefore, APHIS has 

revised treatment schedule T101-b-1 by 

increasing the treatment duration by 30 

minutes for all temperature ranges. 

Hot Water Dip Treatment of Plant 

Material Not Tolerant to Chemical 

Fumigation 

Special permit conditions authorize 

PPQ to import some otherwise 

prohibited plant material, subject to 

certain conditions. For plant material 

intolerant to fumigation, these 

conditions are described in treatment 

schedule T201-p-3. APHIS has 

determined that treatment T201-p-3 is 

not effective for many pests of concern 

and that an alternate hot water 

treatment with a higher temperature and 

a longer treatment period is more 

effective against a wide range of pests 

that may accompany consignments. For 

this reason, we are removing treatment 

schedule T201-p-3 from the treatment 

manual and adding new treatment 

schedule T201-p-4 requiring hot water 

treatment at 52 °C (125.6 °F) for 30 

minutes. 

Cold Treatment for Snails on Articles 

Used for Food or Feed 

The treatment manual lists several 

cold treatments (T403-a-2–3, T403-a-6– 

1, T403-a-6–2, and T403-a-6–3) to 

control quarantine significant snails on 

non-food or non-feed type commodities. 

In the absence of approved cold 

treatments to control snails on food or 

feed commodities, APHIS has allowed 

the cold treatments approved for nonfood/non-feed commodities to be used 

on a case-by-case basis on food and feed 

commodities. Because the use of cold 

treatment in these circumstances has 

not resulted in the snail’s introduction, 

APHIS has determined that those 

treatments could be used effectively to 

control snails on food and feed 

commodities without causing 

significant injury to the treated 

commodities and cover more families or 

genera of exotic snails. Therefore, we 

are adding treatments T110-c-1, T110-c2, and T110-c-3 for use on food and feed 

commodities. 

Heat Treatment for Plant Pathogenic 

Bacteria and Fungi on Dried Plant 

Parts, Including Wood and Articles 

Made From Wood 

Section 319.40 of the regulations lays 

out the requirements for the importation 

of wood and articles made with wood. 

Because there are no broad spectrum 

heat treatments for plant pathogenic 

bacteria and fungi on dried plant parts, 

dried plant parts including wood and 

articles made with wood that are found 

to be infested with plant pathogenic 

bacteria and fungi are destroyed or sent 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 60 / Friday, March 28, 2014 / Notices 17497 

back to the country of origin. APHIS has 

decided to add a new treatment 

schedule (T521) for plant pathogenic 

bacteria and fungi on dried plant parts, 

including wood and articles made with 

wood. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 305.3(a)(1), we are providing notice 

that we have determined that it is 

necessary to make the changes 

described above to the treatment 

manual. In order to have minimum 

adverse impact on ongoing trade and 

using the immediate process as 

provided in § 305.3(b), these changes are 

effective immediately upon publication 

of this notice. These treatment 

schedules will be listed in the PPQ 

Treatment Manual, which will indicate 

that these changes were made through 

the immediate process described in 

paragraph (b) of § 305.3 and that they 

are subject to change or removal based 

on public comment. 

The reasons for these revisions to the 

treatment manual are described in detail 

in the treatment evaluation documents 

(TEDs) we have prepared to support this 

action. The TEDs 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 also request paper copies of 

the TEDs by calling or writing to the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the 

subject of the TED when requesting 

copies. 

After reviewing the comments we 

receive, we will announce our decision 

regarding the new treatment schedules 

described in the TEDs in a subsequent 

notice, in accordance with paragraph 

(b)(3) of § 305.3. If we do not receive any 

comments, or the comments we receive 

do not change our determination that 

the proposed changes are effective, we 

will affirm these changes to the PPQ 

Treatment Manual and make available a 

new version of the PPQ Treatment 

Manual reflecting these changes. If we 

receive comments that cause us to 

determine that additional changes need 

to be made to one or more of the 

treatment schedules discussed above, 

we will make available a new version of 

the PPQ Treatment Manual that reflects 

the changes. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781– 

7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 

2.80, and 371.3. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of 

March 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–06948 Filed 3–27–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Black Hills National Forest, Bearlodge 

Ranger District; Wyoming; Bear Lodge 

Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: A Plan of Operation has been 

submitted by Rare Element Resources, 

Inc., for the purpose of constructing and 

operating a rare earth elements mine in 

the Black Hills National Forest, 

Bearlodge District in Crook County, 

Wyoming. The Bear Lodge Project 

proposed action consists of the Bull Hill 

Mine, the Miller Creek access road, the 

power line, and ongoing mineral 

exploration. The connected action, the 

Upton hydrometallurgical processing 

plant and the tailings storage facility are 

located 45 miles away on private lands 

outside of Upton in Weston County, 

Wyoming. Notice is hereby given that 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Black Hills National 

Forest, will prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) to determine and 

analyze the effects of construction and 

operation of a proposed rare earth 

elements mine and continued mineral 

exploration within mining claims held 

by Rare Element Resources, Inc. on 

National Forest System (NFS) land. 

While the Upton Plant is a connected 

action, there is no federal authorization 

for private land and therefore will not 

be analyzed in detail. 

The Bear Lodge Project proposed 

action consists of the following 

components: 

• Construction and operation of an 

open-pit mine operation at Bull Hill and 

associated support facilities, including, 

but not limited to, a Physical Upgrade 

(PUG) plant, access route, waste rock 

facility and sedimentation ponds, 

located approximately 12 miles (or 6 air 

miles) north of Sundance, Wyoming; 

• Access road along County Roads 

208, 266 and 8 and NFS Roads 854 and 

851. 

• A 69kV, above ground transmission 

line crossing approximately 1.5 miles 

NFS lands, while the remainder of the 

13-mile line would be on private and 

State of Wyoming lands; and 

• The continuation of mineral 

exploration by drilling, trenching and 

bulk sampling located on lands 

surrounding the proposed mine. 

The Bear Lodge Project connected 

action includes: 

• Construction and operation of a 

hydrometallurgical (Hydromet) plant for 

further concentration and recovery of 

the rare earth elements into a rare earth 

carbonate concentrate product on 

private land outside the city limits of 

Upton, Wyoming. This plant is 

recognized as a connected action, but 

will not be analyzed in detail in the EIS; 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

April 30, 2014. The draft environmental 

impact statement is expected January, 

2015 and the final environmental 

impact statement is expected June, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Jeanette Timm, Project Coordinator, US 

Forest Service Black Hills National 

Forest; Bearlodge Ranger District; 101 S. 

21st Street; PO Box 680 Sundance, WY 

82729–0680; 307–283–1361. Electronic 

comments, with Bear Lodge Project on 

the subject line, may also be sent via 

email to: comments-rocky-mountainblack-hills-bearlodge@fs.fed.us, or via 

facsimile to 307–283–3727. Information 

will also be available on the project Web 

page at the Forest Service Web site: 

http://www.fs.usda.gov/projects/

blackhills/landmanagement/projects. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeanette Timm, Project Coordinator, US 

Forest Service Black Hills National 

Forest Bearlodge Ranger District; 101 S. 

21st Street; PO Box 680 Sundance, WY 

82729–0680; jmtimm@fs.fed.us; 307– 

283–1361. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose of this project is to allow 

a statutory right in a manner consistent 

with federal laws and the 1997 Revised 

Land and Resource Management Plan 

for the Black Hills National Forest, as 

Amended by the Phase II Amendment 

(Forest Plan) to construct a rare earth 

mine as proposed in the Bear Lodge 

Project Plan of Operation, modified 

February 2014, on NFS lands. The 

statutory right of Rare Element 

Resources, Inc. to develop a mine on 

federally administered lands is 

recognized in the General Mining Law 

of 1872, as amended. Forest Service 

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