i



### United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service February 2014 **Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis**

**Interim Rule**  **APHIS -**  **2010 -**  **0031 Pine Shoot Beetle**  **; Additional**  **Quarantined Areas** 

Policy & Program Development Policy Analysis & Development2



### Summary APHI S is amending the pine shoot beetle regulations by adding new counties in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, and Virginia to the list of quarantined areas

. Th is interim rule will also codify

Federal Orders that quarantine the States of Indiana and New Jersey in their entirety for pine shoot beetle

. In 2007, there were at least 137 Christmas tree farms and 288 nurseries and greenhouses in the affected counties that may be impacted by

this rule. These figures understate the number of potentially affected entiti es because the number of these businesses was not disclosed for several of the counties. Moreover, data on the number of entities other than nurseries and Christmas tree farms that may be affected, such as sawmills and logging operations , are not available

. The Small Business Administration has established size standards to determine when an entity is considered small. Entities classified within NAI CS 111421, Nursery and tree production, are considered small when they have annual sales of $750,000 or less. Most businesses that may

be affected b y the interim rule are likel y to be small. Nationally , annual sales in 2007 by

NAI CS 111421 businesses averaged $257,020. The available data on businesses in the affected counties show annual sales in 2007 by Christmas tree farms was $12,124 and b y nurseries was $334,181. Regulated articles from quarantined areas may be moved interstate if accompanied by a certificate or limited permit. However, m ovement of cut Christmas pine trees and other regulated articles is gene rall y local. Nurseries and greenhouses mostly specialize in the production of deciduous landscape products rather than of rooted pine Christmas trees and pine nursery stock.3

This expansion of the pine shoot beetle quarantine is part of APHI S’ ongoing effort to prevent the human

- assisted spread of this pest.4



### Table of Contents Introduction

................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 5 Initial Regulatory

Flexibility

Anal ys is

................................ ................................ ................ 6 Reasons Action is Being Considered

................................ ................................ .................. 6 Objectives of and Legal Basis for the Rule

................................ ................................ ........ 6 Potentially

Affected Small Entities

................................ ................................ ..................... 7 Description of projected recordkeeping and other compliance requirements of the rule

. 10 Duplication, Overlap, or Conflict with Existing Rules and Regulations

.......................... 10 Alternatives to minimize Significant Economic Impacts of the Rule

............................... 105



### Introduction Counties and States quarantined for the p ine s hoot b eetle (PSB) are listed in 7 CFR 301.50

- 3. APHI S is adding the following counties to the listed area s : Cumberland, Effingham, Fayette, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, and Warren counties , in Illinois; Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, and Howard counties , in Maryland; Adair, Clark, Lewis, Macon, and Marion counties , in Missouri; Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester counties , in New York; and L oudo un County in Virginia. The interim rule w ill also codify Federal Orders that quarantine the States of Indiana and New Jersey in their entirety for pine shoot beetle

. The European pine shoot beetle ( Tomicus piniperda ) was first discovered in the United States in July

1992 , on a Christmas tree farm in Ohio. This species is considered the most serious scoly tid pest of pines in Europe. It attacks both the trunks and growing shoots of pines, especiall y Scotch pine (

Pinus sylvestris )

. In the United States, it also has been found to infest Austrian p ine (

P. nigra ) and eastern white pine ( P. strobus )

. During “shoot feeding,” young beetles tunnel into the center of pine shoots (usually the current ye ar’s growth), causing stunted and distorted growth in host trees. PSB is also a vector of several diseases of pine trees. PSB populations spread through adult flight (up to 1 kilometer) and thro ugh movement of infested pine trees and pine products. T ip feeding by

PSB causes various malformation s that reduce the value of the tree

. This kind of damage is especially severe in Christmas tree plantations, where tree form is the primary consideration. PSB generally infests weakened, stressed, or dying trees, but will also attack and kill apparently

healthy trees. With respect to climatic zones, PSB can occur as far south as Florida, and is considered a potential threat to pine species intensivel y culti vated in the southern S tates. Forest resources6

threatened by

this pest besides Christmas trees include pine landscape/nursery products and pine timber. 

### Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis The Regulatory

Flexibility

Act requires agencies to evaluate the potential effects of their proposed and final rules on small businesses, small organizations and small governmental jurisdictions. Section 603 of the Act requires agencies to prepare and make available for public comment an initial regulatory flexibility

analy sis that describes expected impacts of a proposed rule on small entities. **Reasons Action is Being Considered** APHI S is amending the pine shoot beetle regulations to add the above

- mention ed counties to the list of areas quarantined for this pest

. This action is necessary to help prevent the artificial spread of PSB to noninfested areas of the United States. This pest damages urban ornamental trees and can cause economic losses to the timb er industry

. Entities affected by this rule include nurseries, Christmas tree farms, logging operations, moving companies and others that sell, process, or move regulated articles interstate from the regulated areas

. **Objectives of**  **and Legal Basis for the Rule** The objective of this rule is to prevent the human

- assisted dissemination of PSB to non

quarantined areas of the United States, thereb y protecting forests and forest

- related industries from the resulting damage. In accordance with the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701

–7772), the Secretary

of Agriculture has the authority to promulgate regulations and take measures to prevent the spread of plant pests within the United States, which includes regulating the interstate movement of plant products.7

As a result of this rule, regulated articles moved interstate from the newl y quarantined counties must first be inspected and/or treated in order to qualify for a certificate or limited permit. This action will mitigate the spread of th e pest to new areas and help prevent economic losses to timber, nursery , and Christmas tree producers in areas that could become infested if no action were taken. **Potentially Affected Smal**  **l Entitie s**  In 2007, there were at least 137 Christmas tree farms and 288 nurseries and greenhouses in the affected counties that may be impacted by

this rule (table 1). These figures understate the number of potentiall y affected entities because the number of these businesses was not disclosed for several of the counties. Moreover, data on the number of entities other than nurseries and Christmas tree farms that may be affected, such as sawmills and logging operations, are not available. T able 2 shows , for the United States as a whole and the States that contain the newl y quarantined counties, the number of entities classified under the North American Industry Classification System (NAI CS) category 111421, Nursery

and tree production , and their annual sales

. 1 Although NAI CS 111421 does include businesses that do not handle p ine products and therefore will not be affected b y the interim rule , the sales data for this industry classification are considered representative of the sub

- category of entities likely

to be affected.

1 This industry com

prises establishments primarily engaged in (1) growing nursery products, nursery stock, shrubbery, bulbs, fruit stock, sod, and so forth, under cover or in open fields and/or (2) growing short rotation woody trees with a growth and harvest cycle of 10 years or less for pulp or tree stock.8

Table 1. Number of Christmas tree farms and nurseries, and annual total and average sales, in the newly quarantined counties Affected Count ies Number of

Christmas T ree F arms S ales by Christmas T re e

Farms (Average Sales in Parentheses) Number of Nurseries & Greenhouses S ales by N urseries &

G reenhouses (

A verage Sales in Parentheses) **Illinois C**  **ounties** Cumberland 1 (D) 1 (D) Effingham 4 (D) 3 (D) Fayette 5 (D) 4 $202,600 ($50,650) Knox
- - - 2 (D) Mercer 3 (D) 7 $12,606 ($1,801) Rock Island 5 (D) 9 $577,00 0 ($64,111) Warren 1 (D) 1 (D) **New York C**  **ounties** Dutchess 21 $361,000 ($17,190) 24 $ 6,860,000 ($285,833) Putnam 2 (D) 6 $ 4 94,000 ($82,333) Westchester 1 ( D ) 22 $ 4,256,000 ($263,349) **Maryland C**  **ounties** Baltimore 19 (D) 76 $34,052,000 ($ 448,053 ) Carroll 22 $317,000 ($14,409 ) 55 $20,312,000 ($ 369,309 ) Harford 13 $321,000 ($24,692 ) 29 $6,178,000 ($213,034) Howard 7 $47,000 ($ 6,714 ) 29 $13,441,000 ($ 463,483 ) **Missouri Counties**  Adair (D) (D) (D) $139,000 Clark (D) (D) (D) (D) Lewis
-- -- (D) $4,000 Macon 3 $4,000 ($ 1,333 ) (D) $462,000 Marion
-- -- (D) $24,000 **Virginia Count**  **y** Loudoun 30 $611,00 0 ($ 20,367) 20 $9,230,000 ($ 461,500 ) TOTAL Affected Entities and Sales At least 137 At least $ 1,661,000 ($12,124) At least 288 At least $ 96,244,206 ($334,181) (D) Undisclosed economic information. Source : USDA NASS, 2007 Census of Agriculture by State and County Level Data, from Table 2: Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold, Including Direct and Organic, 2007.9

Table 2. Number of Christmas t ree farms and n urseries, and a nnual total and average s ales , for the United States and the States with newly quarantined c ounties Nurser ies and Christmas Tree Farms Number of Farms Market Value of Crops Sold Average Market Value of Crops Sold per Farm United States 34,532 $8,875,417,000 $257 , 02 0 Illinois 684 $224,594,000 $328,354 New York 1,285 $150,630,000 $117,222 Maryland 385 $120,096,000 $311,938 Missouri 337 $47,843,000 $141,967 Virginia 725 $133,593,000 $184,266 Source: USDA NASS, Census of Agriculture , National & by State; Table 46: Selected Characteristics of farms by NAIC System, 2007. The extent to which Christmas tree farms and nurseries in the affected counties have historically

moved regulated articles interstate is not known. Pine trees and pine tree products including cut Christmas trees are frequentl y sold locally . Nurseries and greenhouses usuall y specialize in production of deciduous lands cape products rather than of rooted pine Christmas trees and pine nursery

stock. The latter products in general constitute a small share of production, if they are produced at all. The Small Business Administration has established size standards to determine when an entity is considered small. Entities classified within NAI CS 111421 are considered small when they have annual sales of $750,000 or less. As indicated b y the data shown in tables 1 and 2, most businesses that may be affected b y the interim rule are expected to be small. Nationally , annual sales in 2007 b y NAI CS 111421 businesses averaged $257,020. Annual sales in 2007 by businesses classifi ed within this industry category that were located in the States with newly quarantined counties ranged from $117,222 to $328,354. The available data on businesses in the affected counties show annual sales in 2007 by Christmas tree farms was $12,124 and by nurseries was $334,181.10

**Description of projected recordkeeping and other compliance requirem**  **ents of the rule** Regulated articles from quarantined areas may be moved interstate if accompanied by a certificate or limited permit. A certificate for interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas is issued by an inspector or person operating under a compliance agreement after it is determined that the regulated articles are not infested with PSB and do not present a risk of spreading PSB to other areas. A limited permit is issued by an inspector or person operating under a compliance agreement for interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas not eligible for a certificate if it is determined that the regulated articles are to be moved interstate “to a specified destination for processing, handling or utilization” where any PSB is destroyed. Regulated articles must have the name of the consignor and consignee, as well as the certificate or limited permit, attached during all segments of interstate movement. For entities not operating under a compliance agreement, a re quest for a certificate or a limited permit must be made at least 48 hours prior to transporting the regulated articles interstate. The cost for this service falls upon the issuing agency , and not the entity requesting the certificate or limited permit. **Duplication, Overlap , or Conflict with Existing Rules and Regulations**  APHI S has not identified any duplication, overlap, or conflict of the interim rule with other Federal rules. **Alternatives to minimize Significant Economic Impacts of the Rule**  Based on our review of available information, APH IS does not expect the interim rule to have a significant economic impact on small entities. We welcome public comment that would enable us to have a more complete understanding of the number and composition of potentially11

affected entities. W e have not identified alternatives that would minimize significant economic impacts of this interim rule because we do not expect small entities will be significantly affected

.