Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 6 / Monday, January 10, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 1337 

(4) Public utilities; 

(5) Transmitting utilities or electric 

utilities engaged in the wholesale sale or 

transmission of electricity or having 

obtained an interconnection or wheeling 

order under part II of the Federal Power 

Act; 

(6) Liquefied natural gas terminals as 

defined by section 3 of the Natural Gas 

Act; or 

(7) Parent companies of an entity 

identified in paragraphs (a)(1) through 

(a)(6) of this section. 

(b) Prohibited securities list. A 

prohibited securities list shall be 

maintained, published, and distributed 

by the Office of the General Counsel’s 

General and Administrative Law 

section, updated annually or on a more 

frequent basis to include entities that 

meet the criteria in paragraph (a) or are 

otherwise subject to the Commission’s 

jurisdiction and to remove entities that 

do not raise impartiality concerns after 

considering the above criteria. 

(c) Exception. Nothing in this section 

prohibits an employee, or the spouse or 

minor child of an employee, from 

acquiring or holding an interest in a 

publicly traded or publicly available 

mutual fund or other collective 

investment fund, or in a widely held 

pension or mutual fund, provided: 

(1) That the employee neither exercises 

control nor has the ability to exercise 

control over the financial interests held 

in the fund; or (2) that the fund’s 

prospectus or practice does not indicate 

the stated objective of concentrating its 

investments in entities identified in 

paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(7) of this 

section. 

(d) Reporting and divestiture— 

(1) Reporting of prohibited securities. 

An employee must promptly report in 

writing to the DAEO any acquired 

interest prohibited under paragraphs (a) 

and (b) of this section. New employees 

must report in writing to the DAEO 

prohibited financial interests within 30 

days of commencement of employment. 

Prohibited financial interests acquired 

after employment commences and 

without specific intent, such as through 

gift, inheritance, or marriage, must be 

reported in writing to the DAEO within 

30 days of acquisition of such interest. 

(2) Divestiture of prohibited securities. 

A prohibited financial interest must be 

divested within 90 days from the date 

divestiture is ordered by the DAEO 

unless the employee obtains a written 

waiver from the DAEO in accordance 

with this section. 

(3) Disqualification pending 

divestiture. Pending divestiture of 

prohibited securities, an employee must 

disqualify himself or herself, in 

accordance with 5 CFR 2635.402 and 

3401.103, from participating in 

particular matters which, as a result of 

continued ownership of prohibited 

securities, could affect the financial 

interests of the employee or those of the 

spouse or minor child of the employee. 

Disqualification is not required where a 

waiver described in § 2635.402(d) 

applies. 

(4) Tax treatment of gain on divested 

securities. Where divestiture is required 

by this section, the employee or the 

spouse or minor child of an employee 

may be eligible to defer the tax 

consequences of divestiture by 

obtaining a Certificate of Divestiture 

from the Director of the Office of 

Government Ethics before selling the 

securities in accordance with subpart J 

of 5 CFR part 2634. 

(e) Waiver. The DAEO may grant a 

written waiver from this section based 

on a determination that the waiver is 

not inconsistent with 5 CFR part 2635 

of this title or otherwise prohibited by 

law and that, under the particular 

circumstances, application of the 

prohibition is not necessary to avoid the 

appearance of an employee’s misuse of 

position or loss of impartiality, or to 

otherwise ensure confidence in the 

impartiality and objectivity with which 

the Commission’s programs are 

administered, or in the case of a special 

Government employee, divestiture 

would result in substantial financial 

hardship. A waiver under this 

paragraph must be in writing and may 

impose appropriate conditions, such as 

requiring execution of a written 

disqualification. 

(f) Definitions. For the purposes of 

this section: 

(1) The term securities includes an 

interest in debt or equity instruments. 

The term includes, without limitation, 

secured and unsecured bonds, 

debentures, notes, securitized assets, 

and commercial paper, as well as all 

types of preferred and common stock. 

The term encompasses both current and 

contingent ownership interests, 

including any beneficial or legal interest 

derived from a trust. It extends to any 

right to acquire or dispose of any long 

or short position in such securities and 

includes, without limitation, interests 

convertible into such securities, as well 

as options, rights, warrants, puts, calls, 

and straddles with respect thereto. 

(2) The term parent means a company 

that possesses, directly or indirectly, the 

power to direct or cause the direction of 

the management and policies of an 

entity identified in paragraphs (a)(1) 

through (a)(6) of this section. 

[FR Doc. 2011–267 Filed 1–7–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0014] 

Asian Longhorned Beetle; Additions to 

Quarantined Areas in Massachusetts 

and New York 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final 

rule, without change, an interim rule 

that amended the Asian longhorned 

beetle (ALB) regulations by adding a 

portion of Worcester County, MA, to the 

list of quarantined areas and updating 

the description of the quarantined area 

in the Borough of Staten Island in the 

City of New York, NY. The interim rule, 

which restricted the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from 

these areas, was necessary to prevent 

the artificial spread of ALB to 

noninfested areas of the United States. 

DATES: Effective on January 10, 2011, we 

are adopting as a final rule the interim 

rule published at 74 FR 57243–57245 on 

November 5, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Brendon Reardon, National Program 

Manager, Emergency and Domestic 

Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 

(301) 734–5705. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB, 

Anoplophora glabripennis), an insect 

native to China, Japan, Korea, and the 

Isle of Hainan, is a destructive pest of 

hardwood trees. It attacks many healthy 

hardwood trees, including maple, horse 

chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, and 

elm. In addition, nursery stock, logs, 

green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, 

branches, and wood debris of half an 

inch or more in diameter are subject to 

infestation. The beetle bores into the 

heartwood of a host tree, eventually 

killing the tree. Immature beetles bore 

into tree trunks and branches, causing 

heavy sap flow from wounds and 

sawdust accumulating at tree bases. 

The regulations in 7 CFR 301.51–1 

through 301.51–9 restrict the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from 

quarantined areas to prevent the 

artificial spread of ALB to noninfested 

areas of the United States. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with RULES_PART 1
1338 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 6 / Monday, January 10, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

1To view the interim rule, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0014. 

1To view the interim rule, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0072. 

In an interim rule 1 effective and 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 5, 2009 (74 FR 57243–57245, 

Docket No. APHIS–2009–0014), we 

amended the regulations by adding a 

portion of Worcester County, MA, to the 

list of quarantined areas in § 301.51–3(c) 

and by updating the description of the 

quarantined area in the Borough of 

Staten Island in the City of New York, 

NY. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before 

January 4, 2010. We did not receive any 

comments. Therefore, for the reasons 

given in the interim rule, we are 

adopting the interim rule as a final rule 

without change. 

This action also affirms the 

information contained in the interim 

rule concerning Executive Order 12866 

and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 

Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and 

the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Further, for this action, the Office of 

Management and Budget has waived its 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ Accordingly, we are adopting as a 

final rule, without change, the interim 

rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and 

that was published at 74 FR 57243– 

57245 on November 5, 2009. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of 

January 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–238 Filed 1–7–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0072] 

Emerald Ash Borer; Quarantined 

Areas; Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, 

Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West 

Virginia, and Wisconsin 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final 

rule, without change, an interim rule 

that amended the regulations to add 

areas in Maryland, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, 

Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin 

to the list of areas quarantined because 

of emerald ash borer (EAB). The interim 

rule was necessary to prevent the 

artificial spread of EAB into noninfested 

areas of the United States. As a result of 

the interim rule, the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from 

those areas is restricted. 

DATES: Effective on January 10, 2011, we 

are adopting as a final rule the interim 

rule published at 74 FR 47999–48001 on 

September 21, 2009. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Paul Chaloux, National Program 

Coordinator, Emerald Ash Borer 

Program, Emergency and Domestic 

Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 137, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 

(301) 734–0917. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus 

planipennis) is a destructive 

woodboring insect that attacks ash trees 

(Fraxinus spp., including green ash, 

white ash, black ash, and several 

horticultural varieties of ash). The 

insect, which is indigenous to Asia and 

known to occur in China, Korea, Japan, 

Mongolia, the Russian Far East, Taiwan, 

and Canada, eventually kills healthy ash 

trees after it bores beneath their bark 

and disrupts their vascular tissues. 

The EAB regulations in 7 CFR 301.53– 

1 through 301.53–9 (referred to below as 

the regulations) restrict the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from 

quarantined areas to prevent the 

artificial spread of EAB to noninfested 

areas of the United States. 

In an interim rule 1 effective and 

published in the Federal Register on 

September 21, 2009 (74 FR 47999– 

48001, Docket No. APHIS–2008–0072), 

we amended § 301.53–3(c) to add 

portions of Maryland, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, 

Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin 

to the list of areas quarantined for EAB. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before 

November 20, 2009. We did not receive 

any comments. Therefore, for the 

reasons given in the interim rule, we are 

adopting the interim rule as a final rule 

without change. 

This action also affirms the 

information contained in the interim 

rule concerning Executive Orders 

12866, 12372, and 12988, and the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Further, for this action, the Office of 

Management and Budget has waived its 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This rule affirms an interim rule that 

amended the EAB regulations by adding 

areas in Maryland, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania, 

Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin 

to the list of areas quarantined because 

of EAB. 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604, we 

have performed a final regulatory 

flexibility analysis, which is 

summarized below, regarding the 

economic effects of this rule on small 

entities. Copies of the full analysis are 

available on the Regulations.gov Web 

site (see footnote 1 in this document for 

a link to Regulations.gov) or by 

contacting the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

If left unregulated, the spread of EAB 

could negatively impact several 

industries including nurseries, timber 

operations, and landscaping. These 

potential economic impacts would 

likely be much greater than government 

program costs and any additional costs 

incurred from the expansion of the 

quarantine area. While some firms may 

have been negatively affected by the 

interim rule, those effects will be 

limited to those firms that ship 

regulated products interstate or from 

quarantined areas to areas that are not 

under quarantine. Such firms will be 

required to obtain a certificate or limited 

permit from an APHIS inspector in 

order to comply with the regulation or 

enter into a compliance agreement with 

APHIS for the inspection and 

certification of the articles to be moved. 

Additional restrictions on movement 

during adult fly season (roughly May 

through September) may result in 

additional impacts on entities in some 

quarantined counties. Limited 

information was available on the extent 

to which firms in the potentially 

affected industries deal in ash products. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with RULES_PART 1