### United States

Department of Agriculture Anim al and Plant Health Inspection Service August 2014 **Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis**

**Final Rule**  **10 -**  **031 -**  **2 Pine Shoot Beetle; Additional Quarantined**  **Areas**

Policy & Program Development Policy Analysis & Developmenti



### Summary
APHI S is amending the pine shoot beetle regulations by adding new counties in I llinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, and Virginia to the list of quarantined areas. This final rule will also codify

Federal Orders that quarantine the States of Indiana and New Jersey in their entiret y 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 b e impacted b y this rule. These figures understate the number of potentially

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. 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. Mo st businesses that may

be affected b y the final rule are likely 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 tre e farms was $12,124 and by 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 generall 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.ii

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

- assisted spread of this pest.iii



### Table of Contents Summary

................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. i Introduction

................................ ................................ ................................ ......................... 1 Need for and Objectives of the Rule

................................ ................................ ................... 2 Significant Issues raised by Public Comment in response to the Initial Regulatory Flexibility

Anal ys is

................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 3 Comments filed by

the Small Business Administration in response to the Final Rule

...... 3 Potentially

Affected Small Entities

................................ ................................ ..................... 3 Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance Req uirements

..................... 7 Steps taken by

APHI S to minimize Significant Economic Impacts on Small Entities

...... 71

**Introduction** 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. This final regulatory flexibility

analy sis describes expect ed impacts of this rule on small entities, as required by s ection 60 4 of the Act. Counties and States quarantined for the pine shoot beetle (PSB) are listed in 7 CFR 301.50

- 3. APHI S is adding the following counties to the listed areas: Cumberland, Effingh am, Fa yette, Knox, Mercer, Rock Island, and Warren counties, in I llinois; 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 oudoun Count y in Virginia. The interim rule will 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 Stat es, it also has been found to infest Austrian pine (

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

. During “shoot feeding,” y oung 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 through movement of infested pine trees and pine products. Tip feeding b y PSB causes various malformations that reduce the v alue of the tree. This kind of damage is especially severe in Christmas tree plantations, where tree form is the primary2

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 cultivated in the southern States. Forest resources threatened b y this pest besides Christmas trees include pine landscape/n ursery products and pine timber. **Need for and Objectives of the Rule** APHI S is amending the pine shoot beetle regulations to add the above

- mentioned 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 p est damages urban ornamental trees and can cause economic losses to the timber 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. 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 interstat e movement of plant products. 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 sp read of the pest to new areas and help prevent economic3

losses to timber, nursery , and Christmas tree producers in areas that could become infested if no action were taken.
**Significant Issues raised**  **by Public Comment in**  **response to the Initial Regulatory**  **Flexibility Analysis**
There were not an y issues, significant or otherwise, raised b y the Public during the comment period. **Comments filed by the Small Business Administration in response to**  **the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis** 
There were not an y filed comments from the Small Business Administration..
**Potentially Affected**  **Small Entities** 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 affecte d, such as sawmills and logging operations, are not available. Table 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 Sy stem (NAI CS) category 111421, Nursery

and tree production, and their annual4

sales. 1 Although NAICS 111421 does include businesses that do not handle pine products and therefore will not be affected b y the interim rule, the sales data for this industry clas sification are considered representative of the sub

- category of entities likely

to be affected.

1 This industry comprises 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) gro wing short rotation woody trees with a growth and harvest cycle of 10 years or less for pulp or tree stock.5

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

Christmas Tree Farms Sales by Christmas Tree

Farms (Average Sales in Parentheses) Number of Nurseries & Greenhouses Sales by Nurseries &

Greenhouses (Average Sales in Parentheses) **Illinois Counties** 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 $577,000 ($64,111) Warren 1 (D) 1 (D) **New York Counties** Dutchess 21 $361,000 ($17,190) 24 $6,860,000 ($285,833) Putnam 2 (D) 6 $ 494,000 ($82,333) Westchester 1 (D) 22 $ 4,256,000 ($263,349) **Maryland Counties** 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 County** Loudoun 30 $611,000 ($ 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, Incl uding Direct and Organic, 2007.6

Table 2. Number of Christmas tree farms and nurseries, and annual total and average sales, for the United States and the States with newly quarantined counties Nurseries 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 $257,020 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 landscape 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 by the data shown in t ables 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 classified 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 $334,181.7

**Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other**  **Compliance Requirement**  **s** 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 quar antined 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 dest ination for processing, handling or utilization” where any PSB is destroy ed. 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 enti ties not operating under a compliance agreement, a request 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. **Steps taken by APHIS to mi nimize Significant Economic Impact**  **s on**  **Small Entities** Based on our review of available information, APH IS does not expect the rule to have a significant economic impact on small entities. In the absence of significant economic impacts, we have not identif

ied alternatives that would minimize such impacts.