This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

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rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

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statements of organization and functions are

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section.

Notices Federal Register

7827 

Vol. 80, No. 29 

Thursday, February 12, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0094] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for the Biological Control 

of Emerald Ash Borer 

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 a draft 

environmental assessment relative to 

the control of emerald ash borer, Agrilus 

planipennis. The environmental 

assessment considers the effects of, and 

alternatives to, the field release of a 

parasitic wasp, Spathius galinae, into 

the continental United States for use as 

a biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of emerald ash borer 

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 March 16, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0094. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0094, 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-2014-0094 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. 

Shirley Wager-Page ́, Assistant Director, 

Pest Permitting Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, 

MD 20737–1231; (301) 851–2323. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus 

planipennis, is an invasive wood-boring 

beetle from Asia threatening the ash 

trees (Fraxinus spp.) in the United 

States. EAB larvae feed on ash phloem, 

cutting off the movement of resources 

within the tree and killing the tree in 4– 

5 years. EAB is able to attack and kill 

healthy trees in both natural and urban 

environments and is well suited for 

climate conditions in the continental 

United States. As a result, EAB 

infestations have been detected in 24 

states: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, 

Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, 

Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, 

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, 

Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and 

Wisconsin. The Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 

proposing to issue permits for the field 

release of a parasitic wasp, Spathius 

galinae, into the continental United 

States to reduce the severity of EAB 

infestations. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

proposed action are documented in 

detail in a draft environmental 

assessment (EA) entitled ‘‘Field Release 

of the Parasitoid Spathius galinae for 

the Biological Control of the Emerald 

Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) in the 

Continental United States’’ (January 

2014). 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 

a link to Regulations.gov and 

information on the location and hours of 

the reading room). You may request 

paper copies of the draft EA by calling 

or writing to the person 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, this 6th day of 

February 2015. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–02914 Filed 2–11–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To 

Revise and Extend a Currently 

Approved Information Collection 

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intention of the 

National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS) to request revision and 

extension of a currently approved 

information collection, the Agricultural 

Resources Management Survey and 

Chemical Use Surveys. A revision to 

burden hours will be needed due to 

changes in the size of the target 

population, sampling design, and/or 

questionnaire length. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by April 13, 2015 to be assured 

of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by docket number 0535–0218, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Email: ombofficer@nass.usda.gov. 

Include docket number above in the 

subject line of the message. 

• eFax: (855) 838–6382. 

• Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD– 

ROM submissions to: David Hancock, 

NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. 


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