This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

15597 

Vol. 72, No. 62 

Monday, April 2, 2007 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2007–0005] 

Emerald Ash Borer; Additions to 

Quarantined Areas 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the emerald 

ash borer regulations by designating the 

States of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, in 

their entirety, as quarantined areas. This 

action is necessary to prevent the 

artificial spread of the emerald ash borer 

into noninfested areas of the United 

States. As a result of this action, the 

interstate movement of regulated 

articles from those States is restricted. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective 

April 2, 2007. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

June 1, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, select 

‘‘Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service’’ from the agency drop-down 

menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

Docket ID column, select APHIS–2007– 

0005 to submit or view public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available 

electronically. Information on using 

Regulations.gov, including instructions 

for accessing documents, submitting 

comments, and viewing the docket after 

the close of the comment period, is 

available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’ 

link. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send four copies of your 

comment (an original and three copies) 

to Docket No. APHIS–2007–0005, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2007–0005. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on this 

docket in our reading room. The reading 

room 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) 690–2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Deborah McPartlan, National Emerald 

Ash Borer Program Manager, Emergency 

and Domestic Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 137, Riverdale, 

MD 20737–1236; (301) 734–5356. 

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 into noninfested 

areas of the United States. Portions of 

the States of Indiana, Michigan, and 

Ohio are already designated as 

quarantined areas. 

Recent surveys conducted by 

inspectors of State, county, and city 

agencies and by inspectors of the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) have revealed that spot 

infestations of EAB are prevalent 

outside the quarantined areas in Indiana 

and Ohio, and also in the State of 

Illinois. Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio have 

quarantined the infested areas and have 

restricted the intrastate movement of 

regulated articles from the quarantined 

areas to prevent the spread of EAB 

within each State. However, Federal 

regulations are necessary to restrict the 

interstate movement of regulated 

articles from the quarantined areas to 

prevent the spread of EAB to other 

States and other countries. 

The regulations in § 301.53–3(a) 

provide that the Administrator of APHIS 

will list as a quarantined area each 

State, or each portion of a State, where 

EAB has been found by an inspector, 

where the Administrator has reason to 

believe that EAB is present, or where 

the Administrator considers regulation 

necessary because of its inseparability 

for quarantine enforcement purposes 

from localities where EAB has been 

found. 

Less than an entire State will be 

designated as a quarantined area only 

under certain conditions. Such a 

designation may be made if the 

Administrator determines that: (1) The 

State has adopted and is enforcing 

restrictions on the intrastate movement 

of regulated articles that are equivalent 

to those imposed by the regulations on 

the interstate movement of regulated 

articles; and (2) the designation of less 

than an entire State as a quarantined 

area will be adequate to prevent the 

artificial spread of the EAB. Although 

all three States have quarantined the 

infested areas within their boundaries, 

we believe that the prevalence of spot 

infestations of EAB throughout each 

State makes it necessary to quarantine 

these States in their entirety to prevent 

the artificial spread of EAB. 

In accordance with these criteria and 

the recent EAB findings described 

above, we are amending § 301.53–3(c) to 

add the States of Illinois, Indiana, and 

Ohio, in their entirety, to the list of 

quarantined areas. 

Emergency Action 

This rulemaking is necessary on an 

emergency basis to help prevent the 

spread of EAB to noninfested areas of 

the United States. Under these 

circumstances, the Administrator has 

determined that prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment are 

contrary to the public interest and that 

there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 

for making this rule effective less than 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with RULES
15598 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 62 / Monday, April 2, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

30 days after publication in the Federal 

Register. 

We will consider comments we 

receive during the comment period for 

this interim rule (see DATES above). 

After the comment period closes, we 

will publish another document in the 

Federal Register. The document will 

include a discussion of any comments 

we receive and any amendments we are 

making to the rule. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12866. For this action, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

has waived its review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

This emergency situation makes 

timely compliance with section 604 of 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

601 et seq.) impracticable. We are 

currently assessing the potential 

economic effects of this action on small 

entities. Based on that assessment, we 

will either certify that the rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities or 

publish a regulatory flexibility analysis. 

Executive Order 12372 

This program/activity is listed in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

under No. 10.025 and is subject to 

Executive Order 12372, which requires 

intergovernmental consultation with 

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part 

3015, subpart V.) 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State 

and local laws and regulations that are 

inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no 

retroactive effect; and (3) does not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This interim rule contains no 

information collection or recordkeeping 

requirements under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.). 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

■ Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

part 301 as follows: 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 301 

continues to read as follows: 

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

7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Section 301.75–15 issued under sec. 204, 

Title II, Public Law 106–113, 113 Stat. 

1501A–293; sections 301.75–15 and 301.75–

16 issued under sec. 203, Title II, Public Law 

106–224, 114 Stat. 400 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note). 

■ 2. In § 301.53–3, paragraph (c) is 

amended by adding, in alphabetical 

order, an entry for Illinois, and by 

revising the entries for Indiana and Ohio 

to read as follows: 

§ 301.53–3 Quarantined Areas. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

Illinois 

The entire State. 

Indiana 

The entire State. 

* * * * * 

Ohio 

The entire State. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of 

March 2007. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–6007 Filed 3–30–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 300 

RIN 1901–AB23 

Corrections and Updates to Technical 

Guidelines for Voluntary Greenhouse 

Gas Reporting 

AGENCY: Office of Policy and 

International Affairs, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy 

(DOE) published an interim final rule on 

January 31, 2007, to correct, update, and 

make clarifying changes to Technical 

Guidelines used for reporting under the 

Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse 

Gases Program authorized by section 

1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 

1992. The Technical Guidelines were 

incorporated by reference in final 

program guidelines that were published 

on April 21, 2006, and placed in the 

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). In 

accordance with the rules governing 

incorporation by reference in the CFR, 

DOE is required to amend its program 

regulations to reflect any update of the 

Technical Guidelines. DOE now 

discusses the comments received in 

response to the interim final rule, and 

adopts that rule as final without change. 

DATES: Effective April 2, 2007, the 

interim rule published on January 1, 

2007 (72 FR 4211), which became 

effective March 2, 2007, is confirmed as 

final. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephen Eule, PI–63, Office of Policy 

and International Affairs, U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington DC 20585, or e-mail: 

1605bguidelines.comments@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

II. Summary and Response to Comments 

III. Congressional Notification 

IV. Approval of the Office of Secretary 

I. Background 

Section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy 

Act of 1992 directed DOE to issue 

guidelines establishing a voluntary 

greenhouse gas reporting program (42 

U.S.C. 13385(b)). On February 14, 2002, 

the President directed DOE, together 

with other involved Federal agencies, to 

recommend reforms to enhance the 

Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse 

Gases Program established by DOE in 

1994. On April 21, 2006, following a 

lengthy public review process, DOE 

published revised final General 

Guidelines for Voluntary Greenhouse 

Gas Reporting (71 FR 20784). Those 

guidelines incorporated by reference 

detailed Technical Guidelines, dated 

March 2006, that are needed to fully 

implement the revised Voluntary 

Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Program. 

Subsequent to the April 21, 2006 

publication of the revised final General 

Guidelines and during preparation of 

new forms and instructions for 

reporting, DOE identified a number of 

errors and inconsistencies in the 

Technical Guidelines that warranted 

correction or clarification. To ensure 

that any revision of the March 2006 

Technical Guidelines addressed as 

many of these problems as possible, on 

August 3, 2006, DOE sent a message by 

electronic mail to all persons who had 

previously expressed an interest in the 

guidelines and requested that they 

identify any needed technical 

corrections, clarifications, 

interpretations or other changes to the 

guidelines. Subsequently, DOE received 

communications that recommended 

additional corrections and other 

changes for consideration. 


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