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

64133

Vol. 62, No. 233

Thursday, December 4, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. 97–038–3]

Gypsy Moth Generally Infested Areas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rules as

final rule.

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final

rule, without change, two interim rules

that amended the gypsy moth

quarantine and regulations by adding

Wisconsin to the list of States

quarantined because of gypsy moth and

by adding areas in Ohio, Virginia, West

Virginia, and Wisconsin to the list of

generally infested areas. These changes

affect eight areas in Ohio, eight areas in

Virginia, six areas in West Virginia, and

four areas in Wisconsin. The interim

rules were necessary in order to impose

certain restrictions on the interstate

movement of regulated articles to

prevent the artificial spread of gypsy

moth.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Affirmation effective

December 4, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Coanne E. O’Hern, Operations Officer,

Domestic and Emergency Programs,

PPQ, APHIS, suite 4C10, 4700 River

Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1236, (301) 734–8247, or e-mail

cohern@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

We recently published two interim

rules amending the gypsy moth

quarantine and regulations. In the first

interim rule, effective and published in

the Federal Register on May 30, 1997

(62 FR 29286–29287, Docket No. 97–

038–1), we amended § 301.45(a) of the

regulations by adding Wisconsin to the

list of States quarantined because of

gypsy moth. We also amended § 301.45–

3(a) of the regulations, which lists

generally infested areas, by adding

Guernsey and Ottawa Counties in Ohio;

Appomattox, Brunswick, Campbell,

Charlotte, Halifax, Lunenburg,

Mecklenburg, and Pittsylvania Counties

in Virginia; Webster County in West

Virginia; and Brown, Door, Kewaunee,

and Manitowoc Counties in Wisconsin

to the list of generally infested areas.

In the second interim rule, effective

and published in the Federal Register

on July 9, 1997 (62 FR 36645–36646,

Docket No. 97–038–2), we amended

§ 301.45–3(a) of the regulations by

adding Belmont, Coshocton, Harrison,

Holmes, Monroe, and Tuscarawas

Counties in Ohio; and Doddridge,

Harrison, Lewis, Tyler, and Upshur

Counties in West Virginia to the list of

generally infested areas.

These actions were necessary in order

to impose certain restrictions on the

interstate movement of regulated

articles to prevent the artificial spread of

gypsy moth.

Comments on the first interim rule

(Docket No. 97–038–1) were required to

be received on or before July 29, 1997.

Comments on the second interim rule

(Docket No. 97–038–2) were required to

be received on or before September 8,

1997. We did not receive any comments

on either interim rule. The facts

presented in the interim rules still

provide a basis for the rules.

This action also affirms the

information contained in the interim

rules concerning Executive Orders

12866, 12372, and 12988, and the

Paperwork Reduction Act.

Further, for this action, the Office of

Management and Budget has waived the

review process required by Executive

Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This action affects the interstate

movement of regulated articles and

outdoor household articles from and

through gypsy moth regulated areas in

Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and

Wisconsin. There are several types of

restrictions that apply to these newly

quarantined areas in these States. These

restrictions will have their primary

impact on persons moving outdoor

household articles, nursery stock, logs

and wood chips, and mobile homes

interstate from a generally infested area

to any area that is not generally infested.

Under the regulations, outdoor

household articles (OHA) may not be

moved interstate from a generally

infested area unless they are

accompanied by either a certificate

issued by an inspector or an OHA

document issued by the owner of the

articles, attesting to the absence of any

life stage of the gypsy moth. Most

individual homeowners moving their

own articles who comply with the

regulations choose to self-inspect and

issue an OHA document. This takes a

few minutes and involves no monetary

cost. Individuals may also have State

certified pesticide applicators, trained

by the State or U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA), inspect and issue

certificates.

With two exceptions, regulated

articles (for example, logs, pulpwood,

and wood chips; mobile homes; and

nursery stock) may not be moved

interstate from a generally infested area

to any area that is not generally infested

unless they are accompanied by a

certificate or limited permit issued by

an inspector. The first exception is that

a regulated article may be moved from

a generally infested area without a

certificate if it is moved by the USDA

for experimental or scientific purposes

and is accompanied by a permit issued

by the Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service. The

second exception is that logs,

pulpwood, and wood chips may be

moved without a certificate or limited

permit if the person moving the articles

attaches a statement to the waybill

stating that he or she has inspected the

articles and has found them free of any

lifestage of the gypsy moth. This

exception minimizes costs with regard

to logs, pulpwood, and wood chips.

Persons moving mobile homes and

nursery stock interstate from a generally

infested area to any area that is not

generally infested may obtain a

certificate or limited permit from an

inspector or a qualified certified

applicator. Inspectors will issue these

documents at no charge, but costs may

result from delaying the movement of

commercial articles while waiting for

the inspection. Documents self-issued

under a compliance agreement avoid

these delay costs but result in costs

associated with salary and

recordkeeping for the self-inspections.
64134 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

When inspection of regulated articles

or outdoor household articles reveals

gypsy moth, treatment is often

necessary. Treatment is done by

qualified certified applicators, which

are private businesses that charge, on

the average, $50 to $100 to treat a

shipment of articles. Most qualified

certified applicators are small

businesses. By declaring an area as a

generally infested area, the regulations

may increase business for qualified

certified applicators located in generally

infested areas. It is estimated that these

businesses will average $50 to $150 per

month in additional income per

business. A few of the newly

quarantined counties contain large

urban areas that may have several

hundred shipments annually containing

outdoor household articles that will

require inspection to move interstate

from the generally infested area. Thus,

there will likely be a need to train

additional qualified certified applicators

in those areas.

Entities in the newly quarantined

areas that will incur the most costs from

the interim rules will be establishments

moving trees or shrubs with roots, such

as nurseries. We estimate that

approximately 60 such establishments

move approximately 165 shipments of

trees and shrubs each year from the

newly quarantined areas. All of these

establishments are believed to be small

entities. These establishments will need

to be inspected, either by an inspector

or through self-inspection under a

compliance agreement. If the inspection

reveals signs of gypsy moth, the

establishment will have to be treated in

order to ship regulated articles outside

the generally infested area. We estimate

that annually, approximately 5 of these

establishments will require treatment,

and that the average area to be treated

will be 20 acres. At an average treatment

cost of $10 to $20 per acre, the average

total annual cost to each establishment

would be $200 to $400.

The Christmas tree industry and

establishments that sell other forest

products and that move their products

interstate will also bear direct costs from

the interim rules. There are

approximately 689 farms that sell forest

products and Christmas trees in the

newly quarantined areas. These account

for 9.4 percent of the total number of

such farms in Ohio, Virginia, West

Virginia, and Wisconsin. All of these

establishments are believed to be small

entities. Services of an inspector will be

available without charge to inspect

these farms and issue certificates and

permits. We estimate that less than four

percent of all these farms will be found

to contain gypsy moth and, therefore,

require treatment in order to ship trees.

It is expected that, in most cases,

Christmas tree farms will be free of

gypsy moth and Christmas tree growers

will meet the requirements for

certification by having inspectors certify

that the tree farms are free from gypsy

moth. This alternative is less costly than

inspecting or treating each individual

shipment of trees and will thus

minimize the economic impact of the

change to the regulations for the newly

quarantined areas.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

Agricultural commodities,

Incorporation by reference, 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, two interim

rules that amended 7 CFR part 301 and

that were published at 62 FR 29286–

29287 on May 30, 1997, and 62 FR

36645–36646 on July 9, 1997.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150bb, 150dd,

150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and 164–167; 7 CFR

2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of

November 1997.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97–31755 Filed 12–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 78

[Docket No. 97–108–1]

Brucellosis in Cattle; State and Area

Classifications; Arkansas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: We are amending the

brucellosis regulations concerning the

interstate movement of cattle by

changing the classification of Arkansas

from Class A to Class Free. We have

determined that Arkansas meets the

standards for Class Free status. This

action relieves certain restrictions on

the interstate movement of cattle from

Arkansas.

DATES: Interim rule effective on

December 3, 1997. Consideration will be

given only to comments received on or

before February 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 97–108–1, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 97–108–1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA,

room 1141, South Building, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

R.T. Rollo, Jr., Staff Veterinarian,

National Animal Health Programs, VS,

APHIS, Suite 3B08, 4700 River Road

Unit 36, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231,

(301) 734–7709; or e-mail:

rrollo@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Brucellosis is a contagious disease

affecting animals and humans, caused

by bacteria of the genus Brucella.

The brucellosis regulations, contained

in 9 CFR part 78 (referred to below as

the regulations), provide a system for

classifying States or portions of States

according to the rate of Brucella

infection present, and the general

effectiveness of a brucellosis control and

eradication program. The classifications

are Class Free, Class A, Class B, and

Class C. States or areas that do not meet

the minimum standards for Class C are

required to be placed under Federal

quarantine.

The brucellosis Class Free

classification is based on a finding of no

known brucellosis in cattle for the 12

months preceding classification as Class

Free. The Class C classification is for

States or areas with the highest rate of

brucellosis. Class B and Class A fall

between these two extremes.

Restrictions on moving cattle interstate

become less stringent as a State

approaches or achieves Class Free

status.

The standards for the different

classifications of States or areas entail

(1) maintaining a cattle herd infection

rate not to exceed a stated level during