Finding of No Significant Impact for
Movement of Regulated Articles from Citrus Greening
and
Asian Citrus Psyllid Quarantine Zones
Environmental Assessment
October 2007

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS), has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) that analyzes potential environmental
consequences from the movement of regulated articles from citrus greening (CG) and Asian
citrus psyllid (ACP) quarantine zones. CG is considered to be one of the most serious citrus
diseases in the world. It attacks the vascular system of plants greatly reducing production,
destroys the economic value of the fruit, and can kill trees. Once infected, there is no cure for a
tree with CG disease. The EA, incorporated by reference in this document, is available from:

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Plant Protection and Quarantine
Emergency and Domestic Programs
Emergency Management
4700 River Road, Unit 134
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236

APHIS is responsible for taking actions to exclude, eradicate, and/or control plant pests under the
Plant Protection Act (7 United States Code 7701 et seq.). Therefore, it is important that APHIS
take the steps necessary to prevent the movement of CG and ACP from the quarantine areas.

Due to the serious and destructive nature of CG disease, it is necessary to expand the number of
counties in Florida from which the movement of plants that are hosts of CG is present in order to
prevent the further spread and infestation. It is also necessary to expand the areas quarantined
due to the presence of ACP so that host plants can be treated and inspected before being moved
interstate.

The EA analyzed two alternatives: (1) no action (maintaining the existing Federal quarantine
order without further action by APHIS); and (2) expanding the Federal order to include

28 counties in Florida to the CG-quarantine area, and establishing an ACP-quarantine area to
include the entire States of Florida and Hawaii, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, and several counties in Texas. No CG-host material may be moved from the CG-
quarantine area. The Federal order requires that any regulated article, except for curry leaves,
must be treated with a drench containing imidaclorprid as the active ingredient 30 days prior to
movement, and must be treated with a foliar spray containing acetamiprid, chlorpyrifos, or
fenpropathrin as the active ingredient 10 days prior to movement. In addition, the regulated
article must be found free of ACP within 72 hours before movement, and must be accompanied
by a limited permit. The movement of curry leaf requires fumigation with methyl bromide.

The EA analyzed the environmental effects of the addition of the quarantine areas and how that
would increase the use of chemical treatments of imidaclorpid, acetamiprid, chlorpyrifos, and
fenpropathrin. The expansion to 28 counties in Florida for the CG-quarantine area and the
inclusion of several States and territories in an ACP-quarantine area will not result in a


substantial increase in the use of these chemicals because the number of nurseries that would
move any regulated articles, under the Federal order, is believed to be less than 10 nurseries.

In addition, the program use of chemical treatments will be limited to the nursery. Only
individuals who work in the nursery or the occupational workers will be exposed to the
chemicals. Protective gear and safety precautions required by the label and standard operating
procedures are designed to ensure that no adverse effects to program workers will be expected.
The EA concluded that the use of these treatments is unlikely to impact most nontarget wildlife
because of the location of the treatments in the nursery setting and because in Florida, where
most citrus nurseries are located, the State will require as of January 1, 2008, all citrus nursery
stock and other hosts of CG to be propagated inside of insect-proof enclosures. The enclosures
will exclude nontarget wildlife. In addition, the effects of chemical treatments to the quality of
the air, soil and water will be of no consequence and be of limited time duration.

The use of methy! bromide in the treatment of curry leaf is not toxic to humans or wildlife and
will not persist in soil and water. Methyl bromide is a substance classified by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, under the Clean Air Act, as an ozone-depleting chemical;
however, the use of methyl bromide for the movement of curry leaf is expected to be very small
and well below any levels that could contribute measurably to ozone depletion.

The potential for affecting threatened and endangered species exists only at the site where the
chemical treatments will occur, namely in the nurseries. Therefore, APHIS intends to evaluate
each nursery that may apply pesticides for ACP control under this Federal order to determine its
potential for impacting endangered and threatened species and critical habitat. APHIS will
consult with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or National Marine Fisheries Service to insure
that proper measures are taken to protect endangered and threatened species.

Due to the nature of the proposed actions described herein, we anticipate no disproportionate
adverse effects to minorities, low-income populations, or children in accordance with Executive
Order 12898, “Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and
Low-income Populations,” and Executive Order 13045, “Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks.”

Since CG is a highly injurious citrus disease, and ACP is harmful both as the insect vector of the
disease and as a citrus pest, in its own right, APHIS has determined that it is necessary to
immediately address both the disease and the associated insect pest. This will be accomplished
by the restriction of hosts of CG from areas where the disease is present, and the regulation and
treatment of plants that are hosts of the psyllid from those areas where the insect is present and
may be spread through the movement of infested nursery stock. APHIS will expand the CG
regulatory program in Florida immediately and is issuing a Finding of No Significant Impact for
the EA before the comment period on the EA concludes. Nevertheless, all comments received
on the EA will be evaluated and responded to after the comment period has ended.

The purpose of preparing an EA is for an agency to determine whether a significant
environmental impact is likely to occur as a result of the proposed action. An environmental
impact statement (EIS) must be prepared if implementation of the proposed action may
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. I have determined that there would be
no significant impact to the human environment from the implementation of the new Federal


order and, therefore, no EIS needs to be prepared. APHIS’ finding of no significant impact from
the Federal order is based up on the expected limited environmental consequences, as analyzed

in the EA.

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Date

Plant Protection and Quarantine
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service