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.

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new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

5679 

Vol. 76, No. 22 

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 

1To view the interim rule, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0098. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 301 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0098] 

Emerald Ash Borer; Addition of 

Quarantined Areas in Kentucky, 

Michigan, Minnesota, New York, 

Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and 

Wisconsin 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as 

final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final 

rule, without change, an interim rule 

that amended the emerald ash borer 

regulations by adding portions of 

Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New 

York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and the 

entire State of West Virginia to the list 

of quarantined areas. This interim rule, 

which restricted the interstate 

movement of regulated articles from 

those areas, was necessary to prevent 

the artificial spread of the emerald ash 

borer to noninfested areas of the United 

States. 

DATES: Effective on February 2, 2011, we 

are adopting as final the interim rule 

published at 75 FR 29189 on May 25, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Paul Chaloux, Emergency and Domestic 

Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 

(301) 734–0917. 

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. 

Although EAB adults have been 

known to fly as much as one-half mile 

from one tree to the next, the pest can 

also spread when infested nursery trees, 

logs, or firewood are transported from 

one region to the next. Ash trees are 

valuable to the commercial timber 

industry and are commonly planted in 

urban areas. 

In an interim rule 1 effective and 

published in the Federal Register on 

May 25, 2010 (75 FR 29189–29191, 

Docket No. APHIS–2009–0098), we 

amended the EAB regulations in 7 CFR 

part 301 by adding areas in Kentucky, 

Michigan, Minnesota, New York, 

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and the entire 

state of West Virginia to the list of 

quarantined areas. 

Comments on the interim rule were 

required to be received on or before July 

26, 2010. We did not receive any 

comments. Therefore, for the reasons 

given in the interim rule, we are 

adopting the interim rule as a final rule 

without change. 

This action also affirms the 

information contained in the interim 

rule concerning Executive Orders 

12866, 12372, and 12988, and the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Further, for this action, the Office of 

Management and Budget has waived its 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This action affirms an interim rule 

that amended the EAB regulations to 

expand the quarantine area to include 

an additional 21 counties in Kentucky, 

3 counties in Michigan, 2 counties in 

Minnesota, 2 counties in New York, 5 

counties in Pennsylvania, 5 counties in 

Wisconsin, and the entire State of West 

Virginia. Prior to this regulation, one 

county in Minnesota, six counties in 

Pennsylvania, six counties in 

Wisconsin, and one county in West 

Virginia were under quarantine. The 

interim rule helped to protect 

uninfested areas from further spread of 

EAB. 

In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 604, we 

have performed a final regulatory 

flexibility analysis, which is 

summarized below, regarding the 

economic effects of this rule on small 

entities. Copies of the full analysis are 

available on the Regulations.gov Web 

site (see footnote 1 in this document for 

a link to Regulations.gov) or by 

contacting the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

If left unregulated, the spread of EAB 

could negatively impact several 

industries including nurseries, timber 

operations, and landscaping. These 

potential economic impacts would 

likely be much greater than government 

program costs and any additional costs 

incurred from the expansion of the 

quarantine area. While some firms may 

have been negatively affected by the 

interim rule, those effects will be 

limited to those firms that ship 

regulated products interstate or from 

quarantined areas to areas that are not 

under quarantine. Such firms will be 

required to obtain a certificate or limited 

permit from an APHIS inspector in 

order to comply with the regulation or 

enter into a compliance agreement with 

APHIS for the inspection and 

certification of the articles to be moved. 

Additional restrictions on movement 

during adult fly season (roughly May 

through September) may result in 

additional impacts on entities in some 

quarantined counties. Limited 

information was available on the extent 

to which firms in the potentially 

affected industries deal in ash products. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301 

Agricultural commodities, Plant 

diseases and pests, Quarantine, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation. 

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ Accordingly, we are adopting as final, 

without change, the interim rule that 

amended 7 CFR part 301 and that was 

published at 75 FR 29189 on May 25, 

2010. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of 

January 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–2234 Filed 2–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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