Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Notices 79227 

1To view the notice and the supporting 

documents, go to www.regulations.gov. Enter 

APHIS–2022–0038 in the Search field. 

2On September 30, 2022, the APHIS Fruits and 

Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVIR) database 

was replaced by the ACIR database. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2022–0038] 

Notice of Decision To Authorize the 

Importation of Fresh Table Beet Root 

for Consumption From the United 

Kingdom Into the Continental United 

States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our decision to authorize the 

importation of fresh table beet root (Beta 

vulgaris L.) for consumption from the 

United Kingdom into the continental 

United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands. Based on 

findings of a pest risk analysis, which 

we made available to the public for 

review and comment through a previous 

notice, we have determined that the 

application of one or more designated 

phytosanitary measures will be 

sufficient to mitigate the risks of 

introducing or disseminating plant pests 

or noxious weeds via the importation of 

fresh table beet root from the United 

Kingdom. 

DATES: Imports may be authorized 

beginning September 27, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson, Senior Regulatory 

Policy Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, USDA, 

4700 River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, 

MD 20737; (301) 851–2352; 

Claudia.Ferguson@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart L– 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56– 

1 through 319.56–12, referred to below 

as the regulations), the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

prohibits or restricts the importation of 

fruits and vegetables into the United 

States from certain parts of the world to 

prevent plant pests from being 

introduced into or disseminated within 

the United States. 

Section 319.56–4 contains a 

performance-based process for 

approving the importation of 

commodities that, based on the findings 

of a pest risk analysis, can be safely 

imported subject to one or more of the 

designated phytosanitary measures 

listed in paragraph (b) of that section. 

Under that process, APHIS proposes to 

authorize the importation of a fruit or 

vegetable into the United States if, based 

on findings of a pest risk analysis, we 

determine that the measures can 

mitigate the plant pest risk associated 

with the importation of that fruit or 

vegetable. APHIS then publishes a 

notice in the Federal Register 

announcing the availability of the pest 

risk analysis that evaluates the risks 

associated with the importation of a 

particular fruit or vegetable. Following 

the close of the 60-day comment period, 

APHIS will issue a subsequent Federal 

Register notice announcing whether or 

not we will authorize the importation of 

the fruit or vegetable subject to the 

phytosanitary measures specified in the 

notice. 

In accordance with that process, we 

published a notice 1 in the Federal 

Register on August 23, 2023 (88 FR 

57409–57410, Docket No. APHIS–2022– 

0038) in which we announced the 

availability, for review and comment, of 

a pest risk analysis that evaluated the 

risks associated with the importation of 

fresh table beet root (Beta vulgaris L.) for 

consumption from the United Kingdom 

into the continental United States, 

Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands. The pest risk analysis consisted 

of a risk assessment identifying pests of 

quarantine significance that could 

follow the pathway of the importation of 

fresh table beet root into the continental 

United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands from the United 

Kingdom and a risk management 

document (RMD) identifying 

phytosanitary measures to be applied to 

that commodity to mitigate the pest risk. 

We solicited comments on the notice 

for 60 days, ending on October 23, 2023. 

We received no comments by that date. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 319.56–4(c)(3)(iii), we are announcing 

our decision to authorize the 

importation into the continental United 

States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands of fresh table beet root 

(Beta vulgaris L.) for consumption from 

the United Kingdom subject to the 

phytosanitary measures identified in the 

RMD that accompanied the initial 

notice. 

These conditions will be listed in the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s, 

APHIS Agricultural Commodity Import 

Requirements (ACIR) database (https://

acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/).2 In addition to 

these specific measures, each shipment 

must be subject to the general 

requirements listed in § 319.56–3 that 

are applicable to the importation of all 

fruits and vegetables. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

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

et seq.), the recordkeeping and burden 

requirements associated with this action 

are included under the Office of 

Management and Budget control 

number 0579–0049. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance with the E-Government Act 

to promote the use of the internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this notice, please contact Mr. Joseph 

Moxey, APHIS’ Paperwork Reduction 

Act Coordinator, at (301) 851–2533. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701–7772, 

and 7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 

7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 25th day of 

September 2024. 

Michael Watson, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22396 Filed 9–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Dakota Prairie Grasslands; North 

Dakota; Withdrawal of the Notice of 

Intent for Dakota Prairie Grasslands 

Land and Resource Plan Amendment 

and Site-Specific Projects for the 

Elkhorn Ranchlands 

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Notice; withdrawal. 

The Dakota Prairie Grasslands is 

withdrawing its notice of intent to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement for the Dakota Prairie 

Grasslands Land and Resource 

Management Plan amendment and sitespecific projects for the Elkhorn 

Ranchlands acquired lands. The original 

notice of intent was published in the 

Federal Register on October 8, 2008, 

document number E8–23812. The 

Dakota Prairie Grasslands will assign 

management area allocations for these 

lands with a land management plan 

administrative change as described in 

the land exchange regulations at 36 CFR 


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79228 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Notices 

254.3 and planning regulations at 36 

CFR 219.13. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Questions concerning this notice should 

be directed to LeAnn Colburn via U.S. 

postal mail at Dakota Prairie Grasslands 

Supervisors Office, 2000 Miriam Circle, 

Bismarck, ND 58501; via telephone at 

701–989–7304; or via email at 

leann.colburn@usda.gov. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunications devices for the 

hearing impaired may call 711 to reach 

the Telecommunications Relay Service, 

24 hours a day, every day of the year, 

including holidays. 

Keith Lannom, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22153 Filed 9–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Adoption of Categorical Exclusions 

Under Section 109 of the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of adoption of multiple 

categorical exclusions from the 

Department of the Interior, United 

States Geological Survey. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service, is adopting 

multiple categorical exclusions from the 

Department of the Interior, United 

States Geological Survey (USGS) listed 

at 516 Departmental Manual 9.5 B, G, H, 

I, K, and P pursuant to section 109 of 

the National Environmental Policy Act 

for future application to Forest Service 

decisions concerning land management 

activities that are similar in nature. This 

notice describes the categories and 

consultation between the agencies. 

DATES: The categorical exclusion 

adoptions take effect on September 27, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Andrea Pahlevanpour, Assistant 

Director, Forest Service, Ecosystem 

Management Coordination, by phone at 

771–216–0229 or via email to 

andrea.pahlevanpour@usda.gov. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunications devices for the 

hearing impaired may call 711 to reach 

the Telecommunications Relay Service, 

24 hours a day, every day of the year, 

including holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. National Environmental Policy Act 

and Categorical Exclusions 

The National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), as 

amended, requires all Federal agencies 

to consider the environmental impact of 

their proposed actions before deciding 

whether and how to proceed (42 U.S.C. 

4321, 4332). The aims of NEPA are to 

ensure that agencies consider the 

potential environmental effects of their 

proposed actions in their decisionmaking processes and inform and 

involve the public in that process (42 

U.S.C. 4332). NEPA created the Council 

on Environmental Quality, which 

promulgated NEPA implementing 

regulations at 40 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) parts 1500 through 

1508 (Council on Environmental 

Quality regulations). 

To comply with NEPA, agencies 

determine the appropriate level of 

review for a proposed action. Where 

required, these levels of review may be 

documented in an environmental 

impact statement (EIS), an 

environmental assessment (EA), or by 

reliance on a categorical exclusion (CE) 

(40 CFR 1501.3). If a proposed action is 

likely to have significant environmental 

effects, the agency will prepare an EIS 

and document its decision in a record 

of decision (40 CFR 1502, 1505.2). If the 

proposed action is not likely to have 

significant environmental effects or 

where the level of significance is 

unknown, the agency will prepare an 

EA, which involves a more concise 

analysis and process than an EIS (40 

CFR 1501.5). Following preparation of 

an EA, the agency may reach a finding 

of no significant impact if the analysis 

shows that the action will have no 

significant effects (40 CFR 1501.6). If, 

following preparation of an EA, the 

agency finds that the proposed action 

will have significant effects, it will 

prepare an EIS before issuing any 

decision to authorize the action (40 CFR 

1501.6(a)(3)). 

Under NEPA and the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s implementing 

regulations, a Federal agency can 

establish CEs—categories of actions that 

the agency has determined normally do 

not significantly affect the quality of the 

human environment—in its agency 

NEPA procedures 42 U.S.C. 4336(e)(1); 

40 CFR 1501.4, 1507.3(e)(2)(ii), 

1508.1(d). If an agency determines that 

a CE covers a proposed action, the 

agency then evaluates the proposed 

action for any extraordinary 

circumstances in which a normally 

excluded action may have a significant 

effect (40 CFR 1501.4(b)). Responsible 

officials in the Forest Service evaluate 

proposed actions for extraordinary 

circumstances in accordance with the 

Forest Service’s NEPA implementing 

regulations at 36 CFR 220.6. If no 

extraordinary circumstances are found 

or if further analysis determines that the 

extraordinary circumstances do not 

involve the potential for significant 

environmental impacts, the agency may 

rely on the CE to approve the proposed 

action without preparing an EA or an 

EIS (42 U.S.C. 4336(a)(2); 40 CFR 

1501.4). If extraordinary circumstances 

exist, the agency may nonetheless 

categorically exclude the proposed 

action if it determines that there are 

means to avoid the impacts or otherwise 

modify the action sufficient to avoid 

significant effects (40 CFR 1501.4(b)(1)). 

Section 109 of NEPA, enacted as part 

of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, 

allows a Federal agency to ‘‘adopt a 

categorical exclusion listed in another 

agency’s NEPA procedures for a 

category of proposed agency actions for 

which the categorical exclusion was 

established’’ (42 U.S.C. 4336c). To adopt 

another agency’s categorical exclusion 

under section 109, the adopting agency: 

(1) identifies the relevant categorical 

exclusion listed in another agency’s 

(‘‘establishing agency’’) NEPA 

procedures ‘‘that covers a category of 

proposed actions or related actions’’; (2) 

consults with the establishing agency 

‘‘to ensure that the proposed adoption of 

the categorical exclusion for a category 

of actions is appropriate’’; (3) ‘‘identifies 

to the public the categorical exclusion 

that the [adopting] agency plans to use 

for its proposed actions’’; and (4) 

‘‘documents adoption of the categorical 

exclusion’’ (see 42 U.S.C. 4336c). 

The Forest Service’s NEPA 

procedures are found at 36 CFR 220. 

These procedures address compliance 

with NEPA. The Forest Service 

maintains a list of categorical exclusions 

available at 36 CFR 220.6. Additional 

NEPA policy is found in the Forest 

Service Handbook 1909.15, chapter 10. 

This notice documents the Forest 

Service’s adoption of the USGS 

categorical exclusions 516 Departmental 

Manual 9.5 B, G, H, I, K, and P. 

II. Additional Considerations Related to 

Forest Service Categorical Exclusions 

1. Decision Memo 

The Forest Service requires at 36 CFR 

220.6(e) that, ‘‘A supporting record is 

required and the decision to proceed 

must be documented in a decision 

memo for the categories of action in 

paragraphs (e)(1) through (25) of this 

section.’’ For all the categorical 

exclusions (CEs) adopted in this notice, 

the Forest Service will require a 


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