This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

12171 

Vol. 75, No. 49 

Monday, March 15, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Office of the Secretary 

Notice of the National Agricultural 

Research, Extension, Education, and 

Economics Advisory Board Meeting 

AGENCY: Research, Education, and 

Economics, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 

U.S.C. App. 2, the United States 

Department of Agriculture announces a 

meeting of the National Agricultural 

Research, Extension, Education, and 

Economics Advisory Board. 

DATES: The National Agricultural 

Research, Extension, Education, and 

Economics Advisory Board will meet 

March 29–31, 2010. 

The public may file written comments 

before or up to two weeks after the 

meeting with the contact person 

identified in this notice. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will take place 

at the Washington Court Hotel, 525 New 

Jersey Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 

20001. Written comments from the 

public may be sent to the Contact 

Person identified in this notice at: The 

National Agricultural Research, 

Extension, Education, and Economics 

Advisory Board; Research, Education, 

and Economics Advisory Board Office, 

Room 3901, South Building, United 

States Department of Agriculture, STOP 

0321, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–2255. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Hunter, Executive Director, 

National Agricultural Research, 

Extension, Education, and Economics 

Advisory Board; telephone: (202) 720– 

3684; fax: (202) 720–6199; or e-mail: 

Shirley.morgan@ars.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The entire 

meeting to include orientation is open 

to the public. On Monday, March 29, 

2010, an orientation session for new 

members and interested incumbent 

members will be held from 10:30 a.m.– 

12 p.m. (noon). The full Advisory Board 

will convene at 12 p.m. (noon) with 

introductory remarks by the Chair of the 

Advisory Board. There will be brief 

introductions of new Board members, 

incumbents, and guests followed by 

general Board business. Comments will 

be heard from a variety of distinguished 

leaders and experts, as well as officials 

and/or leaders from the four agencies in 

the USDA Research, Education, and 

Economics mission area. Speakers will 

provide information for the Board to 

consider while developing 

recommendations regarding 

enhancement of USDA research, 

extension, education, and economic 

programs for the protection of U.S. food, 

fiber, fuel and agricultural systems. 

USDA officials have been invited to 

provide brief remarks and welcome the 

new Board members. On Tuesday, 

March 30, 2010 a focus session on the 

topic of Food Security will begin at 8 

a.m. and adjourn at 5:30 p.m. On 

Wednesday, March 31, 2010, the 

meeting will reconvene at 8 a.m. to 

continue discussions on Food Security 

and draft preliminary recommendations. 

An opportunity for public comment will 

be offered at the end of each day. The 

Advisory Board Meeting will adjourn by 

12:00 (noon) on Wednesday. 

Written comments by attendees or 

other interested individuals will be 

welcomed for the public record before 

and up to two weeks following the 

Board meeting (by close of business 

Wednesday, April 14, 2010). All 

statements will become a part of the 

official record of the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, 

Education, and Economics Advisory 

Board and will be kept on file for public 

review in the Research, Extension, 

Education, and Economics Advisory 

Board Office. 

Margaret M. Jahn, 

Acting, Under Secretary, Research, 

Education, and Economics. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5570 Filed 3–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0001] 

Notice of Availability of a Draft Pest 

Risk Assessment on Honey Bees 

Imported from Australia 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

evaluation of the pest risks associated 

with the importation of honey bees from 

Australia. The draft pest risk assessment 

considers potential pest risks involved 

in the importation of honeybees into the 

United States from Australia after 

concerns that exotic honey bee 

pathogens or parasites may have been 

introduced into Australia. We are 

making the draft pest risk assessment 

available to the public for review and 

comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before May 14, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

∑ Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

(http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2010-0001) to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

∑ Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2010–0001, 

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– 

2010–0001. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the draft 

pest risk assessment 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 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
12172 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 49 / Monday, March 15, 2010 / Notices 

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: Dr. 

Colin D. Stewart, Senior Entomologist, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1237; (301) 734– 

0774. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 7 CFR part 322 

restrict the importation, interstate 

movement, and transit through the 

United States of bees, beekeeping 

byproducts, and beekeeping equipment 

to prevent the introduction of pests into 

the United States through the 

importation of honeybees from 

approved regions. Australia is currently 

on the list of approved regions from 

which adult honeybees maybe imported 

into the United States under certain 

conditions. 

In March 2002, APHIS issued a report 

assessing the risks of pest introduction 

into the United States in imports of 

honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) from 

Australia. The evaluation identified 15 

pathogens and pests of bees in that 

country, all of which occur in the 

United States. The evaluation 

concluded that there were no 

quarantine-significant honey bee 

pathogens or pests occurring in 

Australia. 

In the 7 years since the completion of 

the evaluation for Australian bees, new 

threats to the U.S. honey bee population 

have emerged. The most prominent 

threat is Colony Collapse Disorder, a 

mysterious syndrome characterized by 

the abrupt disappearance of a colony’s 

adult worker bee population, leaving a 

substantial population of healthy brood, 

an absence of dead bees, and the 

delayed invasion of hive pests and 

robbing of hive stores by neighboring 

colonies. A link between the disorder, 

first reported in the United States in 

2006, and honey bee imports from 

Australia has been suggested. The May 

2007 discovery of colonies of the Asian 

honey bee (Apis cerana) near Cairns, 

Victoria, also has raised concerns that 

exotic honey bee pathogens or parasites 

may have been introduced into 

Australia with the arrival of this foreign 

bee. These developments suggest a need 

to reevaluate the risks involved in 

importation of bees from Australia. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

risks associated with the importation of 

honey bees from Australia are 

documented in detail in a draft pest risk 

assessment (PRA) titled, ‘‘Evaluation of 

Pest Risks Associated with Importation 

of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) from 

Australia’’ (November 2009). Findings 

presented in the draft PRA state that 

there are honey bee viruses present in 

Australia that are not known to occur in 

the United States. The draft PRA 

concludes that zoosanitary measures 

may be necessary to reduce the 

possibility of the introduction of these 

viruses to the United States via the 

importation of honey bees from 

Australia. 

We are making the draft PRA 

available to the public for review and 

comment. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

the date listed under the heading DATES

at the beginning of this notice. The draft 

PRA and the comments received may be 

the basis for a future change in the 

regulations. 

The draft PRA may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the 

draft PRA by calling or writing to the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the 

title of the draft PRA when requesting 

copies. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day 

of March 2010. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–5573 Filed 3–12–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–S 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0101] 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Response to Petitions for the 

Reclassification of Light Brown Apple 

Moth as a Non-Quarantine Pest 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is making available, 

for public review and comment, a draft 

response to two petitions we received 

requesting the reclassification of light 

brown apple moth [Epiphyas 

postvittana (Walker)] as a nonquarantine pest. Following the review 

period, APHIS will consider the 

comments prior to the release of a final 

petition response. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before May 14, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

∑ Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

(http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2009-0101) to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

∑ Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS-2009-0101, 

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. APHIS2009-0101. 

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. 

Andrea Simao, National Program 

Manager, Emergency and Domestic 

Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737- 

1231; (301) 734-0930. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Light brown apple moth (Epiphyas 

postvittana [Walker]) (LBAM) is a plant 

pest with a broad host range of over 

2,000 plant species, including stone 

fruit (peaches, plums, nectarines, 

cherries, and apricots), apples, pears, 

grapes, and citrus. LBAM larvae feed on 

the leaves and fruit of host plants and, 

under appropriate conditions, may 

result in significant damage. The pest 

can be very difficult to eradicate once it 

is established in an area. To date, 

natural enemies of leaf rollers have not 

impacted LBAM populations in the 

infested areas of California and few 

predators or parasites of LBAM have 

been observed. 


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