This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

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Notices Federal Register

46373 

Vol. 77, No. 150 

Friday, August 3, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No APHIS–2012–0061] 

Field Release of Aphelinus glycinis for 

the Biological Control of the Soybean 

Aphid in the Continental United States; 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that a draft environmental assessment 

has been prepared by the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service relative 

to the proposed release of Aphelinus 

glycinis for the biological control of the 

soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, in the 

continental United States. We are 

making this environmental assessment 

available to the public for review and 

comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before September 

4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS–2012–0061. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0061, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

The environmental assessment and 

any comments we receive may be 

viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS–2012–0061 or 

in our reading room, which 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) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Shirley A. Wager-Page, Chief, Pest 

Permitting Branch, Registration, 

Identification, Permitting, and Plant 

Safeguarding, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1236; (301) 851–2323. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The soybean aphid, Aphis glycinis, 

which is native to Asia, was found in 

North America in 2000 and has since 

become a major pest in America. It 

infested 42 million acres alone in 2003, 

resulting in decreased soybean yields 

and greatly increased control costs. The 

soybean aphid has invaded most 

soybean production regions in North 

America, including numerous U.S. 

States and three Canadian Provinces. 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for the field release of 

the insect Aphelinus glycinis to reduce 

the severity of soybean damage from 

infestations of soybean aphid in the 

United States. Permitting the release of 

this parasite species is necessary to 

determine its impact on soybean aphid 

populations and its ability to survive in 

the target area. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

potential environmental impacts 

associated with these proposed field 

tests are documented in detail in an 

environmental assessment entitled 

‘‘Field Release of Aphelinus glycinis for 

the Biological Control of the Soybean 

Aphid in the Continental United States’’ 

(March 2012). We are making this 

environmental assessment 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 environmental assessment may 

be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web 

site or in our reading room (see 

ADDRESSES above for a link to 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the 

environmental assessment by calling or 

writing to the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please 

refer to the title of the environmental 

assessment when requesting copies. 

The environmental assessment has 

been prepared in accordance with: (1) 

The National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.); (2) regulations of the 

Council on Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508); (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1); and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of 

July 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–19026 Filed 8–2–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0060] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Biological Control 

Agent for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

environmental assessment relative to 

the release of Symnus coniferarum to 

control hemlock woolly adelgid. The 

environmental assessment considers the 

effects of, and alternatives to, the release 

of Symnus coniferarum into the eastern 

United States for use as a biological 

control agent to reduce the severity of 

hemlock woolly adelgid infestations. 

We are making the environmental 

assessment available to the public for 

review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before September 

4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS–2012– 

0060–0001. 


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