Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Notices 10223 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the Official Control 

Program, contact Ms. Diane L. Schuble, 

National Coordinator for Official 

Control Programs, Emergency and 

Domestic Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 

20737; (301) 734–8723. For copies of 

more detailed information on the 

information collection, contact Mrs. 

Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851– 

2908. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Plant Protection and 

Quarantine; Official Control Program. 

OMB Number: 0579–XXXX. 

Type of Request: Approval of an 

information collection. 

Abstract: As authorized by the Plant 

Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), 

the Secretary of Agriculture may 

prohibit or restrict the importation, 

entry, exportation, or movement in 

interstate commerce of any plant, plant 

product, biological control organism, 

noxious weed, means of conveyance, or 

other article if the Secretary determines 

that the prohibition or restriction is 

necessary to prevent a plant pest or 

noxious weed from being introduced 

into or disseminated within the United 

States. This authority has been 

delegated to the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS). 

As part of this mission, APHIS’ Plant 

Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 

program responds to introductions of 

plant pests to eradicate, suppress, or 

contain them through various programs 

to prevent the interstate spread of plant 

pests. APHIS’ plant pest control and 

eradication programs qualify as ‘‘official 

control programs,’’ as defined by the 

International Plant Protection 

Convention (IPPC), recognized by the 

World Trade Organization as the 

standard-setting body for international 

plant quarantine issues. ‘‘Official 

control’’ is defined as ‘‘the active 

enforcement of mandatory 

phytosanitary regulations and the 

application of mandatory phytosanitary 

procedures with the objective of 

eradication or containment of 

quarantine pests or for the management 

of regulated non-quarantine pests.’’ As a 

contracting party to the IPPC, the United 

States has agreed to observe IPPC 

principles as they relate to international 

trade. 

APHIS is aware that individual States 

enforce phytosanitary regulations and 

procedures within their borders to 

address pests of concern, and that those 

pests are not always also the subject of 

an APHIS response program or activity. 

To strengthen APHIS’ safeguarding 

system to protect agriculture and to 

facilitate agriculture trade through 

effective management of phytosanitary 

measures, APHIS plans to begin a 

process to allow a State to request 

Federal recognition of that State’s 

phytosanitary measures or activities as 

an ‘‘official control program’’ to restrict 

the spread of plant pests. Federal 

recognition of a State’s pest control 

activities will justify actions by Federal 

inspectors at ports of entry to help 

exclude pests under an official control 

program in a destination State. This 

process involves the use of information 

collection activities, including the 

submission by States of a protocol for 

quarantine pests of concern and a 

protocol for regulated non-quarantine 

pests. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of these information 

collection activities for 3 years. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments from the public (as well as 

affected agencies) concerning our 

information collection. These comments 

will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, through use, as 

appropriate, of automated, electronic, 

mechanical, and other collection 

technologies; e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

Estimate of burden: The public 

reporting burden for this collection of 

information is estimated to average 80 

hours per response. 

Respondents: State plant health 

regulatory officials. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 53. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 25. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 1,325. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 106,000 hours. (Due to 

averaging, the total annual burden hours 

may not equal the product of the annual 

number of responses multiplied by the 

reporting burden per response.) 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of 

March 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5034 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0143] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Biological Control 

Agent for Russian Thistle 

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 

environmental assessment relative to 

the control of Russian thistle, Salsola 

tragus. The environmental assessment 

considers the effects of, and alternatives 

to, the release of a nonindigenous blister 

mite, Aceria salsolae, for the biological 

control of Russian thistle in the 

continental United States. 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 April 9, 

2009. 

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=APHIS– 

2008–0143 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–2008–0143, 

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– 

2008–0143. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the 

environmental assessment in our 

reading room. The reading room is 

located in room 1141 of the USDA 

10224 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 10, 2009 / Notices 

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: Dr. 

Carmen Soileau, Senior Entomolgist, 

Evaluation and Permitting of Regulated 

Organisms and Soil, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 

River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1237; (301) 734–5055. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for release of a 

nonindigenous blister mite, Aceria 

salsolae, for the biological control of 

Russian thistle, Salsola tragus, in the 

continental United States. 

Russian thistle or tumbleweed, is a 

highly invasive weed native to the 

mountainous regions of southwest Asia. 

Since the introduction of Russian thistle 

to South Dakota in the early 1870s, it 

has spread steadily throughout the 

central and western regions of the 

United States and southern Canada. It is 

an agricultural pest that grows primarily 

in fallow or disturbed soil, along 

roadsides and irrigation canals, and in 

waste areas in arid and semiarid zones. 

During drought periods, it can invade 

some habitats and displace native 

species. The infestation of Russian 

thistle causes millions of dollars of 

damage by disrupting automobile traffic, 

clogging irrigation canals, piling up 

against fences and houses, and igniting 

and spreading wildfires. 

There are currently several control 

methods for Russian thistle, including 

herbicides, timed grazing, tilling, and 

other methods. However, these 

approaches have proven to be 

ineffective. Therefore, APHIS is 

proposing to issue permits for the 

release of a blister mite, Aceria salsolae, 

into the environment for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of Russian thistle infestations in 

the continental United States. 

The proposed biological control agent, 

A. salsolae, is a mite in the insect family 

Eriophyid and can be found in Turkey, 

Uzbekistan, and Greece. The mites are 

usually hidden in crevices of the leaf 

axils, flowers, and fruits of the Russian 

thistle. They feed on the target plant by 

inserting stylets (needle-like mouth 

parts) into plant cells and feeding on the 

cell contents. After about 3 weeks, the 

leaf meristems (growing tips) die and 

the mites use the wind to disperse to 

fresh meristems. Feeding on epidermal 

cells in meristematic tissue causes cell 

death of the leaf and flower meristems, 

thus stunting growth of the plant and 

delaying and reducing reproduction. 

The mite is not expected to directly 

harm any plants outside the targeted 

Russian thistle (sensu lato). Host 

specific tests of A. salsolae were 

conducted using a total of 39 species 

and 12 varieties of host plants from 5 

families, including 25 native species of 

North America. After 4 weeks of 

laboratory experiments, no live mites 

were found on any of the nontarget test 

plants outside the genus Salsola and 

none of the nontarget plants showed any 

sign of feeding damage. Furthermore, 

the results clearly show that there was 

no population increase on these 

nontarget plant species, particularly in 

comparison to the population growth 

observed on Russian thistle. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

potential environmental impacts 

associated with releasing a biological 

control agent, A. salsolae, into the 

environment are documented in detail 

in an environmental assessment (EA) 

entitled ‘‘Field Release of Aceria 

salsolaea (Acari: Eriophyidae), a Mite 

for Biological Control of Russian Thistle 

(Salsola tragus), in the Continental 

United States’’ (October 2008). We are 

making the EA 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 EA 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 EA 

by calling or writing to the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the 

EA when requesting copies. 

The EA 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 4th day of 

March 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5043 Filed 3–9–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0142] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Biological Control 

Agent for Yellow Starthistle 

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 

environmental assessment relative to 

the control of yellow starthistle, 

Centaurea solstitialis (Asteraceae). The 

environmental assessment considers the 

effects of, and alternatives to, the release 

of a weevil, Ceratapion basicorne, into 

the environment for use as a biological 

control agent to reduce the severity of 

yellow starthistle infestations in the 

continental United States. 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 April 9, 

2009. 

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=APHIS2008–0142 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–2008–0142, 

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– 

2008–0142. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the 

environmental assessment in our 

reading room. The reading room is 

located in room 1141 of the USDA 

South Building, 14th Street and 

Independence Avenue, SW.,