Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 47 / Thursday, March 12, 2009 / Notices 10707 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses: 104,300. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 287 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 6th day of 

March 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5371 Filed 3–11–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0008] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Biological Control 

Agent for Russian Knapweed 

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 knapweed, 

Acroptilon repens. The environmental 

assessment considers the effects of, and 

alternatives to, the release of a gall 

midge, Jaapiella ivannikovi, into the 

continental United States for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of Russian knapweed 

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 April 13, 

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– 

2009–0008 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–2009–0008, 

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– 

2009–0008. 

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., 

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. 

L. Carmen Soileau, Senior Staff 

Entomologist, Permits, Registrations, 

Imports, and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, 

MD 20737–1237; (866) 524–5421. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for the release of a gall 

midge, Jaapiella ivannikovi, into the 

continental United States for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of Russian knapweed 

(Acroptilon repens) infestations. 

Russian knapweed is a long-lived 

perennial in the plant tribe Asteraceae 

(sunflower, aster, or daisy family). The 

highly invasive weed was first 

introduced into North America in 1898. 

By 1998, the weed had spread to 313 

counties in 45 of the 48 contiguous 

States in the United States with 80 

percent of the infestation occurring in 

the States of Colorado, Idaho, 

Washington, and Wyoming. Russian 

knapweed thrives in a variety of habitats 

and is found in both irrigated and arid 

environments and in croplands, 

pastures, rangelands, and wastelands. 

The weed is a strong competitor and 

produces a chemical substance that 

inhibits the growth of other plant 

species, and, as a result, dense (100–300 

plants/square meter) infestations may 

develop. It is generally not used for 

forage because of its bitter taste and 

because it presents a risk of causing 

neurological disorders in horses if 

consumed. Additionally, it reduces 

wildlife habitats, suppresses other 

plants, and has no beneficial qualities. 

Existing Russian knapweed 

management options are ineffective, 

expensive, and temporary and have 

negative impacts on other species of 

plants. Therefore, APHIS is proposing to 

issue permits for the release of a gall 

midge, J. ivannikovi, into the 

continental United States for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of Russian knapweed 

infestations. 

The proposed biological control agent, 

J. ivannikovi, is an insect measuring 1.6 

to 2.5 mm in length with relatively large 

wings, long legs, and a long ovipositor 

(egg-laying organ) that can be extended 

from the tip of the abdomen. The female 

gall midge deposits its eggs on the 

surface of the buds situated on the tips 

of the main and side shoots of the 

Russian knapweed. Larval feeding 

causes stunted growth of the shoot and 

fusion of leaves, resulting in a so-called 

‘‘rosette gall.’’ 

Host specificity laboratory tests 

conducted at the CABI Bioscience 

Centre in Delee ́mont, Switzerland, and 

open-field experiments in Uzbekistan 

indicate that J. ivannikovi is hostspecific to Russian knapweed. The list 

of plants tested in the laboratory 

consisted of the target plant, Russian 

knapweed, collected in the native range 

(Uzbekistan), a population of Russian 

knapweed collected in North America 

(Wyoming), and 50 non-target plant 

species or varieties. During these tests, 

several male and female J. ivannikovi 

gall midges were placed into a plastic 

cylinder that covered each plant. After 

exposure, the plants were inspected for 

gall formation. In these laboratory tests, 

galls occurred only on the target weed 

Russian knapweed and on the Eurasian 

knapweed. 

In addition to the laboratory tests, gall 

formation tests were conducted under 

open-field conditions in an 

experimental garden at the Institute of 

Zoology, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Test 

plant species were either grown from 

seed or collected in the local area and 

transplanted to the experimental sites 

and were arranged with Russian 

knapweed in a randomized design. J. 

ivannikovi galls were collected locally 

over an approximate span of 2 years. In 

these tests, gall formation was recorded 

in large numbers on Russian knapweed 

but on no other test plant species, 

including the Eurasian knapweed. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

proposed action are documented in 

detail in an environmental assessment 

(EA) entitled ‘‘Field Release of Jaapiella 

ivannikovi (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), an 

Insect for Biological Control of Russian 

Knapweed (Acroptilon repens), in the 

Continental United States’’ (December 

2008). We are making the EA available 

to the public for review and comment. 

We will consider all comments that we 


cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with NOTICES
10708 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 47 / Thursday, March 12, 2009 / Notices 

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 6th day of 

March 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–5370 Filed 3–11–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2009–0009] 

National Advisory Committee on 

Microbiological Criteria for Foods 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces that 

the National Advisory Committee on 

Microbiological Criteria for Foods 

(NACMCF) will hold public meetings of 

the full Committee and subcommittees 

on March 16–20, 2009. The Committee 

will discuss: (1) Determination of the 

most appropriate technologies for the 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

(FSIS) to adopt in performing routine 

and baseline microbiological analyses, 

and (2) Parameters for inoculated-pack 

challenge study protocols. 

DATES: The full Committee will hold an 

open meeting on Friday, March 20, 

2009, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 

Subcommittee on Determination of the 

Most Appropriate Technologies for the 

FSIS to Adopt in Performing Routine 

and Baseline Microbiological Analyses 

will hold open meetings on Monday, 

March 16, and Tuesday, March 17, 

2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and 

Wednesday, March 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 

12 p.m. The Subcommittee on 

Parameters for inoculated-pack 

challenge study protocols will hold 

open meetings on Wednesday, March 

18, and Thursday, March 19, 2009, from 

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The March 16–19, 2009, 

subcommittee meetings will be held at 

the Aerospace Center, 901 D Street, SW., 

Rooms 369–371, Washington, DC 20024. 

The March 20, 2009, full Committee 

meeting will be held in the conference 

room at the south end of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

cafeteria located in the South Building, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250. All documents 

related to the full Committee meeting 

will be available for public inspection in 

the FSIS Docket Room, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 2534 

South Building, Washington, DC 20250, 

between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, as soon as they 

become available. The NACMCF 

documents will also be available on the 

Internet at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

Regulations_&_Policies/ 

2009_Notices_Index/index.asp. 

FSIS will finalize an agenda on or 

before the meeting dates and post it on 

the FSIS Web page at http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/News/ 

Meetings_&_Events/. Please note that 

the meeting agenda is subject to change 

due to the time required for Committee 

discussions; thus, sessions could start or 

end earlier or later than anticipated. 

Please plan accordingly if you would 

like to attend a particular session or 

participate in a public comment period. 

Also, the official transcript of the 

March 20, 2009, full Committee 

meeting, when it becomes available, 

will be kept in the FSIS Docket Room 

at the above address and will also be 

posted on http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

About/NACMCF_Meetings/. 

The mailing address for the contact 

person is: Karen Thomas-Sharp, USDA, 

FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, 

1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 333 

Aerospace Center, Washington, DC 

20250–3766. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Persons interested in making a 

presentation, submitting technical 

papers, or providing comments at the 

March 20, plenary session should 

contact Karen Thomas-Sharp, phone 

(202) 690–6620, fax (202) 690–6334, email: Karen.thomas-sharp@fsis.usda.gov 

or at the mailing address above. Persons 

requiring a sign language interpreter or 

other special accommodations should 

notify Mrs. Thomas-Sharp by March 9, 

2009. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The NACMCF was established in 

1988, in response to a recommendation 

of the National Academy of Sciences for 

an interagency approach to 

microbiological criteria for foods, and in 

response to a recommendation of the 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Committee on Appropriations, as 

expressed in the Rural Development, 

Agriculture, and Related Agencies 

Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1988. 

The charter for the NACMCF is 

available for viewing on the FSIS 

Internet Web page at http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/About/ 

NACMCF_Charter/. 

The NACMCF provides scientific 

advice and recommendations to the 

Secretary of Agriculture and the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services 

on public health issues relative to the 

safety and wholesomeness of the U.S. 

food supply, including development of 

microbiological criteria and review and 

evaluation of epidemiological and risk 

assessment data and methodologies for 

assessing microbiological hazards in 

foods. The Committee also provides 

scientific advice and recommendations 

to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention and the Departments of 

Commerce and Defense. 

Mr. Ronald F. Hicks, Acting Deputy 

Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, 

is the Committee Chair; Dr. Stephen 

Sundlof, Director of the Food and Drug 

Administration’s Center for Food Safety 

and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), is the 

Vice-Chair; and Gerri Ransom, FSIS, is 

the Executive Secretary. 

At the subcommittee meetings the 

week of March 16–19, 2009, the groups 

will discuss: 

• The determination of the most 

appropriate technologies for the FSIS to 

adopt in performing routine and 

baseline microbiological analyses, and 

• Parameters for inoculated-pack 

challenge study protocols. 

Documents Reviewed by NACMCF 

FSIS intends to make available to the 

public all materials that are reviewed 

and considered by NACMCF regarding 

its deliberations. Generally, these 

materials will be made available as soon 

as possible after the full Committee 

meeting. Further, FSIS intends to make 

these materials available in electronic 

format on the FSIS Web page (http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov), as well as in hard 

copy format in the FSIS Docket Room. 

Often, an attempt is made to make the 

materials available at the start of the full 


cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with NOTICES