51326 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 167 / Tuesday, August 30, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 16 

RIN 1018–AG70 

Injurious Wildlife Species; Black Carp 

(Mylopharyngodon piceus); Availability 

of Draft Environmental Assessment 

and Draft Economic Analysis 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period and availability of 

supplemental information. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, announce the 

availability of a draft environmental 

assessment and draft economic analysis 

for public comment. These documents 

supplement the information in the 

proposed rule to add all forms (diploid 

and triploid) of live black carp 

(Mylopharyngodon piceus), gametes, 

and viable eggs to the list of injurious 

fish, mollusks, and crustaceans under 

the Lacey Act. We are also soliciting 

public comments on all aspects of the 

proposed rule. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before October 31, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: The documents are 

available from the Chief, Division of 

Environmental Quality, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax 

Drive, Mail Stop 322, Arlington, 

Virginia 22203; FAX (703) 358–1800. 

They also are available on our webpage 

at http://contaminants.fws.gov/Issues/ 

InvasiveSpecies.cfm. Comments may be 

hand-delivered, mailed, or sent by fax to 

the address listed above. Alternatively, 

you may send comments by electronic 

mail (e-mail) to: BlackCarp@fws.gov. 

See the Public Comments Solicited 

section below for file format and other 

information about electronic filing. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin 

Williams, Division of Environmental 

Quality, Branch of Invasive Species, at 

(703) 358–2034 or 

erin_williams@fws.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In February 2000, we were petitioned 

to list black carp as an injurious species 

of wildlife under the Lacey Act (18 

U.S.C. 42). We published a proposed 

rule in the Federal Register to add all 

forms (diploid and triploid) of live black 

carp to the list of injurious fish, 

mollusks, and crustaceans under the 

Lacey Act on July 30, 2002 (67 FR 

49280); the comment period on the 

proposed rule closed on September 30, 

2002. On June 4, 2003 (68 FR 33431), we 

reopened the comment period until 

August 4, 2003. We evaluated 103 

comments received during the two 

comment periods on the proposed rule. 

We have also recently received new 

information relevant to the proposed 

listing from the aquaculture industry 

that we intend to consider during the 

development of the final rulemaking 

documents. This information can be 

accessed for public review using the 

contact information provided in the 

ADDRESSES section above. This notice 

announces the availability of a draft 

environmental assessment and draft 

economic analysis for the proposed rule. 

We are soliciting public comments on 

these documents as well as all other 

aspects of the July 30, 2002, proposed 

rule. We are particularly interested in 

comments on alternatively listing the 

diploid (fertile) form only, including 

gametes and viable eggs. A listing of the 

diploid (fertile) form would have the 

effect of prohibiting the importation of 

live diploid black carp, gametes, or 

viable eggs into the United States and 

prohibiting the movement of live 

diploid black carp, gametes, or viable 

eggs between States without a permit 

issued by the Director of the Service. A 

listing of all forms (diploid and triploid) 

would have the effect of prohibiting the 

importation of all live black carp, 

gametes, or viable eggs into the United 

States and prohibiting the movement of 

all live black carp, gametes, or viable 

eggs between States without a permit 

issued by the Director of the Service. 

The purpose of the draft environmental 

assessment is to evaluate three 

alternatives associated with the 

proposed rule to list black carp 

(Mylopharyngodon piceus) as an 

injurious species under the Lacey Act. 

The purpose of the draft economic 

analysis is to analyze the potential 

economic impact if the proposed rule 

were adopted as published. 

Public Comments Solicited 

We are soliciting substantive public 

comments and supporting data on the 

draft environmental assessment, the 

draft economic analysis, and the 

proposal to add all forms (diploid and 

triploid) of live black carp to the list of 

injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act. 

Additionally, we are seeking comments 

and supporting data on the 

consideration of adding only live 

diploid (fertile) forms of black carp to 

the list of injurious wildlife. Listing the 

diploid form only would prohibit the 

importation and interstate movement of 

diploid live black carp, and would not 

prohibit the importation and interstate 

movement of live triploid (sterile) black 

carp. Comments already submitted on 

the proposed rule need not be 

resubmitted as they will be fully 

considered in our decisionmaking. 

The Service solicits substantive 

public comment on the following issues: 

1. How many black carp (diploid, 

triploid, or both) are currently in use in 

how many States? If a permit is 

required, please provide the number of 

black carp permitted for the past 15 

years. 

2. Are data available regarding the 

number of channel catfish, baitfish, or 

hybrid striped bass farms that use 

diploid, triploid, or both diploid and 

triploid black carp? What is the total 

acreage of black carp (diploid, triploid, 

or both) used? 

3. Are data available to model the 

degree to which black carp are an 

effective biological control for snails 

and trematode outbreaks (i.e., mortality 

rates, growth rates, and disease 

susceptibility)? 

4. Are data available to estimate the 

cost of alternative biological and 

chemical methods to control snails and 

trematode outbreaks if diploid and 

triploid black carp are listed under the 

Lacey Act? Are data available to 

estimate the cost of alternative 

biological and chemical methods to 

control snails and trematode outbreaks 

if only diploid black carp are listed 

under the Lacey Act? Please provide 

data regarding the alternative 

methodologies and effectiveness and 

associated costs and benefits of the 

alternative(s) (chemical, biological, 

water level manipulation, or any 

combination of the three). 

5. Are data available to estimate the 

costs associated with ponds that suffer 

light (loss of 200 pounds), moderate 

(loss between 200–2,000 pounds) or 

severe (loss over 2,000 pounds) 

outbreaks? 

6. Are estimates available for the cost 

to remediate a pond that suffers light 

(loss of 200 pounds), moderate (loss 

between 200–2,000 pounds), and severe 

(loss over 2,000 pounds) outbreaks? 

7. Are data available to estimate the 

rate at which trematode outbreaks 

occurred between the 1970s and 2005? 

8. Are data available to estimate the 

rate at which trematode outbreaks are 

expected to change over the next 10 

years, both with and without the use of 

black carp? 

9. Have studies been conducted to 

evaluate other biological and/or 

chemical methods to disrupt the life 

cycle of parasites currently controlled 

using black carp? 

10. Are data available to estimate the 

impact to catfish, baitfish, and hybrid 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 167 / Tuesday, August 30, 2005 / Proposed Rules 51327 

striped bass industries if diploid and 

triploid black carp are listed under the 

Lacey Act? 

11. Are data available to estimate the 

impact to catfish, baitfish, and hybrid 

striped bass industries if only diploid 

black carp are listed under the Lacey 

Act? 

12. Are data available for the retail 

cost of triploid animals? Are data 

available for the retail cost of diploid 

animals? 

13. Are data available for the cost of 

restocking based on the ease of capture 

when ponds are seined and fish 

discarded as offal at catfish processing 

plants? What is the cost of restocking, 

and how does either alternative affect 

restocking? 

14. Are data available for the costs for 

implementing 100% certified triploid 

black carp using the Coulter Counter

method? What are the protocols for 

sampling triploid black carp using this 

method? Are data available showing the 

effectiveness in identifying triploid 

black carp using the Coulter Counter

method? 

15. Are data available for the costs for 

implementing 100% certified triploid 

black carp using the flow cytometry 

method? What are the protocols for 

sampling triploid black carp using this 

method? Are data available showing the 

effectiveness in identifying triploid 

black carp using the flow cytometry 

method? 

16. Are there other scientifically 

proven methods to ensure 100% 

certification of triploid black carp? 

17. Is information/data available on 

the costs of providing escape-proof 

containment of both triploid and 

diploid black carp? Movement may 

include transportation, wildlife, floods 

or other natural events. 

18. Are data available on the costs to 

eradicate black carp individuals and/or 

populations or similar nonnative 

populations, if found? 

19. Are data available on the costs of 

implementing native mollusk 

propagation, recovery, and restoration 

programs? Are data available on the 

State-listed species that would be 

impacted by the introduction of diploid 

or triploid black carp? 

20. Are data available on the costs to 

re-establish mussel and snail 

populations that may have been 

impacted by spills (or other events) or 

may be impacted by black carp? 

21. Are data available on the 

economic value of mussel shells used in 

the cultured pearl and jewelry 

industries? 

Submit comments and data as 

identified in ADDRESSES. If you submit 

documentation by e-mail, please submit 

it as an ASCII file format and avoid the 

use of special characters and 

encryption. Please include ‘‘Attn: [RIN 

1018–AG70]’’ in your e-mail subject line 

and your name and return address in 

your e-mail message. If you do not 

receive a confirmation from the system 

that we have received your e-mail 

message, contact us directly by calling 

our office at telephone number 703–

358–2148 during normal business 

hours. Please note that this e-mail 

address will be closed at the termination 

of the public comment period. 

Our practice is to make comments, 

including names and home addresses of 

respondents, available for public review 

during regular business hours. 

Individual respondents may request that 

we withhold their home address from 

the rulemaking record, which we will 

honor to the extent allowable by law. In 

some circumstances, we would 

withhold from the rulemaking record a 

respondent’s identity, as allowable by 

law. If you wish for us to withhold your 

name and/or address, you must state 

this prominently at the beginning of 

your comment. However, we will not 

consider anonymous comments. We 

will make all submissions from 

organizations or businesses, and from 

individuals identifying themselves as 

representatives or officials of 

organizations or businesses, available 

for public inspection in their entirety. 

Authority: 18 U.S.C. 42. 

Dated: August 24, 2005. 

Paul Hoffman, 

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 

Parks. 

[FR Doc. 05–17173 Filed 8–29–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–55–U