[Federal Register: September 15, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 178)]
[Notices]
[Page 53956-53957]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15se03-31]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
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[[Page 53956]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 98-103-3]
Importation of Artificially Dwarfed Plants in Growing Media From
the People's Republic of China; Availability of an Environmental
Assessment and Request for Comments
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are informing the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment for a
proposal to allow the importation of specific species of artificially
dwarfed (penjing) plants of the genera Buxus, Ehretia (Carmona),
Podocarpus, Sageretia, and Serissa to be imported into the United
States from the People's Republic of China in an approved growing
medium subject to specified growing, inspection, and certification
requirements. The environmental assessment documents our review and
analysis of environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
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
October 15, 2003.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket
No. 98-103-3, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. 98-103-3. If you use e-mail,
address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files.
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No.
98-103-3'' on the subject line.
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.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William Thomas, Import Specialist,
Phytosanitary Issues Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6799.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the
United States Department of Agriculture regulates the importation of
plants and plant parts into the United States to guard against the
introduction of plant pests and noxious weeds into the United States.
The regulations pertaining to the importation of plants and plant
parts are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), title 7,
chapter III.
On September 20, 2000, we published in the Federal Register (65 FR
56803-56806, Docket No. 98-103-1) a proposal to amend the regulations
to allow artificially dwarfed plants of the genera Buxus, Ehretia
(Carmona), Podocarpus, Sageretia, and Serissa to be imported into the
United States from the People's Republic of China in an approved
growing medium subject to specified growing, inspection, and
certification requirements. We accepted comments on our proposal for a
total of 90 days, ending December 20, 2000.\1\
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\1\ The comment period on the proposed rule was extended from 60
to 90 days in a notice published in the Federal Register on December
1, 2000 (65 FR 75187, Docket No. 98-103-2).
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In response to comments received on the proposed rule, APHIS has
revised the pest risk assessments, created a risk mitigation document,
and narrowed the application of the rule to apply to particular species
of the genera mentioned previously. The five revised pest risk
assessments as well as the risk mitigation document are available on
the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pim. We have also
concluded section 7 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) to assess the potential effects of the proposed action on
endangered or threatened species, as required under the Endangered
Species Act. On April 10, 2003, FWS concluded the section 7
consultation process by concurring with APHIS' determination that the
importation of Buxus sinica, Ehretia microphylla, Podocarpus
macrophyllus, Sageretia thea, and Serissa foetida from the People's
Republic of China will not adversely affect federally listed or
proposed endangered or threatened species or their habitats.
Upon receiving FWS concurrence and after preparing the revised pest
risk assessments and the pest mitigation document, APHIS prepared an
environmental assessment 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 1b), and (4)
APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
This notice announces the availability of the environmental
assessment for public review and comment. The assessment, titled
``Final Rule for the Importation of Artificially Dwarfed Plants in
Growing Media From the People's Republic of China'' and dated September
2003, is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/es/ppqdocs.html.
You may request paper copies of the environmental
assessment from the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.
[[Page 53957]]
Please refer to the title of the assessment when requesting copies.
The environmental assessment is also available for review in our
reading room (the location and the hours of the reading room are listed
under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice).
Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of September 2003.
Bobby R. Acord,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-23545 Filed 9-12-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P