Notices. Notice of availability and request for comments
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BILLING CODE 3410-98-M DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2006-0045] Availability of an Evaluation of Asymptomatic Citrus Fruit as a Pathway for the Introduction of Citrus Canker Disease 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 a document titled, “Evaluation of asymptomatic citrus fruit ( *Citrus* spp.) as a pathway for the introduction of citrus canker disease ( *Xanthomonas axonopodis* pv. *citri* ).
” The evaluation concludes that it is highly unlikely that citrus canker could be introduced on asymptomatic, commercially produced citrus fruit that has been treated with disinfectant dips and subject to other mitigations. We are making the evaluation available to the public for review and comment. DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 5, 2006. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods: • *Federal eRulemaking Portal:* Go to *http://www.regulations.gov* and, in the lower “Search Regulations and Federal Actions” box, select “Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service” from the agency drop-down menu, then click on “Submit.
” In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2006-0045 to submit or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials available electronically. After the close of the comment period, the docket can be viewed using the “Advanced Search” function in Regulations.gov. • *Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:* Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. APHIS-2006-0045, 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-2006-0045. *Reading Room:* You may read any comments that we receive on the evaluation 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: Mr. Robert L. Griffin, Director, Plant Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, PPQ, APHIS, 1730 Varsity Drive, Raleigh, NC 27606-5202;
(919)855-7512. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background We are advising the public that the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology has produced an evaluation titled, “Evaluation of asymptomatic citrus fruit, ( *Citrus* spp.) as a pathway for the introduction of citrus canker disease ( *Xanthomonas axonopodis* pv. *citri* ),” which we are making available to the public for review and comment. This evaluation concludes it is highly unlikely that citrus canker could be introduced on asymptomatic, commercially produced citrus fruit that has been treated with disinfectant dips and subject to other mitigations. Even if infected fruit were to enter a canker-free area with susceptible hosts, the establishment of citrus canker via this pathway appears to be unlikely. The evaluation further indicates that it appears there is no evidence that asymptomatic fruit can be a source of infective bacteria. According to the evaluation, in the unlikely event that viable propagules were present, the environmental and physiological conditions necessary for disease development at the precise time that an infected citrus fruit was placed in close proximity to a susceptible host is highly unlikely. Empirical data from experience and interceptions further reinforce the conclusion that the likelihood of introducing citrus canker on asymptomatic fruit is extremely low. We are making this evaluation available for comment for 60 days. During that period, we also plan to have the evaluation peer reviewed, consistent with the Office of Management and Budget's guidelines on peer review. A copy of the peer review plan is posted on the Internet at *http://www.aphis.usda.gov/about_aphis/peer_review.shtml.* The evaluation may be viewed on the Internet on the Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov). You may also request paper copies of the evaluation by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the evaluation when requesting copies. The evaluation is also available for review in our reading room (information on the location and hours of the reading room is provided under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice). Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of April 2006. W. Ron DeHaven, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. E6-5015 Filed 4-5-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-34-P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Food Safety and Inspection Service [Docket No. FSIS-2006-0006] Exemption for Retail Store Operations AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of adjusted dollar limitations. SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service
(FSIS)is announcing new dollar limitations on the amount of meat and meat food products and poultry products that a retail store can sell to hotels, restaurants, and similar institutions without disqualifying itself for exemption from Federal inspection requirements. By reason of FSIS' regulations, for calendar year 2006 the dollar limitation for meat and meat food products has been increased from $54,500 to $55,100 and for poultry products has been reduced from $45,800 to $45,200. FSIS is changing the dollar limitations from calendar year 2005 based on price changes for these products evidenced by the Consumer Price Index. DATES: *Effective Date:* This notice is effective April 6, 2006. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John O'Connell, Regulations and Petitions Policy Staff, Office of Policy, Program, and Employee Development, FSIS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 112, Cotton Annex Building, 300 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700; telephone
(202)720-0345, fax
(202)690-0486. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 *et seq.* ) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 *et seq.* ) provide that the statutory provisions requiring inspection of the slaughter of livestock or poultry, and the preparation or processing of meat and meat food and poultry products, do not apply to the types of operations traditionally and usually conducted at retail stores and restaurants, when those operations are conducted at any retail store or restaurant or similar retail-type establishment for sale in normal retail quantities (21 U.S.C. 454(c)(2)and 661 (c)(2)). In Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations §§ 303.1(d) and 381.10(d), FSIS regulations address the conditions under which requirements for inspection do not apply to retail operations involving the preparation or processing of meat or poultry products. Under these regulations, sales to hotels, restaurants, and similar institutions disqualify a store for exemption if they exceed either of two maximum limits: 25 percent of the dollar value of total product sales or the calendar year dollar limitation set by the Administrator. The dollar limitation is adjusted automatically during the first quarter of the year if the Consumer Price Index (CPI), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicates an increase or decrease of more than $500 in the price of the same volume of product for the previous year. FSIS publishes a notice of the adjusted dollar limitations in the **Federal Register** . (See paragraphs (d)(2)(iii)( *b* ) of both §§ 303.1 and 381.10.) The CPI for 2005 reveals an average annual price increase for meat and meat food products of 1.1 percent and an annual average price decrease for poultry products of 1.3 percent. When rounded off to the nearest $100.00, the price increase for meat and meat food products is $600 and the price decrease for poultry products is $600. Because the price of meat and meat food products and the price of poultry products have changed by more than $500, in accordance with §§ 303.1 (d)(2)(iii)( *b* ) and 381.10 (d)(2)(iii)( *b* ) of the regulations, FSIS is increasing the dollar limitation on sales to hotels, restaurants, and similar institutions to $55,100 for meat and meat food products and decreasing the dollar limitation to $45,200 for poultry products for calendar year 2006. Additional Public Notification Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the public and in particular minorities, women, and persons with disabilities, are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-line through the FSIS Web page located at *http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2006_Notices_Index/.* FSIS also will make copies of this **Federal Register** publication available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, **Federal Register** notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other types of information that could affect or would be of interest to our constituents and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv, a free e-mail subscription service consisting of industry, trade, and farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific professionals, and other individuals who have requested to be included. The update also is available on the FSIS Web page. Through Listserv and the web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader and more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email subscription service which provides an automatic and customized notification when popular pages are updated, including **Federal Register** publications and related documents. This service is available at *http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/email_subscription* / and allows FSIS customers to sign up for subscription options across eight categories. Options range from recalls to export information to regulations, directives and notices. Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to password protect their account. Done at Washington, DC, on: April 3, 2006. Barbara J. Masters, Administrator. [FR Doc. E6-5011 Filed 4-5-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Umatilla National Forest Invasive Plants Treatment, Umatilla National Forest, Oregon and Washington AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. SUMMARY: The Umatilla National Forest proposes to treat approximately 25,000 acres of invasive plants located across the 1.4 million acre National Forest. It is anticipated that approximately 4,000 acres of both existing and newly discovered sites would be treated in any year. The proposed treatment methods includes: Manual pulling or use of hand tools, use of mechanical hand tools, herbicide, cultural methods such as grazing or mulching, and biological controls. The method used would depend on resource protection concerns for a given site. DATES: Comments concerning the scope of the analysis must be received by May 17, 2006. The draft environmental impact statement is expected in March 2007 and the final environmental impact statement is expected in September 2007. ADDRESSES: Send written comments about this project to Kevin D. Martin, Forest Supervisor, Umatilla National Forest, 2517 SW. Hailey Avenue, Pendleton, OR 97801. Electronic comments can be mailed to: *comments-pacificnorthwest-umatilla@fs.fed.us.* FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Glen Westlund, Project Leader, Walla Walla Ranger District, 1415 West Rose Street, Walla Walla, WA 99362. Phone: 509-522-6009 or e-mail: *gwestlund@fs.fed.us.* SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose and Need for Action The purpose of this action is to provide a rapid and more comprehensive, up to date approach for the control and eradication of invasive plants that occur on the National Forest. The purpose of controlling or eradicating weed infestations is to maintain or improve the diversity, function, and sustainability of desired native plant communities and other natural resources that can be adversely impacted by invasive plant species. Specifically, there is an underlying need on the Forest to:
(1)Implement treatment actions to contain and reduce the extent of invasive plants at existing inventoried sites, and
(2)rapidly respond to new or expanded invasive plant sites as they may occur in the future. Proposed Action A detailed project description can be found on the Umatilla National Forest Web page in the NEPA reading room; *http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/uma/projects/readroom.* Various types of treatments would be used to contain, control, or eradicate invasive plants including the use of herbicides, physical, and biological methods. Treatments are proposed for existing or new infestations including new plant species that currently are not found on the Forest. Potential treatments based on existing mapped sites include: Biological or physical methods used on approximately 3,920 acres; approximately 17,300 acres of uplands would utilize chemical, physical, or biological methods; approximately 3,400 acres of riparian areas would be treated with chemical, physical, or biological methods, and physical methods on 50 acres. Any use of chemicals would be done in accordance with USDA Forest Service policies, regulations and Forest Plan Standards as well as product label requirements. Chemicals approved for use, within or outside riparian areas, are listed in the Pacific Northwest Region Invasive Plant Program Preventing and Managing Invasive Plants FEIS (Regional Invasive Plant EIS), April 2005 and ROD. Monitoring of treated sites would determine what follow-up treatments would be needed. Ground based or aerial application methods would be used based on accessibility, topography, and the size of treatment area and may include spot spraying, wicking, stem injection, hand broadcast and boom broadcast. Aerial application is proposed on approximately 1,420 acres covering 20 sites ranging in size from 1 to 418 acres. When needed to facilitate recovery, native seed would be used to recover the site and increase competition. Physical methods include manual control, hand mechanical and cultural methods. Biological weed control activities typically include the release of parasitic and “host specific” insects. Presently, insects are the primary biological control agent in use. Responsible Official The Forest Supervisor, Kevin Martin, will be the responsible official for making the decision and providing direction for the analysis. He can be contacted at the address listed above. Nature of Decision To Be Made The responsible official will decide what type of methods and how they will be used to control invasive plants on the Umatilla National Forest. Scoping Process The public is asked to provide the responsible official with written comments describing their concerns about this project. At this time, no public meetings are being planned. Comment Requested This notice of intent initiates the scoping process which guides the development of the environmental impact statement. When reviewing the proposed action, bear in mind that the Forest has been operating under the 1995 Umatilla National Forest Environmental Assessment for the Management of Noxious Weeds and herbicides were used only on a limited basis. Monitoring has indicated that this approach is not successful. In 2005 the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Region completed and implemented the Pacific Northwest Region Invasive plant Program FEIS providing new direction and updating the hercides that would be permitted for use in the Region. The new hercides offer many advantages over the more limited set allowed previously, including greater selectivity, less harm to desired vegetation, reduced application rates, and lower toxicity to animals and people. The proposed treatments will be guided by this FEIS. The most useful comments to developing or refining the proposed action would be site specific concerns and those that can help us develop treatments that would be responsive to our goal to control, contain, or eradicate invasive plants as well as being cost effective. Prevention measures have already been built into the Regional Invasive Plant FEIS and will be implemented with all actions occurring on the Forest. The purpose of this proposed action is to begin treatments on known invasive plant sites and provide a mechanism to respond rapidly when new infestations are discovered. Early Notice of Importance of Public Participation in Subsequent Environmental Review A draft environmental impact statement will be prepared for comment. The comment period on the draft environmental impact statement will be 45 days from the date of Environmental Protection Agency publishes the notice of availability in the **Federal Register.** The Forest Service believes, at this early stage, it is important to give reviewers notice of several court rulings related to public participation in the environmental review process. First, reviewers of draft environmental impact statements must structure their participation in the environmental review of the proposal so that it is meaningful and alerts an agency to the reviewer's position and contentions. *Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp.* v. *NRDC,* 435 U.S. 519, 553 (1978). Also, environmental objections that could be raised at the draft environmental impact statement stage but that are not raised until after completion of the final environmental impact statement may be waived or dismissed by the courts. *City of Angoon* v. *Hodel,* 803 F.2d 1016, 1022 (9th Cir. 1986) and *Wisconsin Heritages, Inc.* v. *Harris,* 490 F. Supp. 1334, 1338 (E.D. Wis. 1980). Because of these court rulings, it is very important that those interested in this proposed action participate by the close of the 45 day comment period so that substantive comments and objections are made available to the Forest Service at a time when it can meaningful consider them and respond to them in the final environmental impact statement. To assist the Forest Service in identifying an considering issues and concerns on the proposed action, comments on the draft environmental impact statement should be as specific as possible. It is also helpful if comments refer to specific pages or chapters of the draft statement. Comments may also address the adequacy of the draft environmental impact statement or the merits of the alternatives formulated and discussed in the statement. Reviewers may wish to refer to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act at 40 CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points. Comments received, including the names and addresses of those who comment, will be considered part of the public record on this proposal and will be available for public inspection. (Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 21) Dated: March 30, 2006. Kevin D. Martin, Forest Supervisor. [FR Doc. 06-3281 Filed 4-5-06; 8:45 am]
Connectionstraces to 3
7 references not yet in our index
- 7 USC 7701-7772
- 7 CFR 2.22
- 435 U.S. 519
- 803 F.2d 1016
- 490 F. Supp. 1334
- 40 CFR 1503.3
- 40 CFR 1501.7
Citation graph
cites case law
Notices
Notice of availability and request for comments
SCOTUS435 U.S. 519
F. App'x803 F.2d 1016
F. Supp.490 F. Supp. 1334
Cite7 USC 7701-7772
Cite7 CFR 2.22
Cites 10 · showing 8Cited by 0 across 0 sources