Rules and Regulations. Notice

Agency: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA
Action: Notice
Citation: 81 FR (No. 180) · FR Doc. 2016-22328 · Docket No. APHIS-2016-0047

Summary

We are advising the public that we have made changes to the areas in the State of Idaho that are quarantined to prevent the spread of pale cyst nematode. The description of the quarantined area has been updated several times since the last notice was published on September 8, 2010.

Supplementary Information

The pale cyst nematode (PCN, Globodera pallida ) is a major pest of potato crops in cool-temperature areas. Other solanaceous hosts include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, tomatillos, and some weeds. The PCN is thought to have originated in Peru and is now widely distributed in many potato-growing regions of the world. PCN infestations may be expressed as patches of poor growth. Affected potato plants may exhibit yellowing, wilting, or death of foliage. Even with only minor symptoms on the foliage, potato tuber size can be affected. Unmanaged infestations can cause potato yield loss ranging from 20 to 70 percent. The spread of this pest in the United States could result in a loss of domestic or foreign markets for U.S. potatoes and other commodities. In 7 CFR part 301, the PCN quarantine regulations (§§ 301.86 through 301.86-9, referred to below as the regulations) set out procedures for determining the areas quarantined for PCN and impose restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from quarantined areas. Section 301.86-3 of the regulations sets out the procedures for determining the areas quarantined for PCN. Paragraph (a) of § 301.86-3 states that, in accordance with the criteria listed in § 301.86-3(c), the Administrator will designate as a quarantined area each field that has been found to be infested with PCN, each field that has been found to be associated with an infested field, and any area that the Administrator considers necessary to quarantine because of its inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from infested or associated fields. Paragraph (d) provides for the removal of fields from quarantine. An infested field will be removed from quarantine when a protocol approved by the Administrator as sufficient to support the removal of infested fields from quarantine has been completed and the field has been found to be free of PCN. An associated field will be removed from quarantine when the field has been found to be free of PCN according to a protocol approved by the Administrator as sufficient to support removal of associated fields from quarantine. Any area other than infested or associated fields that has been quarantined by the Administrator because of its inseparability for quarantine enforcement purposes from infested or associated fields will be removed from quarantine when the relevant infested or associated fields are removed from quarantine. Paragraph (a) of § 301.86-3 further provides that the Administrator will publish a description of the quarantined area on the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Web site. The description of the quarantined area will include the date the description was last updated and a description of the changes that have been made to the quarantined area. The description of the quarantined area may also be obtained by request from any local office of PPQ; local offices are listed in telephone directories. Finally, paragraph (a) establishes that, after a change is made to the quarantined area, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register informing the public that the change has occurred and describing the change to the quarantined area. Therefore, we are publishing this notice to inform the public of changes to the PCN quarantined areas in Bonneville and Bingham Counties in the State of Idaho. The changes are as follows: • In 2011, we added 15,044 acres and removed 667 acres, resulting in 14,641 acres regulated, of which 1,467 acres were infested; • In 2012, we added 4,356 acres and removed 5,363 acres, resulting in 14,740 acres regulated, of which 1,915 acres were infested; • In 2013, we added 688 acres and removed 4,651 acres, resulting in 10,774 acres regulated, of which 2,300 acres were infested; • In 2014, we added 1,315 acres and removed 2,094 acres, resulting in 7,734 acres regulated of which 2,897 acres were infested; and • In 2015, we added 2,586 acres and removed 321 acres, resulting in 9,999 acres regulated, of which 2,897 acres were infested. The current map of the quarantined area can be viewed on the PPQ Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/potato/pcn.shtml . Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of September 2016. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2016-22328 Filed 9-15-16; 8:45 am]