[Federal Register: March 13, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 49)]
[Notices]
[Page 13356]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr00-68]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 99-098-1]
Environmental Impact Statement; Importation of Unmanufactured
Wood Articles From Mexico
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service intends to prepare an environmental impact statement
relative to our proposed rule for the importation of pine and fir logs
and lumber and other unmanufactured wood articles from Mexico. The
environmental impact statement will examine the potential effects of
the proposed rule on the human environment, including cumulative
impacts of methyl bromide use that could result if our proposed rule is
adopted. In order to identify cumulative impacts, the environmental
impact statement will consider the incremental impact of the proposed
rule when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable
future actions. We invite the public to comment on what specific issues
we should address in the environmental impact statement.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive by April 12, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 99-
098-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03,
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 99-098-1.
You may read any comments that we receive on this docket 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: Dr. Arnold Foudin, Senior Operations
Officer, Policy Planning and Critical Issues, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River
Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; (301) 734-7601.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 11, 1999, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register (64 FR 31512-
31518, Docket No. 98-054-1) to amend the regulations in 7 CFR part 319
to add restrictions on the importation of pine and fir logs and lumber
and other unmanufactured wood articles from Mexico. Under the proposal,
certain unmanufactured wood articles would be required to be treated in
order to be eligible for importation into the United States. The
proposed rule would allow treatment with methyl bromide as an
alternative to heat treatment.
Several of the comments we received on the proposed rule and its
accompanying environmental assessment indicated the need to consider
the cumulative environmental impacts of methyl bromide use. Regulations
issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) implementing the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), define ``cumulative impact'' as ``the impact on the
environment which results from the incremental impact of the action
when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future
actions regardless of what agency (Federal or non-Federal) or person
undertakes such other actions. Cumulative impacts can result from
individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place
over a period of time.''
Based on the comments described above, APHIS intends to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) relative to our proposed rule for
the importation of pine and fir logs and lumber and other
unmanufactured wood articles from Mexico. The EIS will consider, among
other things, the cumulative environmental impacts of methyl bromide
use that could result if the proposed rule is adopted. As provided in
the definition above, to fully consider the incremental impacts of
methyl bromide use that could result if our proposed rule is adopted,
we also need to identify other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable uses of methyl bromide.
We plan to seek assistance from, and coordinate closely with, among
others, experts at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the
United Nations Environmental Programme in drafting the EIS and in
identifying uses of methyl bromide. This notice also requests public
comments to help us identify other significant environmental issues
that should be addressed or analyzed in the EIS and to help us identify
additional uses of methyl bromide.
The EIS will analyze the full range of alternatives available to
the decisionmaker in the APHIS rulemaking proceeding described above,
including ``no action'; use of the entire range of treatment options,
including methyl bromide; and treatment options other than methyl
bromide.
The EIS will also identify other APHIS and non-APHIS uses of methyl
bromide in order to determine the potential incremental cumulative
impacts that could result if our proposed rule is adopted.
This notice and the upcoming EIS are intended to fulfill the
requirements of both NEPA and Executive Order 12114, ``Environmental
Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions,'' to the extent applicable. A
notice announcing the availability of the draft EIS for review will be
published in the Federal Register. The notice will also request
comments on the draft EIS.
This notice is issued in accordance with: (1) NEPA, (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).
Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of March 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-6069 Filed 3-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 2000/05/19 EST