APHIS Removes a Portion of Queens, New York, from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Regulated Area

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FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION

DA-2017-14

May 18, 2017

 

Subject:           APHIS Removes a Portion of Queens, New York, from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Regulated Area

To:                  State and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is removing 28 square miles from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) regulated area in the eastern part of Queens, New York. APHIS determined that this area of Queens can be removed from quarantine after program efforts resulted in two cycles of negative surveys of host trees within the regulated area. The two surveys occurred greater than four years apart, which would have provided sufficient time for any lingering infestation to become readily apparent. The attached Federal Order describes the regulated area and includes the associated reference to Section 7 CFR Part 301.51 et seq. that lists the provisions for the movement of ALB-regulated articles.

ALB is a destructive wood-boring pest of maple and other hardwoods that is believed to have been introduced into the United States from wood pallets and other wood packing material accompanying cargo shipments from Asia. ALB was first discovered on several hardwood trees in the United States in Brooklyn, New York, in 1996. ALB was later detected in Chicago, Illinois, in 1998, and the Secretary of Agriculture declared an emergency to combat the infestation with regulatory and control actions. ALB was also found in New Jersey in 2002, in Massachusetts in 2008, and in Ohio in 2011.

In 2008, after the completion of control and regulatory activities, and following confirmation surveys, ALB was declared eradicated in Chicago, Illinois, and Hudson County, New Jersey. In 2011, ALB was declared eradicated from Islip, New York, followed by Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey, and Manhattan and Staten Island, New York, in 2013. ALB was declared eradicated from Boston, Massachusetts, in 2014.

For more information regarding the ALB Eradication Program, you may contact ALB National Policy Manager Dr. Robyn Rose at (301) 851-2283.

 

Osama El-Lissy

Deputy Administrator

Plant Protection and Quarantine

 

 

 

 

FEDERAL ORDER

 

Removal of a Portion of Queens, New York, as a Quarantine Area for the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis)

DA-2017-14

 May 18, 2017

This Federal Order removes 28 square miles from the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) regulated area in Queens, New York.

 

This Federal Order is issued pursuant to the regulatory authority provided by the Plant Protection Act of June 20, 2000, as amended, Section 412(a), 7 U.S.C. 7712(a). The Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit or restrict the movement in interstate commerce of any plant, plant part, or article, or means of conveyance, if the Secretary determines the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the dissemination of a plant pest within the United States. This Federal Order is also issued pursuant to the regulations promulgated under the Plant Protection Act found at 7 Code of Regulations (CFR) 301.51.

 

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is decreasing the ALB quarantine area in Queens, New York, by 28 square miles. The regulated area in the Queens and Brooklyn boroughs of New York City is now 58 square miles and the revised quarantine boundary is as follows:

 

That area in the boroughs of Brooklyn, and Queens in the City of New York that is bounded by a line beginning at the point where the Robert F. Kennedy / Triborough Bridge intersects with the Queens shoreline; then north and east along the Queens shoreline to its intersection with Flushing Creek; then south along the western shoreline of Flushing Creek until its intersection with the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge; then east on the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge to its intersection with the Van Wyck Expressway (Interstate 678); then south along the Van Wyck Expressway (Interstate 678) to its intersection with the Jackie Robinson Parkway; then west on the Jackie Robinson Parkway to Park Lane; then south on Park Lane to Park Lane South; then south and west on Park Lane South to 112th Street; then south on 112th Street to Atlantic Avenue; then west on Atlantic Avenue to 106th Street; then south on 106th Street to 101st Avenue the east on 101st Avenue to 106th Street and then south on 106th Street to Liberty Avenue; then west on Liberty Avenue to Euclid Avenue; then south on Euclid Avenue to Linden Boulevard; then west on Linden Boulevard to Caton Avenue; then west on Caton Avenue to the Prospect Expressway; then north and west on the Prospect Expressway to the Gowanus Expressway (Interstate 278); then north and west on the Gowanus Expressway (Interstate 278) to the Hugh L. Carey /Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (Interstate 478); then north through the Hugh L. Carey / Brooklyn Battery Tunnel (Interstate 478) to the point where the tunnel meets the Brooklyn shoreline then north along the Brooklyn and then Queens shoreline of the East River to the point of beginning.

Section 7 CFR 301.51-3(a) allows the designation of less than an entire State as an ALB quarantined area only when the Administrator of APHIS has determined, as in this case, that such a designation is adequate to prevent the interstate spread of this pest. In addition, 7 CFR 301.51-3(a) requires that the State enforces an intrastate ALB quarantine that is equivalent to the Federal ALB regulations. The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets has established an intrastate quarantine for a portion of New York City that mirrors the Federal regulatory requirements as specified in 7 CFR 301.51.

The APHIS Administrator has determined that the area of Queens removed from the quarantine no longer needs to be regulated to prevent the human-assisted spread of ALB after program efforts resulted in two cycles of negative surveys of host trees within the regulated area. The two surveys occurred greater than four years apart, which would have provided sufficient time for any lingering infestation to become readily apparent. Therefore, effective immediately, all interstate movement of ALB-regulated articles from Queens that originate outside of the above described area are no longer restricted by the regulations promulgated pursuant to the Plant Protection Act found at 7 CFR 301.51 et seq. and any applicable provisions of previous Federal Orders. This May 18, 2017, Federal Order updates and replaces all previous versions of Federal Orders pertaining to the expansion of quarantine areas in Queens, NY.

APHIS has confirmed ALB infestations in various areas of the United States. The Administrator has determined that it is necessary to regulate these areas to prevent the human-assisted spread of ALB. The areas regulated to contain the spread of ALB are designated in the Federal regulations located at 7 CFR 301.51-3, and in the Federal Orders, which are located at:

                                                                 http://www.aphis.usda.gov/planthealth/alb-quarantine

For more information regarding the ALB Eradication Program, you may contact ALB National Policy Manager Dr. Robyn Rose at (301) 851-2283.

APHIS appreciates the cooperative relationship with the State of New York in the effort to prevent the spread of ALB.