CORRECTION: APHIS Requests Public Comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Suppression Program

WASHINGTON, February 1, 2019 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) seeks public comment on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) that analyzes the impact of efforts to suppress populations of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets from 17 States in the western United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming).

APHIS last published an EIS for the grasshopper and Mormon cricket suppression program in 2002. Because there have been scientific and technological advances since then, APHIS is seeking comments on a new EIS that addresses environmental effects of suppression alternatives available to the agency. This EIS updates the science and adds a chemical treatment option.

APHIS will use the EIS for planning and decision making and to inform the public about the environmental effects of the Agency’s grasshopper and Mormon cricket suppression activities.

APHIS conducts surveys for grasshopper and Mormon crickets on rangeland in the western United States, provides technical assistance on grasshopper and Mormon cricket management to land owners/managers, and cooperatively suppresses these pests when direct intervention is deemed necessary and assistance is requested by a Federal land management agency or a State agriculture department.

APHIS will consider all comments received on or before March 18, 2019. APHIS is extending the public comment period due date from the original date of February 11, 2019. The announcement for this EIS was originally published in the Federal Register on December 28, 2018. You may submit comments by one of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Docket No. APHIS-2016-0045-0001 at regulations.gov.

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2016-0045-0001, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

For questions related to the draft environmental impact statement, contact Dr. Jim Warren, Environmental Protection Specialist, Environmental and Risk Analysis Services, Policy and Program Development, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 149, Riverdale, MD 20737; jim.e.warren@aphis.usda.gov; (202) 316-3216.
For information related to the APHIS grasshopper and Mormon cricket suppression program please view available resources at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-health/grasshopper.