AAM-26-09-00012-E Firewood (all Hardwood Species), Nursery Stock, Logs, Green Lumber, Stumps, Roots, Branches and Debris

7/1/09 N.Y. St. Reg. AAM-26-09-00012-E

NEW YORK STATE REGISTER

VOLUME XXXI, ISSUE 26

July 01, 2009

RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND MARKETS

EMERGENCY RULE MAKING

 

I.D No. AAM-26-09-00012-E

Filing No. 690

Filing Date. Jun. 16, 2009

Effective Date. Jun. 16, 2009

Firewood (all Hardwood Species), Nursery Stock, Logs, Green Lumber, Stumps, Roots, Branches and Debris

PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:

Action taken:

Addition of Part 139 to Title 1 NYCRR.

Statutory authority:

Agriculture and Markets Law, sections 18, 164 and 167

Finding of necessity for emergency rule:

Preservation of general welfare.

Specific reasons underlying the finding of necessity:

The Asian Long Horned Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, an insect species non-indigenous to the United States, was first detected in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York in August of 1996. Subsequent survey activities detected infestations of this pest in other areas of Brooklyn as well as in and about Amityville, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. As a result, 1 NYCRR Part 139 was adopted, establishing a quarantine of the areas in which the Asian Long Horned Beetle had been observed. The boundaries of those areas are described in 1 NYCRR section 139.2. Subsequent observations of the beetle have resulted in a need to extend the existing quarantine area on Staten Island. This rule contains the needed modification.

The Asian Long Horned Beetle (ALB) is a destructive wood-boring insect native to China, Japan, Korea and the Isle of Hainan. It can cause serious damage to healthy trees by boring into their heartwood and eventually killing them. The adult Asian Long Horned Beetle has a large body (1 to 1.5 inches in length) with very long antenna (1.3-2.5 times their body length). Its body is black with white spots and its antenna are black and white. Adult beetles emerge during the spring and summer months from large (1/2 inch in diameter) round holes anywhere on infested trees, including branches, trunks and exposed roots. They fly for two or three days, during which they feed and mate. To lay eggs, adult females chew depressions in the bark of host trees to lay eggs. One female can lay 35 to 90 eggs. The larvae bore into and feed on the interior of the trees, where they over-winter. The accumulation of coarse sawdust around the base of the infested tree where branches meet the main stem and where branches meet other branches, is evidence of the presence of the borer. One generation is produced each year. Nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, branches and debris of a half inch or more in diameter are subject to infestation. Host hardwood materials at risk to attack and infestation include species of the following: Acer (Maple); Aesculus (Horse Chestnut), Albizzia (Silk Tree or Mimosa); Betula (Birch); Populus (Poplar); Salix (Willow); and Ulmus (Elm); Celtis (Hackberry), Fraxinus (Ash), Platanus (Plane tree, Sycamore) and Sorbus (Mountain Ash).

Since the Asian Long Horned Beetle is not considered established in the United States, the risk of moving infested nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, branches and debris of a half inch or more in diameter poses a serious threat to the hardwood forests and street, yard, park and fruit trees of the State. Approximately 858 million susceptible trees above 5 inches in diameter involving 62 percent (18.6 million acres) of the State's forested land are at risk.

Control of the Asian Long Horned Beetle is accomplished by the removal of infested host trees and materials and then chipping or burning them. More than 18,000 infested trees have been removed to date. Chemical treatments are also used to suppress ALB populations with approximately 480,000 treatments administered. However, the size of the area infested and declining fiscal resources cannot mitigate the risk from the movement of regulated articles outside of the area under quarantine. As a result, the quarantine imposed by this rule has been determined to be the most effective means of preventing the spread of the Asian Long Horned Beetle. It will help to ensure that as control measures are undertaken in the areas the Asian Long Horned Beetle currently infests, it does not spread beyond those areas via the movement of infested trees and materials.

The effective control of the Asian Long Horned Beetle within the limited areas of the State where this insect has been found is also important to protect New York's nursery and forest products industry. The failure of states to control insect pests within their borders can lead to federal quarantines that affect all areas of those states, rather than just the infested portions. Such a widespread federal quarantine would adversely affect the nursery and forest products industry throughout New York State.

Based on the facts and circumstances set forth above the Department has determined that the immediate adoption of this rule is necessary for the preservation of the general welfare and that compliance with subdivision one of section 202 of the State Administrative Procedure Act would be contrary to the public interest. The specific reason for this finding is that the failure to immediately modify the quarantine area and restrict the movement of trees and materials from the areas of the State infested with Asian Long Horned Beetle could result in the spread of the pest beyond those areas and damage to the natural resources of the State and could result in a federal quarantine and quarantines by other states and foreign countries affecting the entire State. This would cause economic hardship to the nursery and forest products industries of the State. The consequent loss of business would harm industries which are important to New York State's economy and as such would harm the general welfare. Given the potential for the spread of the Asian Long Horned Beetle beyond the areas currently infested and the detrimental consequences that would have, it appears that the rule modifying the quarantine area should be implemented on an emergency basis and without complying with the requirements of subdivision one of section 202 of the State Administrative Procedure Act, including the minimum periods therein for notice and comment.

Subject:

Firewood (all hardwood species), nursery stock, logs, green lumber, stumps, roots, branches and debris.

Purpose:

To modify the Asian Long Horned Beetle quarantine to prevent the spread of the beetle to other areas.

Text of emergency rule:

Subdivision (d) of section 139.2 of Title 1 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York is repealed and a new subdivision (d) is added to read as follows:

(d) That area in the Borough of Richmond in the City of New York bound by a line beginning at a point along the State of New York and the State of New Jersey border due north of the intersection of Richmond Terrace and Morningstar Road; then south to the intersection of Morningstar Road and Richmond Terrace; then southwest along Morningstar Road to its intersection with Forest Avenue; then east along Forest Avenue to its intersection with Willow Road East; then south and then southeast along Willow Road East to its intersection with Victory Boulevard; then west along Victory Boulevard to its intersection with Arlene Street; then south along Arlene Street until it becomes Park Drive North; then south on Park Drive North to its intersection with Rivington Avenue; then east along Rivington Avenue to its intersection with Mulberry Avenue; then south on Mulberry Avenue to its intersection with Travis Avenue; then northwest on Travis Avenue until it crosses Main Creek; then along the west shoreline of Main Creek to Fresh Kills Creek; then along the north shoreline of Fresh Kills Creek to Little Fresh Kills Creek; then along the north shoreline of Little Fresh Kills Creek to the Arthur Kill; then west to the border of the State of New York and the State of New Jersey in the Arthur Kill; then north along the borderline of the State of New York and the State of New Jersey; then east along the borderline of the State of New York and New Jersey excluding Shooters Island to the point of beginning.

This notice is intended

to serve only as a notice of emergency adoption. This agency intends to adopt this emergency rule as a permanent rule and will publish a notice of proposed rule making in the State Register at some future date. The emergency rule will expire September 13, 2009.

Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:

Robert J. Mungari, Director, Division of Plant Industry, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, New York 12235, [phone].

Regulatory Impact Statement

1. Statutory authority:

Section 18 of the Agriculture and Markets Law provides, in part, that the Commissioner may enact, amend and repeal necessary rules which shall provide generally for the exercise of the powers and performance of the duties of the Department as prescribed in the Agriculture and Markets Law and the laws of the State and for the enforcement of their provisions and the provisions of the rules that have been enacted.

Section 164 of the Agriculture and Markets Law provides, in part, that the Commissioner shall take such action as he may deem necessary to control or eradicate any injurious insects, noxious weeds, or plant diseases existing within the State.

Section 167 of the Agriculture and Markets Law provides, in part, that the Commissioner is authorized to make, issue, promulgate and enforce such order, by way of quarantines or otherwise, as he may deem necessary or fitting to carry out the purposes of Article 14 of said Law. Section 167 also provides that the Commissioner may adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations to supplement and give full effect to the provisions of Article 14 of the Agriculture and Markets Law as he may deem necessary.

2. Legislative objectives:

The quarantine accords with the public policy objectives the Legislature sought to advance by enacting the statutory authority in that it will help to prevent the spread within the State of an injurious insect, the Asian Long Horned Beetle.

3. Needs and benefits:

The Asian Long Horned Beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis, an insect species non-indigenous to the United States was detected in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York in August of 1996. Subsequent survey activities delineated other locations in Brooklyn as well as locations in and about Amityville, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island.

As a result, 1 NYCRR Part 139 was adopted, establishing a quarantine of the areas in which the Asian Long Horned Beetle had been observed. The boundaries of those areas are described in 1 NYCRR section 139.2. Subsequent observations of the beetle have resulted in a need to extend by approximately two square miles, the existing quarantine area on Staten Island. The proposed rule contains the needed modifications.

The Asian Long Horned Beetle is a destructive wood-boring insect native to China, Japan, Korea and the Isle of Hainan. It can cause serious damage to healthy trees by boring into their heartwood and eventually killing them. The adult Asian Long Horned Beetle has a large body (1 to 1.5 inches in length) with very long antenna (1.3-2.5 times their body length). Its body is black with white spots and its antenna are black and white. Adult beetles emerge during the spring and summer months from large (1/2 inch in diameter) round holes anywhere on infested trees, including branches, trunks and exposed roots. They fly for two or three days, during which they feed and mate. To lay eggs, adult females chew depressions in the bark of host trees to lay eggs. One female can lay 35 to 90 eggs. The larvae bore into and feed on the interior of the trees, where they over-winter. The accumulation of coarse sawdust around the base of the infested tree where branches meet the main stem and where branches meet other branches, is evidence of the presence of the borer. One generation is produced each year. Nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, branches and debris of a half inch or more in diameter are subject to infestation. Host hardwood materials at risk to attack and infestation include species of the following: Acer (Maple); Aesculus (Horse Chestnut), Albizzia (Silk Tree or Mimosa); Betula (Birch); Populus (Poplar); Salix (Willow); and Ulmus (Elm); Celtis (Hackberry), Fraxinus (Ash), Platanus (Plane tree, Sycamore) and Sorbus (Mountain Ash).

Since the Asian Long Horned Beetle is not considered established in the United States, the risk of moving infested nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, roots, branches and debris of a half inch or more in diameter poses a serious threat to the hardwood forests and street, yard, park and fruit trees of the State. Approximately 858 million susceptible trees above 5 inches in diameter involving 62 percent (18.6 million acres) of the State's forested land are at risk.

Control of the Asian Long Horned Beetle is accomplished by the removal of infested host trees and materials and then chipping or burning them. More than 18,000 infested trees have been removed to date. Chemical treatments are also used to suppress ALB populations with approximately 480,000 treatments administered. However, the size of the area infested and declining fiscal resources cannot mitigate the risk from the movement of regulated articles outside of the area under quarantine. As a result, the extension of the quarantine on Staten Island imposed by this rule has been determined to be the most effective means of preventing the further spread of the Asian Long Horned Beetle. It will help to ensure that as control measures are undertaken in the areas the Asian Long Horned Beetle currently infests, it does not spread beyond those areas via the movement of infested trees and materials.

The effective control of the Asian Long Horned Beetle within the limited areas of the State where this insect has been found is also important to protect New York's nursery and forest products industry. The failure of states to control insect pests within their borders can lead to federal quarantines that affect all areas of those states, rather than just the infested portions. Such a widespread federal quarantine would adversely affect the nursery and forest products industry throughout New York State.

4. Costs:

(a) Costs to the State government: none.

(b) Costs to local government: none.

(c) Costs to private regulated parties:

Nurseries exporting host material from the quarantine area established by this rule, other than pursuant to compliance agreement, will require an inspection and the issuance of a federal or state phytosanitary certificate. This service is available at a rate of $25 per hour. Most inspections will take one hour or less. It is anticipated that there would be 25 or fewer such inspections each year with a total annual cost of less than $1,000.

Most shipments will be made pursuant to compliance agreements for which there is no charge.

Tree removal services will have to chip host material or transport such material under a limited permit to a federal/state disposal site for processing.

Firewood from hardwood species within the quarantine area established by this rule may not move outside that area due to the fact that it is not practical at this time to determine for certification purposes that the material is free from infestations.

The extension of the existing quarantine area on Staten Island would affect eight nursery dealers, nursery growers, landscaping companies, transfer stations, compost facilities and general contractors located within that area.

(d) Costs to the regulatory agency:

(i) The initial expenses the agency will incur in order to implement and administer the regulation: None.

(ii) It is anticipated that the Department will be able to administer the proposed quarantine with existing staff.

5. Local government mandate:

Yard waste, storm clean-up and normal tree maintenance activities involving twigs and/or branches of ½″ or more in diameter of host species will require proper handling and disposal, i.e., chipping and/or incineration if such materials are to leave the quarantine area established by this rule. An effort is underway to identify centralized disposal sites that would accept such waste from cities, villages and other municipalities at no additional cost.

6. Paperwork:

Regulated articles inspected and certified to be free of Asian Long Horned Beetle moving from the quarantine area established by this rule will have to be accompanied by a state or federal phytosanitary certificate and a limited permit or be undertaken pursuant to a compliance agreement.

7. Duplication:

None.

8. Alternatives:

The failure of the State to extend the existing quarantine on Staten Island where the Asian Long Horned Beetle has been observed could result in exterior quarantines by foreign and domestic trading partners as well as a federal quarantine of the entire State. It could also place the State's own natural resources (forest, urban and agricultural) at risk from the spread of Asian Long Horned Beetle that could result from the unrestricted movement of regulated articles from the areas covered by the modified quarantine. In light of these factors there does not appear to be any viable alternative to the modification of quarantine proposed in this rulemaking.

9. Federal standards:

The amendment does not exceed any minimum standards for the same or similar subject areas.

10. Compliance schedule:

It is anticipated that regulated persons would be able to comply with the rule immediately.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

1. Effect on small business:

The small businesses affected by extending the existing quarantine area on Staten Island are the nursery dealers, nursery growers, landscaping companies, transfer stations, compost facilities and general contractors located within that area. There are eight such businesses within that area. Since there is already a quarantine area on Staten Island, the City of New York and the borough of Staten Island will remain involved in the proposed extension of this quarantine.

Although it is not anticipated that local governments will be involved in the shipment of regulated articles from the proposed quarantine area, in the event that they do, they would be subject to the same quarantine requirements as other regulated parties.

2. Compliance requirements:

All regulated parties in the new quarantine area on Staten Island established by this amendment will be required to obtain certificates and limited permits in order to ship regulated articles from those areas. In order to facilitate such shipments, regulated parties may enter into compliance agreements.

3. Professional services:

In order to comply with the rule, small businesses and local governments shipping regulated articles from the new quarantine area on Staten Island will require professional inspection services, which would be provided by the Department and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

4. Compliance costs:

(a) Initial capital costs that will be incurred by a regulated business or industry or local government in order to comply with the proposed rule: None.

(b) Annual cost for continuing compliance with the proposed rule:

Nurseries exporting host material from the new quarantine area on Staten Island, other than pursuant to a compliance agreement, will require an inspection and the issuance of a federal or state phytosanitary certificate. This service is available at a rate of $25 per hour. Most such inspections will take one hour or less. It is anticipated that there would be 25 or fewer such inspections each year, with a total cost of less than $1,000. Most shipments would be made pursuant to compliance agreements for which there is no charge.

Tree removal services will have to chip host material or transport such material under a limited permit to a federal/state disposal site for processing.

Firewood from hardwood species within the new quarantine areas may not move outside those areas due to the fact that it is not practical at this time to determine for certifications purposes that the material is free from infestation.

Local governments shipping regulated articles from the new quarantine areas would incur similar costs.

5. Minimizing adverse impact:

The Department has designed the rule to minimize adverse economic impact on small businesses and local governments. This is done by limiting the new quarantine area to only those parts of Staten Island where the Asian Long Horned Beetle has been detected; and by limiting the inspection and permit requirements to only those necessary to detect the presence of the Asian Long Horned Beetle and prevent its movement in host materials from the quarantine area. As set forth in the regulatory impact statement, the rule provides for agreements between the Department and regulated parties that permit the shipment of regulated articles without state or federal inspection. These agreements, for which there is no charge, are another way in which the rule was designed to minimize adverse impact. The approaches for minimizing adverse economic impact required by section 202-a(1) of the State Administrative Procedure Act and suggested by section 202-b(1) of the State Administrative Procedure Act were considered. Given all of the facts and circumstances, it is submitted that the rule minimizes adverse economic impact as much as is currently possible.

6. Small business and local government participation:

The Department has had ongoing discussions with representatives of various nurseries, arborists, the forestry industry, and local governments regarding the general needs and benefits of Asian long horned beetle quarantines. The Department has also had extensive consultation with the USDA on the efficacy of such quarantines. Most recently, the Department has had discussions with the City of New York and the borough of Richmond concerning this amendment to extend the existing quarantine on Staten Island. Representatives of the city and borough governments expressed support for the amendment.

7. Economic and technological feasibility:

The economic and technological feasibility of compliance with the rule by small businesses and local governments has been addressed and such compliance has been determined to be feasible. Regulated parties shipping host materials from the new quarantine area, other than pursuant to a compliance agreement, will require an inspection and the issuance of a phytosanitary certificate. Most shipments, however, will be made pursuant to compliance agreements for which there is no charge.

Rural Area Flexibility Analysis

The rule will not impose any adverse impact or reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements on public or private entities in rural areas. This finding is based upon the fact that the extension of the existing quarantine area established by this rule is situated on Staten Island, which does not fall within the definition of "rural areas" set forth in section 481(7) of the Executive Law.

Job Impact Statement

The rule will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities. The extension of the existing quarantine area on Staten Island is designed to prevent the spread of the Asian Long Horned Beetle to other parts of the State. A spread of the infestation would have very adverse economic consequences to the nursery, forestry, fruit and maple product industries of the State, both from the destruction of the regulated articles upon which these industries depend, and from the more restrictive quarantines that could be imposed by the federal government, other states and foreign countries. By helping to prevent the spread of the Asian Long Horned Beetle, the rule will help to prevent such adverse economic consequences and in so doing, protect the jobs and employment opportunities associated with the State's nursery, forestry, fruit and maple product industries.

Forest related activities in New York State provide employment for approximately 70,000 people. Of that number, 55,000 jobs are associated with the wood-based forest economy, including manufacturing. The forest-based economy generates payrolls of more than $2 billion.

As set forth in the regulatory impact statement, the cost of the rule to regulated parties is relatively small. The responses received during the Department's outreach to regulated parties indicate that the rule will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities.