Melon Fly Cooperative Eradication Program: El Monte, Los Angeles County,211 California. Environmental Assessment, November 1999

摘要

Adult melon flies were detected on November 8 and 15, 1999, in the El Monte Area211u001eof Los Angeles County, California. Because of the successive detections of the 211u001epest, an infestation of melon fly was determined to exist. This localized 211u001einfestation represents a major threat to the agriculture and the environment of 211u001eCalifornia and other U.S. mainland States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, 211u001eAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the California Department 211u001eof Food and Agriculture (CDFA) are proposing a program to eradicate that 211u001einfestation. The eradication zone includes an area of approximately 14-square 211u001emiles. Although boundaries and the size of the program's proposed quarantine area 211u001ehave not been determined precisely, the area is expected to include sites that 211u001eare urban, suburban, and rural in nature. This environmental assessment analyzes 211u001ethe potential environmental consequences of alternatives for an eradication 211u001eprogram of melon fly in Los Angeles County, California. APHIS' authority for 211u001ecooperation in the program is based upon the Organic Act (7 United States Code 211u001e(U.S.C.) 147a), which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out 211u001eoperations to eradicate insect pests, and the Federal Plant Pest Act (7 U.S.C. 211u001e150dd), which authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use emergency measures 211u001eto prevent dissemination of plant pests new to or not widely distributed 211u001ethroughout the United States.