The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced today that it has prepared an environmental assessment related to the control of pigeonpea pod fly. The assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to, the release of a biological control agent to reduce the severity of outbreaks.

Pigeonpea pod fly is a foreign plant pest that attacks legumes such as peas and beans, along with okra and sesame. The pest is found throughout the world, including India, Indonesia, the Phillippines, Taiwan,Thailand and Vietnam. It also occurs in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. APHIS proposes to release nonindigenous species of parasitic Chalcid wasps to control pigeonpea pod fly.

This notice is published in the May 23 Federal Register. 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.

Consideration will be given to comments received on or before June 23.

Comments may be submitted by postal mail, commercial delivery or by e-mail.

Send an original and three copies of postal or commercial delivery comments to Docket No. 03-046-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, Md. 20737-1238. If you use e-mail, address your comments to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Comments must be contained in the body of the message; do not send attached files. Please include your name and address in the message and use "Docket No. 03-046-1" on the subject line.