There would be no significant environmental impact from releasing a parasitic wasp “to reduce the severity of infestations of” a tiny insect that spreads citrus greening disease, which kills citrus trees. “In areas of the world where the disease is endemic, citrus trees decline and die within a few years and may never produce usable fruit,” said USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in a Federal Register notice. APHIS has proposed issuance of permits for field release of the wasp, Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis, to attack the Asian citrus psyllid that spreads the disease.
The Asian citrus psyllid “is currently present in Alabama, American Samoa, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and portions of Arizona, California, and South Carolina,” says the agency. APHIS conducted an environmental assessment of the proposed release of the wasp, Diaphorencyrtus aligarhensis, and because of its determination of no significant impact, will not undertake an environmental impact statement.