National Animal Identification System (NAIS); Implementation Plan and Integration of Private and State Animal Tracking Databases With the NAIS, 17805-17806 [06-3412]
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17805
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 71, No. 67
Friday, April 7, 2006
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS 2006–0030]
National Animal Identification System
(NAIS); Implementation Plan and
Integration of Private and State Animal
Tracking Databases With the NAIS
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice announces the
availability of three documents related
to the National Animal Identification
System (NAIS): A document that
provides an update on the
implementation plans, including
operational milestones and participation
goals; a document describing how
private and State animal tracking
databases may be integrated into the
NAIS to provide animal health officials
with animal movement information on
an as-needed basis; and, in connection
with the animal tracking databases
document, a template for a cooperative
agreement that the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service may enter
into with organizations that wish to
participate in the animal tracking
database component of the NAIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Neil Hammerschmidt, National
Coordinator, National Animal
Identification System, VS, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD
20737–1231; (301) 734–5571.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
wwhite on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES
Background
As part of ongoing efforts to safeguard
animal health, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) initiated
implementation of the National Animal
Identification System (NAIS) in 2004.
The NAIS is a cooperative State-Federalindustry program administered by
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:13 Apr 06, 2006
Jkt 208001
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS). The main
objective of the NAIS is to develop and
implement a comprehensive
information system which will support
ongoing animal disease programs and
enable State and Federal animal health
officials to respond rapidly and
effectively to animal health emergencies
such as foreign animal disease outbreaks
or emerging domestic diseases.
The NAIS is being developed to
facilitate rapid tracing in the event of an
outbreak of an animal disease of
concern. Working groups have been
formed and are developing plans for
camelids (llamas and alpacas), cattle
and bison, cervids (deer and elk),
equine, goats, poultry, sheep, and
swine. The ultimate long-term goal of
the NAIS is to provide State and Federal
officials with the capability to identify
all animals and premises that have had
direct contact with a disease of concern
within 48 hours after discovery. A
document providing an update on the
implementation plans for the NAIS,
titled ‘‘National Animal Identification
System (NAIS)—Strategies for the
Implementation of NAIS,’’ is available at
https://www.usda.gov/nais or at https://
www.regulations.gov. Paper copies also
may be requested by calling or writing
to the person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the
title of the document when requesting
copies.
Currently a voluntary system, the
NAIS will be established through a
phased-in approach by implementing
three key components: Premises
registration, animal identification, and
animal tracking. The USDA has already
developed information systems to
support the first two components. The
third component will developed
through a government/industry
partnership, in which animal movement
information will be maintained in
private and/or State databases and made
available to APHIS as needed in specific
situations to trace animal movements.
The USDA’s objective is to support
the privatization of the animal tracking
information component of the NAIS in
the most practical and timely and least
burdensome manner possible. We have
determined that this can best be
achieved by establishing a system that
will allow the Federal Government to
access information in multiple
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
databases through a single portal, using
a metadata layer (or portal) architecture.
A document entitled ‘‘Integration of
Private and State Animal Tracking
Databases with the NAIS; Interim
Development Phase,’’ presents our
initial plans for moving forward with
the implementation of this system. The
document describes the Animal Trace
Processing System (ATPS), a system for
processing animal movement data. A
two-phase plan for implementing the
ATPS is also described. The plan
consists of an interim/development
phase, which is set to begin in 2006, and
an implementation phase, which is
targeted for early 2007. Finally, the
document provides data standards and
technical requirements and
specifications that databases must meet
to be eligible for participation in the
interim phase.
The ATPS, which will be managed by
APHIS, is an information system that
includes the metadata portal or system
and related functionality for processing
the animal movement records returned
to APHIS from participating animal
tracking databases (ATDs) within our
Animal Health Information System. The
ATPS will also provide the security, the
interfaces and communication platform,
and the auditing process for
participating ATDs, and will enable us
to integrate other relevant data from
other APHIS-managed systems within
the APHIS’’ Animal Health Information
System. The ATPS will be utilized by
both Federal and State animal health
officials to submit queries to the ADTs.
Metadata is usually defined as ‘‘data
about the data.’’ Using the metadata
portal architecture, the Federal
Government would regularly and
routinely receive information from each
participating NAIS database about
which animal and premises
identification numbers were tracked in
each database, but would receive animal
movement information only when such
data are needed to support an animal
disease program or investigation. In
such a situation, the Federal
Government’s part of the system would
query only those source systems that
contain the animal and premises
identification numbers needed. Other
systems would not need to be queried,
which would lessen the input and
output burden on those systems. No
animal movement records would be
E:\FR\FM\07APN1.SGM
07APN1
wwhite on PROD1PC61 with NOTICES
17806
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 67 / Friday, April 7, 2006 / Notices
stored permanently by the metadata
portal.
The metadata system would provide
the greatest flexibility for affected
industries and stakeholders. While
organizations that wish to consolidate
their tracking data could still do so, and
would be encouraged to do so, most of
the existing industry and State systems
would be able to continue collecting
and storing information in much the
same way they do now.
To ‘‘jump start’’ the integration of
private and State ATDs into the NAIS,
APHIS has designed an interim/
development phase that will allow
interested organizations to participate in
early 2006. During this interim/
development phase, APHIS will enter
into a cooperative agreement (CA) for
the integration of the ATD with any
organization that has a qualifying
database(s) and that wishes to support
the advancement of the integration of
private and State animal tracking/
movement systems into the NAIS.
Included in the current document are
the data standards and technical
requirements and specifications that an
organization’s ATDs must meet to be
eligible to participate in the interim/
development phase of the ATPS.
Organizations must complete the
‘‘Request for Evaluation of Interim
Private/State Animal Tracking
Database’’ to initiate an APHIS review of
their systems. If its system meets the
interim requirements, an organization
may elect to enter into a CA with
APHIS. The CA will ensure that animal
health officials have access to the
information contained in the ATD when
necessary to perform their duties.
Entering into a CA does not imply that
an organization’s ATD will be eligible to
participate in the NAIS as a fully
compliant system after ATPS
implementation is completed and final
eligibility requirements are established.
During the interim/development
phase, APHIS, in cooperation with
stakeholders, will continue to develop
the complete requirements for the
integration of private and State ATDs
with the NAIS. Systems that meet these
specifications will be defined as ‘‘NAIS
Compliant Animal Tracking Databases’’
upon the signing of the agreement with
the organization responsible for the
information system. It is anticipated that
the requirements for compliant systems
will be completed by late 2006, and
actual integration, by early 2007.
APHIS will establish an agreement
with each participating organization
that maintains a database with animal
tracking information and that elects to
provide access to the information
according to the NAIS requirements. In
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:13 Apr 06, 2006
Jkt 208001
addition to outlining data elements and
access and operating procedures, the
agreement will also stipulate how
movement data will be archived and
transferred in the event the organization
and/or technology company ceases
business or elects to discontinue the
operation of the ATD.
The document regarding the
integration of private and state ATDs
with the NAIS, and a template of the
CA, may be viewed on the Internet at
https://www.usda.gov/nais or at https://
www.regulations.gov. You may request
paper copies of the document by calling
or writing to the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please
refer to the title of the document
(‘‘Integration of Private and State
Animal Tracking Databases with the
NAIS; Interim Development Phase’’)
when requesting copies.
Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of
April 2006.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 06–3412 Filed 4–6–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0052]
National Animal Identification System;
Notice of Web Conference Training
Sessions for Animal Identification
Number Managers and Resellers
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: We are informing producers
and other stakeholders who plan to
participate in the distribution of animal
identification number (AIN) tags of the
availability of additional training, via
Web conferences, so that they can
prepare to participate in this component
of the National Animal Identification
System (NAIS) by becoming AIN
managers or resellers. The Web
conferences will provide more details
about the administration of AIN tags, as
well as provide a demonstration of the
AIN Management System, the Webbased system for distributing and
administering AINs in the NAIS.
DATES: The Web conferences will be
conducted on April 13, 2006, and April
26, 2006. Details regarding each event
are provided in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Neil Hammerschmidt, NAIS
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Coordinator, Surveillance and
Identification Team, National Center for
Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 200, Riverdale,
MD 20737–1231; (301) 734–5571.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As part of
ongoing efforts to safeguard animal
health, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) initiated
implementation of the National Animal
Identification System (NAIS) in 2004.
The NAIS is a cooperative State-Federalindustry program administered by
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS). Its longterm goal is to track all animal
movements, from birth to harvest, as
part of USDA’s National Animal Health
Monitoring and Surveillance Program.
In order to facilitate the
implementation of the NAIS, on
November 8, 2004, we published in the
Federal Register (69 FR 64644–64651,
Docket No. 04–052–1) an interim rule
that, among other things, amended the
regulations to recognize additional
numbering systems for the identification
of animals in interstate commerce and
State/Federal/industry cooperative
disease control and eradication
programs and to redefine the numbering
system used to identify premises where
animals are managed or held.
Specifically, the interim rule recognized
the animal identification number (AIN)
as an official numbering system for the
identification of individual animals, the
group/lot identification number (GIN)
for the identification of groups or lots of
animals within the same production
system, and the seven-character
premises identification number (PIN) for
the identification of premises in the
NAIS. Use of the new numbering
systems was not, however, required as
a result of the interim rule. Finally, the
interim rule amended the regulations to
prohibit the removal of official
identification devices and to eliminate
potential regulatory obstacles to the
recognition of emerging technologies
that could offer viable alternatives to
existing animal identification devices
and methods.
On March 3, 2006, we published a
notice in the Federal Register (71 FR
10951–10952, Docket No. APHIS–2005–
0117) in which we announced the
availability of a document entitled
‘‘Administration of Official
Identification Devices with the Animal
Identification Number,’’ which expands
upon certain aspects of the NAIS that
were presented in the Draft Program
Standards. The document describes how
an AIN may be used in conjunction with
official identification devices in the
NAIS; provides performance and
E:\FR\FM\07APN1.SGM
07APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17805-17806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-3412]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 67 / Friday, April 7, 2006 /
Notices
[[Page 17805]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS 2006-0030]
National Animal Identification System (NAIS); Implementation Plan
and Integration of Private and State Animal Tracking Databases With the
NAIS
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of three documents
related to the National Animal Identification System (NAIS): A document
that provides an update on the implementation plans, including
operational milestones and participation goals; a document describing
how private and State animal tracking databases may be integrated into
the NAIS to provide animal health officials with animal movement
information on an as-needed basis; and, in connection with the animal
tracking databases document, a template for a cooperative agreement
that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service may enter into with
organizations that wish to participate in the animal tracking database
component of the NAIS.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Neil Hammerschmidt, National
Coordinator, National Animal Identification System, VS, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-5571.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
As part of ongoing efforts to safeguard animal health, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated implementation of the
National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in 2004. The NAIS is a
cooperative State-Federal-industry program administered by USDA's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The main objective
of the NAIS is to develop and implement a comprehensive information
system which will support ongoing animal disease programs and enable
State and Federal animal health officials to respond rapidly and
effectively to animal health emergencies such as foreign animal disease
outbreaks or emerging domestic diseases.
The NAIS is being developed to facilitate rapid tracing in the
event of an outbreak of an animal disease of concern. Working groups
have been formed and are developing plans for camelids (llamas and
alpacas), cattle and bison, cervids (deer and elk), equine, goats,
poultry, sheep, and swine. The ultimate long-term goal of the NAIS is
to provide State and Federal officials with the capability to identify
all animals and premises that have had direct contact with a disease of
concern within 48 hours after discovery. A document providing an update
on the implementation plans for the NAIS, titled ``National Animal
Identification System (NAIS)--Strategies for the Implementation of
NAIS,'' is available at https://www.usda.gov/nais or at https://
www.regulations.gov. Paper copies also may be requested by calling or
writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Please refer to the title of the document when requesting copies.
Currently a voluntary system, the NAIS will be established through
a phased-in approach by implementing three key components: Premises
registration, animal identification, and animal tracking. The USDA has
already developed information systems to support the first two
components. The third component will developed through a government/
industry partnership, in which animal movement information will be
maintained in private and/or State databases and made available to
APHIS as needed in specific situations to trace animal movements.
The USDA's objective is to support the privatization of the animal
tracking information component of the NAIS in the most practical and
timely and least burdensome manner possible. We have determined that
this can best be achieved by establishing a system that will allow the
Federal Government to access information in multiple databases through
a single portal, using a metadata layer (or portal) architecture.
A document entitled ``Integration of Private and State Animal
Tracking Databases with the NAIS; Interim Development Phase,'' presents
our initial plans for moving forward with the implementation of this
system. The document describes the Animal Trace Processing System
(ATPS), a system for processing animal movement data. A two-phase plan
for implementing the ATPS is also described. The plan consists of an
interim/development phase, which is set to begin in 2006, and an
implementation phase, which is targeted for early 2007. Finally, the
document provides data standards and technical requirements and
specifications that databases must meet to be eligible for
participation in the interim phase.
The ATPS, which will be managed by APHIS, is an information system
that includes the metadata portal or system and related functionality
for processing the animal movement records returned to APHIS from
participating animal tracking databases (ATDs) within our Animal Health
Information System. The ATPS will also provide the security, the
interfaces and communication platform, and the auditing process for
participating ATDs, and will enable us to integrate other relevant data
from other APHIS-managed systems within the APHIS'' Animal Health
Information System. The ATPS will be utilized by both Federal and State
animal health officials to submit queries to the ADTs.
Metadata is usually defined as ``data about the data.'' Using the
metadata portal architecture, the Federal Government would regularly
and routinely receive information from each participating NAIS database
about which animal and premises identification numbers were tracked in
each database, but would receive animal movement information only when
such data are needed to support an animal disease program or
investigation. In such a situation, the Federal Government's part of
the system would query only those source systems that contain the
animal and premises identification numbers needed. Other systems would
not need to be queried, which would lessen the input and output burden
on those systems. No animal movement records would be
[[Page 17806]]
stored permanently by the metadata portal.
The metadata system would provide the greatest flexibility for
affected industries and stakeholders. While organizations that wish to
consolidate their tracking data could still do so, and would be
encouraged to do so, most of the existing industry and State systems
would be able to continue collecting and storing information in much
the same way they do now.
To ``jump start'' the integration of private and State ATDs into
the NAIS, APHIS has designed an interim/development phase that will
allow interested organizations to participate in early 2006. During
this interim/development phase, APHIS will enter into a cooperative
agreement (CA) for the integration of the ATD with any organization
that has a qualifying database(s) and that wishes to support the
advancement of the integration of private and State animal tracking/
movement systems into the NAIS.
Included in the current document are the data standards and
technical requirements and specifications that an organization's ATDs
must meet to be eligible to participate in the interim/ development
phase of the ATPS. Organizations must complete the ``Request for
Evaluation of Interim Private/State Animal Tracking Database'' to
initiate an APHIS review of their systems. If its system meets the
interim requirements, an organization may elect to enter into a CA with
APHIS. The CA will ensure that animal health officials have access to
the information contained in the ATD when necessary to perform their
duties. Entering into a CA does not imply that an organization's ATD
will be eligible to participate in the NAIS as a fully compliant system
after ATPS implementation is completed and final eligibility
requirements are established.
During the interim/development phase, APHIS, in cooperation with
stakeholders, will continue to develop the complete requirements for
the integration of private and State ATDs with the NAIS. Systems that
meet these specifications will be defined as ``NAIS Compliant Animal
Tracking Databases'' upon the signing of the agreement with the
organization responsible for the information system. It is anticipated
that the requirements for compliant systems will be completed by late
2006, and actual integration, by early 2007.
APHIS will establish an agreement with each participating
organization that maintains a database with animal tracking information
and that elects to provide access to the information according to the
NAIS requirements. In addition to outlining data elements and access
and operating procedures, the agreement will also stipulate how
movement data will be archived and transferred in the event the
organization and/or technology company ceases business or elects to
discontinue the operation of the ATD.
The document regarding the integration of private and state ATDs
with the NAIS, and a template of the CA, may be viewed on the Internet
at https://www.usda.gov/nais or at https://www.regulations.gov. You may
request paper copies of the document by calling or writing to the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to
the title of the document (``Integration of Private and State Animal
Tracking Databases with the NAIS; Interim Development Phase'') when
requesting copies.
Done in Washington, DC, this 5th day of April 2006.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 06-3412 Filed 4-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
