Environmental Impact Statement; Animal Carcass Management, 63959-63960 [2013-25158]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 207 (Friday, October 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63959-63960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25158]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0044]


Environmental Impact Statement; Animal Carcass Management

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
and proposed scope of study.

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SUMMARY: We are announcing to the public that the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service intends to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to examine the potential environmental effects of 
animal carcass management options used throughout the United States. 
This notice identifies potential alternatives and environmental effects 
that will be examined in the EIS and requests that the public comment 
on these proposed alternatives and environmental effects and identify 
other issues that could be examined in the EIS.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
November 25, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0044-;0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0044, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-
0044 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to the carcass 
management program, contact Ms. Lori P. Miller, PE, Senior Staff 
Officer, National Center for Animal Health Emergency Management, VS, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 41, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-3512. 
For questions related to the EIS, contact Ms. Samantha Floyd, 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Environmental and Risk Analysis 
Services, PPD, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 149, Riverdale, MD 20737; 
(301) 851-3053.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) authorizes 
the Secretary of Agriculture to order the destruction or removal of 
animals to prevent the introduction and spread of livestock pests or 
diseases. Large numbers of animals and carcasses may need to be 
disposed of or otherwise managed during or after an animal health 
emergency. Examples of an animal health emergency include, but are not 
limited to, an outbreak of a foreign animal disease, a natural 
disaster, or the introduction of a chemical or radiological agent. As 
carcasses begin to degrade, bodily fluids, chemical and biological 
leachate components, and hazardous gases such as methane are released 
into the environment, potentially impacting the health and safety of 
surrounding humans, livestock, and wildlife. Therefore, the management 
of large numbers of carcasses during an animal health emergency must be 
timely, safe, biosecure, aesthetically acceptable, and environmentally 
responsible.
    Current Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 
regulations regarding carcass management, including those found in 9 
CFR 53.4, are based on World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) 
recommendations and sound science. APHIS regulations specify that 
animals infected by or exposed to foot-and mouth disease, 
pleuropneumonia, rinderpest, and certain other communicable diseases of 
livestock or poultry are required to be disposed of by burial or 
burning, unless

[[Page 63960]]

otherwise specified by the APHIS Administrator. Traditionally, burial 
has involved placement of carcasses in unlined pits or trenches, and 
burning has involved open pyres (i.e., combustible heaps). APHIS may 
work in conjunction with States to manage animal carcasses during or 
after an animal health emergency. However, State regulations concerning 
carcass management vary, and Federal and State regulations are not 
always based on the most current scientific information with regard to 
impacts of such activities on the environment and public health.

Environmental Impact Statement

    To examine the potential environmental effects of animal carcass 
management options used throughout the United States, APHIS is 
preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS). The EIS will analyze 
and compare all major and readily available mass carcass management 
options that may be utilized during an animal health emergency. APHIS 
is considering classifying mass carcass management as management of 50 
tons or more of biomass per premises. In the EIS, we intend to compare 
unlined burial and open-air burning disposal methods with other 
available carcass management options. These may include composting (on- 
or off-site), rendering, landfills compliant with the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and other fixed facility options, 
such as incinerators compliant with the Clean Air Act, that could 
accommodate a large volume of carcasses over a short period of time.
    The findings of the EIS will be used for planning and 
decisionmaking and to inform the public about the potential 
environmental effects of currently available carcass management 
options. Additionally, when mass carcass management options are 
utilized, site-specific environmental documents may be required. If 
such documents are needed, APHIS may use information presented and 
analyzed in the EIS, which will help APHIS to promptly fulfill its 
environmental compliance obligations when an emergency situation arises 
requiring immediate action.
    We are requesting public comment to help us identify or confirm 
potential alternatives and environmental effects, as well as any other 
issues, that could and should be examined in the EIS. The EIS will be 
prepared in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of 
the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the procedural 
provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA regulations 
implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA Implementing 
Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

Alternatives

    We have identified the following alternatives for further 
examination in the EIS:
    Take no action. Under the no action alternative, existing APHIS 
regulations that recommend unlined burial and open-air burning will be 
used as the baseline against which alternative carcass management 
methods may be compared. This action does not involve changes to the 
current situation.
    Alternative action. Under the alternative action, APHIS is 
considering alternatives in addition to unlined burial and open-air 
burning as carcass management options. Alternative actions may include 
one or some combination of the following: Composting (on- or off-site), 
rendering, RCRA-compliant landfills, and other fixed facility options, 
such as incinerators compliant with the Clean Air Act.

Environmental Effects for Consideration

    We have identified the following potential environmental effects 
for examination in the EIS. We are requesting that the public comment 
on them during the scoping period:
     Effects on soil, air, and water quality.
     Effects on humans:
     Health and safety.
     Agricultural lands.
     Industries and the economy.
     Public perception.
     Cultural and historic resources.
     Effects on wildlife populations, including effects on 
federally listed threatened and endangered species.
     Effects on plant populations, including effects on 
federally listed threatened and endangered species.
    Comments that identify other issues or alternatives that could be 
considered for examination in the EIS would be especially helpful. All 
comments received during the scoping period will be carefully 
considered in developing the final scope of the EIS. Upon completion of 
the draft EIS, a notice announcing its availability and an opportunity 
to comment on it will be published in the Federal Register.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 8301-8317; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of October 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-25158 Filed 10-24-13; 8:45 am]
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