Concurrence With OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, 37041-37042 [2017-16674]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 8, 2017 / Notices
Rural Utilities Service
Total Burden Hours: 5,894.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017–16702 Filed 8–7–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
August 3, 2017.
The Department of Agriculture has
submitted the following information
collection requirement(s) to Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13. Comments are
requested regarding (1) whether the
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of burden including
the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
Comments regarding this information
collection received by September 7,
2017 will be considered. Written
comments should be addressed to: Desk
Officer for Agriculture, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), New Executive Office Building,
725—17th Street NW., Washington, DC
20502. Commenters are encouraged to
submit their comments to OMB via
email to: OIRA_Submission@
OMB.EOP.GOV or fax (202) 395–5806
and to Departmental Clearance Office,
USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602,
Washington, DC 20250–7602. Copies of
the submission(s) may be obtained by
calling (202) 720–8958.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor a collection of information
unless the collection of information
displays a currently valid OMB control
number and the agency informs
potential persons who are to respond to
the collection of information that such
persons are not required to respond to
the collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
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21:16 Aug 07, 2017
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37041
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Title: Telecommunications System
Construction Policies and Procedures.
OMB Control Number: 0572–0059.
Summary Of Collection: The Rural
Electrification Act of 1936 (RE Act), 7
U.S.C. 901 et seq., was amended in 2002
by Title IV, Rural Broadband Access, by
Farm Security and rural Investment Act,
which authorizes Rural Utilities Service
(RUS) to provide loans and loan
guarantees to fund the cost of
construction, improvement, or
acquisition for facilities and equipment
for the provision of broadband service
in eligible rural communities in the
States and territories of the United
States. Title VI of the RE Act requires
that loans are granted only to borrowers
who demonstrated that they will be able
to repay in full within the time agreed.
RUS has established certain standards
and specification for materials,
equipment and construction to assure
that standards are maintained; loans are
not adversely affected, and loans are
used for intended purposes.
Need and Use of the Information:
RUS has developed specific forms for
borrowers to use when entering into
contracts for goods or services. The
information collected is used to
implement certain provisions of loan
documents about the borrower’s
purchase of materials and equipment
and the construction of its broadband
system and is provided on and as
needed basis or when the individual
borrower undertakes certain projects.
The standardization of the forms has
resulted in substantial savings to
borrowers by reducing preparation of
the documentation and the costly
review by the government.
Description of Respondents: Business
or other for-profit; Not-for-profit
institutions.
Number of Respondents: 110.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting:
On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 8,807.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
Charlene Parker,
Departmental Information Collection
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017–16641 Filed 8–7–17; 8:45 am]
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Sfmt 4703
[Docket No. APHIS–2016–0092]
Concurrence With OIE Risk
Designations for Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
We are advising the public of
our decision to concur with the World
Organization for Animal Health’s (OIE)
bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) risk designations for seven
regions. The OIE recognizes these
regions as being of negligible risk for
BSE. We are taking this action based on
our review of information supporting
the OIE’s risk designations for these
regions.
SUMMARY:
Dr.
Roberta Morales, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation
Services, National Import Export
Services, VS, APHIS, 920 Main Campus
Drive, Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27606;
(919) 855–7735.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
regulations in 9 CFR part 92 subpart B,
‘‘Importation of Animals and Animal
Products; Procedures for Requesting
BSE Risk Status Classification With
Regard to Bovines’’ (referred to below as
the regulations), set forth the process by
which the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) classifies
regions for bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) risk. Section 92.5
of the regulations provides that all
countries of the world are considered by
APHIS to be in one of three BSE risk
categories: Negligible risk, controlled
risk, or undetermined risk. These risk
categories are defined in § 92.1. Any
region that is not classified by APHIS as
presenting either negligible risk or
controlled risk for BSE is considered to
present an undetermined risk. The list
of those regions classified by APHIS as
having either negligible risk or
controlled risk can be accessed on the
APHIS Web site at https://
www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/
animalhealth/animal-and-animalproduct-import-information/ct_animal_
disease_status. The list can also be
obtained by writing to APHIS at
National Import Export Services, 4700
River Road, Unit 38, Riverdale, MD
20737.
Under the regulations, APHIS may
classify a region for BSE in one of two
ways. One way is for countries that have
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
08AUN1
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
37042
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 151 / Tuesday, August 8, 2017 / Notices
not received a risk classification from
the World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE) to request classification by
APHIS. The other way is for APHIS to
concur with the classification given to a
country by the OIE.
If the OIE has recognized a country as
either BSE negligible risk or BSE
controlled risk, APHIS will seek
information to support our concurrence
with the OIE classification. This
information may be publicly available
information, or APHIS may request that
countries supply the same information
given to the OIE. APHIS will announce
in the Federal Register, subject to
public comment, its intent to concur
with an OIE classification.
In accordance with that process, we
published a notice 1 in the Federal
Register on January 23, 2017 (82 FR
7786, Docket No. APHIS–2016–0092), in
which we announced our intent to
concur with the OIE risk designations
for seven regions. The OIE recognizes
these regions as being of negligible risk
for BSE. We solicited comments on the
notice for 60 days ending on March 24,
2017. We received one comment by that
date, from a private citizen.
The commenter expressed concern
that there is no process for verifying
whether ruminant-to-ruminant feed
bans are effectively enforced.
As part of its risk assessment process,
the OIE considers the likelihood that the
BSE agent either could be introduced
into or spread within a country through
contaminated commodities, including
animal feed and feed ingredients. They
consider both the production of
processed animal proteins from
domestic livestock, and the use of
imported processed animal proteins,
animal feed, and feed ingredients when
assessing that risk. APHIS reviews
similar information before concurring
with the OIE designation.
Once recognized as either negligible
or controlled risk for BSE by the OIE, a
country must submit data on
surveillance results and feed controls
for the previous 12 months annually to
maintain that status. If a country fails to
provide that data in a timely manner, or
the data shows changes that increase the
risk of BSE introduction or spread, the
country’s risk designation may be
changed. In the event that a country’s
risk status is demoted by the OIE,
APHIS would also change its risk
designation for the country.
Within the United States, the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) is the
Federal agency responsible for
1 To view the notice and the comment we
received, go to https://www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-0092.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
21:16 Aug 07, 2017
Jkt 241001
regulating animal feed. The FDA has
established regulations in 21 CFR part
589 that prohibit mammalian protein in
ruminant feed (which includes a
ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban) and the
use of tissues that have the highest risk
for carrying the BSE agent in all animal
feed. These high risk cattle materials,
known as specified risk materials
(SRM), include the brains and spinal
cords from cattle 30 months of age and
older.
To assess and monitor for compliance
with the feed ban, the FDA established
the ruminant feed ban inspection
program and guidance to assist both the
FDA and State investigators. Feed mill
and rendering plant inspections
conducted since 1998 indicate a very
high level of compliance with the feed
ban. Summaries of inspections can be
viewed on the FDA Web site at https://
www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/
GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/
ComplianceEnforcement/
BovineSpongiformEncephalopathy/
ucm114507.htm. The FDA also
established a feed testing program in
2001. The FDA’s highest priority for
sample selection is given to finished
products intended for ruminants, and
feed ingredients that may reasonably be
expected to be later used in ruminant
feed.
The commenter also expressed
concern that products from cattle
slaughtered at 36 months of age pose a
health risk to consumers.
The commenter is correct that certain
bovine products and live cattle from
specific countries with a higher risk of
BSE release may carry BSE infectivity
and therefore present a health risk to
consumers if no measures are taken to
mitigate that risk. For this reason, the
OIE also describes specific requirements
for certain commodities originating from
regions of controlled and undetermined
risk.
APHIS regulations require
implementation of and compliance with
very similar requirements for both live
bovines and bovine commodities in a
region before we concur with the OIE’s
BSE risk designation. These
requirements mitigate the risk of
exposure to a negligible level. Therefore,
countries with either controlled or
undetermined risk statuses must
demonstrate that they have the authority
to conduct oversight of the compliance
with such requirements.
Therefore, in accordance with the
regulations in § 92.5, we are announcing
our decision to concur with the OIE risk
classifications of the following
countries:
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
• Regions of negligible risk for BSE:
Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania,
Mexico, Namibia, Romania, and Spain.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301–8317;
21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7
CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of
August 2017.
Michael C. Gregoire,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2017–16674 Filed 8–7–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2016–0035]
Notice of Availability of Treatment
Evaluation Document for Aircraft
Treatments for Certain Hitchhiking
Pests
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and
request for comments.
AGENCY:
We are advising the public
that we have determined that it is
necessary to immediately add to the
Plant Protection and Quarantine
Treatment Manual two new chemical
treatments for targeting regulated pests
in the cargo holds of aircraft. We have
prepared a treatment evaluation
document that describes the new
treatment schedules and explains why
we have determined that they are
effective at neutralizing certain target
pests. We are making the treatment
evaluation document available to the
public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before October 10,
2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-0035.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Send your comment to Docket No.
APHIS–2016–0035, 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-2016-0035 or
in our reading room, which is located in
Room 1141 of the USDA South
Building, 14th Street and Independence
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\08AUN1.SGM
08AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37041-37042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16674]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0092]
Concurrence With OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our decision to concur with the
World Organization for Animal Health's (OIE) bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) risk designations for seven regions. The OIE
recognizes these regions as being of negligible risk for BSE. We are
taking this action based on our review of information supporting the
OIE's risk designations for these regions.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Roberta Morales, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation Services, National Import
Export Services, VS, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200, Raleigh,
NC 27606; (919) 855-7735.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 92 subpart B,
``Importation of Animals and Animal Products; Procedures for Requesting
BSE Risk Status Classification With Regard to Bovines'' (referred to
below as the regulations), set forth the process by which the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) classifies regions for
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk. Section 92.5 of the
regulations provides that all countries of the world are considered by
APHIS to be in one of three BSE risk categories: Negligible risk,
controlled risk, or undetermined risk. These risk categories are
defined in Sec. 92.1. Any region that is not classified by APHIS as
presenting either negligible risk or controlled risk for BSE is
considered to present an undetermined risk. The list of those regions
classified by APHIS as having either negligible risk or controlled risk
can be accessed on the APHIS Web site at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information/ct_animal_disease_status. The list can also be obtained by
writing to APHIS at National Import Export Services, 4700 River Road,
Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737.
Under the regulations, APHIS may classify a region for BSE in one
of two ways. One way is for countries that have
[[Page 37042]]
not received a risk classification from the World Organization for
Animal Health (OIE) to request classification by APHIS. The other way
is for APHIS to concur with the classification given to a country by
the OIE.
If the OIE has recognized a country as either BSE negligible risk
or BSE controlled risk, APHIS will seek information to support our
concurrence with the OIE classification. This information may be
publicly available information, or APHIS may request that countries
supply the same information given to the OIE. APHIS will announce in
the Federal Register, subject to public comment, its intent to concur
with an OIE classification.
In accordance with that process, we published a notice \1\ in the
Federal Register on January 23, 2017 (82 FR 7786, Docket No. APHIS-
2016-0092), in which we announced our intent to concur with the OIE
risk designations for seven regions. The OIE recognizes these regions
as being of negligible risk for BSE. We solicited comments on the
notice for 60 days ending on March 24, 2017. We received one comment by
that date, from a private citizen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To view the notice and the comment we received, go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-0092.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The commenter expressed concern that there is no process for
verifying whether ruminant-to-ruminant feed bans are effectively
enforced.
As part of its risk assessment process, the OIE considers the
likelihood that the BSE agent either could be introduced into or spread
within a country through contaminated commodities, including animal
feed and feed ingredients. They consider both the production of
processed animal proteins from domestic livestock, and the use of
imported processed animal proteins, animal feed, and feed ingredients
when assessing that risk. APHIS reviews similar information before
concurring with the OIE designation.
Once recognized as either negligible or controlled risk for BSE by
the OIE, a country must submit data on surveillance results and feed
controls for the previous 12 months annually to maintain that status.
If a country fails to provide that data in a timely manner, or the data
shows changes that increase the risk of BSE introduction or spread, the
country's risk designation may be changed. In the event that a
country's risk status is demoted by the OIE, APHIS would also change
its risk designation for the country.
Within the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is
the Federal agency responsible for regulating animal feed. The FDA has
established regulations in 21 CFR part 589 that prohibit mammalian
protein in ruminant feed (which includes a ruminant-to-ruminant feed
ban) and the use of tissues that have the highest risk for carrying the
BSE agent in all animal feed. These high risk cattle materials, known
as specified risk materials (SRM), include the brains and spinal cords
from cattle 30 months of age and older.
To assess and monitor for compliance with the feed ban, the FDA
established the ruminant feed ban inspection program and guidance to
assist both the FDA and State investigators. Feed mill and rendering
plant inspections conducted since 1998 indicate a very high level of
compliance with the feed ban. Summaries of inspections can be viewed on
the FDA Web site at https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/ComplianceEnforcement/BovineSpongiformEncephalopathy/ucm114507.htm. The FDA also established
a feed testing program in 2001. The FDA's highest priority for sample
selection is given to finished products intended for ruminants, and
feed ingredients that may reasonably be expected to be later used in
ruminant feed.
The commenter also expressed concern that products from cattle
slaughtered at 36 months of age pose a health risk to consumers.
The commenter is correct that certain bovine products and live
cattle from specific countries with a higher risk of BSE release may
carry BSE infectivity and therefore present a health risk to consumers
if no measures are taken to mitigate that risk. For this reason, the
OIE also describes specific requirements for certain commodities
originating from regions of controlled and undetermined risk.
APHIS regulations require implementation of and compliance with
very similar requirements for both live bovines and bovine commodities
in a region before we concur with the OIE's BSE risk designation. These
requirements mitigate the risk of exposure to a negligible level.
Therefore, countries with either controlled or undetermined risk
statuses must demonstrate that they have the authority to conduct
oversight of the compliance with such requirements.
Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec. 92.5, we are
announcing our decision to concur with the OIE risk classifications of
the following countries:
Regions of negligible risk for BSE: Costa Rica, Germany,
Lithuania, Mexico, Namibia, Romania, and Spain.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a;
31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of August 2017.
Michael C. Gregoire,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-16674 Filed 8-7-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P