Oral Rabies Vaccine Trial; Availability of a Supplemental Environmental Assessment, 31117-31118 [2018-14307]

Download as PDF 31117 Notices Federal Register Vol. 83, No. 128 Tuesday, July 3, 2018 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–2018–0033] Oral Rabies Vaccine Trial; Availability of a Supplemental Environmental Assessment Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments. AGENCY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a supplemental environmental assessment (EA) relative to an oral rabies vaccination field trial in New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. The supplemental EA analyzes expanding the field trial for an experimental oral rabies vaccine for wildlife to additional areas in Ohio and West Virginia. The proposed field trial is necessary to evaluate whether the wildlife rabies vaccine will produce sufficient levels of population immunity against raccoon rabies. We are making the supplemental EA available to the public for review and comment. DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before August 2, 2018. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods: • Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docket Detail;D=APHIS-2018-0033. • Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS–2018–0033, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. The supplemental environmental assessment and any comments we receive may be viewed at https:// www.regulations.gov/#!docket sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:07 Jul 02, 2018 Jkt 244001 Detail;D=APHIS-2018-0033 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. This notice and the supplemental environmental assessment are also posted on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website at https:// www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/ws/ws_ nepa_environmental_documents.shtml. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Chipman, Rabies Program Coordinator, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 59 Chennell Drive, Suite 7, Concord, NH 03301; (603) 223–9623, email: richard.b.chipman@aphis.usda.gov. To obtain copies of the supplemental environmental assessment, contact Ms. Beth Kabert, Staff Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Services, 140–C Locust Grove Road, Pittstown, NJ 08867; (908) 735– 5654, fax (908) 735–0821; email: beth.e.kabert@aphis.usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wildlife Services (WS) program in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) cooperates with Federal agencies, State and local governments, and private individuals to research and implement the best methods of managing conflicts between wildlife and human health and safety, agriculture, property, and natural resources. Wildlife-borne diseases that can affect domestic animals and humans are among the types of conflicts that APHIS–WS addresses. Wildlife is the dominant reservoir of rabies in the United States. APHIS–WS conducts an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program to control the spread of rabies. The ORV program has utilized a vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein (V–RG) vaccine. APHIS– WS’ use of the V–RG vaccine has resulted in several notable accomplishments, including the elimination of canine rabies from sources in Mexico, the successful control of gray fox rabies virus variant in western Texas, and the prevention of any appreciable spread of raccoon rabies in the eastern United States. While the prevention of any appreciable spread of raccoon rabies in the eastern United States represents a major PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 accomplishment in rabies management, the V–RG vaccine has not been effective in eliminating raccoon rabies from highrisk spread corridors. This fact prompted APHIS–WS to evaluate rabies vaccines capable of producing higher levels of population immunity against raccoon rabies to better control the spread of this disease. Since 2011, APHIS–WS has been conducting field trials to study the immunogenicity and safety of an experimental oral rabies vaccine, a human adenovirus type 5 rabies glycoprotein recombinant vaccine called ONRAB (produced by Artemis Technologies Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada). The field trials began in portions of West Virginia, including U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service National Forest System lands. Beginning in 2012, APHIS–WS has expanded the field trials into portions of New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and new areas of West Virginia, including National Forest System lands, in order to further assess the immunogenicity of ONRAB in raccoons and skunks for raccoon rabies virus variant. APHIS–WS is now proposing to add Belmont and Monroe Counties in Ohio, and Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, and Ohio Counties in West Virginia to the field trial bait zone. Based on favorable results from previous U.S. ONRAB field trials and pressure from rabies cases in Pennsylvania and the West Virginia panhandle, we determined the need to use ONRAB vaccine baits in the remaining areas of the Ohio and West Virginia where rabies cases may still persist. APHIS–WS has prepared a supplemental environmental assessment (EA) in which we analyze expanding the area of the field trial zone in Ohio and West Virginia. We are making the supplemental EA available to the public for review and comment. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before the date listed under the heading DATES at the beginning of this notice. The supplemental EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the reading room). In addition, paper copies may be obtained by calling or writing to the E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM 03JYN1 31118 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 3, 2018 / Notices individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The EA has been 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). Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of June 2018. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2018–14307 Filed 7–2–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–34–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Foreign Agricultural Service WTO Agricultural Quantity-Based Safeguard Trigger Levels Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. ACTION: Notice of product coverage and trigger levels for safeguard measures provided for in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture. AGENCY: This notice lists the updated quantity-based trigger levels for products which may be subject to additional import duties under the safeguard provisions of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. This notice also includes the relevant period applicable for the trigger levels on each of the listed products. DATES: July 3, 2018. SUMMARY: Safeguard Staff, Import Policies and Export Reporting Division, Office of Trade Programs, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Stop 1020, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250–1020. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Souleymane Diaby, (202) 720–0638, Souleymane.Diaby@fas.usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture provides that additional import duties may be imposed on imports of products subject to tariffication as a result of the Uruguay Round, if certain conditions are met. The agreement permits additional duties to be charged if the price of an individual shipment of imported products falls below the average price for similar goods imported during the years 1986–88 by a specified percentage. It also permits additional duties when the volume of imports of that product exceeds the sum of (1) a base trigger level multiplied by the average of the last three years of available import data and (2) the change in yearly consumption in the most recent year for which data are available (provided that the final trigger level is not less than 105 percent of the threeyear import average). The base trigger level is set at 105, 110, or 125 percent of the three-year import average, depending on the percentage of domestic consumption that is represented by imports. These additional duties may not be imposed on quantities for which minimum or current access commitments were made during the Uruguay Round negotiations, and only one type of safeguard, price or quantity, may be applied at any given time to an article. Section 405 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires that the President cause to be ADDRESSES: published in the Federal Register information regarding the price and quantity safeguards, including the quantity trigger levels, which must be updated annually based upon import levels during the most recent 3 years. The President delegated this duty to the Secretary of Agriculture in Presidential Proclamation No. 6763, dated December 23, 1994, 60 FR 1005 (Jan. 4, 1995). The Secretary of Agriculture further delegated this duty, which lies with the Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (7 CFR 2.43(a)(2)). The Annex to this notice contains the updated quantity trigger levels, which are set at 125 percent of the most recent 3-year average level of imports for each commodity, consistent with the provisions of Article 5. Additional information on the products subject to safeguards and the additional duties which may apply can be found in subchapter IV of Chapter 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (2018) and in the Secretary of Agriculture’s Notice of Uruguay Round Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels, published in the Federal Register at 60 FR 427 (Jan. 4, 1995). Notice: As provided in Section 405 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, consistent with Article 5 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, the safeguard quantity trigger levels previously notified are superseded by the levels indicated in the Annex to this notice. The definitions of these products were provided in the Notice of Safeguard Action published in the Federal Register, at 60 FR 427 (Jan. 4, 1995). Issued at Washington, DC, this 18th day of June 2018. Ken Isley, Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service. Quantity-based safeguard trigger sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES Product Trigger level Beef ........................................................................................... Mutton ....................................................................................... Cream ....................................................................................... Evaporated or Condensed Milk ................................................ Nonfat Dry Milk ......................................................................... Dried Whole Milk ....................................................................... Dried Cream .............................................................................. Dried Whey/Buttermilk .............................................................. Butter 1 ...................................................................................... Butteroil ..................................................................................... Chocolate Crumb ...................................................................... Lowfat Chocolate Crumb .......................................................... Animal Feed Containing Milk .................................................... Ice Cream ................................................................................. Dairy Mixtures ........................................................................... Infant Formula Containing Oligosaccharides ............................ Blue Cheese ............................................................................. Cheddar Cheese ....................................................................... VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:07 Jul 02, 2018 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 298,248 5,103 1,323,021 3,867,417 1,267,208 12,116,875 10,167 245,833 29,959,300 8,183,833 10,487,292 163,000 1,154,583 5,925,091 18,623,423 3,909,000 4,179,292 11,799,917 Fmt 4703 Unit Period MT ........................................... MT ........................................... Liters ....................................... Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Liters ....................................... Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Kilograms ................................ Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\03JYN1.SGM 03JYN1 Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 2018–Dec 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 31, 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018. 2018.

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31117-31118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14307]


========================================================================
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. 83, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 3, 2018 / 
Notices

[[Page 31117]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2018-0033]


Oral Rabies Vaccine Trial; Availability of a Supplemental 
Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared a supplemental environmental assessment 
(EA) relative to an oral rabies vaccination field trial in New 
Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. The supplemental 
EA analyzes expanding the field trial for an experimental oral rabies 
vaccine for wildlife to additional areas in Ohio and West Virginia. The 
proposed field trial is necessary to evaluate whether the wildlife 
rabies vaccine will produce sufficient levels of population immunity 
against raccoon rabies. We are making the supplemental EA available to 
the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
August 2, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0033.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2018-0033, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    The supplemental environmental assessment and any comments we 
receive may be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0033 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.
    This notice and the supplemental environmental assessment are also 
posted on the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website at 
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/ws/ws_nepa_environmental_documents.shtml.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Chipman, Rabies Program 
Coordinator, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 59 Chennell Drive, Suite 7, 
Concord, NH 03301; (603) 223-9623, email: 
[email protected]. To obtain copies of the supplemental 
environmental assessment, contact Ms. Beth Kabert, Staff Wildlife 
Biologist, Wildlife Services, 140-C Locust Grove Road, Pittstown, NJ 
08867; (908) 735-5654, fax (908) 735-0821; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wildlife Services (WS) program in the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) cooperates with 
Federal agencies, State and local governments, and private individuals 
to research and implement the best methods of managing conflicts 
between wildlife and human health and safety, agriculture, property, 
and natural resources. Wildlife-borne diseases that can affect domestic 
animals and humans are among the types of conflicts that APHIS-WS 
addresses. Wildlife is the dominant reservoir of rabies in the United 
States.
    APHIS-WS conducts an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program to 
control the spread of rabies. The ORV program has utilized a vaccinia-
rabies glycoprotein (V-RG) vaccine. APHIS-WS' use of the V-RG vaccine 
has resulted in several notable accomplishments, including the 
elimination of canine rabies from sources in Mexico, the successful 
control of gray fox rabies virus variant in western Texas, and the 
prevention of any appreciable spread of raccoon rabies in the eastern 
United States. While the prevention of any appreciable spread of 
raccoon rabies in the eastern United States represents a major 
accomplishment in rabies management, the V-RG vaccine has not been 
effective in eliminating raccoon rabies from high-risk spread 
corridors. This fact prompted APHIS-WS to evaluate rabies vaccines 
capable of producing higher levels of population immunity against 
raccoon rabies to better control the spread of this disease.
    Since 2011, APHIS-WS has been conducting field trials to study the 
immunogenicity and safety of an experimental oral rabies vaccine, a 
human adenovirus type 5 rabies glycoprotein recombinant vaccine called 
ONRAB (produced by Artemis Technologies Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada). 
The field trials began in portions of West Virginia, including U.S. 
Department of Agriculture Forest Service National Forest System lands.
    Beginning in 2012, APHIS-WS has expanded the field trials into 
portions of New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and new areas of 
West Virginia, including National Forest System lands, in order to 
further assess the immunogenicity of ONRAB in raccoons and skunks for 
raccoon rabies virus variant.
    APHIS-WS is now proposing to add Belmont and Monroe Counties in 
Ohio, and Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, and Ohio Counties in West Virginia 
to the field trial bait zone. Based on favorable results from previous 
U.S. ONRAB field trials and pressure from rabies cases in Pennsylvania 
and the West Virginia panhandle, we determined the need to use ONRAB 
vaccine baits in the remaining areas of the Ohio and West Virginia 
where rabies cases may still persist.
    APHIS-WS has prepared a supplemental environmental assessment (EA) 
in which we analyze expanding the area of the field trial zone in Ohio 
and West Virginia. We are making the supplemental EA available to the 
public for review and comment. We will consider all comments that we 
receive on or before the date listed under the heading DATES at the 
beginning of this notice.
    The supplemental EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website or 
in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing 
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room). In addition, paper copies may be obtained by calling or 
writing to the

[[Page 31118]]

individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The EA has been 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).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of June 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-14307 Filed 7-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P

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