Import Regulations for Horses; Technical Amendments, 24339-24340 [2024-07370]

Download as PDF lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 68 / Monday, April 8, 2024 / Rules and Regulations However, these costs will be offset by the benefits derived by the industry from the operation of the Order. The Committee’s meetings were widely publicized throughout the production area. The raisin industry and all interested persons were invited to attend the meetings and participate in Committee deliberations on all issues. Like all Committee meetings, the June 28, 2023, meeting was a public meeting and all entities, both large and small, were able to express views on this issue. In addition, interested persons were invited to submit comments on this rule, including the regulatory and information collection impacts of this action on small businesses. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Order’s information collection requirements have been previously approved by OMB and assigned OMB No. 0581–0178, Vegetable and Specialty Crops. No changes in those requirements are necessary as a result of this action. Should any changes become necessary, they would be submitted to OMB for approval. This final rule will not impose any additional reporting or recordkeeping requirements on either small or large California raisin handlers. As with all Federal marketing order programs, reports and forms are periodically reviewed to reduce information requirements and duplication by industry and public sector agencies. AMS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to promote the use of the internet and other information technologies to provide increased opportunities for citizen access to Government information and services, and for other purposes. AMS has not identified any relevant Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this final rule. A proposed rule concerning this action was published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2023 (88 FR 78679). Copies of the proposed rule were provided to all raisin handlers. The proposal was also made available through the internet by USDA and the Office of the Federal Register. A 30-day comment period ending December 18, 2023, was provided for interested persons to respond to the proposal. Three comments in opposition to the proposed assessment rate change were received. Of the three, two comments are attributed to the same person. The first commenter described the proposal as undermining farmers economically by forcing them to impart a substantial portion of their crop earnings to pay assessments. As stated in the proposal, VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:53 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 262001 California raisin handlers, not farmers, are subject to assessments. Essentially, these assessments help to cover the costs of administering the Order. Such costs may be passed on to farmers from handlers; however, continuous support for the Order from California raisin growers suggests the benefits of orderly marketing outweigh these costs. The comment further states that raisin farmers no longer enjoy the right to sell their own produce and that the Committee gives or sells raisins to Federal agencies and foreign governments because they are often the lowest bidders. First, the Order regulates the handling of raisins, not raisin growers, and by no means prevents raisin growers from packing, processing, or selling their own fruit. Finally, Order provisions do not provide the Committee with authority to acquire, give or sell raisins either domestically or internationally. The other commenter suggested USDA redirect assessment funds from other non-specialty crops to fund the Order due to decreases in raisin acreage and growth. The Committee collects assessments, not USDA, and such funds may only be collected and used in accordance with the Act and the terms and provisions specified in the Order. Further, Federal marketing orders are issued pursuant to the Act, and the rules issued thereunder are unique and brought about through group action of essentially small entities acting on their own behalf. Both commenters suggested a concern for the welfare of raisin farmers; however, each indicate a lack of understanding of the authority, operations, and funding of this Order. Accordingly, no changes will be made to the rule as proposed. A small business guide on complying with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop marketing agreements and orders may be viewed at: https:// www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/ moa/small-businesses. Any questions about the compliance guide should be sent to Richard Lower at the previously mentioned address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. After consideration of all relevant material presented, including the information and recommendations submitted by the Committee and other available information, AMS has determined that this final rule is consistent with and will effectuate the purposes of the Act. List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 989 Grapes, Marketing agreements, Raisins, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 24339 For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Agricultural Marketing Service amends 7 CFR part 989 as follows: PART 989—RAISINS PRODUCED FROM GRAPES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR part 989 continues to read as follows: ■ Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. ■ 2. Revise § 989.347 to read as follows: § 989.347 Assessment rate. On and after August 1, 2023, an assessment rate of $24 per ton is established for assessable raisins produced from grapes in California. Erin Morris, Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service. [FR Doc. 2024–07330 Filed 4–5–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 9 CFR Part 93 [Docket No. APHIS–2016–0033] RIN 0579–AE62 Import Regulations for Horses; Technical Amendments Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture (USDA). ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments. AGENCY: In a final rule published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2023, and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the regulations governing the importation of equines to better align our regulations with international standards, as well as to clarify existing policy or intent, and correct inconsistencies or outdated information. However, in amending the regulations for horses that are refused entry, we neglected to account for rare and specific situations in which an imported horse’s death during travel can be determined to be unrelated to foreign animal disease risk. Additionally, in aiming to improve the readability of the regulations governing equines imported from Canada, we inadvertently changed the regulations to incorrectly read that certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and endorsed, rather than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\08APR1.SGM 08APR1 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1 24340 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 68 / Monday, April 8, 2024 / Rules and Regulations Government. This document corrects those errors. DATES: Effective April 8, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Iwona Tumelty, VS Strategy and Policy, Live Animal Imports, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 301–851–3300. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2023 (88 FR 62993–63004, Docket No. APHIS–2016– 0033), and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the regulations in 9 CFR part 93 governing the importation of equines to better align our regulations with international standards, as well as to add a number of miscellaneous changes that clarified existing policy or intent, and corrected inconsistencies or outdated information. One of these miscellaneous changes included amending § 93.306 to provide APHIS’ policies in the rare instances that a horse arriving at the port of entry is dead upon presentation. In the final rule, we stated that cohort horses arriving in the same shipment as a horse dead upon presentation will also be refused entry. We explained that this change was necessary because diagnostic testing for these horses would not be feasible, as determining what additional testing and quarantine would be necessary to mitigate foreign animal disease risk would require a necropsy of the dead horse, and dead horses are refused entry. During implementation of the final rule, it was brought to our attention that this neglected to account for situations in which the mortality could be directly attributed to a cause other than foreign animal disease, such as in the case of obvious physical trauma sustained during transport. In these situations, a necropsy of the dead horse would not be necessary because determining whether the cohort horses pose a risk of spreading foreign animal disease would be feasible through current policies for foreign animal disease testing and import quarantine. We are therefore correcting § 93.306 to account for these situations and state that horses arriving in the same shipment as horses dead upon presentation will be refused entry unless the cause of death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign animal disease. In the preamble to the final rule, we also stated that we were making nonsubstantive editorial changes to § 93.317(a), which addresses requirements for horses imported from Canada, to improve readability. During implementation of the final rule, the VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:53 Apr 05, 2024 Jkt 262001 Competent Authority of Canada alerted us that we had changed this paragraph to read that certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and endorsed, rather than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian Government. This is incorrect and is not current practice; horses from Canada are accepted for entry into the United States with a certificate that is either issued or endorsed by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian Government, and we did not propose nor intend to change this regulation. We are therefore correcting § 93.317(a) to read that certificates required for horses from Canada must be issued or endorsed by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian Government. List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 93 Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Poultry and poultry products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 93 as follows: PART 93—IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISH, AND POULTRY, AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS 1. The authority citation for part 93 continues to read as follows: ■ 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. 2. Amend § 93.306 by revising the second sentence to read as follows: ■ § 93.306 Inspection at the port of entry. * * * All horses found to be free from communicable disease and not to have been exposed thereto within 60 days prior to their exportation to the United States shall be admitted subject to the other provisions in this part; all other horses, to include horses dead upon presentation, and horses arriving in the same shipment as such horses unless the cause of death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign animal disease, shall be refused entry. * * * § 93.317 [Amended] 3. Amend § 93.317, in paragraph (a), in the third sentence, by removing the word ‘‘and’’ after the words ‘‘be issued’’ and adding the word ‘‘or’’ in its place. ■ PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of April 2024. Michael Watson, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2024–07370 Filed 4–5–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–34–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 10 CFR Part 430 [EERE–2021–BT–STD–0003] RIN 1904–AF13 Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration in New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products and Commercial/Industrial Equipment Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Department of Energy. ACTION: Final rule. AGENCY: The U.S. Department of Energy (‘‘DOE’’ or the ‘‘Department’’) is revising its ‘‘Procedures, Interpretations, and Policies for Consideration of New or Revised Energy Conservation Standards and Test Procedures for Consumer Products and Certain Commercial/ Industrial Equipment.’’ The revisions are consistent with current DOE practice and will allow DOE to better meet its statutory obligations under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (‘‘EPCA’’). DATES: This rule is effective June 24, 2024. SUMMARY: The docket for this rulemaking, which includes Federal Register notices, comments, and other supporting documents/materials, is available for review at www.regulations.gov. All documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. However, not all documents listed in the index may be publicly available, such as information that is exempt from public disclosure. The docket web page can be found at: www.regulations.gov/docket/ EERE-2021-BT-STD-0003. The docket web page contains instructions on how to access all documents, including public comments, in the docket. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lucas Adin, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE–5B, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585–0121. Email: ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\08APR1.SGM 08APR1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24339-24340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07370]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 93

[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0033]
RIN 0579-AE62


Import Regulations for Horses; Technical Amendments

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendments.

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

SUMMARY: In a final rule published in the Federal Register on September 
14, 2023, and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the regulations 
governing the importation of equines to better align our regulations 
with international standards, as well as to clarify existing policy or 
intent, and correct inconsistencies or outdated information. However, 
in amending the regulations for horses that are refused entry, we 
neglected to account for rare and specific situations in which an 
imported horse's death during travel can be determined to be unrelated 
to foreign animal disease risk. Additionally, in aiming to improve the 
readability of the regulations governing equines imported from Canada, 
we inadvertently changed the regulations to incorrectly read that 
certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and endorsed, rather 
than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian

[[Page 24340]]

Government. This document corrects those errors.

DATES: Effective April 8, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Iwona Tumelty, VS Strategy and 
Policy, Live Animal Imports, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 39, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; 301-851-3300.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final rule that was published in the 
Federal Register on September 14, 2023 (88 FR 62993-63004, Docket No. 
APHIS-2016-0033), and effective on October 16, 2023, we amended the 
regulations in 9 CFR part 93 governing the importation of equines to 
better align our regulations with international standards, as well as 
to add a number of miscellaneous changes that clarified existing policy 
or intent, and corrected inconsistencies or outdated information.
    One of these miscellaneous changes included amending Sec.  93.306 
to provide APHIS' policies in the rare instances that a horse arriving 
at the port of entry is dead upon presentation. In the final rule, we 
stated that cohort horses arriving in the same shipment as a horse dead 
upon presentation will also be refused entry. We explained that this 
change was necessary because diagnostic testing for these horses would 
not be feasible, as determining what additional testing and quarantine 
would be necessary to mitigate foreign animal disease risk would 
require a necropsy of the dead horse, and dead horses are refused 
entry.
    During implementation of the final rule, it was brought to our 
attention that this neglected to account for situations in which the 
mortality could be directly attributed to a cause other than foreign 
animal disease, such as in the case of obvious physical trauma 
sustained during transport. In these situations, a necropsy of the dead 
horse would not be necessary because determining whether the cohort 
horses pose a risk of spreading foreign animal disease would be 
feasible through current policies for foreign animal disease testing 
and import quarantine.
    We are therefore correcting Sec.  93.306 to account for these 
situations and state that horses arriving in the same shipment as 
horses dead upon presentation will be refused entry unless the cause of 
death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign animal disease.
    In the preamble to the final rule, we also stated that we were 
making non-substantive editorial changes to Sec.  93.317(a), which 
addresses requirements for horses imported from Canada, to improve 
readability. During implementation of the final rule, the Competent 
Authority of Canada alerted us that we had changed this paragraph to 
read that certificates for horses from Canada must be issued and 
endorsed, rather than issued or endorsed, by a salaried veterinarian of 
the Canadian Government. This is incorrect and is not current practice; 
horses from Canada are accepted for entry into the United States with a 
certificate that is either issued or endorsed by a salaried 
veterinarian of the Canadian Government, and we did not propose nor 
intend to change this regulation. We are therefore correcting Sec.  
93.317(a) to read that certificates required for horses from Canada 
must be issued or endorsed by a salaried veterinarian of the Canadian 
Government.

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 93

    Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Poultry and poultry products, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 93 as follows:

PART 93--IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISH, AND POULTRY, 
AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND POULTRY PRODUCTS; REQUIREMENTS FOR 
MEANS OF CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING CONTAINERS

0
1. The authority citation for part 93 continues to read as follows:

    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.


0
2. Amend Sec.  93.306 by revising the second sentence to read as 
follows:


Sec.  93.306   Inspection at the port of entry.

    * * * All horses found to be free from communicable disease and not 
to have been exposed thereto within 60 days prior to their exportation 
to the United States shall be admitted subject to the other provisions 
in this part; all other horses, to include horses dead upon 
presentation, and horses arriving in the same shipment as such horses 
unless the cause of death can be determined to be unrelated to foreign 
animal disease, shall be refused entry. * * *


Sec.  93.317   [Amended]

0
3. Amend Sec.  93.317, in paragraph (a), in the third sentence, by 
removing the word ``and'' after the words ``be issued'' and adding the 
word ``or'' in its place.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of April 2024.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-07370 Filed 4-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P

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