Horse Protection Amendments; Further Delay of Effective Date, and Request for Comment, 13273-13276 [2025-04813]
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 54 / Friday, March 21, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
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customs territory of the United States’’
to the conveyances and the passengers
listed above; and
• Administering 21 U.S.C. 136a,
concerning the ‘‘collection of fees for
inspection services.’’
In addition, the FACT Act, as
amended, contains the following
requirements:
• The amount of the fees shall be
‘‘commensurate with the costs of [AQI]
services with respect to the class of
persons or entities paying the fees.’’
• The cost of AQI services ‘‘with
respect to passengers as a class’’ shall
‘‘include the cost of related inspections
of the aircraft or other vehicle.’’
The user fees for the AQI activities
described above are contained in 7 CFR
354.3, ‘‘User fees for certain
international services.’’ APHIS’
regulations regarding user fees relating
to imports and exports, as well as
overtime services, are found in 7 CFR
part 354.
On May 7, 2024, we published a final
rule in the Federal Register, (89 FR
38596–38644, Docket No. APHIS–2022–
0023),1 amending the user fee
regulations associated with the AQI
program. The final rule went into effect
on October 1, 2024, with the exception
of the removal of 7 CFR 354.3(e)(2)(iv),
which contains an exemption from
paying the AQI user fee for commercial
aircraft with 64 or fewer seats meeting
certain conditions. Because small
commercial passenger aircraft have not
previously been subject to the fee, we
delayed implementation of the
commercial aircraft fee for passenger
aircraft with 64 or fewer seats until
April 1, 2025 (89 FR 38621). In this
document, we are postponing the
implementation of the removal of
§ 354.3(e)(2)(iv) for an additional 60
days, until June 2, 2025.
This postponement is in accordance
with the Presidential Memorandum
titled ‘‘Regulatory Freeze Pending
Review’’ issued January 20, 2025, which
orders all agencies to consider
postponing for 60 days the effective date
of any rule that has not taken effect, for
the purpose of reviewing any question
of fact, law or policy that the rule may
raise.2
Request for Information
The memorandum also directs
agencies, during this 60-day period of
delay of effective date, where
1 To view the proposed rule, final rule,
supporting documents, and the comments received,
go to Regulations.gov. Enter APHIS–2022–0023 in
the Search box.
2 To view the memorandum, go to https://
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/
regulatory-freeze-pending-review/.
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appropriate and consistent with
applicable law, to consider opening a
comment period to allow interested
parties to provide comments about
issues of fact, law, and policy raised by
the rules postponed under this
memorandum. Accordingly, we are
soliciting public information about
small commercial passenger aircraft
operations, for the reasons discussed
below.
Since the final rule was published,
some operators of small commercial
passenger aircraft stated that their
aircraft do not pose a sanitary or
phytosanitary risk because they do not
have cargo holds and, therefore, do not
carry cargo that requires AQI services.
These same small commercial passenger
aircraft operators further stated that they
should continue to be exempt from the
AQI user fees for commercial aircraft.
Other small commercial passenger
aircraft operators stated that they were
not of an equivalent risk profile to larger
commercial carriers and should pay a
lower fee that correlates to this lower
risk.
In the May 2024 final rule, we created
a separate, lower fee structure for
certain commercial vessels operating in
the Great Lakes and Cascadia based on
comments received during the comment
period on the proposed rule (88 FR
54796–54827, Docket No. APHIS–2022–
0023) that the area of departure, route,
and arrival were bounded and routine
for many of those vessels (89 FR 38607–
38609). Based on the comments
received and available information,
APHIS determined that depending on
their cargo, vessels operating in the
Great Lakes and Cascadia could pose a
lower sanitary and phytosanitary risk
than other types of commercial vessels
traveling internationally warranting a
lower fee rate provided that certain
requirements are met (89 FR 38608–
38609). APHIS is therefore open to the
possibility of a lower AQI user fee for
small commercial passenger aircraft, if
warranted and adequately supported by
data.
We are soliciting public information
about small commercial passenger
aircraft operations; in particular,
whether small commercial passenger
aircraft operators have additional data
regarding the nature of their activities
and whether those activities result in a
lower sanitary and phytosanitary risk
profile that would merit less intensive
AQI services and a lower corresponding
user fee. We are thus soliciting
information about whether APHIS
should consider modifying the
commercial aircraft fee for small
commercial passenger aircraft in a
similar way to the fee structure we
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13273
created for the Great Lakes and Cascadia
commercial vessels. Specifically, we
request information about whether:
• Small commercial passenger aircraft
predominately operate (and seldom
depart from) a distinct geographical or
environmental area;
• Aircraft departures and arrivals are
often more frequent than those of larger
commercial aircraft;
• There is information that indicates
that these small commercial passenger
aircraft take the same or substantially
similar routes per flight;
• There is information that indicates
that these small commercial passenger
aircraft carry the same or substantially
similar cargo per shipment and that the
cargo carried does not present a
significant sanitary or phytosanitary
risk;
• There are any other considerations
that could help us differentiate aircraft
into categories based on sanitary and
phytosanitary risk; and
• There are other ways that the fee
could be structured differently, in a
manner commensurate with the services
being provided, and evidence to support
any alternate fee structures.
(Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772, 7781–7786,
and 8301–8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 49
U.S.C. 80503; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.)
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of
March 2025.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
[FR Doc. 2025–04821 Filed 3–20–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
9 CFR Part 11
[Docket No. APHIS–2022–0004]
RIN 0579–AE70
Horse Protection Amendments;
Further Delay of Effective Date, and
Request for Comment
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule; further delay of
effective date and request for comment.
AGENCY:
On May 8, 2024, we
published a final rule amending the
horse protection regulations. The
amendments to the final rule initially
scheduled to go into effect on February
1, 2025, were delayed until April 2,
2025. In this document, we are further
delaying the effective date of the
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 54 / Friday, March 21, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
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amendments effective April 2, 2025, to
February 1, 2026. We are also seeking
comment on whether the length of this
postponement should be extended and
soliciting any supplemental information
that may help inform a decision
regarding an appropriate length of
postponement.
DATES: As of March 21, 2025, the
amendments to 9 CFR 11.1 through
11.18 effective February 1, 2025, (89 FR
39194), delayed until April 2, 2025, (90
FR 8253), are further delayed until
February 1, 2026. We will consider all
comments that we receive on or before
May 20, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS–
2022–0004 in the Search field. Select
the Documents tab, then select the
Comment button in the list of
documents.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Send your comment to Docket No.
APHIS–2022–0004, Regulatory Analysis
and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
2C–10.16, 4700 River Road, Unit 25,
Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.
Any comments we receive on this
docket may be viewed at
Regulations.gov or in our reading room,
which is located in room 1620 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: Dr.
Louis DiVincenti, Acting Animal
Welfare Operations Director, 2150
Centre Ave. Bldg. B, Mailstop 3W11,
Fort Collins, CO 80526; (585) 549–0570;
louis.divincenti@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the Horse Protection Act (HPA,
or the Act, 15 U.S.C. 1821 et seq.), the
Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to
promulgate regulations to prohibit the
movement, showing, exhibition, or sale
of sore horses. The Secretary has
delegated responsibility for
administering the Act to the
Administrator of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Within APHIS, the responsibility for
administering the Act has been
delegated to the Deputy Administrator
for Animal Care. Regulations and
standards established under the Act are
contained in 9 CFR part 11 (referred to
below as the Horse Protection
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regulations or just the regulations), and
9 CFR part 12 lists the rules of practice
governing administrative proceedings.
On May 8, 2024, APHIS published in
the Federal Register (89 FR 39194–
39251, APHIS–2022–0004),1 a final rule
titled ‘‘Horse Protection Amendments’’
(2024 Horse Protection final rule) that
was to be effective on February 1, 2025,
except for § 11.19, which had an
effective date of June 7, 2024.
On January 28, 2025, APHIS
published in the Federal Register (90
FR 8253–8254, APHIS–2022–0004),2 a
postponement of the regulations in the
2024 Horse Protection final rule,
delaying the effective date of all
provisions other than those in § 11.19
until April 2, 2025.
In the postponement, we noted that,
on July 1, 2024, a complaint was filed
in the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Texas and amended
on September 23, 2024.3 The amended
complaint alleged, in part, that the 2024
Horse Protection final rule exceeded
APHIS’s statutory authority and would
have a significant economic impact on
the Tennessee Walking Horse industry
altogether. The amended complaint
requested vacatur of the final rule. The
parties completed briefing on their cross
motions for summary judgment on
December 20, 2024.
In the postponement, we explained
that we were taking the action pursuant
to section 705 of the Administrative
Procedure Act in order to temporarily
preserve the regulatory status quo
during the pendency of the litigation.
We noted that if the Court were to
vacate, enjoin, or modify the final rule
shortly before or after it would
otherwise have been effective, there
would be costs associated with reverting
back to the previous regulatory regime
on short notice. We also cited possible
disruptive consequences to horse
owners and trainers.
We concluded that, due to the
approaching effective date, a
postponement would preserve the
existing status quo—a legal and
regulatory regime that has applied for
years prior to the effective date—and
eliminate uncertainty for the duration of
the postponement, providing
predictability to the regulated industry
for at least the beginning of the 2025
1 To view the final rule, go to https://
www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2022-00048793.
2 To view the postponement, go to https://
www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2022-00048797.
3 The Tennessee Walking Horse National
Celebration Association, et al. v. United States
Department of Agriculture, et al., 2:24–cv–00143
(N.D. Tex.).
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show season, which started on or about
February 28, 2025, and continues to
November.
Finally, in the postponement, we
noted that the postponement was in
accordance with the Presidential
Memorandum titled ‘‘Regulatory Freeze
Pending Review’’ 4 and issued on
January 20, 2025 (the ‘‘Regulatory
Freeze memorandum’’), which orders all
agencies to consider postponing for 60
days the effective date of any rule that
has not taken effect, for the purpose of
reviewing any question of fact, law or
policy that the rule raises.
On January 31, 2025, the United
States District Court for the Northern
District of Texas issued its decision. The
Court held that APHIS had exceeded its
statutory authority in the 2024 Horse
Protection final rule by issuing a blanket
prohibition of the use of pads, action
devices, and substances on Tennessee
Walking Horses and racking horses; that
a Dermatologic Conditions Indicative of
Soring provision intended to replace the
‘‘scar rule’’ failed to provide due
process; and that the pre- and postdeprivation reviews in the rule had
failed to provide due process. In the
order, the Court vacated the above
provisions, found in §§ 11.5, 11.6(c),
11.7, and 11.8(h) of the 2024 Horse
Protection final rule.
With those provisions in the 2024
Horse Protection final rule vacated, the
final rule will now only amend a
patchwork of several portions of the
existing regulations. The final rule, as
partially upheld by the district court,
removes the requirement that
Designated Qualified Persons (DQPs) be
trained and licensed by horse industry
organizations (HIOs) and removes the
term DQPs from the regulations. The
final rule requires the use of ‘‘Horse
Protection Inspectors,’’ or HPIs. The
regulation specifies that APHIS will
authorize these applicants, preferably
licensed veterinarians, as HPIs after
screening them for potential conflicts of
interest and conducting training. The
agency adopted this regulatory change
to bring inspectors directly under
APHIS oversight and ensure that they
are sufficiently screened for conflicts of
interest. After the effective date of the
other provisions of the final rule, only
APHIS representatives and HPIs may be
utilized by management to detect and
identify horses which are sore or
otherwise inspect horses for compliance
with the Act or regulations. Any DQPs
seeking to continue inspecting or other
persons wishing to become inspectors
4 To view the memorandum, go to https://
www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/
regulatory-freeze-pending-review/.
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 54 / Friday, March 21, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
after the effective date of the final rule
must apply to APHIS to become an HPI
and meet eligibility qualifications for
authorization included in § 11.19. While
the requirements in § 11.19 for training
and authorizing HPIs became effective
June 7, 2024, the requirement in § 11.18
that management pivot from electing to
utilize DQPs to electing to utilize HPIs
is not scheduled to become effective
until April 2, 2025, or, by this
document, February 1, 2026.
Additionally, the final rule will
amend reporting requirements,
expanding the number of entities
subject to its applicability to include
shows, exhibitions, sales and auctions
of all breeds of horses, not just
Tennessee Walking Horses or racking
horses, as well as imposing earlier
timeframes for reporting. In particular,
new § 11.16 requires that at least 30
days before any horse show, horse
exhibition, horse sale, or horse auction
is scheduled to begin, management must
notify the Administrator of such event,
and at least 15 days prior thereto, the
Administrator must be notified of any
changes. We estimate that thousands of
events will be newly subject to these
reporting requirements.
In light of the Court’s decision, we are
further postponing the effective date of
the portions of the final rule that have
not been vacated by the district court
and otherwise would go into effect on
April 2, 2025. We are postponing that
effective date to February 1, 2026.
APHIS is taking this action, effective
immediately, based on the good cause
exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and
553(d)(3). Moreover, to the extent that
extending the effective date of this final
rule would grant an exception or relieve
a restriction, an exception also applies
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1). APHIS has
determined that it would be
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest to delay this postponement
until a full public notice-and-comment
process is completed. It is impracticable
because there is not enough time to
receive and review comments before the
current effective date of April 2, 2025.
It would be contrary to the public
interest because allowing the partially
vacated 2024 Horse Protection final rule
to go into effect on April 2, 2025, or at
any other point in the middle of the
current show season, would have
disruptive consequences and result in
‘‘regulatory whiplash’’ to the regulated
industry, as described below.
As described above, perhaps the most
significant provisions of the 2024 Horse
Protection final rule that remain after
the Court’s vacatur are the provisions
that replace the industry-overseen DQPs
with HPIs. Therefore, the practical
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impact of an April 2, 2025, effective
date of the vacated rule is that
management that elects to utilize an
inspector will be required to appoint
either an HPI or an APHIS
representative at any shows occurring
April 2, 2025, or later. The agency
explained that it considered the HPIspecific provisions of the rule capable of
operating independently irrespective of
the implementation of the other
provisions, and if a court were to vacate
the rule’s prohibitions, ‘‘HPIs could still
be trained and authorized regarding the
remaining provisions of the rule, as well
as the Act itself, and the Agency would
still have jurisdiction over such training
and authorization.’’ (89 FR 39194,
39234, May 8, 2024). APHIS has
identified 67 applicants to be HPIs and
trained 17 prospective HPIs in
accordance with § 11.19. However, due
to the vacatur of the provisions
governing prohibited items at shows
and criteria for identifying soring—i.e.
the provisions that the HPIs have
received training under—APHIS must
redevelop its HPI training program and
re-train each of the 17 prospective HPIs
in accordance with the surviving
regulations. APHIS intends to ensure
that HPI training includes workshops,
classroom and virtual instruction, and
hands-on training, with evaluations to
confirm mastery of subject matter.
APHIS requires additional time to
redevelop this training program and
retrain each prospective HPI.
Additionally, APHIS has received
numerous inquiries regarding the new
reporting requirement at § 11.16,
indicating that there is general
confusion as to which entities need to
comply and how they do so. These
developments—most centrally the
court’s partial vacatur—have placed
both the agency and industry in an
untenable position: only 17 HPIs are
available to inspect horses and those
HPIs must be re-trained to inspect under
the prior inspection regime, rather than
the now-vacated regime on which they
were trained. Additionally, many
stakeholders are concerned that the new
reporting requirement is overly
burdensome. For these reasons, good
cause exists to delay the effective date
to February 1, 2026.
This new effective date falls after the
conclusion of the current show season,
and before the start of the 2026 show
season. Postponing until February 1,
2026, will ensure that Agency officials
have the opportunity to fully evaluate
the court’s decision, evaluate the
program as a whole, and assess whether
it wishes to proceed with the final rule,
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13275
as vacated, or take other action, without
disrupting the 2025 show season.
Further postponing the effective date
will allow APHIS the necessary time to
identify appropriate next steps to ensure
that the 2024 Horse Protection final rule
goes into effect with clarity to the
regulated industry regarding its
application and enforcement.
In the intervening time, the regulated
industry and APHIS will continue to
operate under the legal and regulatory
regime that has applied for years prior
to the effective date of the 2024 Horse
Protection final rule—except for the HPI
training provisions of § 11.19, which
were effective on June 7, 2024—
providing predictability to the regulated
industry.
The Regulatory Freeze memorandum
instructs Agencies to consider further
delaying effective dates of final rules
beyond the initial 60-day period, where
necessary to continue to review
questions of fact, law, and policy. The
memorandum further instructs Agencies
to, ‘‘where appropriate and consistent
with applicable law, consider opening a
comment period to allow interested
parties to provide comments about
issues of fact, law, and policy’’ raised by
a rule subject to a delay of effective date
based on the memorandum. One of our
priorities is ensuring policy is in
alignment with the President’s
objectives. Another priority is providing
clarity for the regulated public.
Accordingly, the further postponement
of the effective date of the final rule,
with the exception of § 11.19, will allow
for stakeholder input and for further
examination of the horse protection
program, especially in light of the
Court’s decision. In the event that policy
preferences within our purview shift in
response to additional examination or
stakeholder feedback, and we determine
that future rulemaking is desired,
preserving the status quo until February
1, 2026, will insulate the public from
any would-be ‘‘regulatory whiplash’’
resulting from any shifts in policy
decisions. The postponement will
provide the regulated public with clarity
and stability, as opposed to allowing the
rule to go into effect at the risk of a
subsequent determination that the aims
of the rule are not in alignment with the
policy of this Administration.
In connection with this action, we
specifically request comment regarding
whether this extension provides a
sufficient period of time, or whether the
delay should be extended for a second
season. We therefore solicit any
supplemental information regarding
Horse Protection Act authorities,
standards, recordkeeping, or other
matters that may help inform a decision
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 54 / Friday, March 21, 2025 / Rules and Regulations
regarding an appropriate length of
postponement.
(Authority: 5 U.S.C. 553; 15 U.S.C. 1823–
1825 and 1828; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.7.)
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of
March 2025.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
[FR Doc. 2025–04813 Filed 3–20–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 39
[Docket FAA–2023–2234; Project Identifier
AD–2023–00963–T; Amendment 39–22960;
AD 2025–04–02]
RIN 2120–AA64
Airworthiness Directives; The Boeing
Company Airplanes
Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
AGENCY:
The FAA is correcting an
airworthiness directive (AD) that was
published in the Federal Register. That
AD applies to all The Boeing Company
Model 737–600, –700, –700C, –800,
–900, and –900ER series airplanes. As
published, the service information
referenced in certain paragraphs of the
regulatory text is incorrect, and the
dates specified in the ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 3—Fan
Blade Out Conditions’’ text and ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 4—Engine
Nacelle Maintenance Errors’’ text of
figure 1 to paragraph (j) of the regulatory
text are incorrect. This document
corrects those errors. In all other
respects, the original document remains
the same.
DATES: This correction is effective April
8, 2025. The effective date of AD 2025–
04–02 remains April 8, 2025.
The Director of the Federal Register
approved the incorporation by reference
of a certain publication listed in this AD
as of April 8, 2025 (90 FR 11109, March
4, 2025).
ADDRESSES:
AD Docket: You may examine the AD
docket at regulations.gov by searching
for and locating Docket No. FAA–2023–
2234; or in person at Docket Operations
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
The AD docket contains this final rule,
any comments received, and other
information. The street address for
Docket Operations is listed above.
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SUMMARY:
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Material Incorporated by Reference:
• For Boeing material identified in
this AD, contact Boeing Commercial
Airplanes, Attention: Contractual & Data
Services (C&DS), 2600 Westminster
Blvd., MC 110–SK57, Seal Beach, CA
90740–5600; telephone 562–797–1717;
website myboeingfleet.com.
• You may view this material at the
FAA, Airworthiness Products Section,
Operational Safety Branch, 2200 South
216th St., Des Moines, WA. For
information on the availability of this
material at the FAA, call 206–231–3195.
It is also available at regulations.gov
under Docket No. FAA–2023–2234.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Luis
Cortez-Muniz, Aviation Safety Engineer,
FAA, 2200 South 216th St., Des Moines,
WA 98198; telephone: 206–231–3958;
email: luis.a.cortez-muniz@faa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: AD 2025–
04–02, Amendment 39–22960 (90 FR
11109, March 4, 2025) (AD 2025–04–
02), requires replacing the fasteners on
the fan cowl support beam hinge fittings
for certain airplanes and, for all
airplanes, requires modifying the radial
restraint assembly and installing an
external doubler at the starter vent, or as
an option, installing a serviceable fan
cowl. AD 2025–04–02 also requires
revising the existing maintenance or
inspection program, as applicable, to
incorporate new airworthiness
limitations. AD 2025–04–02 applies to
all The Boeing Company Model 737–
600, –700, –700C, –800, –900, and
–900ER series airplanes.
Need for Correction
As published, the service information
referenced in certain paragraphs of the
regulatory text is incorrect, and the
dates specified in the ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 3—Fan
Blade Out Conditions’’ text and ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 4—Engine
Nacelle Maintenance Errors’’ text of
figure 1 to paragraph (j) of the regulatory
text are incorrect.
Paragraphs (h)(4), (h)(5), and (h)(7) of
the regulatory text inadvertently
referred to ‘‘Boeing Special Attention
Requirements Bulletin 737–71–1938 RB,
Revision 1, dated June 27, 2024,’’
instead of ‘‘Boeing Special Attention
Requirements Bulletin 737–71–1937 RB,
Revision 1, dated June 27, 2024.’’
Paragraph (h)(4) of the regulatory text
also inadvertently referred to ‘‘Collins
Aerospace Service Bulletin 737NG–71–
007,’’ instead of ‘‘Collins Aerospace
Service Bulletin 737NG–71–008,’’ and
inadvertently referred to ‘‘Material
Necessary for Each Inlet Assembly’’
instead of ‘‘Material Necessary for Each
Component.’’
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Paragraph (h)(7) of the regulatory text
also included a reference to Collins
Service Bulletin 737NG–71–008 but
inadvertently included a date of ‘‘July
28, 2023’’ that is not necessary since the
paragraph is referring to the Collins
Service Bulletin 737NG–71–008
identified in Boeing Special Attention
Requirements Bulletin 737–71–1937 RB,
Revision 1, dated June 27, 2024, and
should match how paragraphs (h)(4) and
(5) of the regulatory text refer to Collins
Service Bulletin 737NG–71–008 without
a date.
Paragraph (j) of the regulatory text
inadvertently included a reference to
Boeing Special Attention Requirements
Bulletin 737–71–1937 RB with the date
of ‘‘June 27, 2024’’ instead of ‘‘July 27,
2023.’’
In addition, the date specified in the
‘‘System Airworthiness Limitation No.
3—Fan Blade Out Conditions’’ text of
figure 1 to paragraph (j) of the regulatory
text inadvertently referred to ‘‘July 31,
2018’’ instead of ‘‘July 31, 2028,’’ and
the date specified in the ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 4—Engine
Nacelle Maintenance Errors’’ text of
figure 1 to paragraph (j) of the regulatory
text inadvertently referred to ‘‘December
31, 2019’’ instead of ‘‘December 31,
2029.’’
Material Incorporated by Reference
Under 1 CFR Part 51
The FAA reviewed Boeing Special
Attention Requirements Bulletin 737–
71–1937 RB, Revision 1, dated June 27,
2024. This material specifies procedures
for replacing, for certain airplanes, the
fasteners on the fan cowl support beam
hinge fittings on the left and right
engine strut, and, for engine 1 and
engine 2 for all airplanes, modifying the
radial restraint assembly and installing
an external doubler at the starter vent,
or as an option, installing a serviceable
fan cowl. This material also specifies
procedures to incorporate Boeing 737–
600/700/700C/800/900/900ER
Airworthiness Limitations (AWLs)
Document D626A001–9–01 ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 2—Fan
Blade Out Conditions,’’ ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 3—Fan
Blade Out Conditions,’’ and ‘‘System
Airworthiness Limitation No. 4—Engine
Nacelle Maintenance Errors’’ into the
operator’s maintenance or inspection
program.
This material is reasonably available
because the interested parties have
access to it through their normal course
of business or by the means identified
in ADDRESSES.
E:\FR\FM\21MRR1.SGM
21MRR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 54 (Friday, March 21, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 13273-13276]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04813]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 11
[Docket No. APHIS-2022-0004]
RIN 0579-AE70
Horse Protection Amendments; Further Delay of Effective Date, and
Request for Comment
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Final rule; further delay of effective date and request for
comment.
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SUMMARY: On May 8, 2024, we published a final rule amending the horse
protection regulations. The amendments to the final rule initially
scheduled to go into effect on February 1, 2025, were delayed until
April 2, 2025. In this document, we are further delaying the effective
date of the
[[Page 13274]]
amendments effective April 2, 2025, to February 1, 2026. We are also
seeking comment on whether the length of this postponement should be
extended and soliciting any supplemental information that may help
inform a decision regarding an appropriate length of postponement.
DATES: As of March 21, 2025, the amendments to 9 CFR 11.1 through 11.18
effective February 1, 2025, (89 FR 39194), delayed until April 2, 2025,
(90 FR 8253), are further delayed until February 1, 2026. We will
consider all comments that we receive on or before May 20, 2025.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2022-0004 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2022-0004, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 2C-10.16, 4700 River Road, Unit 25, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at
Regulations.gov or in our reading room, which is located in room 1620
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: Dr. Louis DiVincenti, Acting Animal
Welfare Operations Director, 2150 Centre Ave. Bldg. B, Mailstop 3W11,
Fort Collins, CO 80526; (585) 549-0570; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the Horse Protection Act (HPA, or the Act, 15 U.S.C. 1821 et
seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to promulgate
regulations to prohibit the movement, showing, exhibition, or sale of
sore horses. The Secretary has delegated responsibility for
administering the Act to the Administrator of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS). Within APHIS, the responsibility for administering the Act has
been delegated to the Deputy Administrator for Animal Care. Regulations
and standards established under the Act are contained in 9 CFR part 11
(referred to below as the Horse Protection regulations or just the
regulations), and 9 CFR part 12 lists the rules of practice governing
administrative proceedings.
On May 8, 2024, APHIS published in the Federal Register (89 FR
39194-39251, APHIS-2022-0004),\1\ a final rule titled ``Horse
Protection Amendments'' (2024 Horse Protection final rule) that was to
be effective on February 1, 2025, except for Sec. 11.19, which had an
effective date of June 7, 2024.
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\1\ To view the final rule, go to https://www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2022-0004-8793.
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On January 28, 2025, APHIS published in the Federal Register (90 FR
8253-8254, APHIS-2022-0004),\2\ a postponement of the regulations in
the 2024 Horse Protection final rule, delaying the effective date of
all provisions other than those in Sec. 11.19 until April 2, 2025.
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\2\ To view the postponement, go to https://www.regulations.gov/document/APHIS-2022-0004-8797.
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In the postponement, we noted that, on July 1, 2024, a complaint
was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
and amended on September 23, 2024.\3\ The amended complaint alleged, in
part, that the 2024 Horse Protection final rule exceeded APHIS's
statutory authority and would have a significant economic impact on the
Tennessee Walking Horse industry altogether. The amended complaint
requested vacatur of the final rule. The parties completed briefing on
their cross motions for summary judgment on December 20, 2024.
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\3\ The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
Association, et al. v. United States Department of Agriculture, et
al., 2:24-cv-00143 (N.D. Tex.).
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In the postponement, we explained that we were taking the action
pursuant to section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act in order to
temporarily preserve the regulatory status quo during the pendency of
the litigation. We noted that if the Court were to vacate, enjoin, or
modify the final rule shortly before or after it would otherwise have
been effective, there would be costs associated with reverting back to
the previous regulatory regime on short notice. We also cited possible
disruptive consequences to horse owners and trainers.
We concluded that, due to the approaching effective date, a
postponement would preserve the existing status quo--a legal and
regulatory regime that has applied for years prior to the effective
date--and eliminate uncertainty for the duration of the postponement,
providing predictability to the regulated industry for at least the
beginning of the 2025 show season, which started on or about February
28, 2025, and continues to November.
Finally, in the postponement, we noted that the postponement was in
accordance with the Presidential Memorandum titled ``Regulatory Freeze
Pending Review'' \4\ and issued on January 20, 2025 (the ``Regulatory
Freeze memorandum''), which orders all agencies to consider postponing
for 60 days the effective date of any rule that has not taken effect,
for the purpose of reviewing any question of fact, law or policy that
the rule raises.
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\4\ To view the memorandum, go to https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/regulatory-freeze-pending-review/.
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On January 31, 2025, the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Texas issued its decision. The Court held that
APHIS had exceeded its statutory authority in the 2024 Horse Protection
final rule by issuing a blanket prohibition of the use of pads, action
devices, and substances on Tennessee Walking Horses and racking horses;
that a Dermatologic Conditions Indicative of Soring provision intended
to replace the ``scar rule'' failed to provide due process; and that
the pre- and post-deprivation reviews in the rule had failed to provide
due process. In the order, the Court vacated the above provisions,
found in Sec. Sec. 11.5, 11.6(c), 11.7, and 11.8(h) of the 2024 Horse
Protection final rule.
With those provisions in the 2024 Horse Protection final rule
vacated, the final rule will now only amend a patchwork of several
portions of the existing regulations. The final rule, as partially
upheld by the district court, removes the requirement that Designated
Qualified Persons (DQPs) be trained and licensed by horse industry
organizations (HIOs) and removes the term DQPs from the regulations.
The final rule requires the use of ``Horse Protection Inspectors,'' or
HPIs. The regulation specifies that APHIS will authorize these
applicants, preferably licensed veterinarians, as HPIs after screening
them for potential conflicts of interest and conducting training. The
agency adopted this regulatory change to bring inspectors directly
under APHIS oversight and ensure that they are sufficiently screened
for conflicts of interest. After the effective date of the other
provisions of the final rule, only APHIS representatives and HPIs may
be utilized by management to detect and identify horses which are sore
or otherwise inspect horses for compliance with the Act or regulations.
Any DQPs seeking to continue inspecting or other persons wishing to
become inspectors
[[Page 13275]]
after the effective date of the final rule must apply to APHIS to
become an HPI and meet eligibility qualifications for authorization
included in Sec. 11.19. While the requirements in Sec. 11.19 for
training and authorizing HPIs became effective June 7, 2024, the
requirement in Sec. 11.18 that management pivot from electing to
utilize DQPs to electing to utilize HPIs is not scheduled to become
effective until April 2, 2025, or, by this document, February 1, 2026.
Additionally, the final rule will amend reporting requirements,
expanding the number of entities subject to its applicability to
include shows, exhibitions, sales and auctions of all breeds of horses,
not just Tennessee Walking Horses or racking horses, as well as
imposing earlier timeframes for reporting. In particular, new Sec.
11.16 requires that at least 30 days before any horse show, horse
exhibition, horse sale, or horse auction is scheduled to begin,
management must notify the Administrator of such event, and at least 15
days prior thereto, the Administrator must be notified of any changes.
We estimate that thousands of events will be newly subject to these
reporting requirements.
In light of the Court's decision, we are further postponing the
effective date of the portions of the final rule that have not been
vacated by the district court and otherwise would go into effect on
April 2, 2025. We are postponing that effective date to February 1,
2026. APHIS is taking this action, effective immediately, based on the
good cause exceptions in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 553(d)(3). Moreover, to
the extent that extending the effective date of this final rule would
grant an exception or relieve a restriction, an exception also applies
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1). APHIS has determined that it would be
impracticable and contrary to the public interest to delay this
postponement until a full public notice-and-comment process is
completed. It is impracticable because there is not enough time to
receive and review comments before the current effective date of April
2, 2025. It would be contrary to the public interest because allowing
the partially vacated 2024 Horse Protection final rule to go into
effect on April 2, 2025, or at any other point in the middle of the
current show season, would have disruptive consequences and result in
``regulatory whiplash'' to the regulated industry, as described below.
As described above, perhaps the most significant provisions of the
2024 Horse Protection final rule that remain after the Court's vacatur
are the provisions that replace the industry-overseen DQPs with HPIs.
Therefore, the practical impact of an April 2, 2025, effective date of
the vacated rule is that management that elects to utilize an inspector
will be required to appoint either an HPI or an APHIS representative at
any shows occurring April 2, 2025, or later. The agency explained that
it considered the HPI-specific provisions of the rule capable of
operating independently irrespective of the implementation of the other
provisions, and if a court were to vacate the rule's prohibitions,
``HPIs could still be trained and authorized regarding the remaining
provisions of the rule, as well as the Act itself, and the Agency would
still have jurisdiction over such training and authorization.'' (89 FR
39194, 39234, May 8, 2024). APHIS has identified 67 applicants to be
HPIs and trained 17 prospective HPIs in accordance with Sec. 11.19.
However, due to the vacatur of the provisions governing prohibited
items at shows and criteria for identifying soring--i.e. the provisions
that the HPIs have received training under--APHIS must redevelop its
HPI training program and re-train each of the 17 prospective HPIs in
accordance with the surviving regulations. APHIS intends to ensure that
HPI training includes workshops, classroom and virtual instruction, and
hands-on training, with evaluations to confirm mastery of subject
matter. APHIS requires additional time to redevelop this training
program and retrain each prospective HPI. Additionally, APHIS has
received numerous inquiries regarding the new reporting requirement at
Sec. 11.16, indicating that there is general confusion as to which
entities need to comply and how they do so. These developments--most
centrally the court's partial vacatur--have placed both the agency and
industry in an untenable position: only 17 HPIs are available to
inspect horses and those HPIs must be re-trained to inspect under the
prior inspection regime, rather than the now-vacated regime on which
they were trained. Additionally, many stakeholders are concerned that
the new reporting requirement is overly burdensome. For these reasons,
good cause exists to delay the effective date to February 1, 2026.
This new effective date falls after the conclusion of the current
show season, and before the start of the 2026 show season. Postponing
until February 1, 2026, will ensure that Agency officials have the
opportunity to fully evaluate the court's decision, evaluate the
program as a whole, and assess whether it wishes to proceed with the
final rule, as vacated, or take other action, without disrupting the
2025 show season.
Further postponing the effective date will allow APHIS the
necessary time to identify appropriate next steps to ensure that the
2024 Horse Protection final rule goes into effect with clarity to the
regulated industry regarding its application and enforcement.
In the intervening time, the regulated industry and APHIS will
continue to operate under the legal and regulatory regime that has
applied for years prior to the effective date of the 2024 Horse
Protection final rule--except for the HPI training provisions of Sec.
11.19, which were effective on June 7, 2024--providing predictability
to the regulated industry.
The Regulatory Freeze memorandum instructs Agencies to consider
further delaying effective dates of final rules beyond the initial 60-
day period, where necessary to continue to review questions of fact,
law, and policy. The memorandum further instructs Agencies to, ``where
appropriate and consistent with applicable law, consider opening a
comment period to allow interested parties to provide comments about
issues of fact, law, and policy'' raised by a rule subject to a delay
of effective date based on the memorandum. One of our priorities is
ensuring policy is in alignment with the President's objectives.
Another priority is providing clarity for the regulated public.
Accordingly, the further postponement of the effective date of the
final rule, with the exception of Sec. 11.19, will allow for
stakeholder input and for further examination of the horse protection
program, especially in light of the Court's decision. In the event that
policy preferences within our purview shift in response to additional
examination or stakeholder feedback, and we determine that future
rulemaking is desired, preserving the status quo until February 1,
2026, will insulate the public from any would-be ``regulatory
whiplash'' resulting from any shifts in policy decisions. The
postponement will provide the regulated public with clarity and
stability, as opposed to allowing the rule to go into effect at the
risk of a subsequent determination that the aims of the rule are not in
alignment with the policy of this Administration.
In connection with this action, we specifically request comment
regarding whether this extension provides a sufficient period of time,
or whether the delay should be extended for a second season. We
therefore solicit any supplemental information regarding Horse
Protection Act authorities, standards, recordkeeping, or other matters
that may help inform a decision
[[Page 13276]]
regarding an appropriate length of postponement.
(Authority: 5 U.S.C. 553; 15 U.S.C. 1823-1825 and 1828; 7 CFR 2.22,
2.80, and 371.7.)
Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of March 2025.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
[FR Doc. 2025-04813 Filed 3-20-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
