Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are amending the Japanese beetle quarantine and regulations to add the State of Iowa to the list of quarantined States. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of Japanese beetle into noninfested areas of the United States.

We are advising the public that we have supplemented with an addendum the environmental assessment for a proposed field trial of pink bollworm genetically engineered to express green fluorescence as a marker. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposes to use this marked strain to assess the effectiveness of lower doses of radiation to create sterile insects for its pink bollworm sterile insect program. This program, using sterile insect technique, has been conducted by APHIS, with State and grower cooperation, since 1968. Data gained from this field experiment will be used to improve the current program. APHIS has supplemented its environmental assessment in order to evaluate a new location and new conditions for the field test. The addendum is available to the public for review and comment.

We are proposing to amend the National Poultry Improvement Plan (the Plan) and its auxiliary provisions by providing new or modified sampling and testing procedures for Plan participants and participating flocks. The proposed changes were voted on and approved by the voting delegates at the Plan's 2004 National Plan Conference. These changes would keep the provisions of the Plan current with changes in the poultry industry and provide for the use of new sampling and testing procedures.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for a certification program for imported articles of Pelargonium spp. and Solanum spp. to prevent the introduction of potato brown rot.

We are proposing to amend the regulations to add Namibia, except the portion of the country north of the Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF), to the list of regions that are considered free of foot-and- mouth disease (FMD), and to add the entire country to the list of regions that are considered free of rinderpest. We are taking this action because we have determined that the region in Namibia south of the VCF is now free of FMD and the entire country is free of rinderpest. We are also proposing to add Namibia, except the region north of the VCF, to the list of FMD- and rinderpest-free regions that are subject to certain import restrictions on meat and other animal products because of their proximity to or trading relationships with rinderpest- or FMD-affected regions. This proposed action would relieve certain restrictions due to FMD and rinderpest on the importation into the United States of certain live animals and animal products from all regions of Namibia except the region north of the VCF. However, because we consider Namibia to be affected with African swine fever, classical swine fever, and swine vesicular disease, the importation of live swine and pork and pork products would continue to be restricted. In addition, because we consider Namibia to be affected with other animal diseases that are exotic to the United States, the importation of live ruminants and germplasm would also continue to be restricted. These actions would update the disease status of Namibia with regard to FMD and rinderpest while continuing to protect the United States from an introduction of those diseases by providing additional requirements for any meat and meat products imported into the United States from Namibia.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for the use of irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment of imported fruits and vegetables.

We are proposing to amend the regulations regarding the National Veterinary Accreditation Program to establish two accreditation categories in place of the current single category, to add requirements for supplemental training and renewal of accreditation, and to offer accreditation specializations. We are proposing these changes in order to support the Agency's animal health safeguarding initiatives, to involve accredited veterinarians in integrated surveillance activities, and to make the provisions governing our National Veterinary Accreditation Program more uniform and consistent. These proposed changes would increase the level of training and skill of accredited veterinarians in the areas of disease prevention and preparedness for animal health emergencies in the United States.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend the regulations pertaining to certain garbage to provide for the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii subject to measures designed to protect against the dissemination of plant pests into noninfested areas of the continental United States. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for importation of breeding swine, pork and pork products, and swine semen from a specified region of the European Union.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to initiate a new information collection activity, titled Beetle Busters Survey, associated with the Asian longhorned beetle cooperative eradication program.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for tuberculosis testing of imported cattle.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a risk assessment relative to a previously published proposal to require imported fruits and vegetables to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. The risk assessment considers the plant pest risks associated with fruits and vegetables imported in passenger baggage and the probable impact of phytosanitary certification requirements. We are considering adopting only the proposed requirements that pertain to fruits and vegetables imported in air passenger baggage. We are making the risk assessment available to the public for review and comment.

We are amending the emerald ash borer regulations by adding areas in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio to the list of areas quarantined because of emerald ash borer. As a result of this action, the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas is restricted. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the emerald ash borer from infested areas in the States of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio into noninfested areas of the United States.

We are amending the pine shoot beetle regulations by designating the State of Wisconsin, in its entirety, as a quarantined area based on the detection of new pine shoot beetle infested areas in the State, as well as its decision to no longer enforce intrastate movement restrictions. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of pine shoot beetle, a pest of pine trees, into noninfested areas of the United States.

We are advising the public that an environmental assessment has been prepared for a proposed field trial using two transgenic grass lines. The trial consists of Argentine bahiagrass plants that are genetically engineered to express resistance to the herbicide glufosinate and resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin. Each of 4 sets of 12 genetically engineered bahiagrass plants will be encircled with a ring of several untransformed cultivars of bahiagrass. The purpose of the field trial is to study the likelihood of hybrid formation as a result of pollen movement from the transgenic plants to the nontransgenic plants. Data gained from this field experiment also will be used to evaluate current confinement practices for this species of transgenic grass. After assessment of the application and review of the relevant scientific information, we have concluded that this field test will not present a risk of introducing or disseminating a plant pest. We have completed an environmental assessment and have concluded that this field test will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. Based on its finding of no significant impact, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared for this field test.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of animals and animal products into the United States to apply a uniform set of importation requirements related to classical swine fever (CSF) to a region consisting of all of the 15 Member States of the European Union (EU) that comprised the EU as of April 30, 2004 (the EU-15) and prohibit for a specified period of time the importation of live swine and swine products from any area in the EU-15 that is identified by the veterinary authorities of the region as a restricted zone. We have determined these changes are necessary to help prevent the introduction of CSF into the United States while increasing our responsiveness to changes in the CSF situation in the EU.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations requiring permits for the interstate movement of certain animals.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service seeking a determination of nonregulated status for plum designated as transformation event C5, which has been genetically engineered to resist infection by plum pox virus (PPV). The petition has been submitted in accordance with our regulations concerning the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms and products. In accordance with those regulations, we are soliciting public comments on whether this plum presents a plant pest risk. We are also making available for public comment an environmental assessment for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with the animal identification number management system, a component of the National Animal Identification System.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with livestock disease surveillance programs.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation, under certain conditions, of fresh commercial citrus fruit (grapefruit, limes, mandarin oranges or tangerines, sweet oranges, and tangelos) from approved areas of Peru into the United States. Based on the evidence in a recent pest risk analysis, we believe these articles can be safely imported from Peru, provided certain conditions are met. This action will provide for the importation of citrus from Peru into the United States while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of plant pests.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection in support of regulations issued under the Animal Welfare Act governing the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities, exhibitors, carriers, and intermediate handlers.

We are amending the animal importation regulations by adding Indiana to the lists of States approved to receive certain stallions and mares imported into the United States from regions affected with contagious equine metritis (CEM). We are taking this action because Indiana has entered into an agreement with the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to enforce its State laws and regulations to control CEM and to require inspection, treatment, and testing of horses, as required by Federal regulations, to further ensure the horses' freedom from CEM. This action relieves unnecessary restrictions on the importation of mares and stallions from regions where CEM exists.

We are proposing to revise and reorganize the regulations pertaining to the importation of fruits and vegetables to consolidate requirements of general applicability and eliminate redundant requirements, update terms and remove outdated requirements and references, update the regulations that apply to importations into territories under U.S. administration, and make various editorial and nonsubstantive changes to regulations to make them easier to use. We are also proposing to make substantive changes to the regulations, including: Establishing criteria within the regulations that, if met, would allow us to approve certain new fruits and vegetables for importation into the United States and to acknowledge pest-free areas in foreign countries more effectively and expeditiously; doing away with the practice of listing specific commodities that may be imported subject to certain types of phytosanitary measures; and providing for the issuance of special use permits for fruits and vegetables. These changes are intended to simplify and expedite our processes for approving certain new imports and pest-free areas while continuing to allow for public participation in the processes. This proposal, if adopted, would represent a significant structural revision of the fruits and vegetables import regulations and would establish a new process for approving certain new commodities for importation into the United States. It would not, however, allow the importation of any specific new fruits or vegetables, nor would it alter the conditions for importing currently approved fruits or vegetables except as specifically described in this document. To the extent to which trading partners consider the time it takes to conduct the rulemaking process a trade barrier, by reducing that time, these proposed changes may facilitate the export of U.S. agricultural commodities. The proposed changes would not alter the manner in which the risk associated with a commodity import request is evaluated, nor would it alter the manner in which those risks are ultimately mitigated.