Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service January 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing to amend the regulations for importing animals and animal products by adding the Mexican State of Nayarit to the list of regions considered free of classical swine fever (CSF). We are proposing this action at the request of the Mexican Government and the State of Nayarit, and after conducting a risk evaluation that indicates that Nayarit is free of this disease. We are also proposing to add Nayarit to the list of CSF-affected regions whose exports of live swine, pork, and pork products to the United States must meet certain certification requirements to ensure their freedom from CSF. These actions would relieve certain CSF-related restrictions on the importation into the United States of pork, pork products, live swine, and swine semen from Nayarit while continuing to protect against the introduction of this disease into the United States.

We are proposing to amend the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act regulations concerning testing for avian lymphoid leukosis in veterinary biologics to specify that the test is for the detection of extraneous replicating avian leukosis virus; require such testing to be conducted using a procedure that will detect extraneous replicating avian leukosis virus and that is acceptable to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; require firms to develop a procedure to test for lymphoid leukosis virus contamination in the case of vaccine virus cytopathic to chick embryo cell cultures; and specify the equivalent inoculum dose of vaccine to be used when testing certain specified chicken vaccines for lymphoid leukosis virus. These proposed changes would update the testing for lymphoid leukosis virus contamination by prescribing a test procedure that increases the probability of detecting atypical lymphoid leukosis viruses such as those recently found in a contaminated vaccine.

We are amending the Oriental fruit fly regulations by adding the Santa Ana area of Orange County, CA, to the list of quarantined areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. In addition, we are removing a portion of San Bernardino County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. These actions are necessary to prevent the artificial spread of Oriental fruit fly to noninfested areas of the United States and to remove restrictions that are no longer necessary on the interstate movement of regulated articles from areas where Oriental fruit fly has been eradicated.

In an interim rule published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2006, we amended the citrus canker regulations to list the entire State of Florida as a quarantined area for citrus canker and to amend the requirements for the movement of regulated articles from Florida now that the eradication of citrus canker in Florida is no longer being carried out as an objective. We also amended the regulations to allow regulated articles that would not otherwise be eligible for interstate movement to be moved to a port for immediate export. In this amendment, we are clarifying that, if citrus canker is found in any grove during the preharvest inspection or afterward, fruit from that grove will be ineligible to move interstate for that entire shipping season.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition from Syngenta Seeds, Inc., seeking a determination of nonregulated status for corn rootworm- resistant corn derived from a transformation event designated as MIR604. 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 comments on whether this corn presents a plant pest risk. We are also making available for public comment a draft environmental assessment for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the Mediterranean fruit fly regulations by removing portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara Counties, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and by removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas. The interim rule was necessary to relieve restrictions that were no longer needed to prevent the spread of the Mediterranean fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States.

We are extending the submission period for our notice that requests information from interested persons regarding potential sites for the production of sterile fruit flies or alternates sources of those flies. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit information.

We are proposing to amend the regulations to add that portion of the Patagonia region of Argentina located south of latitude 42[deg] south (Patagonia South) to the list of regions considered free of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). We are taking this action because we have determined that Patagonia South is free of rinderpest and FMD. We are also proposing to add that region to the list of regions that are subject to certain import restrictions on meat and meat products because of their proximity to or trading relationships with rinderpest-or FMD-affected countries. These actions would update the disease status of Patagonia South with regard to rinderpest and FMD 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 Patagonia South.