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

In a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on August 6, 2007, and effective on September 5, 2007, we amended the regulations governing the importation of nursery stock by making several changes, including allowing the importation of restricted articles in tissue culture medium that is not transparent or translucent. It was our intent that the amended regulations only allow the use of agar or agar-like tissue culture medium. In this amendment, we are amending the regulation to clarify that intent.

We are giving notice that we have reestablished the Secretary's National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee for a 2-year period. The Secretary is soliciting nominations for membership on this Committee.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of animals and animal products to add the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to the region of the European Union that we recognize as low risk for classical swine fever (CSF). We are also adding the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to the list of regions we consider free from swine vesicular disease (SVD) and adding Latvia and Lithuania to the list of regions considered free from foot- and-mouth disease (FMD) and rinderpest. These actions will relieve some restrictions on the importation into the United States of certain animals and animal products from those regions, while continuing to protect against the introduction of CSF, SVD, and FMD, and rinderpest into the United States.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision and extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for the interstate movement of sheep and goats and an indemnity program to help prevent the spread of scrapie.

We are amending the citrus canker regulations to modify the conditions under which fruit may be moved interstate from a quarantined area. We are eliminating the requirement that the groves in which the fruit is produced be inspected and found free of citrus canker, and instead are requiring that every lot of fruit produced in the quarantined area be inspected by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at a packinghouse operating under a compliance agreement and found to be free of visible symptoms of citrus canker. We are retaining the requirement that the fruit be treated with a surface disinfectant and the prohibition on the movement of fruit from a quarantined area into commercial citrus-producing States. These changes will relieve some restrictions on the interstate movement of fresh citrus fruit from Florida while maintaining conditions that will help prevent the artificial spread of citrus canker.

We are amending the regulations regarding the importation of animal germplasm by removing specific restrictions on sheep semen from regions where scrapie exists and requiring the inclusion of additional information on the international health certificate accompanying sheep and goat semen. Experience and research have convinced us that sheep and goat semen pose a minimal risk of transmitting scrapie. This action will relieve restrictions on imported sheep semen while continuing to provide safeguards against the introduction and dissemination of scrapie.

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 importation of Hass avocados from Michoacan, Mexico.

We are adopting as a final rule, with one change, our July 2001 interim rule that amended the regulations governing the importation of certain animals, meat, and other animal products by removing Uruguay from the list of areas considered free of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease. The interim rule also removed Uruguay from the list of regions declared free of those diseases, but that are subject to certain restrictions because of their proximity to or trading relations with regions affected with rinderpest or foot-and- mouth disease. The interim rule was necessary because the existence of foot-and-mouth disease had been confirmed in 18 Departments in Uruguay. Because there have been no occurrences of rinderpest in Uruguay, this final rule adds Uruguay to the list of regions considered free of that disease.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the Asian longhorned beetle regulations by expanding the boundaries of the quarantined areas in New Jersey and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle to noninfested areas of the United States.