Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service August 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are announcing to the public that veterinarians who are currently accredited in the National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP) may continue to perform accredited duties and may elect to continue to participate in the NVAP until October 1, 2011. The regulations indicate that currently accredited veterinarians must elect to continue their participation in the NVAP in order to maintain their accredited status, after which we will confirm their continued participation and notify them of their first renewal date. A previous document announced that currently accredited veterinarians may continue to perform accredited duties until further notice, even if they have not received a date for their first accreditation renewal. That document stated that we would specify a date by which veterinarians would have to elect to participate in a subsequent document.

We are amending the regulations to allow, under certain conditions, the importation of commercial shipments of peppers from Panama into the United States without treatment. Conditions of entry to which the peppers will be subject include trapping, pre-harvest inspection, and shipping procedures. This action will allow for the importation of peppers from Panama into the United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

We are amending the domestic quarantine regulations to expand the regulated area for European larch canker to include additional areas in Maine. We are also correcting some misidentifications of previously listed regulated areas. This action is necessary to prevent human-assisted transmission of European larch canker from infested areas to noninfested areas.

We are advising the public that we have received a request from the Government of Argentina to recognize additional areas as pest- free areas for South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus) and all other economically important species of Anastrepha. After reviewing the documentation submitted in support of this request, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that these areas meet the criteria in our regulations for recognition as pest-free areas. We are making that determination, as well as the evaluation document we have prepared in connection with this action, available for review and comment.

We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into the continental United States of fresh shredded lettuce from Egypt. Based on this analysis, we believe that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh shredded lettuce from Egypt. We are making the pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.

We are advising the public of our decision to authorize the importation into the continental United States of fresh papaya fruit from Malaysia. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, we believe that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh papaya fruit from Malaysia.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to an oral rabies vaccination field trial in West Virginia. The environmental assessment, which is based on a risk analysis prepared to assess the risks associated with an experimental rabies vaccine, analyzes the use of that vaccine in field safety and efficacy trials in West Virginia. The proposed field trial is necessary to evaluate a wildlife rabies vaccine that will produce sufficient levels of population immunity in raccoons and striped skunks. We are making the environmental assessment and risk assessment available to the public for review and comment.

We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of tomatoes from the member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, tomatoes from the ECOWAS would be subject to a systems approach that would include requirements for pest exclusion at the production site, fruit fly trapping and monitoring, and procedures for packing the tomatoes. The tomatoes would also be required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of the exporting country with an additional declaration that the tomatoes had been produced in accordance with the proposed requirements. This action would allow for the importation of tomatoes from the ECOWAS into the continental United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine 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 associated with regulations for pork and poultry products from Mexico transiting the United States.