Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service May 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 a national animal identification system.

We are amending the regulations concerning tuberculosis in cattle and bison by reducing, from 6 months to 60 days, the period following a whole herd test during which animals may be moved interstate from a modified accredited State or zone or from an accreditation preparatory State or zone without an individual tuberculin test. We have determined that the 6-month period during which individual tuberculin tests have not been required is too long given the risks of exposure to tuberculosis that exist in modified accredited and accreditation preparatory States or zones, especially in such States or zones where there are wildlife populations affected with tuberculosis. This interim rule will lower the potential risk of movement of infected animals and decrease the likelihood of tuberculosis transmission.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to a request to allow the interstate movement of garbage from Hawaii. The document contains a general assessment of the potential environmental effects associated with moving garbage interstate from Hawaii to the mainland United States subject to certain pest risk mitigation measures. The environmental assessment documents our review and analysis of environmental impacts associated with, and alternatives to, the proposed action. We are making this environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has revised an environmental assessment for confined field tests of rice plants genetically engineered to express the protein lysozyme and has included information on an additional field test site. This environmental assessment is available for public review and comment.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment concerning authorization to ship for the purpose of field testing, and then to field test, an unlicensed Escherichia Coli Vaccine, Live Culture for use in chickens. The environmental assessment, which is based on a risk analysis prepared to assess the risks associated with the field testing of this vaccine, examines the potential effects that field testing this veterinary vaccine could have on the quality of the human environment. Based on the risk analysis, we have reached a preliminary determination that field testing this veterinary vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment, and that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared. We intend to authorize shipment of this vaccine for field testing following the close of the comment period for this notice unless new substantial issues bearing on the effects of this action are brought to our attention. We also intend to issue a U.S. Veterinary Biological Product license for this vaccine, provided the field test data support the conclusions of the environmental assessment and the issuance of a finding of no significant impact and the product meets all other requirements for licensing.

We are giving notice that the Secretary of Agriculture has renewed the National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee for a 2-year period. The Secretary has determined that the Committee is necessary and in the public interest.

We are advising the public that a Draft Strategic Plan and a Draft Program Standards document for the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) are being made available for public review and comment. The Draft Strategic Plan describes the process of developing the NAIS, in particular the timeline for full implementation, while the Draft Program Standards document presents our current view of how the system would work when fully implemented.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended our regulations regarding genetically engineered organisms to require that introductions of plants genetically engineered to encode compounds for industrial use be conducted only under permit. Prior to the interim rule, such introductions could be accomplished under notification, an expedited permitting procedure. The interim rule was necessary to strengthen our regulations for introductions of this small subgroup of genetically engineered plants until such time as the issues related to these plants are fully considered in conjunction with subsequent regulatory revision.

We are amending the brucellosis regulations concerning the interstate movement of swine by adding Florida to the list of validated brucellosis-free States. We have determined that Florida meets the criteria for classification as a validated brucellosis-free State. This action relieves certain restrictions on the interstate movement of breeding swine from Florida.