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

This is a notice to inform interested stakeholders of upcoming public meetings to discuss the implementation of private/State animal identification number device distribution databases for the animal identification component of the National Animal Identification System, which is a voluntary program. The meetings are being organized by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

We are proposing four changes related to our proposed rule published in the Federal Register on June 1, 2006, that would amend the regulations regarding the National Veterinary Accreditation Program. The June 2006 proposed rule would establish two accreditation categories in place of the current single category, add requirements for supplemental training and renewal of accreditation, and offer accreditation specializations. In this supplemental proposed rule, we are proposing to adjust the scope of the two accreditation categories; to require initial accreditation training for veterinarians seeking accreditation; to require newly accredited veterinarians to renew their accreditation 3 years after completing initial accreditation training; and to reduce the training required for renewal of accreditation from the amount discussed in the June 2006 proposal.

We published an interim rule on August 25, 2006, amending the foreign quarantine and user fee regulations by removing the exemptions from inspection for imported fruits and vegetables grown in Canada and the exemptions from user fees for commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and international air passengers entering the United States from Canada. That interim rule had an effective date of November 24, 2006. Subsequently, we published a notice announcing the delay of the effective date of the removal of the user fee exemption for international air passengers until January 1, 2007, and the effective date for the remaining provisions of the rule, including the removal of the exemption from user fees for commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, and commercial aircraft entering the United States from Canada, until March 1, 2007. We are now further delaying the effective date of the removal of the exemption from user fees for commercial trucks and railroad cars from Canada until June 1, 2007. We are making this change to allow additional time for us to conclude discussions with the Government of Canada regarding risks, inspections, and costs associated with land-border traffic entering the United States from Canada.

We are reopening the comment period for a draft environmental assessment prepared with respect to 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. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments on the draft environmental assessment.

We are correcting an error in our proposed rule 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 would also add Nayarit to the list of CSF-free 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. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on January 31, 2007 (72 FR 4463-4467, Docket No. APHIS 2006-0104).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to initiate an information collection associated with the Voluntary Bovine Johne's Disease Control 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 in support of the Animal Welfare Act regulations for inspection, licensing, and procurement of animals.

We are amending the pine shoot beetle regulations by adding the entire State of Iowa and two counties, Morris and Somerset, in New Jersey to the list of quarantined areas. We are taking this action following the detection of pine shoot beetle in these areas. 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 release involving a transgenic safflower line that has been genetically engineered to express, within the seeds, a carp growth hormone fused to an Arabidopsis oleosin. The purpose of this field release is to obtain a seed increase of material harvested in Chile for future use as a supplement in aquaculture meal. We are making the environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

We are advising the public that we are making available for review and comment three documents related to the National Animal Identification System: A Draft User Guide, a Program Standards and Technical Reference document, and a technical specification document for the animal tracking databases.