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

We are advising the public that we have prepared a proposed decision/finding of no significant impact relative to oral rabies vaccination programs in several States. Since the publication of our original environmental assessment and decision/finding of no significant impact in 2001, we have prepared, and made available to the public for comment, several supplemental environmental assessments and decisions/findings of no significant impact in order to reflect changes in the program. The decision/finding of no significant impact made available by this notice clarifies the term ``contingency actions,'' which was used in a supplemental environmental assessment we prepared in 2004, and analyzes a type of contingency action called trap- vaccinate-release that was not analyzed as part of the proposed action in the 2004 supplemental environmental assessment. The new decision/ finding of no significant impact is intended to facilitate planning and interagency coordination in the event of rabies outbreaks and to clearly communicate to the public the actions involved in the oral rabies vaccination 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 associated with regulations for the payment of indemnity for the domestic pseudorabies accelerated eradication 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 associated with regulations for the interstate movement of horses that have tested positive for equine infectious anemia.

We are amending the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act regulations to specify the actions to be taken by veterinary biologics licensees and permittees upon receipt of notice from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to stop the preparation, distribution, sale, barter, exchange, shipment, or importation of any worthless, contaminated, dangerous, harmful, or unsatisfactory veterinary biological product. After receiving notice from APHIS, licensees and permittees must notify each wholesaler, dealer, jobber, consignee, or other recipient known to have any such product in their possession to stop the preparation, distribution, sale, barter, exchange, shipment, or importation of such product. In addition, licensees and permittees must provide a complete accounting of the remaining inventory of affected serials or subserials of such product in the current possession of known wholesalers, dealers, jobbers, consignees, or other known recipients and provide written documentation concerning the required notification(s) as directed by the Administrator of APHIS. These changes are necessary in order to clarify the regulations, provide for the most expeditious means of disseminating stop distribution and sale notices, and to mitigate the risk that any worthless, contaminated, dangerous, harmful, or unsatisfactory veterinary biological product may cause harm to animals, the public health, or to the environment.

We are amending the cut flowers regulations to establish specific requirements for the importation of cut flowers that are hosts of chrysanthemum white rust (CWR) from countries where the disease is known to occur. We are also amending the nursery stock regulations to update lists of countries where CWR is known to occur. We are making these changes in order to make our cut flowers and nursery stock regulations consistent. This action is necessary because of numerous recent findings of CWR on cut flowers from Europe that pose a risk of introducing CWR in the United States.