Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service August 23, 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.