Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service November 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that we are adding or revising certain treatment schedules for the Imported Fire Ant Program in the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Treatment Manual. In a previous notice, we made available to the public for review and comment a treatment evaluation document that discussed the existing treatment schedules, described the new treatment schedules, and explained why these changes are necessary. We also made available an environmental assessment that explained pesticide use in the new and revised treatments in the imported fire ant program. Based on the treatment evaluation document, the environmental assessment, and the comments we received, we are announcing our determination to add those new and revised treatments to the PPQ Treatment Manual.

We are advising the public of our decision to authorize the importation into the continental United States of Swiss chard from Colombia. 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 have determined 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 Swiss chard from Colombia.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of certain animals, meat, and other animal products to allow, under certain conditions, the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) ovine meat from Uruguay. A risk assessment that we have prepared indicates that fresh (chilled or frozen) ovine meat can safely be imported from Uruguay under these conditions. This action will allow the importation of fresh ovine meat from Uruguay into the United States while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of foot-and-mouth disease.

We are advising the public that we have been and are assessing certain plant pests that are present in the United States to determine whether we should take action to mitigate the risk posed by those pests when they are found in consignments of imported goods at ports of entry into the United States. We have determined that it is no longer appropriate or necessary to take such action on some plant pests on which we had been taking action at ports of entry because we are not taking any regulatory action on those same pests when we find them in interstate movement, due to our scientific determination that we do not need to mitigate their pest risk. This process relieves restrictions that are no longer needed and ensures that actions taken on plant pests found in imported goods are consistent with the actions we take on those same pests when they appear in interstate commerce.

We are advising the public of our determination that a soybean event developed by the Monsanto Company, designated as MON 87712, which has been genetically engineered for increased yield, is no longer considered a regulated article under our regulations governing the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms. Our determination is based on our evaluation of data submitted by the Monsanto Company in its petition for a determination of nonregulated status, our analysis of available scientific data, and comments received from the public in response to our previous notices announcing the availability of the petition for nonregulated status and its associated environmental assessment and plant pest risk assessment. This notice also announces the availability of our written determination and finding of no significant impact.

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 the regulations for the importation of clementines, mandarins, and tangerines from Chile into the United States.