Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing to consolidate the regulations governing bovine tuberculosis, and those governing brucellosis. As part of this consolidation, we are proposing to transition the tuberculosis and brucellosis programs away from a State classification system based in disease prevalence. Instead, States and Tribes would implement animal health plans that identify sources of the diseases within the State or Tribal lands and specify mitigations to address the risk posed by those sources. The consolidated regulations would also set forth standards for surveillance, epidemiological investigations, and affected herd management that must be incorporated into each animal health plan, with certain limited exceptions; would provide revised conditions for the interstate movement of cattle, bison, and captive cervids; and would provide revised conditions for APHIS approval of tests, testing laboratories, and testers for bovine tuberculosis or brucellosis. Finally, we are proposing to revise the bovine tuberculosis- and brucellosis-related import requirements for cattle and bison to make these requirements clearer and assure that they more effectively mitigate the risk of introduction of these diseases into the United States.

We are advising the public of our determination that maize designated as event MON 87403, which has been genetically engineered for increased ear biomass, 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 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.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) regulations by removing the boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island in New York City, as well as the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk in the State of Massachusetts, from the list of quarantined areas for ALB. The interim rule was necessary to relieve restrictions on the movement of regulated articles from areas no longer under ALB quarantine. As a result of the interim rule, movement of such articles from areas no longer under quarantine can proceed while preventing the artificial spread of ALB from infested areas to noninfested areas of the United States.

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 select agent registration.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of tomatoes from certain Central American countries.

We are updating the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) Program Standards document. In a previous notice, we made available to the public for review and comment revisions to the NPIP Program Standards document describing changes to blood testing procedures for mycoplasma, bacteriological examination procedure changes for Salmonella, and the addition of new approved diagnostic test kits.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has reached a preliminary decision to extend our determination of nonregulated status of corn events Bayer/Genective S.A.VCO-01981-5 (hereinafter Genective VCO-01981-5 corn) and Pioneer's DP-004114-3 (hereinafter Pioneer 4114 corn) to Syngenta's corn event MZHG0JG in response to a request from Syngenta Seeds Inc. MZHG0JG corn has been genetically engineered for resistance to the herbicide glyphosate using the same mechanism of action as Genective VCO-01981-5 and also to be resistant to the herbicide glufosinate using the same mechanism of action as Pioneer 4114. We are making available for public comment our preliminary finding of no significant impact for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.

We are advising the public of our decision to authorize the importation of fresh pitahaya fruit from Israel into the continental United States. Based on the findings of the pest risk analysis, which we made available to the public to review and comment through a previous notice, we have concluded 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 fresh pitahaya fruit from Israel.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh peppers into the United States from Ecuador. As a condition of entry, the fruit will have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for fruit fly trapping, pre-harvest inspections, production sites, and packinghouse procedures designed to exclude quarantine pests. The fruit will also be required to be imported in commercial consignments and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Ecuador stating that the consignment was produced and prepared for export in accordance with the requirements in the systems approach. This action allows for the importation of fresh peppers from Ecuador while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposes to revise an existing system of records in its inventory of record systems subject to the provisions of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is revising Wildlife Services Management Information System, USDA-APHIS-9, to revise the routine uses, expand the categories of records in the system, and the location of the system. This notice is necessary to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence and character of record systems maintained by the agency.

We are changing the hourly rates charged for Sundays, holidays, or other overtime work performed by employees of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for any person, firm, or corporation having ownership, custody, or control of regulated commodities or articles subject to agricultural inspection, laboratory testing, certification, or quarantine under the regulations. We are increasing these overtime rates for each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2018 to reflect the anticipated costs associated with providing these services during each year. Establishing the overtime rate changes in advance will allow users of APHIS' services to incorporate the rates into their budget planning. We are also clarifying the regulations to indicate that agricultural inspections performed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be billed in accordance with DHS overtime regulations for services performed outside of regular business hours, as DHS rates may differ from those charged by APHIS.

We are amending the golden nematode regulations by removing areas in Orleans, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties in the State of New York from the list of generally infested areas. Surveys and other data have shown that certain areas in these counties are free of golden nematode, and we have determined that regulation of these areas is no longer necessary. As a result of this action, areas in Orleans, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties in the State of New York that have been listed as generally infested will be removed from the list of areas regulated for golden nematode. This action is necessary to relieve restrictions on certain areas that are no longer necessary.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of baby corn and baby carrots from Zambia into the continental United States.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has developed a pilot plan to test and assess the International Trade Data System for the electronic submission of data required by APHIS Animal Care, Biotechnology and Regulatory Services, Plant Protection and Quarantine, and Veterinary Services for processing in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The pilot test will use the APHIS Partner Government Agency (PGA) Message Set and the Automated Broker Interface to transmit, and ACE to process, trade data required for the importation of plants, animals, and their products regulated by APHIS. Under this test, PGA Message Set data may be filed only at certain ports.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is seeking public comment regarding plans to require the authorization of field testing of regulated genetically engineered (GE) wheat under permit. Currently, GE wheat field trials are authorized under notification. Authorizing GE wheat field trials under permit will help prevent future compliance issues, protect plant health and the environment, and allow for flexibility in the length of the volunteer monitoring period and the specific permit conditions to address how volunteers of GE wheat will be appropriately managed.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to list kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa and Actinidia chinensis) from Chile as eligible for importation into the United States subject to a systems approach. Under this systems approach, the fruit will have to be grown in a place of production that is registered with the Government of Chile and certified as having a low prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis. The fruit will have to undergo pre-harvest sampling at the registered production site. Following post-harvest processing, the fruit will have to be inspected in Chile at an approved inspection site. Each consignment of fruit will have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the fruit had been found free of Brevipalpus chilensis based on field and packinghouse inspections. This rule allows for the safe importation of kiwi from Chile using mitigation measures other than fumigation with methyl bromide.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service proposes to add a system of records to its inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. The system of records is the Animal Disease Traceability Information System, USDA-APHIS-16. This notice is necessary to meet the requirements of the Privacy Act to publish in the Federal Register notice of the existence and character of record systems maintained by the agency.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh peppers into the continental United States and the Territories from Peru. As a condition of entry, the fruit will have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for fruit fly trapping, pre-harvest inspections, production sites, and packinghouse procedures designed to exclude quarantine pests. The fruit will also be required to be imported in commercial consignments and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Peru with an additional declaration stating that the consignment was produced in accordance with the requirements of the systems approach. This action allows for the importation of untreated fresh peppers from Peru while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the continental United States and the Territories.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are announcing a public hearing to be held for the joint proposed rules ``Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and VehiclesPhase 2,'' and also for NHTSA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The proposed rules were published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2015. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement was published on June 19, 2015, and is available on the NHTSA Web site mentioned below. This hearing will be the second of two hearings, which will be held on August 6 and August 18, 2015. The August 6, 2015 hearing was announced in a separate Federal Register notice on July 28, 2015.

We are amending the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act regulations to provide for the use of a simpler labeling format that would better communicate product performance to the user. Under this rulemaking, the previous label format, which reflected any of four different levels of effectiveness, is replaced with a single, uniform label format. We are also requiring biologics licensees to provide a standardized summary, with confidential business information removed, of the efficacy and safety data submitted to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in support of the issuance of a full product license or conditional license. A simpler label format, along with publicly available safety and efficacy data, will help biologics producers to more clearly communicate product performance to their customers.

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) beef from a region in Argentina located north of Patagonia South and Patagonia North B, referred to as Northern Argentina. Based on the evidence in a recent risk analysis, we have determined that fresh (chilled or frozen) beef can be safely imported from Northern Argentina, subject to certain conditions. This action provides for the importation of beef from Northern Argentina into the United States, while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of foot-and-mouth disease.

We are notifying the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has received a petition requesting that we amend the regulations to require that research facilities include information about the uses of animals in the annual report they submit to APHIS. We are making this petition available to the public and soliciting comments regarding any issues raised by the petition that we should consider.

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 to prevent the spread of citrus greening and its vector, Asian citrus psyllid, to noninfested areas of United States.