Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service July 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public of our decision to revise the requirements relative to the importation into the United States of fresh table grapes from regions of Chile where European grapevine moth (Lobesia botrana, EGVM) is either absent or at very low prevalence. Based on the findings of a commodity import evaluation document, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, we have determined that, in addition to the existing option of methyl bromide fumigation for EGVM and Chilean false red mite (Brevipalpus chilensis), grapes from Chile may be safely imported under a systems approach or irradiation for EGVM and B. chilensis. Current mitigation measures for Ceratitis capitata, or Medfly, will remain unchanged.

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 its efforts to safeguard the health of U.S. livestock and poultry populations by the use of National Veterinary Services Laboratories request forms.

We are notifying the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is soliciting the public to respond to this Request for Information (RFI) as part of our stakeholder engagement to explore pathways to commercialization for modified microbes subject to APHIS jurisdiction, consistent with the APHIS regulations for the movement of organisms modified or produced through genetic engineering. In response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP's) RFI "Identifying Ambiguities, Gaps, Inefficiencies, and Uncertainties in the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology" issued in December 2022 pursuant to Executive Order 14081, multiple commenters expressed a need for clear regulatory pathways to commercialization for modified microbes. Therefore, we are requesting comments from the public regarding pathways to commercialization, including needs, ideas, and concerns, regarding possible APHIS risk- based deregulation of modified microbes and other potential regulatory and non-regulatory pathways to commercialization. The information provided will help to identify potential criteria and mechanisms for risk-based deregulation, develop a regulatory framework that could inform future rulemaking, and identify potential non-regulatory solutions.