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

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would revise completely the scrapie regulations, which concern the risk groups and categories established for individual animals and for flocks, the use of genetic testing as a means of assigning risk levels to animals, movement restrictions for animals found to be genetically less susceptible or resistant to scrapie, and recordkeeping requirements. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

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 papaya from Colombia and Ecuador into the continental 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 a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the issuance of phytosanitary certificates for plants or plant products being exported to foreign countries.

We are amending the user fee regulations by adding new fee categories and adjusting current fees charged for certain agricultural quarantine and inspection services that are provided in connection with certain commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and international passengers arriving at ports in the customs territory of the United States. We are also adjusting or removing the fee caps associated with commercial trucks, commercial vessels, and commercial railcars. We have determined that revised user fee categories and revised user fees are necessary to recover the costs of the current level of activity, to account for actual increases in the cost of doing business, and to more accurately align fees with the costs associated with each fee service.

We are advising the public of our determination that maize designated as event MON 87411, which has been genetically engineered for protection against corn rootworm and resistance to the herbicide glyphosate, 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.

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 importation of citrus from Peru.

We are adding Croatia to the lists of regions that are considered free of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, and swine vesicular disease, and to the list of regions considered free or low risk for classical swine fever. We are taking this action because we have determined that this region is free of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, and swine vesicular disease, and is low risk for classical swine fever. This action establishes the disease status of Croatia with regard to foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, swine vesicular disease, and classical swine fever while continuing to protect the United States from an introduction of those diseases.

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 location of irradiation treatment facilities in the United States.

We are advising the public that an environmental assessment has been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to the use of one or more veterinary biological products as a treatment for and as an aid in the reduction of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) incidence caused by strains such as Eurasian H5 viruses of clade 2.3.4.4 lineage. Any biological products would become part of the measures to reduce the incidence of HPAI in the nation's commercial poultry flocks. Based on the environmental assessment, we have concluded that the use of vaccines as described in the environmental assessment will not have a significant impact on the human environment. We are making this environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact available to the public for review and comment.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of plants for planting to authorize the importation of tomato plantlets from Mexico in approved growing media, subject to a systems approach. The systems approach consists of measures currently specified for tomato plants for planting not imported in growing media, as well as measures specific to all plants for planting imported into the United States in approved growing media. Additionally, the plantlets must be imported into greenhouses in the continental United States and the importers of the plantlets from Mexico or the owners of the greenhouses in the continental United States must enter into compliance agreements regarding the conditions under which the plants from Mexico must enter and be maintained within the greenhouses. This rule allows for the importation into the continental United States of tomato plantlets from Mexico in approved growing media, while providing protection against the introduction of plant pests. The rule also allows the imported greenhouse plantlets to produce tomato fruit for commercial sale within 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 regulations for the importation of shelled peas from Kenya.

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 pork-filled pasta products into 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 approval of a new information collection concerning packaging and labeling for products approved in accordance with the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a supplement to an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact relative to an oral rabies vaccination field trial in New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. Based on its finding of no significant impact, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared.

We are amending the fruits and vegetable regulations to allow citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru to be imported into the continental United States. Currently, the regulations allow the importation of citrus fruit to the United States from five approved citrus-producing zones in Peru, subject to a systems approach. However, based on the findings of a pest list and commodity import evaluation document, we have determined that this systems approach also mitigates the plant pest risk associated with citrus fruit produced in all other areas of Peru. This action will allow the importation of citrus fruit from the entire country of Peru while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the continental United States.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) are announcing public hearings 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. Two hearings will be held on August 6 and August 18, 2015.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of certain animals, meat, and other animal products by allowing, under certain conditions, the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from a region in Brazil (the States of Bahia, Distrito Federal, Esp[iacute]rito Santo, Goi[aacute]s, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paran[aacute], Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, Rond[ocirc]nia, S[atilde]o Paulo, Sergipe, and Tocantins). Based on the evidence in a recent risk assessment, we have determined that fresh (chilled or frozen) beef can be safely imported from those Brazilian States provided certain conditions are met. This action provides for the importation of beef from the designated region in Brazil into the United States while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of foot-and-mouth disease.

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 use of contract pilots and aircraft in Plant Protection and Quarantine domestic, emergency, and biological control programs.

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 Hass avocados from Peru into the continental United States.

We are correcting an error in a notice announcing the availability of a revision to hot water treatment schedule T102-a to treat additional mango commodities. The notice was published in the Federal Register on April 23, 2015.

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 health certificates for the export of live crustaceans, finfish, mollusks, and related products.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is making available for public comment a preliminary plant pest risk assessment and draft environmental assessment for maize designated as event MON 87411, which has been genetically engineered for protection against corn rootworm and resistance to the herbicide glyphosate.

This notice advises the public of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's record of decision for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Double-Crested Cormorant Management Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement.