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

We are amending the brucellosis regulations to reduce the amount of testing required to maintain Class Free status for States that have been Class Free for 5 or more years and have no Brucella abortus in wildlife. We are also removing the provision for automatic reclassification of any Class Free State or area to a lower status if two or more herds are found to have brucellosis within a 2-year period or if a single brucellosis-affected herd is not depopulated within 60 days. Further, we are reducing the age at which cattle are included in herd blood tests. We are also adding a requirement that any Class Free State or area with Brucella abortus in wildlife must develop and implement a brucellosis management plan approved by the Administrator in order to maintain Class Free status. Finally, we are providing an alternative testing protocol for maintaining the certified brucellosis- free status of dairy herds, which will give producers more flexibility for the herd certification process. These changes are necessary to refocus resources to control and prevent the spread of brucellosis and to protect and maintain the economic viability of the domestic livestock industry.

We are amending the plum pox virus (PPV) regulations by adding portions of Niagara, Orleans, and Wayne Counties, NY, to the list of quarantined areas and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from these quarantined areas. We are also amending the regulations by removing the townships of Latimore and Huntington in Adams County, PA, from the list of quarantined areas. These actions are necessary to prevent the spread of PPV from the quarantined areas of New York to uninfected areas of the United States and to relieve restrictions in Pennsylvania that are no longer necessary.

We are adopting as a final rule, with several changes, an interim rule that amended the regulations to add areas in Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Ohio, and Virginia to the list of generally infested areas based on the detection of infestations of gypsy moth in those areas. This document corrects errors in the listing of generally infested areas in Maine in the interim rule. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the gypsy moth 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 revise an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of equines and to request extension of approval of the information collection to safeguard the health of the U.S. equine population.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service charges user fees, as authorized by law, to recover the costs of providing certain services. This notice announces the availability of a Web site that contains information about the Agency's user fees.

We are advising the public of our decision to begin issuing permits for the importation into the continental United States of wall rocket leaves from the United Kingdom. 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 believe 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 wall rocket leaves from the United Kingdom.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to revise an information collection associated with the interstate movement of animals affected with Johne's disease and to request extension of approval of the information collection to protect the U.S. animal population.

We are giving notice that the Secretary of Agriculture has reestablished the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan (Committee) for a 2-year period. The Secretary of Agriculture has determined that the Committee is necessary and in the public interest.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to the control of Arundo donax (giant reed, Carrizo cane). The environmental assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to, the release of Arundo scale into the continental United States for use as a biological control agent to reduce the severity of Arundo donax infestations. We are making the environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

We are amending the Karnal bunt regulations to make changes to the list of areas or fields regulated because of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat. We are adding the Buckeye/Pretoria area of Maricopa County, AZ, to the list of regulated areas. We are also removing Throckmorton and Young Counties, TX, portions of Riverside County, CA, and certain areas in La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties, AZ, from the list of regulated areas based on our determination that those fields or areas meet our criteria for release from regulation. These actions are necessary to prevent the spread of Karnal bunt to noninfected areas of the United States and to relieve restrictions on certain areas that are no longer necessary.

The Animal and Plant Inspection Service has received a supplemental request for ``partial deregulation'' from Forage Genetics International for the planting, harvesting, and movement interstate of Roundup Ready[reg] alfalfa under measures designed to ensure any risks posed by cultivation are mitigated. This notice seeks to inform interested or affected persons of the availability of the documents submitted to the Agency from Forage Genetics International requesting a ``partial deregulation.''

We are amending the regulations for the importation of Hass avocados originating in Michoac[aacute]n, Mexico, into the United States by adding the option to ship avocados to the United States in bulk shipping bins when safeguarding is maintained from the packinghouse to the port of first arrival in the United States and by making it clear that the avocados may be shipped by land, sea, or air. We are also amending the regulations to allow avocados from multiple packinghouses that participate in the avocado export program to be combined into one consignment. We are taking these actions in response to requests from the Government of Mexico and inquiries from a U.S. maritime port. These actions will allow additional options for shipping Hass avocados from Mexico to the United States and allow Mexican exporters to ship full container or truck loads from multiple packinghouses while continuing to provide an appropriate level of protection against the introduction of plant pests.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of certain animals, meat, and other animal products by removing Japan from the list of regions considered to be free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and also from the list of FMD-free regions that are subject to certain import restrictions on meat and meat products because of their proximity to or trading relationships with FMD- or rinderpest-affected countries. We are taking this action because the existence of FMD has been confirmed in Japan. This action restricts the importation of ruminants and swine and the fresh meat and other animal products of ruminants and swine from that country and is necessary to prevent the introduction of FMD 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 an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of beef from Uruguay.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment relative to the control of hawkweeds (Hieracium spp.). The environmental assessment considers the effects of, and alternatives to, the release of the hawkweed gall wasp, Aulacidea subterminalis, into the continental United States as a biological control agent to reduce the severity of infestations of hawkweeds. We are making the environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into the continental United States of fresh strawberries from Jordan. Based on this analysis, we believe 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 strawberries from Jordan. We are making the pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.

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 bees and related articles.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has developed an audit standard for its biotechnology compliance assistance program. The audit standard, which was made available in draft form for comment in an earlier notice, will be used by participating regulated entities to develop and implement sound management practices, thus enhancing compliance with the regulatory requirements for field trials and movement of genetically engineered organisms in 7 CFR part 340. We are also making available a document containing our evaluation of the comments we received on the draft audit standard.

We are amending the bovine tuberculosis regulations regarding State and zone classifications by reclassifying the two zones in Minnesota. We have determined that the zone consisting of an area in the northwest corner of the State meets the criteria for designation as a modified accredited advanced zone, and the zone comprising the remainder of the State meets the criteria for designation as an accredited-free zone. This action relieves certain restrictions on the interstate movement of cattle and bison from Minnesota.

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 to elect to continue to participate in the NVAP until further notice. 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. Various logistical obstacles have prevented us from processing in a timely manner the elections to participate that we have received. Allowing currently accredited veterinarians to continue to perform accredited duties and to elect to participate will ensure that we obtain an accurate and complete record of accredited veterinarian participation while continuing to allow veterinarians to provide accredited services to the public.

In a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2009 (74 FR 64998-65013, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0093), and effective on February 1, 2010, we amended the National Veterinary Accreditation Program regulations, adding new provisions and reorganizing others. In that final rule, we redesignated the section containing the standards for performing accredited veterinarian duties, but we neglected to update citations of that section elsewhere in 9 CFR chapter I. This document corrects those errors.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to initiate an information collection to support the National Animal Health Monitoring System Small-Scale Livestock Operations 2011 Study.

We are proposing to amend the live animal export regulations by removing the list of designated ports of embarkation and their associated export inspection facilities. As a result of this rulemaking, those ports and facilities would henceforth be listed on the Internet rather than in the regulations, thus enabling us to amend the list, when necessary, in a timelier manner than we can now and allowing us greater flexibility in regulating animal exports.

We are proposing to amend the livestock exportation regulations to eliminate the requirement for pre-export tuberculosis and brucellosis testing of goats and breeding swine intended for export to countries that do not require such tests. This action would facilitate the exportation of goats and breeding swine by eliminating the need to conduct pre-export tuberculosis and brucellosis testing when the receiving country does not require such testing.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) concerning authorization to ship for the purpose of field testing, and then to field test, an unlicensed foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, live adenovirus vector. The EA, which is based on a risk analysis prepared to assess the risks associated with the field testing of this vaccine, examines the potential effects that field testing this veterinary vaccine could have on the quality of the human environment. Based on the risk analysis, we have reached a preliminary determination that field testing this veterinary vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment, and that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared. We intend to authorize shipment of this vaccine for field testing following the close of the comment period for this notice unless new substantial issues bearing on the effects of this action are brought to our attention. We also intend to issue a U.S. Veterinary Biological Product license for this vaccine, provided the field test data support the conclusions of the EA and the issuance of a finding of no significant impact and the product meets all other requirements for licensing.