§ 93.434 - Standards for approval of privately operated quarantine facilities for sheep or goats, and handling procedures for the importation of sheep or goats.

(a) Cooperative agreement. No facility shall operate as a privately operated quarantine facility for sheep or goats unless it is operated in accordance with a cooperative agreement executed by the operator or other designated representative of the facility and by the Administrator, and unless such cooperative agreement includes all the requirements of this section and includes a requirement that the cost of the facility and all costs associated with the maintenance and operation of the facility shall be borne by the operator in accordance with the provisions of § 93.412 of this part.

(b) Approval of facilities. To qualify for designation as an approved privately operated quarantine facility 15 and to retain such approval, the facility and its maintenance and operation must meet the minimum requirements of this section. Approval of any quarantine facility shall be contingent upon a determination by the Administrator that adequate personnel are available to provide services required by the facility if approved. The cost of the facility and all costs associated with the maintenance and operation of the facility shall be borne by the operator in accordance with the provisions of § 93.412 of this part.

(1) Supervision of the facility. The facility shall be maintained under the supervision of an APHIS veterinarian.

(2) Physical plant requirements. The facility shall comply with the following requirements:

(i) Location. The quarantine facility shall:

(A) Be located at one of the ports listed in § 93.403(g) of this part;

(B) Be located within the immediate area of the port of entry to minimize the possibility of introduction and dissemination of diseases by the imported sheep or goats while in transit from the point of entry to the quarantine facility; and

(C) Be located at least one-half mile from any livestock.

(ii) Construction. The quarantine facility building shall:

(A) Be constructed so that the surfaces of the floors and the surfaces of that part of the walls with which the sheep or goats, their excrement, or discharges have contact are constructed of materials that are substantially impervious to moisture and that can withstand continued cleaning and disinfection;

(B) Be constructed so that the ceiling and that part of the walls with which the sheep or goats, their excrement, or discharges do not have contact can withstand cleaning and disinfection between shipments;

(C) Be constructed with each entryway equipped with a series of two solid doors, and with other openings covered with screening 16 mesh or finer, unless the Administrator specifically approves other types of doors and openings as adequate to prevent the entry of insects;

(D) Be constructed so that different lots of sheep or goats in the facility at the same time are separated by physical barriers in such a manner that sheep or goats in a given lot do not have physical contact with sheep or goats in another lot, or with their excrement, or discharges (for the purposes of this section a “lot” shall mean a group of sheep or goats that have been held on a premises with opportunity for commingling (physical contact with other sheep or goats in the group or with their excrement or discharges) at any time since 30 days prior to export to the United States);

(E) Have a ventilation capacity sufficient to control moisture and odor at levels that are not injurious to the health of the sheep or goats in quarantine;

(F) Have a separate, controlled, forced air ventilation system for each lot of sheep or goats that is housed in the facility if the facility is approved to handle more than one lot of sheep or goats at a time;

(G) Have a separate feed storage area, if feed is stored in the facility;

(H) Have office space for recordkeeping available for use by APHIS personnel;

(I) Have a necropsy area with facilities adequate for specimen preparation and equipped with a refrigerator-freezer for storing specimens for laboratory examination;

(J) Have a separate area for washing clothes and equipment used in the facility;

(K) Have a shower at the entrance to the sheep- or goat-holding area and the necropsy area and a clothes storage and change area at each end of the shower area; and

(L) Have a storage area for equipment necessary for quarantine operations.

(iii) Sanitation and security. Arrangements shall exist for:

(A) Equipment and supplies necessary to maintain the facility in a clean and sanitary condition, including insect and pest control equipment and supplies;

(B) Separately maintained equipment and supplies for each lot of animals;

(C) A supply of potable water adequate to meet all watering and cleaning needs;

(D) Power cleaning and disinfecting equipment with adequate capacity to disinfect the facility and equipment;

(E) Sufficient stocks of a disinfectant authorized in § 71.10 of this chapter;

(F) Disposal of wastes by burial, incineration or in a public sewer system in compliance with all applicable environmental quality control standards;

(G) Upon the death or destruction of any sheep or goat, disposal of the carcass, in conformance with all applicable environmental quality control standards, by incineration, by burial, or by storing the sheep or goat carcasses in the facility in a freezer at a temperature below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and upon release of the lot of sheep or goats from the facility, disposing of any carcasses by grinding and then heating them for at least one hour at a temperature of not less than 265 degrees Fahrenheit;

(H) Control of surface drainage into or from the facility in a manner adequate to prevent any significant risk of livestock diseases being spread into or from the facility;

(I) Protective clothing and footwear adequate in quantity to ensure that workers at the facility have clean clothing and footwear at the start of each workday and at any time such articles become soiled or contaminated;

(J) A receptacle for soiled and contaminated clothing in the clothes change area located nearest the entrance to the sheep- or goat-holding area;

(K) A security system which prevents persons not authorized entry to the facility and animals outside the facility from having contact with sheep or goats in quarantine. Such a system shall include a daily log to record the entry and exit of all persons entering the facility; and

(L) Feed and bedding for sheep or goats in quarantine must originate in an area not under quarantine because of cattle fever ticks (see part 72 of this chapter) and must be stored in the facility in a manner which adequately protects these supplies against infestation by vermin and against spoilage.

(3) Operating procedures. To retain designation as an approved quarantine facility, the following procedures shall be observed at the facility at all times:

(i) Personnel. Access to the facility shall be granted only to persons working at the facility or to persons specifically granted such access by the APHIS veterinarian.

(A) All personnel granted access to the sheep- or goat-holding area shall:

(1) Wear clean protective clothing and footwear upon entering the sheep- or goat-holding area;

(2) Change protective clothing and footwear when they become soiled or contaminated;

(3) Shower when entering and leaving the sheep- or goat-holding area;

(4) Shower when leaving the necropsy area after conducting a necropsy; and

(5) Be prohibited from having contact with any sheep other than the lot of sheep or goats to which the person is assigned and be prohibited from having contact with ruminants or swine outside the quarantine facility.

(B) The operator of the facility shall handle soiled and contaminated clothing worn within the quarantine facility in a manner approved by the APHIS veterinarian as adequate to preclude transmission of any animal disease agent from the facility.

(ii) Any other person who enters the sheep- or goat-holding area, in addition to those persons granted access in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section, shall be prohibited from having contact with other lots of sheep or goats within the facility and with ruminants and swine outside the facility for a period of time determined by the supervising veterinarian as necessary to prevent a risk of spreading communicable livestock diseases.

(iii) Any vehicle entering the quarantine facility building to deliver feed shall be cleaned and disinfected under the supervision of an inspector with a disinfectant authorized in § 71.10 of the regulations immediately before entering and before leaving the facility.

(iv) Handling of the sheep or goats in quarantine. The sheep or goats in the quarantine facility shall be handled in compliance with the following requirements:

(A) Each lot of sheep or goats to be quarantined shall be placed in the facility on an “all-in, all-out” basis. No sheep or goat shall be taken out of the lot while it is in quarantine except for diagnostic purposes and no sheep shall be added to a lot while the lot is in quarantine.

(B) The portion of the quarantine facility from which a lot of sheep or goats has been released shall be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected under supervision of an inspector with a disinfectant authorized in § 71.10 of this chapter, before a new lot is placed in that portion of the facility.

(v) Records. It shall be the responsibility of the supervisory veterinarian to maintain a current daily log for each lot of sheep or goats, recording such information as the individual identification of the sheep or goats, source or origin of the sheep or goats in the lot, total number of sheep or goats in the lot when imported, number of dead or injured sheep or goats when the lot arrived, the date the lot was placed into the facility, the general condition of the sheep or goats each day, record of any medication administered to the sheep or goats, number of deaths each day in the lot during the quarantine period, necropsy results, laboratory findings on sheep or goats that died during the quarantine period, date of prescribed tests and results, Department import permit numbers of each lot, the date the lot was removed from the facility, and any other observations pertinent to the general health of the sheep or goats in the lot. The operator of the facility shall hold the log for 12 months following the date of release of the sheep or goats from quarantine and shall make it available to APHIS personnel upon request.

(4) Environmental requirements. It shall be the responsibility of the operator of the facility to provide a certification executed by an appropriate government official indicating compliance with the applicable laws for environmental protection.

(5) Additional requirements. Additional requirements as to location, security, physical plant and facilities, sanitation, and other items may be imposed by the Administrator in each specific case in order to assure that the quarantine of the sheep or goats in such facility will be adequate to enable determination of their health status, prevent spread of disease among sheep or goats in quarantine, and prevent escape of animal disease agents from the facility.

(c) Request for approval. Requests for approval of a privately operated quarantine facility shall be made by writing to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, National Center for Import-Export, 4700 River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1231. The request should include the full name and mailing address of the applicant and the location and street address of the facility for which approval is sought. Requests for approval and plans for proposed facilities shall be submitted no less than 90 days before the proposed date of entry of the first lot of sheep or goats into the quarantine facility.

(d) Withdrawal or denial of approval. (1) Approval of any facility may be refused and approval of any approved quarantine facility may be withdrawn at any time by the Administrator, for any of the reasons provided in paragraph (d)(2) of this section. Before such action is taken, the operator of the facility will be informed of the reasons for the proposed action. If there is a conflict as to any material fact, the operator, upon request, shall be afforded an opportunity for a hearing with respect to the merits or validity of such action, in accordance with rules of practice which shall be adopted for the proceeding. However, such withdrawal shall become effective pending final determination in the proceeding when the Administrator determines that such action is necessary to protect the public health, interest, or safety. Such withdrawal shall be effective upon oral or written notification, whichever is earlier, to the operator of the facility. In the event of oral notification, written confirmation shall be given to the operator of the facility as promptly as circumstances allow. This withdrawal shall continue in effect pending the completion of the proceeding and any judicial review, unless otherwise ordered by the Administrator. In addition to withdrawal or denial of approval when the requirements for approval are not complied with, approval will be automatically withdrawn by the Administrator when the operator of any approved facility notifies the Area Veterinarian in Charge for the State in which the facility is located, in writing, that the facility is no longer in operation.16

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (d)(4) of this section, the approval of a privately operated quarantine facility for sheep or goats may be denied or withdrawn if:

(i) Any requirement of this section is not complied with; or

(ii) The operator or a person responsibly connected with the business of the quarantine facility is or has been convicted of any crime under any law regarding the importation or quarantine of any animal or bird; or

(iii) The operator or a person responsibly connected with the business of the quarantine facility is or has been convicted of any crime involving fraud, bribery, or extortion or any other crime involving a lack of integrity needed for the conduct of operations affecting the importation of animals; or

(iv) The approved quarantine facility has not been used to quarantine sheep or goats for a period of one year.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to be responsibly connected with the business of the quarantine facility if such person has an ownership, mortgage, or lease interest in the facility's physical plant, or if such person is a partner, officer, director, holder or owner of 10 percent or more of its voting stock, or an employee in a managerial or executive capacity.

(4) The denial or withdrawal referred to in paragraph (d)(2) of this section shall not be solely based upon the convictions of those persons responsibly connected with an approved privately operated quarantine facility for sheep or goats if, after issuance of a complaint and upon receipt of notification from the Administrator of the denial or withdrawal, the operator of the approved quarantine facility enters into a consent agreement with the Administrator, in which it is agreed that the responsibly connected person identified in the notification shall not ever be associated with the approved quarantine facility and the operator complies with the provisions of the agreement. Violation of the consent agreement shall constitute independent grounds for withdrawal of approval of an approved quarantine facility.