[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19667-19668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10560]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 76 / Tuesday, April 21, 1998 /
Proposed Rules
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 94
[Docket No. 98-002-1]
Change in Disease Status of Great Britain Because of Exotic
Newcastle Disease
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing to recognize Great Britain as free of exotic
Newcastle disease (END). This proposed action is based on information
received from Great Britain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and
Food, and is in accordance with standards set by the Office
International des Epizooties for recognizing a country as free of END.
This proposed action would relieve restrictions on the importation of
carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of poultry, game birds,
or other birds from Great Britain. It would relieve the END-specific
restrictions on the importation of eggs (other than hatching eggs) laid
by poultry, game birds, or other birds from Great Britain. This
proposed action would also relieve the quarantine requirements for
poultry hatching eggs imported from Great Britain.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before June 22, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 98-002-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,
Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 98-002-1. Comments
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John Cougill, Staff Veterinarian,
Products Program, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 40, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231, (301) 734-3399; or
e-mail: jcougill@aphis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the
regulations) govern the importation into the United States of specified
animals and animal products in order to prevent the introduction of
various animal diseases, including exotic Newcastle disease (END), into
the United States. END is a contagious, infectious, and communicable
disease of birds and poultry.
Section 94.6(a)(1) of the regulations provides that END is
considered to exist in all regions of the world except those listed in
Sec. 94.6(a)(2), which are considered to be free of END. The
importation into the United States of any carcasses, or parts or
products of carcasses, of poultry, game birds, or other birds that are
from a region where END is considered to exist, or that have been
imported from or moved into or through any region where END is
considered to exist, is subject to the restrictions contained in
Sec. 94.6(c). In addition, the importation into the United States of
eggs (other than hatching eggs) laid by poultry, game birds, or other
birds that are from a region where END or Salmonella enteritidis (SE)
phage-type 4 is considered to exist, or that have been imported from or
moved into or through any region where END or SE phage-type 4 is
considered to exist, is subject to the restrictions contained in
Sec. 94.6(d). Poultry eggs for hatching imported from a region where
END is considered to exist must be quarantined in accordance with
Sec. 93.209(b).
In this document, we are proposing to add Great Britain to the list
of regions considered to be free of END. We are proposing this action
based on information given to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) by Great Britain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries,
and Food, and standards set by the Office International des Epizooties
(OIE).
In order for a country to be recognized as free of END following
detection of disease in that country, the OIE requires that the country
follow a strict eradication protocol, which includes restricted
movement of poultry, tracebacks of all affected flocks, and a stamping
out policy, which includes slaughtering and incinerating affected
flocks. The OIE also requires that a country have no reported cases of
END for 6 consecutive months before OIE will consider the country free
of END.
In a document published in the Federal Register on February 7, 1997
(62 FR 5741-5742, Docket No. 97-003-1), and effective on January 31,
1997, we removed Great Britain from the list of regions that were
considered to be free of END because of an outbreak of END in Great
Britain. Since that time, Great Britain has followed a strict
eradication protocol, which included traceback of all affected flocks,
restricting movement of poultry in the affected areas, and slaughtering
and incinerating all affected flocks. Great Britain has had no reported
cases of END since April 1997.
With its request to be considered free of END, Great Britain's
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food provided APHIS with
information about the eradication procedures that it followed when the
outbreak occurred and other pertinent information that we require in
order to determine whether Great Britain should be recognized as free
of END.
APHIS has reviewed the information provided by Great Britain's
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food in support of declaring
Great Britain to be free of END. Based on that information, and in
accordance with OIE standards for recognizing a country to be free of
END, we are proposing to consider Great Britain as free of END.
Therefore, we are proposing to amend Sec. 94.6(a)(2) by adding Great
Britain to the list of regions considered to be free of END. This
proposed action would relieve the restrictions of Sec. 94.6(c) on the
importation of carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of
poultry, game birds, or other birds from Great Britain and would
relieve the END-specific restrictions of Sec. 94.6(d)(1)(ix) on the
importation of eggs (other than hatching eggs) laid by poultry, game
birds, or other birds from Great Britain. This
[[Page 19668]]
proposed action would also relieve the quarantine requirements of
Sec. 93.206(b) for poultry hatching eggs imported from Great Britain.
On October 28, 1997, we published a final rule and policy statement
in the Federal Register that established procedures for recognizing
regions, rather than only countries, for the purpose of importing
animals and animal products into the United States, and that
established procedures by which regions may request permission to
export animals and animal products to the United States under specified
conditions, based on the regions' disease status (see 62 FR 56000-
56033, Dockets 94-106-8 and 94-106-9). The final rule was effective on
November 28, 1997. The request from Great Britain's Ministry of
Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food addressed by this proposed rule is not
a request to be recognized as a region, rather than a country, nor a
request to establish new import conditions based on the disease status
of the regions. Therefore, we have handled and evaluated this request
in the traditional framework of recognizing a country as free or not
free of a specified disease. If this proposed rule is adopted, the
current regulations regarding importation of poultry products from
regions free of END will apply.
Executive Order 12866
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.
The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of
Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the
Office of Management and Budget.
This proposed rule would recognize Great Britain as free of END.
This proposed action is based on information received from Great
Britain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food and is in
accordance with OIE standards for recognizing a country as free of END.
This proposed rule would relieve restrictions on the importation of
carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of poultry, game birds,
or other birds, from Great Britain. It would relieve the END-specific
restrictions on the importation of eggs (other than hatching eggs) laid
by poultry, game birds, or other birds from Great Britain. This
proposed rule would also relieve the quarantine requirements for
poultry hatching eggs imported from Great Britain.
The United States imports few eggs, only about 0.1 percent of U.S.
production. The United States is a very strong net exporter of poultry
products, with imports of only 3,546 metric tons and exports of more
than 2 million metric tons in 1996 (``World Trade Atlas,'' June 1997).
More than 99 percent of U.S. poultry product imports originate in
Canada. Prior to January 31, 1997, when APHIS removed Great Britain
from the list of END-free regions, U.S. imports of poultry products
from the United Kingdom, which includes Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, accounted for less than 2 percent of the total U.S. imports of
poultry products.1
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\1\ Trade data for Great Britain alone was not available.
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U.S. producers, consumers, and importers of poultry products may be
potentially affected by this proposed rule. However, because the volume
of poultry products previously imported from the United Kingdom was so
small compared to the amount produced domestically, and because the
total volume of overall poultry product imports is also very small,
little or no impact on consumer and producer prices and on importers,
is expected.
Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
Executive Order 12988
This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State
and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule
will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this
rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.
Paperwork Reduction Act
This proposed rule contains no new information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94
Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Meat and meat products,
Poultry and poultry products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Accordingly, 9 CFR part 94 would be amended as follows:
PART 94--RINDERPEST, FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, FOWL PEST (FOWL
PLAGUE), EXOTIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE FEVER, HOG
CHOLERA, AND BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY: PROHIBITED AND
RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS
1. The authority citation for part 94 would continue to read as
follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150ee, 161, 162, and 450; 19 U.S.C.
1306; 21 U.S.C. 111, 114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134f, 136, and 136a; 31
U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331 and 4332; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and
371.2(d).
Sec. 94.6 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 94.6, paragraph (a)(2) would be amended by adding the
words ``Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of
Man),'' immediately after the word ``Finland,''.
Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of April 1998.
Charles P. Schwalbe,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 98-10560 Filed 4-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
