[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14046-14047]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7652]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 92-110-4]
Veterinary Services Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared a draft programmatic environmental
impact statement for the Veterinary Services Program, which is
responsible for the protection of the Nation's livestock and
[[Page 14047]]
poultry. As part of this mission, Veterinary Services conducts ongoing
programs designed to detect, prevent, control, and eradicate endemic
and foreign animal diseases and pests that threaten these resources.
The draft programmatic environmental impact statement addresses
environmental impacts associated with these ongoing programs. We are
requesting public comments on the draft programmatic environmental
impact statement.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before May 28, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 92-110-4, 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. 92-110-4. 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.
Interested persons may obtain a copy of the draft environmental
impact statement by writing to the addresses listed below under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Nancy Sweeney, Project Leader,
Environmental Analysis and Documentation, BBEP, APHIS, Suite 5B05, 4700
River Road Unit 149, Riverdale, MD 20737-1237, (301) 734-8565; or Dr.
William E. Ketter, Assistant to Director, Operational Support, VS,
APHIS, Suite 3B08, 4700 River Road Unit 33, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231,
(301) 734-4357.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has prepared
a draft programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) for our
Veterinary Services Program, which is responsible for the protection of
the Nation's livestock and poultry. As part of this mission, (VS)
conducts ongoing programs designed to detect, prevent, control, and
eradicate endemic and foreign animal diseases and pests that threaten
these resources. The draft programmatic EIS addresses environmental
impacts associated with these ongoing programs.
We published a notice of intent to prepare a programmatic EIS in
the Federal Register on July 23, 1992 (57 FR 32771-32772, Docket No.
92-110-1). This notice advised the public that we intended to use in-
house resources to study the disease prevention, surveillance, control,
and eradication activities of the VS Program to identify any potential
environmental effects. We published a notice of the proposed scope of
study for the programmatic EIS in the Federal Register on October 9,
1992 (57 FR 46532-46534, Docket No. 92-110-2). This notice identified
potential issues to be analyzed in the programmatic EIS, and requested
public comment on these and other issues. Comments were to be received
on or before November 23, 1992. We published a notice of the final
scope of study for the programmatic EIS in the Federal Register on
March 29, 1993 (58 FR 16520-16521, Docket No. 92-110-3).
Major Issues
The comments received from the public helped us to determine the
principal focus of the draft programmatic EIS. The draft programmatic
EIS identifies the following VS programs and activities as having the
potential to affect the quality of the human environment: (1) Methods
of animal carcass disposal; (2) disease eradication efforts of an
emergency nature; (3) the use of disinfectants and pesticides; (4) the
import-export program; (5) the vaccination program; (6) the
construction, use, and expansion of facilities; and (7) methods of
animal identification. The document analyzes these VS programs and
activities and examines the potential impacts of the programs as
currently implemented along with the alternative of taking no Federal
action.
The draft programmatic EIS is now available for review and comment.
We are seeking comments from the public; industry; environmental
groups; and Federal, State, and local agencies, including Federal and
State agencies that have either jurisdiction by law or special
expertise regarding any program issue or environmental impact that is
discussed in the draft programmatic EIS.
We will consider all comments received by the close of the comment
period in the development of the final programmatic EIS. The
availability of the final programmatic EIS will be announced in a
subsequent Federal Register notice.
This notice is issued in accordance with: (1) The National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.), (2)
Regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for Implementing
the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA
Regulations Implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of March 1996.
Terry L. Medley,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 96-7652 Filed 3-28-96; 8:45 am]
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