[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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