[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 133 (Monday, July 13, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 37483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-18436]



[[Page 37483]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 93

[Docket No. 98-070-1]


Harry S Truman Animal Import Center

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Cancellation of lottery for HSTAIC.

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SUMMARY: In anticipation that the Harry S Truman Animal Import Center 
(HSTAIC) in Fleming Key, FL, may be closed, we are giving notice that 
we do not plan to hold a lottery in December 1998 for exclusive use of 
HSTAIC in calendar year 1999. In addition, we do not intend to enter 
into any more cooperative-service agreements with prospective importers 
for exclusive use of the facility unless it is certain the animals can 
enter HSTAIC on or before December 31, 1998. Ensuring that no animals 
enter HSTAIC after this date would allow us to close HSTAIC before the 
end of fiscal year l999 if a decision is made to close the facility.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 13, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Gary Colgrove, Chief Staff 
Veterinarian, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-3276; or e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 93 (referred 
to below as the regulations) govern the importation of animals into the 
United States to prevent the introduction of serious communicable 
diseases of livestock and poultry. Under the regulations, certain 
animals may only be imported into the United States if, among other 
things, they are quarantined upon arrival at the Harry S Truman Animal 
Import Center (HSTAIC), a Federal facility in Fleming Key, FL, that 
provides maximum biosecurity.
    Importers pay the costs of using HSTAIC while their animals are in 
the facility. However, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) must pay for staff, electricity, telephone, and other overhead 
costs when the facility is not occupied, as well as for general 
maintenance and repairs. HSTAIC has been consistently underutilized 
since it opened in 1979, and demand for use of the facility has been 
falling. Consequently, APHIS is losing an average of $220,000 annually 
keeping HSTAIC available to importers. In addition, HSTAIC urgently 
needs approximately $4.5 million worth of repairs and upgrades for 
which APHIS does not have an appropriation. This would significantly 
increase the already substantial fees for use of HSTAIC if the cost of 
the repairs and upgrades were to be recovered from users. In addition, 
the purpose for a facility such as HSTAIC, to import new bloodlines 
from countries with exotic diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and 
rinderpest, can now be accomplished more cheaply and more easily by 
importing germplasm, such as semen and embryos.
    Under these circumstances, we are considering closing HSTAIC and 
plan to publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register for public 
comment on this issue in the near future. If we decide to close the 
facility following this rulemaking, we would like to do so before the 
end of fiscal year l999 to minimize expenses we are incurring to keep 
the facility operating. To close by then, all animals would have to be 
out of the facility by about April of l999. Even if a decision is made 
to try to keep HSTAIC open for use, and funding can be obtained for the 
needed repairs and upgrades, it will take many months to complete the 
needed repairs and upgrades. To allow for these possible actions, we 
are announcing that we do not plan to hold a lottery in December 1998 
for exclusive use of HSTAIC in calendar year 1999. (Under Sec. 93.430 
of the regulations, APHIS enters into a cooperative agreement with only 
one importer at a time for use of HSTAIC. We refer to this arrangement 
as ``exclusive use.'') This notice also announces our intention not to 
enter into any more cooperative agreements with prospective importers 
for exclusive use of the facility unless it is certain the animals can 
enter HSTAIC on or before December 31, 1998.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622; 19 U.S.C. 1306; 21 U.S.C. 102-105, 
111, 114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134d, 134f, 135, 136, and 136a; 31 
U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of July 1998.
Charles P. Schwalbe,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 98-18436 Filed 7-10-98; 8:45 am]
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