[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 107 (Friday, June 4, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 29947-29949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14186]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 91

[Docket No. 98-078-1]


Ports Designated for Exportation of Horses; New Jersey and New 
York

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the ``Inspection and Handling of Livestock for 
Exportation'' regulations by changing the lists of approved ports of 
embarkation and export inspection facilities for horses in New Jersey 
and New York. In New Jersey, we are removing Deep Hollow Farm in 
Woodstown, NJ, as the export inspection facility for horses exported 
from the ocean port of Salem, NJ, and adding Mannington Meadows Farm in 
Woodstown, NJ, in its place. We are adding Elizabeth and Newark 
International Airport, NJ, as ports of embarkation, and Tolleshunt 
Horse Farm in Whitehouse, NJ, and the U.S. Equestrian Team's 
headquarters in Gladstone, NJ, as export inspection facilities for 
horses for those ports. We are also adding Tolleshunt Horse Farm and 
the U.S. Equestrian Team's headquarters as export inspection facilities 
for horses for the currently approved port of New York, NY. These 
actions will update the regulations by adding two ports of embarkation 
and three export inspection facilities through which horses may be 
processed for export.

DATES: This rule will be effective on August 3, 1999 unless we receive 
written adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit adverse 
comments on or before July 6, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 98-
078-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that 
your comment refers to Docket No. 98-078-1.
    You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our 
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA 
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, 
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS rules, are available on the Internet at http://
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Michael David, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Animals Program, National Center for Import and Export, 
VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 
734-8354; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 9 CFR part 91, ``Inspection and Handling of 
Livestock for Exportation'' (referred to below as the regulations), 
prescribe conditions for exporting animals from the United States. The 
regulations state, among other things, that all animals, except animals 
being exported by land to Canada or Mexico, must be exported through 
designated ports of embarkation, unless the exporter could show that 
the animals would suffer undue hardship.
    Section 91.14(a) contains a list of designated ports of embarkation 
and export inspection facilities. To receive designation as a port of 
embarkation, a port must have export inspection facilities available 
for inspecting, holding, feeding, and watering animals prior to 
exportation to ensure that the animals meet certain requirements 
specified in the regulations. To receive approval as an export 
inspection facility, the regulations provide that a facility must meet 
specified standards in Sec. 91.14(c) concerning materials, size, 
inspection implements, cleaning and disinfection, feed and water, 
access and approval of arrangements, testing and treatment, location, 
disposal of animal wastes, lighting, office and restroom facilities, 
and walkways.
    Deep Hollow Farm, an export inspection facility for horses listed 
in Sec. 91.14(a) for the ocean port of Salem, NJ, is no longer being 
used as an export inspection facility. However, we believe that 
Mannington Meadows Farm, 60 Oechsle Road, Woodstown, NJ 08098, (609) 
769-2009, meets the requirements of Sec. 91.14(c) as an export 
inspection facility for horses. Mannington Meadows Farm is located 6 
miles from the ocean port of Salem, NJ. Exporters using Mannington 
Meadows Farm will be able to transport their horses to the ocean port 
of Salem, NJ, in approximately 15 minutes. This rule will amend 
Sec. 91.14(a) in accordance with the procedures explained below under 
``Dates.'' The amendments will remove Deep Hollow Farm as an export 
inspection facility for horses for the port of Salem, NJ, and add 
Mannington Meadows Farm in its place.
    The amendments will also add two new ports, Elizabeth and Newark 
International Airport, NJ, to the list of designated ports of 
embarkation in Sec. 91.14(a). Elizabeth, NJ, will be added as an ocean 
port. Newark International Airport, NJ, will be added as an airport. We 
believe that Tolleshunt Horse Farm, 10 Island Road, Box 469, 
Whitehouse, NJ 08888-0469, (908) 534-7738, and the U.S. Equestrian 
Team's headquarters, Pottersville Road, Gladstone, NJ 07934, (908) 234-
1251, meet the requirements of Sec. 91.14(c) as export inspection 
facilities for horses. Exporters using the Tolleshunt Horse Farm and 
the U.S. Equestrian Team's headquarters will be able to transport their 
horses to a port of embarkation in approximately 1 hour. Therefore, we 
will add Tolleshunt Horse Farm and the U.S. Equestrian Team's

[[Page 29948]]

headquarters as export inspection facilities for horses for the ports 
of Elizabeth and Newark International Airport, NJ.
    We will also add Tolleshunt Horse Farm and the U.S. Equestrian 
Team's headquarters as export inspection facilities for horses for the 
port of New York, NY, which is already listed in Sec. 91.14(a) as a 
designated airport and ocean port of embarkation. Tolleshunt Horse Farm 
is located 1\1/2\ hours from the airport of New York, NY, and the U.S. 
Equestrian Team's headquarters is located 1\1/2\ to 2 hours from the 
airport of New York, NY. Tolleshunt Horse Farm and the U.S. Equestrian 
Team's headquarters may also be used as export inspection facilities 
for horses for the ocean port of New York, NY, but we do not expect 
this to happen frequently because travel by airplane is much faster 
than by ship. Importers of horses usually like the travel to take less 
than a day, which can be done by air.
    When this rule becomes effective, veterinarians of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service will conduct export inspections of 
horses at the newly approved export inspection facilities by 
appointment.

Dates

    We are publishing this rule without a prior proposal because we 
view this action as noncontroversial and anticipate no adverse public 
comment. This rule will be effective, as published in this document, 60 
days after the date of publication in the Federal Register unless we 
receive written adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit 
adverse comments within 30 days of the date of publication of this rule 
in the Federal Register.
    Adverse comments are comments that suggest the rule should not be 
adopted or that suggest the rule should be changed.
    If we receive written adverse comments or written notice of intent 
to submit adverse comments, we will publish a notice in the Federal 
Register withdrawing this rule before the effective date. We will then 
publish a proposed rule for public comment. Following the close of that 
comment period, the comments will be considered, and a final rule 
addressing the comments will be published.
    As discussed above, if we receive no written adverse comments nor 
written notice of intent to submit adverse comments within 30 days of 
publication of this direct final rule, this direct final rule will 
become effective 60 days following its publication. We will publish a 
notice to this effect in the Federal Register, before the effective 
date of this direct final rule, confirming that it is effective on the 
date indicated in this document.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this 
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review 
process required by Executive Order 12866.
    In this rule, we are removing Deep Hollow Farm as an export 
inspection facility for horses for the ocean port of Salem, NJ, because 
it is no longer being used as an animal export inspection facility. In 
its place, we are adding Mannington Meadows Farm in Woodstown, NJ. 
Mannington Meadows Farm is located in southwest New Jersey and is 
within 6 miles of the ocean port of Salem, NJ, from which many horses 
are exported to Bermuda. We anticipate that Mannington Meadows Farm 
will be used as an export inspection facility for approximately 112 
horses annually. We do not expect that removing Deep Hollow Farm and 
adding Mannington Meadows Farm in its place will have any effect on the 
number of horses that are exported annually through the port of Salem, 
NJ.
    We are also designating Elizabeth and Newark International Airport, 
NJ, as ports of embarkation and are adding two export inspection 
facilities for horses for these ports: Tolleshunt Horse Farm in 
Whitehouse, NJ, and the U.S. Equestrian Team's headquarters in 
Gladstone, NJ. We are also adding these same export inspection 
facilities for horses for the already listed port of New York, NY. We 
project that approximately 36 horses will be exported annually through 
the port of Elizabeth, and approximately 120 horses will be exported 
annually through the port of Newark. Adding the U.S. Equestrian Team's 
headquarters as an export inspection facility will allow the Team to 
use its own facilities for horse inspections. We estimate that 120 
horses will be inspected each year at the U.S. Equestrian Team's 
headquarters. The addition of Tolleshunt Horse Farm as an export 
inspection facility will make it logistically easier for other 
exporters in New Jersey to export their horses from the United States 
because they will be able to transport their horses from Tolleshunt 
Horse Farm to a port of embarkation in approximately 1 hour. We 
estimate that 12 horses will be inspected for export each year at 
Tolleshunt Horse Farm.
    Until now the only designated port of embarkation in New Jersey has 
been the ocean port of Salem in southwest New Jersey. Once this rule 
becomes effective, individuals exporting horses from New Jersey will 
have a choice of using either the northeast (Elizabeth and Newark) or 
the southwest (Salem) ports and either an airport or an ocean port. 
Exporters will also have two additional export inspection facilities 
for horses for the port of New York, NY, in addition to the already 
approved facility at J. F. Kennedy International Airport.
    In accordance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.), APHIS is required to consider the effects of the rule on small 
entities. APHIS expects a positive economic impact on small businesses, 
due to the increase in transportation alternatives and the decrease in 
transportation costs.
    Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

Executive Order 12372

    This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372, 
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local 
officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V.)

Executive Order 12988

    This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988, Civil 
Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and 
regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no 
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings 
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains no 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 91

    Animal diseases, Animal welfare, Exports, Livestock, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.
    Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 91 as follows:

PART 91--INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF LIVESTOCK FOR EXPORTATION

    1. The authority citation for part 91 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 21 U.S.C. 105, 112, 113, 114a, 120, 121, 134b, 134f, 
136, 136a, 612, 613, 614, and 618; 46 U.S.C. 466a and 466b; 49 
U.S.C. 1509(d); 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).


[[Page 29949]]


    2. In Sec. 91.14, paragraphs (a)(11) and (a)(12) are revised to 
read as follows:


Sec. 91.14  Ports of embarkation and export inspection facilities.

    (a) * * *
    (11) New Jersey.
    (i) Elizabeth--ocean port.
    (A) Tolleshunt Horse Farm (horses only), 10 Island Road, Box 469, 
Whitehouse, NJ 08888-0469, (908) 534-7738.
    (B) The U.S. Equestrian Team's headquarters (horses only), 
Pottersville Road, Gladstone, NJ 07934, (908) 234-1251.
    (ii) Newark International Airport.
    (A) Tolleshunt Horse Farm (horses only), 10 Island Road, Box 469, 
Whitehouse, NJ 08888-0469, (908) 534-7738.
    (B) The U.S. Equestrian Team's headquarters (horses only), 
Pottersville Road, Gladstone, NJ 07934, (908) 234-1251.
    (iii) Salem--ocean port.
    (A) Mannington Meadows Farm (horses only), 60 Oechsle Road, 
Woodstown, NJ 08098, (609) 769-2009.
    (12) New York.
    (i) New York--airport and ocean port.
    (A) Tolleshunt Horse Farm (horses only), 10 Island Road, Box 469, 
Whitehouse, NJ 08888-0469, (908) 534-7738.
    (B) The U.S. Equestrian Team's headquarters (horses only), 
Pottersville Road, Gladstone, NJ 07934, (908) 234-1251.
    (C) Vetport, Inc., Bldg. 189, J.F. Kennedy International Airport 
(Cargo Area), Jamaica, NY 11430, (212) 656-6042.
* * * * *
    Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of May 1999.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-14186 Filed 6-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P