[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 33 (Thursday, February 17, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8013-8014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3833]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 33 / Thursday, February 17, 2000 / 
Rules and Regulations  

[[Page 8013]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 91

[Docket No. 99-102-1]


Ports Designated for Exportation of Horses; Dayton, OH

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 adding Dayton International Airport in 
Dayton, OH, as a port of embarkation and Instone Air Services, Inc., as 
the export inspection facility for equines for that port. This action 
will update the regulations by adding a port of embarkation and an 
export inspection facility through which horses may be processed for 
export.

DATES: This rule will be effective on April 17, 2000, unless we receive 
written adverse comments or written notice of intent to submit adverse 
comments on or before March 20, 2000. If adverse comment is received, 
we will publish a timely withdrawal of this rule in the Federal 
Register and inform the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of any adverse 
comments or notice of intent to submit adverse comments to: Docket No. 
99-102-1, 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. 99-102-1.
    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. Morley Cook, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-6479.

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 
exported by land to Canada or Mexico, must be exported through 
designated ports of embarkation, unless the exporter can show that the 
animals would suffer undue hardship if they were required to be moved 
to a designated port of embarkation.
    Paragraph (a) of Sec. 91.14 contains a list of designated ports of 
embarkation and export inspection facilities. To receive designation as 
a port of embarkation, a port must have an export inspection facility 
available for inspecting, holding, feeding, and watering animals prior 
to exportation. The facility must meet requirements in Sec. 91.14(c) 
concerning its physical construction and size, inspection implements, 
cleaning and disinfection, feed and water, access by inspectors, animal 
handling arrangements, testing and treatment of animals, location, 
disposal of animal wastes, lighting, office and restroom facilities, 
and walkways.
    Instone Air Services, Inc., operates a facility at Dayton 
International Airport in Dayton, OH, that has served as an export 
inspection facility for equines on a case-by-case basis since February 
1, 1999. The company has requested that we approve its facility as a 
permanent export inspection facility, enabling it to contract for 
shipments of equines without first having to ask for permission from 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Instone Air 
Services, Inc., built its facility specifically for moving horses to 
and from Canada. The facility has passed an APHIS inspection and meets 
all the requirements for use as an export inspection facility for 
equines. It can be supported by the two APHIS veterinary medical 
officers (VMO's) in our Ohio/West Virginia area office and, if need be, 
can also be supported by a VMO from the Eastern Region. The number of 
equines moved through the Instone Air Services, Inc., facility has 
increased to the extent that the facility could function effectively 
and efficiently on a permanent basis. Therefore, we are amending the 
regulations by adding Dayton International Airport to the list of ports 
of embarkation in Sec. 91.14(a) and by adding Instone Air Services, 
Inc., as the export inspection facility for equines for that port.
    This rule will amend Sec. 91.14(a) in accordance with the 
procedures explained below under DATES.

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 document 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

[[Page 8014]]

rule will become effective 60 days following its publication. We will 
publish a document 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.
    We are amending the regulations by adding Dayton International 
Airport to the list of ports of embarkation in Sec. 91.14(a) and by 
adding Instone Air Services, Inc., as the export inspection facility 
for equines for that port. Dayton International Airport and the Instone 
Air Services, Inc., facility in Dayton, OH, are already being used as a 
port of embarkation and an export inspection facility, respectively, 
for equines on a case-by-case basis under the regulations in 
Sec. 91.14(c). Adding them to the list of permanent facilities appears 
warranted because the number of equines exported from Dayton 
International Airport has increased to the point that the Instone Air 
Services, Inc., facility could function effectively and efficiently on 
a permanent basis.
    The following analysis addresses the economic effect the direct 
final rule will have on small entities, as required by the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act.
    Affected entities include horse farms, operators of racing stables, 
and horse race trainers that use the export inspection facility. These 
entities will benefit from this rule due to an increase in 
transportation alternatives and a decrease in transportation costs. 
Horse farms with annual revenue less than $500,000, and operators of 
racing stables and horse race trainers with annual revenue of less than 
$5 million, are considered small entities by the Small Business 
Administration. At least some of the affected entities are considered 
small entities, but we do not know how many there are or to what extent 
they will benefit from this rule.
    Affected entities also include Instone Air Services, Inc., which 
has been operating an export inspection facility authorized to process 
equines for export on a case-by-case basis since February 1, 1999, and 
Emory Worldwide Airline, the carrier that has been transporting horses 
to and from Dayton International Airport for the past year. In 1999, 
Instone Air Services, Inc., arranged for the direct shipment of 10 
horses to Canadian destinations on 5 Emory Worldwide Airline flights 
out of Dayton, OH. Another three horses were shipped by air from 
Dayton, OH, to Rochester, NY, and then moved by surface transportation 
across the border to Canada. All 13 horses also returned to the United 
States through Dayton, OH. Instone Air Services, Inc., is projecting a 
small increase in business for 2000; this rule will enable the company 
to handle the increase more efficiently. Instone Air Services, Inc., is 
considered a small entity; Emory Worldwide Airline is not. However, 
both are expected to benefit by this rule.
    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).

    2. In Sec. 91.14, paragraph (a)(13) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 91.14  Ports of embarkation and export inspection facilities.

    (a) * * *
    (13) Ohio.
    (i) Dayton International Airport.
    (A) Instone Air Services, Inc., (equines only), 1 Emory Plaza, 
Dayton International Airport, Vandalia, OH 45377, (970) 382-0002.
    (B) [Reserved].
    (ii) Wilmington--airport only.
    (A) Airborne Express Animal Export Facility, 145 Hunter Drive, 
Wilmington, OH 96701, (513) 382-5591.
    (B) [Reserved].
* * * * *

    Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of February 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-3833 Filed 2-16-00; 8:45 am]
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