[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 19, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 20942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9792]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 76 / Wednesday, April 19, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 20942]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00-025-1]


Commodity Pest Risk Analysis Process; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: This is to notify importers and exporters of fruits and 
vegetables, as well as other interested persons, that the Plant 
Protection and Quarantine program of the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service will be hosting a symposium to discuss issues 
related to its commodity pest risk analysis process. The symposium will 
include presentations to exchange information with the public on the 
current ``state of the art'' in risk assessment methodology, the 
Agency's obligations under international trade agreements, and the 
status of our ongoing process improvement efforts, and will provide 
opportunities for interested persons to offer comments and suggestions 
for improving our current commodity pest risk analysis process.

DATES: The symposium will be held on Thursday, May 18, 2000, from 8:30 
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday, May 19, 2000, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The symposium will be held in the USDA Center at Riverside, 
4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD. Travel directions to the USDA Center at 
Riverside are available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/mb/mrphr/aphismap.html. Picture identification is required to gain 
access to the building. Parking is available next to the building for a 
$2 fee (please have quarters or $1 bills available). The nearest Metro 
station is the College Park station on the Green Line, which is within 
walking distance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Meredith C. Jones, Regulatory 
Coordination Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 141, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; telephone (301) 734-7467, fax (301) 734-8693, 
or e-mail Meredith C. [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   

Background

    On October 8, 1999, we published a notice in the Federal Register 
(64 FR 54859-54860, Docket No. 99-079-1) in which we solicited comments 
from the public regarding several recommendations made in a report on 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') Plant 
Protection and Quarantine safeguarding system. Specifically, we sought 
comments on several issues related to the commodity pest risk analysis 
process used by the Plant Protection and Quarantine programs and stated 
that we would use the information provided in the comments as we 
considered options to improve public involvement in the process and 
public access to information about new and pending pest risk analyses. 
In our October 1999 notice, we also stated that we were considering 
convening a symposium to review and discuss the existing international 
standards for pest risk analysis and the current ``state of the art'' 
relative to conducting pest risk analyses. We are publishing this 
notice to inform the public as to the dates and location, as well as a 
draft agenda, for the symposium.
    The symposium will be held on May 18 and 19, 2000, at the USDA 
Center at Riverside in Riverdale, MD (see the DATES and ADDRESSES 
sections at the beginning of this notice for more specific information 
regarding the location of the symposium and each day's start and finish 
times). While we are still working to finalize the agenda for the 
symposium, we have identified the following areas that we expect to 
cover during the two days:

Day One--May 18, 2000

     Introductory remarks; purpose and objectives of the 
symposium.
     Overview of risk analysis within APHIS.
     Legal issues; risk analysis under the Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Agreements (obligations, challenges, international 
standards, risk analysis in other countries).
     Present use of qualitative and quantitative methods 
(probabilistic risk assessments, qualitative risk assessments, 
uncertainty).
     External perspectives (industry views, transparency, 
stakeholder input).
     Breakout sessions to allow for open dialog between 
APHIS and the public.

Day Two--May 19, 2000

     Safeguard report recommendations.
     Report from APHIS Process Improvement Team (pest risk 
assessment process update and addressing the backlog of assessments, 
including electronic access initiatives).
     Three discussion groups (stakeholder input, levels and 
types of risk assessments, and public access), each led by an APHIS 
facilitator.
     Reports from discussion groups and open discussion 
period.
     Conclusion (summary of information gathered and closing 
remarks).

    We will use the information gathered during the presentations, 
breakout sessions, and group discussions as we consider options for 
increasing the level of public involvement in our commodity pest risk 
analysis process and providing the public with access to information on 
new and pending pest risk analyses.

Registration Information

    There is no fee to register for the symposium. On-site registration 
will be available at the symposium, but we recommend that you register 
in advance, as attendance may be limited due to space considerations. 
An advance registration form is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq. You may also register in advance for the 
symposium by providing your name, address, telephone number, and 
organization to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. If you are registering in advance, we ask that you submit your 
registration by May 12, 2000.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 14th day of April 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-9792 Filed 4-18-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U