[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45836-45837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21927]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 97-093-9]


Scrapie Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules; Reopening and 
Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are reopening and extending the comment period for a notice 
seeking public comments on the draft Scrapie Eradication Uniform 
Methods and Rules. This action will allow interested persons additional 
time to prepare and submit comments.

DATES: We invite you to comment on the draft Scrapie Eradication 
Uniform Methods and Rules. We will consider all comments on Docket 97-
093-7 that we receive by September 20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and 
three copies) to: Docket No. 97-093-7, 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. 97-093-7.
    You may read any comments that we receive on Docket No. 97-093-7 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 dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
    You may request a copy of the draft Scrapie Eradication Uniform 
Methods and Rules by writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. The document is also available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/scrapie, and we may post revised versions 
to this website for additional comment in the future.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Diane Sutton, National Scrapie 
Program Coordinator, National Animal Health Programs Staff, VS, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-6954.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Scrapie is a degenerative and eventually 
fatal disease affecting the central nervous systems of sheep and goats. 
To control the spread of scrapie within the United States, the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, administers regulations at 9 CFR part 79 that restrict the 
interstate movement of certain sheep and goats. APHIS also has 
regulations at 9 CFR part 54 that describe a voluntary scrapie control 
program.
    On April 20, 2001, we published a notice in the Federal Register 
(66 FR 20231, Docket No. 97-093-7) soliciting comments on the draft 
Scrapie Eradication Uniform Methods and Rules (UM&R). The UM&R is a set 
of proposed cooperative procedures and standards to aid in the control 
and eradication of scrapie. The legal requirements for interstate 
movement of sheep and goats due to scrapie are contained in title 9 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations. The Scrapie Eradication UM&R provides 
guidance to the States regarding the minimum standards necessary for a 
State to participate in the national eradication program.
    Comments on the UM&R were originally required to be received on or 
before June 19, 2001. On June 27, 2001, we published a notice in the 
Federal Register (66 FR 34143, Docket No. 97-093-8) reopening and 
extending the comment period until August 20, 2001. We are reopening 
and extending the comment period on Docket No. 97-093-7 again, until 
September 20, 2001. This action will allow interested persons 
additional time to prepare and submit comments.
    Comments received before September 20, 2001, will be reviewed and 
considered before another draft is put out for review by States, 
industry, and the public. APHIS will continue to accept comments on the 
UM&R on an ongoing basis and will open it for revision at least 
annually, as indicated in the introduction to the UM&R. Additional 
input may be provided directly to the national scrapie program 
coordinator at any time, at the address

[[Page 45837]]

given above under ``For Further Information Contact:''.

    Authority: 21 U.S.C. 111-113, 114, 114a, 115, 117, 120, 121, 
123-126, and 134a-134h; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 24th day of August 2001.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-21927 Filed 8-29-01; 8:45 am]
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