[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 49 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11998-11999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6059]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. 00-080-2]


Availability of Evaluation Related to Hog Cholera (Classical 
Swine Fever) Status of East Anglia

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that an evaluation has been 
prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service concerning 
the hog cholera (classical swine fever) status of East Anglia, a region 
of England that includes the counties of Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, 
and the related disease risks associated with importing animals and 
animal products into the United States from East Anglia. This 
evaluation will be used as a basis for determining whether to relieve 
certain prohibitions and restrictions on the importation of pork and 
pork products and swine into the United States from East Anglia. We are 
making this evaluation available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May 
12, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery 
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send 
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket 
No. 00-080-2, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No. 00-080-2. If you use e-mail, 
address your comment to [email protected]. Your comment must 
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. 
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 
00-080-2'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on the evaluation 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Charisse Cleare, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-4928.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the 
regulations) govern the importation of certain animals and animal 
products into the United States in order to prevent the introduction of 
various animal diseases, including rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, 
African swine fever, hog cholera (classical swine fever), and swine 
vesicular disease. These are dangerous and destructive communicable 
diseases of ruminants and swine. Section 94.9 of the regulations 
restricts the importation into the United States of pork and pork 
products from regions where hog cholera is known to exist. Section 
94.10 of the regulations, with certain exceptions, prohibits the 
importation of swine that originate in or are shipped from or transit 
any region in which hog cholera is known to exist. The regulations in 
Sec. Sec.  94.9(a) and 94.10(a) provide that hog cholera exists in all 
regions of the world except for certain regions listed in those 
sections.
    In an interim rule effective August 4, 2000, and published in the 
Federal Register on September 20, 2000 (65 FR 56774-56775, Docket No. 
00-080-1), we amended the regulations by removing East Anglia (a region 
of England that includes Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk counties) from the 
lists of regions considered to be free of hog cholera. That action was 
necessary because hog cholera had been confirmed in this region. The 
effect of the interim rule was to restrict the importation of pork and 
pork products and to prohibit the importation of swine into the United 
States from East Anglia.
    Although we removed East Anglia from the list of regions considered 
to be free of hog cholera, we recognized that Great Britain's Ministry 
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, now part of the Department for 
Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, immediately responded to the 
detection of hog cholera by initiating measures to eradicate the 
disease. We stated that we intended to reassess the situation in the 
region at a future date

[[Page 11999]]

in accordance with Office International des Epizooties standards, and 
that as part of that reassessment process, we would consider all 
comments received regarding the interim rule.
    Additionally, we stated that the future assessment would enable us 
to determine whether it was necessary to continue to prohibit the 
importation of swine and to restrict the importation of pork and pork 
products from East Anglia, or whether we could restore East Anglia to 
the list of regions in which hog cholera is not known to exist.
    In this notice, we are announcing the availability for review and 
comment of a document entitled ``APHIS Evaluation of the Classical 
Swine Fever Status of East Anglia (counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and 
Essex) November 2002.'' This evaluation assesses the hog cholera 
(classical swine fever) status of East Anglia and the related disease 
risks associated with importing animals and animal products into the 
United States from East Anglia. This evaluation will serve as a basis 
for our determination whether to relieve certain prohibitions and 
restrictions on the importation of swine and pork and pork products 
into the United States from East Anglia. We are making the evaluation 
available for public comment for 60 days.
    You may view the evaluation in our reading room (information on the 
location and hours of the reading room is provided under the heading 
ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice). You may also request a copy 
by calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the evaluation when 
requesting copies.
    You may also view the evaluation on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/ncie/reg-request.html. At the bottom of the 
website page, click on ``Information previously submitted by Regions 
requesting export approval and their supporting documentation.'' At the 
next screen, click on the triangle beside ``European Union/Not 
Specified/Classical Swine Fever,'' then on the triangle beside 
``Response by APHIS.'' A link will then appear for ``APHIS Evaluation 
of Classical Swine Fever Status of East Anglia (counties of Norfolk, 
Suffolk, and Essex) November 2002.'' Following that link will allow you 
to view the evaluation.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 
and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331 and 4332; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, 
and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of March, 2003.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-6059 Filed 3-12-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P