[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 221 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64851-64852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28624]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-075-2]


Public Meeting; Plant Protection and Quarantine Stakeholders

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

[[Page 64852]]


ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service will hold a public meeting for the purpose of 
exchanging information on our Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 
programs with stakeholders that are affected by our programs. This 
notice provides additional information about the agenda for the 
meeting, which is now being finalized.

DATES: The meeting will be held December 9 and 10, 2003.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Melrose Hotel, 2430 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Paula Henstridge, Special 
Assistant to the Deputy Administrator, Plant Protection and Quarantine, 
Room 302-E Whitten Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20250; (202) 720-1737; e-mail 
[email protected]; or Mr. Michael Lidsky, Assistant 
Director for Regulatory Coordination, Plant Health Programs, 4700 River 
Road Unit 141, Riverdale, MD 20737 (301) 734-5762; e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service's Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) unit protects and 
safeguards the Nation's plant resources through programs and activities 
to prevent the introduction and spread of plant pests and noxious 
weeds. On September 5, 2003, APHIS published a notice in the Federal 
Register (68 FR 52736, Docket No. 03-075-1) announcing that PPQ plans 
to hold a public meeting on December 9 and 10, 2003, to exchange 
information with stakeholders. We believe that such an information 
exchange is particularly timely as PPQ moves forward from the operation 
of certain agricultural quarantine and inspection activities, which 
have been transferred to the newly established Customs and Border 
Protection function of the Department of Homeland Security.
    We solicited comments for 30 days regarding suggestions for topics 
for discussion at the meeting. A total of five comments were received. 
Commenters raised issues concerning whether APHIS needs to establish a 
process for seeking comment from stakeholders prior to discussions with 
the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) or the 
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and whether permit 
requirements for exotic and domestic microbial plant pathogens affect 
the cost and quality of research on important pathogens. Other 
commenters raised issues about the accessibility of operational work 
plans pertaining to imports; making details available about risk 
mitigation early on in the risk assessment process; expanding, via the 
stakeholder registry, notifications on proposed actions of 
international standard-setting bodies such as NAPPO and the IPPC; and 
the agency's plans with regard to the revision of the regulations for 
importing nursery stock. The agency believes that these topics are 
appropriate for discussion at one of the following five workshop 
sessions that are planned for December 10:
    [sbull] Pest Risk Assessments--Models, Process, and Participation
    [sbull] Import Permits and Export Certification--Service, 
Standardization, Security, and Automation
    [sbull] Developing Strategic Approaches to Exports
    [sbull] The Stakeholder Role in the Department of Homeland Security
    [sbull] Integrating Federal, State, Tribal, and Industry Players/
Partners in the Incident Command System

    The agency is also planning a separate presentation with regard to 
strategies for revising the nursery stock regulations.
    In addition to the workshops and presentation referenced above, the 
following topics are on the agenda for the meeting: An overview of the 
PPQ mission and structure as well as the year in review; governmental 
perspectives on the relationships between PPQ, State cooperators and 
Tribal governments; future priorities in plant quarantine programs; an 
industry perspective on needs and emerging pest threats; the view from 
Congress; the partnership with Department of Homeland Security and how 
the shared mission is being accomplished; how the harnessing of 
information, collection of data, and use of improved response models is 
transforming plant health; a budget update and outlook; the 
harmonization of regulatory approaches for the regulations for 
importing nursery stock and the regulations for importing fruits and 
vegetables; and an update on import and export issues.
    We request that all persons wishing to attend the meeting 
preregister on the PPQ Web site, http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/stakeholders/meeting/index.html. There is no registration fee. 
Attendance will be guaranteed to the first 100 persons who preregister 
by November 30, 2003. Persons who preregister should indicate which one 
of the five concurrent workshops they would like to attend. Those 
without access to the Internet may preregister by contacting Ms. Linda 
Toran at (301) 734-5307. A tentative final agenda has now been posted 
on the Web site referenced above.
    The Melrose Hotel is setting aside a number of rooms at the 
conference rate. When reserving a room, please specify that you would 
like the USDA/APHIS rate. The telephone number for the hotel is (202) 
955-6400 or toll free (800) 635-7673. The hotel's Web site is http://www.melrosehotelwashingtondc.com.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of November 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-28624 Filed 11-14-03; 8:45 am]
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