[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 145 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42795-42796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12069]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2006-0030]


National Animal Identification System (NAIS); Availability of a 
Revised Cooperative Agreement for Private Animal Tracking Databases

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a revised 
cooperative agreement that organizations may enter into with the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service in order to participate in the 
animal tracking database component of the National Animal 
Identification System (NAIS). This revised cooperative agreement is 
intended to facilitate the integration of private and State animal 
tracking databases into the NAIS, which remains a voluntary program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Neil Hammerschmidt, National 
Coordinator, National Animal Identification System, VS, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-5571.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    As part of its ongoing efforts to safeguard animal health, the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated implementation of the 
National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in 2004. The NAIS is a 
cooperative State-Federal-industry program administered by USDA's 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The main objective 
of the NAIS is to develop and implement a comprehensive information 
system which will support ongoing animal disease programs and enable 
State and Federal animal health officials to respond rapidly and 
effectively to animal health emergencies such as foreign animal disease 
outbreaks or emerging domestic diseases.
    NAIS is a voluntary program and is being established through a 
phased-in approach by implementing three key components: Premises 
registration, animal identification, and animal tracking. The USDA has 
already developed information systems to

[[Page 42796]]

support the first two components. The third component will be developed 
through a government/industry partnership, in which animal movement 
information will be maintained in private and/or State databases. USDA 
will operate a portal system that will enable animal health officials 
to submit requests for information to the animal tracking databases 
(ATDs) when investigating an animal disease event. The USDA's objective 
is to support the privatization of the animal tracking information 
component of the NAIS in the most practical, timely, and least 
burdensome manner possible.
    On April 7, 2006, we published in the Federal Register (71 FR 
17805-17806, Docket No. APHIS-2006-0030) a notice announcing the 
availability of three documents related to the NAIS: A document 
providing an update on the implementation plans, including operational 
milestones and participation goals; a document describing how private 
and State animal tracking databases (ATDs) may be integrated into the 
NAIS to provide animal health officials with animal movement 
information when conducting a disease investigation; and a template for 
a cooperative agreement (CA) that organizations that wish to 
participate in the ATD component of the NAIS may enter into with APHIS 
for that purpose.
    The second of the three documents referred to above, entitled 
``Integration of Private and State Animal Tracking Databases with the 
NAIS; Interim Development Phase,'' presented our initial plans for 
moving forward with the implementation of the Animal Trace Processing 
System (ATPS), a system for processing animal movement data. The 
document described a two-phase implementation plan, consisting of an 
interim/development phase, which began in 2006, and an implementation 
phase, which is targeted for early 2007. The document also provided 
data standards and basic technical requirements that databases must 
meet to be eligible for participation in the interim/development phase.
    In order to participate in this interim/development phase, an 
organization with an ATD must complete a ``Request for Evaluation of 
Interim Private/State Animal Tracking Database'' to initiate an APHIS 
review of its system. If its system meets the interim requirements, the 
organization may then enter into a CA with APHIS. The CA provides for a 
government and industry collaborative process for the development of 
the technical details for the integration of private and State ATDs to 
ensure that animal health officials have the information when necessary 
to perform their duties. Entering into a CA does not imply that an 
organization's ATD will be eligible to participate in the NAIS as a 
fully compliant system after ATPS implementation is completed and final 
eligibility requirements are established.
    Since the April 2006 notice, we have revised the CA. This notice 
announces the availability of the revised CA.
    The revised CA may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.usda.gov/nais or on the Regulations.gov Web site.\1\ You may 
request paper copies of the document by calling or writing to the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to 
the title of the document (``Cooperative Agreement Between APHIS and 
Organizations with Qualifying Systems for Interim/Development Phase'') 
when requesting copies.
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    \1\ To view the revised CA and the other documents referenced in 
this notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov, click on the 
``Advanced Search'' tab, and select ``Docket Search.'' In the Docket 
ID field, enter APHIS-2006-0030, then click on ``Submit.'' Clicking 
on the Docket ID link in the search results page will produce a list 
of all documents in the docket.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of July 2006.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E6-12069 Filed 7-27-06; 8:45 am]
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