[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 81 (Friday, April 27, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20984-20986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-8091]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01-009-9]


Wildlife Services; Availability of a Supplemental Decision/
Finding of No Significant Impact for Oral Rabies Vaccine Program

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 we have prepared a proposed 
decision/finding of no significant impact relative to oral rabies 
vaccination programs in several States. Since the publication of our 
original environmental assessment and decision/finding of no 
significant impact in 2001, we have prepared, and made available to the 
public for comment, several supplemental environmental assessments and 
decisions/findings of no significant impact in order to reflect changes 
in the program. The decision/finding of no significant impact made 
available by this notice clarifies the term ``contingency actions,'' 
which was used in a supplemental environmental assessment we prepared 
in 2004, and analyzes a type of contingency action called trap-
vaccinate-release that was not analyzed as part of the proposed action 
in the 2004 supplemental environmental assessment. The new decision/
finding of no significant impact is intended to facilitate planning and 
interagency coordination in the event of rabies outbreaks and to 
clearly communicate to the public the actions involved in the oral 
rabies vaccination program.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May 
29, 2007. Unless we determine that new substantial issues bearing on 
the conduct of the oral rabies vaccine programs have been raised by 
public comments on this notice, the proposed decision/finding of no 
significant impact will become final and take effect upon the close of 
the comment period.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov, select ``Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service'' from the agency drop-down menu, then click ``Submit.'' In the 
Docket ID column, select APHIS-2007-0055 to submit or view public 
comments and to view supporting and related materials available 
electronically. After the close of the comment period, the docket can 
be viewed using the ``Advanced Search'' function in Regulations.gov.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 01-009-9, 
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your 
comment refers to Docket No. 01-009-9.
    Reading Room: You may read any comments that we receive on this 
docket 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.
    Other Information: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Dennis Slate, Rabies Program 
Coordinator, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, 
Concord, NH 03301; (603) 223-9623. To obtain copies of the documents 
discussed in this notice, contact Tara Wilcox, Operational Support 
Staff, WS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 87, Riverdale, MD 20737-1234; 
phone (301) 734-7921, fax (301)734-5157, or e-mail: 
[email protected]. This notice and the proposed decision/
finding of no significant impact are also posted on the APHIS Web site 
at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nepa.shtml.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Wildlife Services (WS) program in the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) cooperates with Federal agencies, State and 
local governments, and private individuals to research and implement 
the best methods of managing conflicts between wildlife and human 
health and safety, agriculture, property, and natural resources. 
Wildlife-borne diseases that can affect domestic animals and humans are 
among the types of conflicts that APHIS-WS addresses. Wildlife is the 
dominant reservoir of rabies in the United States.
    On December 7, 2000, a notice was published in the Federal Register 
(65 FR 76606-76607, Docket No. 00-045-1) in which the Secretary of 
Agriculture declared an emergency and transferred funds from the 
Commodity Credit Corporation to APHIS-WS for the continuation and 
expansion of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) programs to address rabies 
in the States of Ohio, New York, Vermont, Texas, and West Virginia.
    On March 7, 2001, we published a notice in the Federal Register (66 
FR 13697-13700, Docket No. 01-009-1) to solicit public involvement in 
the planning of a proposed cooperative

[[Page 20985]]

program to stop the spread of rabies in the States of New York, Ohio, 
Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia. The notice also stated that a small 
portion of northeastern New Hampshire and the western counties in 
Pennsylvania that border Ohio could also be included in these control 
efforts, and discussed the possibility of APHIS-WS cooperating in 
smaller-scale ORV projects in the States of Florida, Massachusetts, 
Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and Alabama. The March 2001 notice 
contained detailed information about the history of the problems with 
raccoon rabies in eastern States and with gray fox and coyote rabies in 
Texas, along with information about previous and ongoing efforts using 
ORV baits in programs to prevent the spread of the rabies variants or 
``strains'' of concern.
    Subsequently, on May 17, 2001, we published in the Federal Register 
(66 FR 27489, Docket No. 01-009-2) a notice in which we announced the 
availability, for public review and comment, of an environmental 
assessment (EA) that examined the potential environmental effects of 
the ORV programs described in our March 2001 notice. We solicited 
comments on the EA for 30 days ending on June 18, 2001. We received one 
comment by that date. The comment was from an animal protection 
organization and supported APHIS' efforts toward limiting or 
eradicating rabies in wildlife populations. The commenter did not, 
however, support the use of lethal monitoring methods or local 
depopulation as part of an ORV program.
    On August 30, 2001, we published a notice in the Federal Register 
(66 FR 45835-45836, Docket No. 01-009-3) in which we advised the public 
of APHIS' decision and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) 
regarding the use of oral vaccination to control specific rabies virus 
strains in raccoons, gray foxes, and coyotes in the United States. That 
decision allows APHIS-WS to purchase and distribute ORV baits, monitor 
the effectiveness of the ORV programs, and participate in implementing 
contingency plans that may involve the reduction of a limited number of 
local target species populations through lethal means (i.e., the 
preferred alternative identified in the EA). The decision was based 
upon the final EA, which reflected our review and consideration of the 
comments received from the public in response to our March 2001 and May 
2001 notices and information gathered during planning/scoping meetings 
with State health departments, other State and local agencies, the 
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
    Following the August 2001 publication of our original decision/
FONSI, we determined there was a need to expand the ORV programs to 
include the States of Kentucky and Tennessee to effectively stop the 
westward spread of raccoon rabies. Accordingly, we prepared a 
supplemental decision/FONSI to document the potential effects of 
expanding the programs. We published a notice announcing the 
availability of the supplemental decision/FONSI in the Federal Register 
on July 5, 2002 (67 FR 44797-44798, Docket No. 01-009-4).
    Following the publication of the supplemental decision/FONSI in 
July 2002, we determined the need to further expand the ORV program to 
include the States of Georgia and Maine to effectively prevent the 
westward and northward spread of the rabies virus across the United 
States and into Canada. To facilitate planning, interagency 
coordination, and program management and to provide the public with our 
analysis of potential individual and cumulative impacts of the expanded 
ORV programs, we prepared a supplemental EA that addresses the 
inclusion of Georgia and Maine, as well as the 2002 inclusion of 
Kentucky and Tennessee, in the ORV program. In addition, we prepared a 
new decision/FONSI based on the supplemental EA that was published in 
the Federal Register on June 30, 2003 (68 FR 38669-38670, Docket No. 
01-009-5).
    Following publication of the 2003 supplemental EA and decision/
FONSI, we determined the need to further expand the ORV program to 
include portions of National Forest System lands, excluding Wilderness 
Areas, within several eastern States. The National Forest System lands 
where APHIS-WS involvement could be expanded included the States of 
Maine, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, 
West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Jersey. 
Cooperative rabies surveillance activities and/or baiting programs were 
already being conducted on various land classes, with the exception of 
National Forest System lands, in many of the aforementioned States. The 
programs' primary goals were to stop the spread of a specific raccoon 
rabies variant or ``strain'' of the rabies virus. If not stopped, this 
strain could potentially spread to much broader areas of the United 
States and Canada and cause substantial increases in public and 
domestic animal health costs because of increased rabies exposures. As 
numerous National Forest System lands are located within current and 
potential ORV barrier zones, it became increasingly important to bait 
these large land masses to effectively combat this strain of the rabies 
virus. In addition, we prepared a new decision/FONSI based on the 
supplemental EA that was published in the Federal Register on February 
20, 2004 (69 FR 7904-7905, Docket No. 01-009-6).
    Following the 2004 supplemental EA and decision/FONSI for expansion 
of the ORV program to include portions of National Forest System lands, 
we determined the need to further expand the ORV program to include 25 
eastern States (Maine, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, 
Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, 
Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, 
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, 
Louisiana and New Jersey), the District of Columbia, and Texas to 
effectively prevent the westward and northward spread of the rabies 
virus across the United States and into Canada. In addition, we 
prepared a new decision/FONSI based on the supplemental EA that was 
published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2004 (69 FR 56992-
56993, Docket No. 01-009-7).
    Following the 2004 supplemental EA and decision/FONSI, we 
determined the need to expand the ORV program to include portions of 
National Forest System lands, excluding Wilderness Areas, within the 
same 25 eastern States and the District of Columbia. As numerous 
National Forest System lands are located within current and potential 
ORV barrier zones, it had become increasingly important to bait these 
large land masses to effectively combat this strain of the rabies 
virus. Accordingly, we prepared a supplemental EA and decision/FONSI 
that served to update program needs and evaluate current data. Those 
documents were made available through a notice published in the Federal 
Register on December 8, 2005 (70 FR 72977-72978, Docket No. 01-009-8).
    The purpose of the new 2007 decision/FONSI that we are making 
available through this notice is to clarify the term ``contingency 
actions,'' which is used in the 2004 supplemental EA. Clarification 
should facilitate planning and interagency coordination in the event of 
rabies outbreaks and clearly communicate to the public the actions 
involved in the ORV program. In addition, a type of contingency action

[[Page 20986]]

called trap-vaccinate-release (TVR) is analyzed in the 2007 decision 
document, as it was not analyzed as part of the proposed action in the 
2004 supplemental EA. Analysis of TVR in the 2007 decision document 
does not involve any substantially new information and does not raise 
or create any new substantive issues or circumstances, thus APHIS-WS 
has determined that there is no need to supplement the 2004 EA with 
that analysis. The new 2007 decision/FONSI will serve to update and 
replace the previous decision/FONSI, dated September 9, 2004, for the 
2004 supplemental EA.
    The proposed decision/FONSI that is the subject of this notice, as 
well as the documents cited above that preceded it, have been prepared 
in accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the 
Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the procedural 
provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA regulations 
implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1), and (4) APHIS's NEPA Implementing 
Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
    The decision/FONSI may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or 
in our reading room. (Instructions for accessing Regulations.gov and 
information on the location and hours of the reading room are provided 
under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice.) In 
addition, copies may be obtained by calling or writing to the 
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of April 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E7-8091 Filed 4-26-07; 8:45 am]
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