[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49444-49445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19835]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0046]


Oral Rabies Vaccine Trial; Availability of a Supplement to an 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared a supplement to an environmental 
assessment and finding of no significant impact relative to an oral 
rabies vaccination field trial in New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, 
Vermont,

[[Page 49445]]

and West Virginia. Based on its finding of no significant impact, the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that an 
environmental impact statement need not be prepared.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Chipman, Rabies Program 
Coordinator, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 59 Chennell Drive, Suite 7, 
Concord, NH 03301; (603) 223-9623. To obtain copies of the supplement 
to the environmental assessment or finding of no significant impact, 
contact Ms. Beth Kabert, Environmental Coordinator, Wildlife Services, 
140-C Locust Grove Road, Pittstown, NJ 08867; (908) 735-5654, fax (908) 
735-0821, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Wildlife Services (WS) program of 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 August 16, 2012, APHIS-WS published in the Federal Register (77 
FR 49409-49410, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0052) a notice \1\ announcing the 
availability of an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no 
significant impact (FONSI) pertaining to the potential environmental 
impacts associated with the implementation of a field trial to test the 
safety and efficacy of an experimental oral rabies vaccine for wildlife 
in New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. Based on 
the FONSI, we determined that an environmental impact statement need 
not be prepared.
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    \1\ To view the notice, the EA and the comments we received on 
it, and the FONSI, go to http:[sol][sol]www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0052. The comments, and APHIS' responses 
to the comments, are presented in an appendix to the EA.
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    On June 5, 2013, we published in the Federal Register (78 FR 33798-
33799, Docket No. APHIS-2013-0046) a notice \2\ in which we announced 
the availability, for public review and comment, of a supplement to the 
earlier EA. Our objectives in issuing the supplement to the EA were as 
follows:
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    \2\ To view the June 2013 notice, the comment we received on it, 
and the supplement to the EA, go to 
http:[sol][sol]www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0046.
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     To examine the potential environmental impacts of 
expanding the geographic range of the field trial zone in New York;
     To examine the potential environmental impacts of the 
field trial in relation to new information that has become available 
from public comments, research findings, and data gathering since the 
issuance of the 2012 FONSI;
     To clearly communicate to the public our analysis of the 
individual and cumulative impacts of the field trial since 2012; and
     To document our analysis of our field-trial activities in 
New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia since the 
2012 FONSI was issued to ensure that program activities remain within 
the impact parameters analyzed in the original EA.
    We solicited comments on the supplement to the EA for 30 days 
ending July 5, 2013. We received one comment by that date. It was from 
a private citizen who had already submitted five comments on the 
original EA. The comment contained no new information.
    In this document, we are advising the public of the availability of 
an updated FONSI regarding the potential environmental impact 
associated with our oral rabies vaccine field trial. The finding, which 
is based on the EA and the supplement to the EA, reflects our 
determination that the distribution of this experimental wildlife 
rabies vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the 
human environment.
    The supplement to the EA and the updated FONSI may be viewed on the 
Regulations.gov Web site (see footnote 2) or in our reading room, which 
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) 799-7039 before coming.
    This notice and the supplemental environmental assessment are also 
posted on the APHIS Web site at http:[sol][sol]www.aphis.usda.gov/
regulations/ws/ws_nepa_environmental_documents.shtml. In addition, 
copies may be obtained from the person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The supplement to the EA and FONSI 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 1b); and (4) APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR 
part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of August 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-19835 Filed 8-13-13; 8:45 am]
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