[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 137 (Friday, July 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42467-42469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17608]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2015-0047]


Oral Rabies Vaccine Trial; Availability of a Supplemental 
Environmental Assessment

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 the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared a supplemental environmental assessment 
(EA) relative to an oral rabies vaccination field trial in New 
Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia. The supplemental 
EA analyzes expanding the field trial for an experimental oral rabies 
vaccine for wildlife to additional areas in Ohio and increasing bait 
distribution density in

[[Page 42468]]

portions of West Virginia. The proposed field trial is necessary to 
evaluate whether the wildlife rabies vaccine will produce sufficient 
levels of population immunity against raccoon rabies. We are making the 
supplemental EA available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
August 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0047.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2015-0047, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    The supplemental environmental assessment and any comments we 
receive may be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0047 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 EA are also posted on the APHIS 
Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/ws/ws_nepa_environmental_documents.shtml.

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 supplemental 
environmental assessment, contact Ms. Beth Kabert, Staff Wildlife 
Biologist, Wildlife Services, 140-C Locust Grove Road, Pittstown, NJ 
08867; (908) 735-5654, fax (908) 735-0821, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.
    Currently, APHIS conducts an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program 
to control the spread of rabies. The ORV program has utilized a 
vaccinia-rabies glycoprotein (V-RG) vaccine. APHIS-WS' use of the V-RG 
vaccine has resulted in several notable accomplishments, including the 
elimination of canine rabies from sources in Mexico, the successful 
control of gray fox rabies virus variant in western Texas, and the 
prevention of any appreciable spread of raccoon rabies in the eastern 
United States. While the prevention of any appreciable spread of 
raccoon rabies in the eastern United States represents a major 
accomplishment in rabies management, the V-RG vaccine has not been 
effective in eliminating raccoon rabies from high-risk spread 
corridors. This fact prompted APHIS-WS to evaluate rabies vaccines 
capable of producing higher levels of population immunity against 
raccoon rabies to better control the spread of this disease.
    In 2011, APHIS-WS initiated a field trial to study the 
immunogenicity and safety of a promising new wildlife rabies vaccine, 
human adenovirus type 5 rabies glycoprotein recombinant vaccine in 
portions of West Virginia, including U.S. Department of Agriculture 
Forest Service National Forest System lands. The vaccine used in this 
field trial is an experimental oral rabies vaccine called ONRAB 
(produced by Artemis Technologies Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada).
    To further assess the immunogenicity of ONRAB in raccoons and 
skunks for raccoon rabies virus variant, APHIS-WS determined the need 
to expand the field trial into portions of New Hampshire, New York, 
Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia, including National Forest System 
lands. On July 9, 2012, we published in the Federal Register (77 FR 
40322-40323, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0052) a notice \1\ in which we 
announced the availability, for public review and comment, of an 
environmental assessment (EA) that examined the potential environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed field trial to test the safety and 
efficacy of the ONRAB vaccine in New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, 
Vermont, and West Virginia. We announced the availability of our final 
EA and finding of no significant impact in a notice published in the 
Federal Register (see footnote 1) on August 16, 2012 (77 FR 49409-
49410, Docket No. APHIS-2012-0052). The field trial began in August 
2012, taking place within approximately 10,483 square miles in portions 
of New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia, including 
portions of National Forest System lands, excluding Wilderness Areas. 
The field trial is a collaborative effort among APHIS-WS; the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention; the vaccine manufacturer; the 
appropriate agriculture, health, and wildlife agencies for the States 
of New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Vermont, and West Virginia; the 
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; and the Quebec Ministry of 
Natural Resources and Wildlife.
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    \1\ To view the notice, the comments we received, the EA, and 
the followup finding of no significant impact, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0052.
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    Given promising immunogenicity levels documented during the field 
trial of the ONRAB vaccine and the need for further field testing, 
APHIS is considering expanding the current field trial for the ONRAB 
vaccine in Ohio. APHIS has prepared a supplemental EA in which we 
analyze expanding the area of the field trial zone in Ohio to include 
Ashtabula and Trumbull Counties. This would add approximately 405 
square miles to the field trial. In addition, the supplemental EA 
analyzes the impacts associated with increasing the ONRAB ORV bait 
distribution density from the program standard rate of 194-388 baits 
per square mile to 776 baits per square mile over a portion of the 
current field trial zones in West Virginia. The supplemental EA 
analyzes a number of environmental issues or concerns with the ONRAB 
vaccine and activities associated with the field trial, such as capture 
and handling animals for monitoring and surveillance purposes with 
regard to the proposed action.
    We are making the supplemental EA available to the public for 
review and comment. We will consider all comments that we receive on or 
before the date listed under the heading DATES at the beginning of this 
notice.
    The supplemental EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site 
or in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for 
accessing Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of 
the reading room). In addition, paper copies may be obtained by calling 
or writing to the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    The EA has 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

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Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of July 2015.
Jere L. Dick,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-17608 Filed 7-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P