[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7790-7791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01396]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0044]


Notice of Availability of an Evaluation of the Classical Swine 
Fever, Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Swine Vesicular Disease, and Rinderpest 
Status of Cyprus

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are proposing to recognize 
Cyprus as being free of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, and swine 
vesicular disease, and as low risk for classical swine fever. This 
proposed recognition is based on evaluations we have prepared in 
connection with this action, which we are making available for review 
and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 
24, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-0044.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2016-0044, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-
0044 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ingrid Kotowski, Regionalization 
Evaluation Services, National Import Export Services, Veterinary 
Services, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27606; 
(919) 855-7732; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred 
to below as the regulations) govern the importation of certain animals 
and animal products into the United States to prevent the introduction 
of various animal diseases, including classical swine fever (CSF), 
foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), swine vesicular disease (SVD), and 
rinderpest.\1\ The regulations prohibit or restrict the importation of 
live ruminants and swine, and products from these animals, from regions 
where these diseases are considered to exist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recognizes 
rinderpest as having been globally eradicated, and recommends that 
countries not impose any rinderpest-related conditions on import or 
transit of livestock and livestock products. In addition, the OIE 
recently delisted SVD as a disease of concern for international 
trade. However, APHIS continues to regulate for rinderpest and SVD 
through its import regulations for animals and animal products.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Within part 94, Sec.  94.1 contains requirements governing the 
importation of ruminants and swine from regions where rinderpest or FMD 
exists and the

[[Page 7791]]

importation of the meat of any ruminants or swine from regions where 
rinderpest or FMD exists to prevent the introduction of either disease 
into the United States. We consider rinderpest and FMD to exist in all 
regions except those listed in accordance with paragraph (a) of that 
section as free of rinderpest and FMD.
    Section 94.9 contains requirements governing the importation of 
pork and pork products from regions where CSF exists. Section 94.10 
contains importation requirements for swine from regions where CSF is 
considered to exist and designates the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS)-defined European CSF region as a single 
region of low-risk for CSF. Section 94.31 contains requirements 
governing the importation of pork, pork products, and swine from the 
APHIS-defined European CSF region. We consider CSF to exist in all 
regions of the world except those listed in accordance with paragraph 
(a) of Sec.  94.9 as free of the disease.
    Section 94.11 of the regulations contains requirements governing 
the importation of meat of any ruminants or swine from regions that 
have been determined to be free of rinderpest and FMD, but that are 
subject to certain restrictions because of their proximity to or 
trading relationships with rinderpest- or FMD-affected regions. Such 
regions are listed in accordance with paragraph (a) of that section.
    Section 94.12 of the regulations contains requirements governing 
the importation of pork or pork products from regions where SVD exists. 
We consider SVD to exist in all regions of the world except those 
listed in accordance with paragraph (a) of that section as free of SVD.
    Section 94.13 contains importation requirements governing the 
importation of pork or pork products from regions that have been 
declared free of SVD as provided in Sec.  94.12(a) but supplement their 
national pork supply by the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) 
meat of animals from regions where SVD is considered to exist, or have 
a common border with such regions, or have trade practices that are 
less restrictive than are acceptable to the United States. Such regions 
are listed in accordance with paragraph (a) of Sec.  94.13.
    Section 94.14 states that no swine which are moved from or transit 
any region in which SVD is known to exist may be imported into the 
United States except wild swine imported in accordance with Sec.  
94.14(b).
    The regulations in 9 CFR part 92, Sec.  92.2, contain requirements 
for requesting the recognition of the animal health status of a region 
(as well as for the approval of the export of a particular type of 
animal or animal product to the United States from a foreign region). 
If, after review and evaluation of the information submitted in support 
of the request, APHIS believes the request can be safely granted, APHIS 
will make its evaluation available for public comment through a 
document published in the Federal Register. Following the close of the 
comment period, APHIS will review all comments received and will make a 
final determination regarding the request that will be detailed in 
another document published in the Federal Register.
    The Republic of Cyprus \2\ submitted a request to APHIS to evaluate 
the CSF, FMD, SVD, and rinderpest status of the country. In response to 
this request, APHIS conducted a qualitative risk assessment to evaluate 
Cyprus with respect to these diseases. Based on this evaluation, APHIS 
recognizes Cyprus to be free of FMD, SVD, and rinderpest, and low risk 
for CSF. APHIS has also determined that the surveillance, prevention, 
and control measures implemented by the European Union (EU) and Cyprus, 
an EU Member State, are sufficient to minimize the likelihood of 
introducing CSF, FMD, SVD, and rinderpest into the United States via 
imports of species susceptible to these diseases or products of those 
species. Our determinations support adding Cyprus to the Web-based list 
of regions comprising the APHIS-defined European CSF region, which 
APHIS considers to be low risk for CSF, and to the respective Web-based 
lists of regions APHIS considers free of FMD, SVD, and rinderpest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ The geographic scope of the action is limited to the 
Republic of Cyprus excluding those areas of the Republic of Cyprus 
in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise 
effective control.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  92.2(e), we are announcing the 
availability of our risk assessment of the CSF, FMD, SVD, and 
rinderpest status of Cyprus for public review and comment. We are also 
announcing the availability of four environmental assessments (EAs) and 
a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) \3\ which 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 
provision 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). The evaluation, EAs, and 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.) The documents are also 
available by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The FONSI for Cyprus incorporates by reference EAs prepared 
for Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, and Hungary that addresses the 
potential environmental impacts of CSF, FMD, SVD, and rinderpest for 
EU Member States. We are making these EAs available for review with 
this document.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Information submitted in support of Cyprus' original request is 
available by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the disease status of Cyprus under consideration 
with respect to CSF, FMD, SVD, and rinderpest and the import status of 
susceptible animals and products of such animals in a subsequent 
notice.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 
21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of January 2017.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-01396 Filed 1-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P