[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10452-10453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02870]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0103]


Notice of Availability of Proposed Changes to the National 
Poultry Improvement Plan Program Standards

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that proposed changes to the 
National Poultry Improvement Plan Program Standards are available for 
review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 
15, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-0103.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2016-0103, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    The proposed standards and any comments we receive may be viewed at 
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-0103 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. Denise Brinson, DVM, Senior 
Coordinator, National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS, USDA, 1506 
Klondike Road, Suite 101, Conyers, GA 30094-5104; (770) 922-3496.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Poultry Improvement Plan 
(NPIP), also referred to below as ``the Plan,'' is a cooperative 
Federal-State-Industry mechanism for controlling certain poultry 
diseases. The Plan consists of a variety of programs intended to 
prevent and control poultry diseases. Participation in all Plan 
programs is voluntary, but breeding flocks, hatcheries, and dealers 
must first qualify as ``U.S. Pullorum-Typhoid Clean'' as a condition 
for participating in the other Plan programs.
    The Plan identifies States, flocks, hatcheries, dealers, and 
slaughter plants that meet certain disease control standards specified 
in the Plan's various programs. As a result, customers can buy poultry 
that has tested clean of certain diseases or that has been produced 
under disease-prevention conditions.
    The regulations in 9 CFR parts 56, 145, 146, and 147 (referred to 
below as the regulations) contain the provisions of the Plan. The 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA) amends these provisions from time to 
time to incorporate new scientific information and technologies within 
the Plan.
    In the past, APHIS has updated the regulations once every 2 years, 
following the Biennial Plan Conference of the NPIP General Conference 
Committee. The NPIP General Conference Committee advises the Secretary 
on poultry health and represents cooperating State agencies and poultry 
industry members. During its meetings and Biennial Conferences, the 
Committee discusses significant poultry health issues and makes 
recommendations to improve the NPIP.
    However, while changes in diagnostic science, testing technology, 
and best practices for maintaining sanitation are continual, the 
rulemaking process can be lengthy. As a result, the regulations have, 
at times, become outdated. To remedy this problem, we determined that 
we needed a more flexible process for amending provisions of the Plan. 
On July 9, 2014, we published in the Federal Register (79 FR 38752-
38768, Docket No. APHIS-2011-0101) a final rule \1\ that, among other 
things, amended the regulations by removing tests and detailed testing 
procedures, as well as sanitation procedures, from part 147, and making 
these available in an NPIP Program Standards document.\2\ The rule also 
amended the regulations to provide for the Program Standards document 
to be updated through the issuance of a notice in the Federal Register 
followed by a period of public comment. The latter change was intended 
to enable us to make the NPIP program more effective by allowing us to 
update some of the Plan provisions without the need for rulemaking.
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    \1\ To view the final rule and related documents, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0101.
    \2\ This document may be viewed on the NPIP Web site at http://www.poultryimprovement.org/documents/ProgramStandardsAugust2014.pdf, 
or by writing to the Service at National Poultry Improvement Plan, 
APHIS, USDA, 1506 Klondike Road, Suite 101, Conyers, GA 30094.
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    We are advising the public that we have prepared updates to the 
NPIP Program Standards document. The proposed updates would amend the 
Program Standards by establishing new standards for biosecurity 
principles. We are also proposing to amend the hemagglutination 
inhibition test procedures for Mycoplasma, clarify the laboratory 
procedure recommended for the bacteriological examination of Salmonella 
in birds, amend the laboratory procedure recommended for polymerase 
chain reaction (PCR) tests for Mycoplasma gallisepticum and M. 
synoviae, and add new diagnostic tests for Mycoplasma and Salmonella. 
Finally, we note that the Program Standards are currently divided into 
subparts in the same way the regulations are. We are proposing to 
change the use of the word ``Subpart'' to ``Standard'' in the Program 
Standards for ease of distinguishing between references to the 
regulations and the Program Standards.
    After reviewing any comments we receive on the proposed updates, we 
will publish a second notice in the Federal Register announcing our 
decision regarding the proposed changes.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 8301-8317; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.


[[Page 10453]]


    Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of February 2017.
Michael C. Gregoire,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-02870 Filed 2-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P