[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 61 (Thursday, March 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13469-13470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06341]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 61 / Thursday, March 29, 2018 / 
Notices  

[[Page 13469]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2018-0011]


Notice of Availability of Proposed Changes to the Chronic Wasting 
Disease Herd Certification 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 we are making available for 
review and comment a revised version of the Chronic Wasting Disease 
(CWD) Herd Certification Program Standards. The CWD Program Standards 
provide guidance on how to meet CWD Herd Certification Program and 
interstate movement requirements. We are taking this action to address 
concerns of State and industry participants about the existing 
standards.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April 
30, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0011.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2018-0011, 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-2018-
0011 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. Tracy Nichols, Staff Officer, 
Cervid Health Team, Surveillance, Preparedness, and Response Services, 
VS, APHIS, USDA, 2150 Centre Avenue, Bldg. B, Fort Collins, CO 80526; 
(970) 494-7380.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a transmissible spongiform 
encephalopathy of cervids (members of Cervidae, the deer family). 
Species currently known to be susceptible to CWD include elk, mule 
deer, moose, white-tailed deer, sika deer, muntjac, reindeer, and 
black-tailed deer.
    In 2014, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 
implemented the National CWD Herd Certification Program (HCP), a 
voluntary Federal-State-industry cooperative program administered by 
APHIS and implemented by participating States. Currently, 28 States 
participate in the program. States and herd owners choosing to 
participate must comply with the provisions of 9 CFR parts 55 and 81 
(referred to below as the regulations), which include requirements for 
animal identification, interstate movement, fencing, recordkeeping, 
herd inspections and inventories, animal mortality testing, and 
response to any findings of CWD-exposed, -suspect, or -positive herds. 
APHIS monitors the approved State HCPs to ensure consistency with 
Federal standards by means of annual State reporting. With each year of 
successful surveillance, participating herds will advance in status. 
After 5 years with no evidence of CWD, APHIS will certify the herd as 
being low risk for CWD. Only captive cervids from enrolled herds 
certified as low risk for CWD may move interstate.
    The CWD Program Standards provide detailed guidance on how to meet 
the regulatory requirements referred to above. An annual review of the 
Program Standards is conducted by APHIS in collaboration with State 
agencies and industry representatives.
    In response to concerns expressed by industry and State partners 
about the existing CWD Program Standards, published in 2014, we 
convened a working group in 2016 to review the document. Based on the 
group's discussions, as well as recommendations from an internal 
review, we determined that the Program Standards needed to undergo a 
number of revisions.
    We are advising the public that we have prepared a revised version 
of the CWD Program Standards. The proposed revisions include the 
following:
     Revising the goal statement to focus on reducing the risk 
of interstate transmission of CWD.
     Clarifying that the Program Standards include detailed 
descriptions of suggested methods approved by the APHIS Administrator 
to meet the regulatory requirements.
     Making definitions of terms in the Program Standards 
consistent with the official definitions in the regulations.
     Describing APHIS' intent to amend the regulations to 
define susceptible species based on scientific evidence of natural 
infection or experimental infections through natural routes and adding 
the genera Rangifer and Muntiacus to the list of susceptible species.
     Providing support for implementing antemortem 
immunohistochemistry testing of rectal anal mucosa associated lymphoid 
tissue (RAMALT) and medial retropharyngeal lymph node (MRPLN) biopsies 
conducted as a whole-herd test concurrently with genotyping at Prion 
Protein Gene (PRNP) codon 96 in white-tailed deer in traceback, 
traceforward, and CWD-exposed herds and for disease management in CWD-
positive herds.
     Providing support for initiating pilot projects using 
RAMALT and MRPLN biopsies conducted concurrently with genotyping at 
PRNP codon 132 in elk in traceback, traceforward, and CWD-exposed herds 
and for disease management in CWD-positive herds to inform decisions 
about testing protocols.
     Clarifying the definitions and processes for performing 
epidemiological investigations.
     Replacing Appendix VI with a worksheet that States must 
submit for all positive herds enrolled in the HCP as part of their 
annual HCP report. Additionally, for any herd for which Federal 
indemnity is to be paid, a preliminary and final worksheet must have 
been completed as part of the herd plan by a State representative.
     Describing the factors that APHIS will consider when 
making decisions

[[Page 13470]]

about providing indemnity for CWD-positive, -exposed, and -suspect 
animals and describing the relative priority of each factor.
     Clarifying the consequences of poor quality and missing 
post-mortem surveillance samples on herd status, as well as describing 
options States may consider as substitutions for these samples.
     Making the Program Standards language consistent with that 
of the regulations by requiring CWD testing of all mortalities from 
certified herds, including at slaughter and on hunt facilities when 
animals remain under the same ownership.
     Streamlining the description of fencing characteristics 
considered necessary to prevent ingress and egress of cervids for HCP-
enrolled herds.
     Eliminating Appendix II: Fencing Requirements and 
References, and making these scientific references available upon 
request.
     Moving Part B, Section 5: Sanitary Precautions and 
Biosecurity Practices for Herd Plans and Depopulations to an appendix, 
and simplifying recommendations for premises decontamination.
     Updating and streamlining Appendix IV: Guidelines for 
Environmental Contamination.
     Consolidating the discussion of carcass disposal options 
in the main body of the Program Standards and deleting Appendix V: 
Carcass Disposal.
    The revised Program Standards may be viewed on the Regulations.gov 
website 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.
    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.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of March 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-06341 Filed 3-28-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P