[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10024-10025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05073]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2018-0043]
Notice of Availability of an Evaluation of the Foot-and-Mouth
Disease Status of Singapore
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are proposing to recognize
Singapore as being free of foot-and-mouth disease. This proposed
recognition is based on an evaluation 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 May
20, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0043.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2018-0043, 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-
0043 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. Roberta A. Morales, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation Services, Strategy and Policy,
VS, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, Raleigh, NC 27606; (919) 855-7735;
[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 foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). The
regulations prohibit or restrict the importation of live ruminants and
swine, and products from these animals, from regions where APHIS
considers FMD to exist.
Within part 94, Sec. 94.1 contains requirements governing the
importation of ruminants and swine from regions where FMD exists and
the importation of the meat of any ruminants or swine from regions
where FMD exists to prevent the introduction of this disease into the
United States. We consider FMD to exist in all regions except those
listed in accordance with paragraph (a) of that section as free of FMD.
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 FMD, but that are subject to certain
restrictions because of their proximity to or trading relationships
with FMD-affected regions. Such regions are listed in accordance with
paragraph (a) of that section.
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.
Singapore submitted a request to APHIS to evaluate the FMD status
of the country. In response to this request, APHIS conducted a
qualitative risk assessment to evaluate Singapore with respect to this
disease. Based on this evaluation, APHIS recognizes Singapore to be
free of FMD. APHIS has also determined that the surveillance,
prevention, and control measures implemented by Singapore are
sufficient to minimize the likelihood of introducing FMD into the
United States via imports of species susceptible to this disease or
products of those species. Our determination supports adding Singapore
to the Web-based list of regions APHIS considers free of FMD.
Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 92.2(e), we are announcing the
availability of our risk evaluation of the FMD status of Singapore for
public review and comment. We are also announcing the availability of
an environmental assessment (EA), which
[[Page 10025]]
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 and the EA 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.
Information submitted in support of Singapore's 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 Singapore with respect to FMD
and the import status of susceptible animals and products of such
animals in a subsequent notice.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 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 March 13, 2019.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-05073 Filed 3-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P