[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 179 (Monday, September 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48580-48581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19893]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2019-0055]


Notice of Availability of an Evaluation of the Highly Pathogenic 
Avian Influenza and Newcastle Disease Status of Romania

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 proposing to recognize 
Romania as being free of highly pathogenic avian influenza and 
Newcastle disease. This proposed recognition is based on a risk 
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 
November 15, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2019-0055.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2019-0055, 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-2019-
0055 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: Mr. Javier Vargas, Senior Staff 
Officer, Regionalization Evaluation Services, Veterinary Services, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-
3316; [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 in order to prevent the 
introduction of various animal diseases, including highly pathogenic 
avian influenza (HPAI) and Newcastle disease. Within part 94, Sec.  
94.6 contains requirements governing the importation of carcasses, 
meat, parts or products of carcasses, and eggs (other than hatching 
eggs) of poultry, game birds, or other birds from regions where HPAI 
and Newcastle disease is considered to exist.
    In accordance with Sec.  94.6(a)(1)(i) the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) maintains a list of regions in which 
Newcastle disease is not considered to exist. Paragraph (a)(1)(ii) 
states that APHIS will add a region to this list after it conducts an 
evaluation of the region and finds that Newcastle disease is not likely 
to be present in its commercial bird or poultry populations.
    In accordance with Sec.  94.6(a)(2)(i), APHIS maintains a list of 
regions in which HPAI is considered to exist. Paragraph (a)(2)(ii) 
states that APHIS will remove a region from this list only after it 
conducts an evaluation of the region and finds that HPAI is not likely 
to be present in its commercial bird or poultry populations.
    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 Government of Romania has requested that APHIS evaluate the 
HPAI and Newcastle disease status of the country. In response to 
Romania's request, we have prepared an evaluation, titled ``APHIS 
Evaluation of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and Newcastle 
Disease Status of Romania'' (May 2019). Based on this evaluation, we 
have determined that Romania's domestic poultry populations are 
currently free of both HPAI and Newcastle disease as defined in 9 CFR 
94.0. APHIS acknowledges the continuing risk posed by wild birds in 
Romania and the European Union (EU); however, Romania's competent 
veterinary authority takes effective prevention and control measures 
minimizing the risk of introduction to commercial poultry, and these 
are sufficient to minimize the likelihood of

[[Page 48581]]

introducing HPAI and Newcastle disease into the United States via 
imports of species or products susceptible to these diseases. Our 
determination supports adding Romania to the Web-based list of regions 
in which Newcastle disease is not considered to exist and removing 
Romania from the Web-based list of regions in which HPAI is considered 
to exist.
    APHIS also concludes that Romania meets the requirements to form 
part of the EU Poultry Trade Region (EUPTR), an APHIS-recognized region 
of the EU that meets APHIS requirements for being considered free of 
HPAI and Newcastle disease, and for which the importation of live birds 
and poultry and poultry meat and products is harmonized.
    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  92.2(e), we are announcing the 
availability of our risk evaluation of the HPAI and Newcastle disease 
status of Romania for public review and comment.
    In April 2012, APHIS prepared an environmental assessment (EA) 
analyzing the potential effects on the human environment from listing 
the 25 Member States that constituted the EU in 2006 as a region free 
of HPAI and Newcastle disease (collectively referred to as EUPTR). 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 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 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 Romania's 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 Romania with respect to HPAI 
and Newcastle disease 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 10th day of September 2019.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-19893 Filed 9-13-19; 8:45 am]
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