[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 207 (Monday, October 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 67705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23664]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 207 / Monday, October 26, 2020 /
Notices
[[Page 67705]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0033]
Notice of Availability of Assessment of the Newcastle Disease
Status of the Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino of Switzerland
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our intention to reinstate the
animal health status of the Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino in
Switzerland as free of Newcastle disease. This recognition is based on
an assessment 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
December 28, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2020-0033.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2020-0033, 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-2020-0033
or in our reading room, which is located in room 1620 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. Rebecca Gordon, Import Risk
Analyst, Regionalization Evaluation Services, Strategy & Policy,
Veterinary Services, APHIS, USDA, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200,
Raleigh, NC 27606; [email protected]; (919) 855-7741.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 govern the
importation of animal products into the United States in order to
ensure that the products do not introduce or spread diseases or pests
of livestock. Section 94.6 contains regulations 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 areas in which Newcastle disease (ND) is known to exist. The
section provides that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) will maintain a list on the internet of regions in which ND is
not known to exist. It further provides that, should a region be
removed from the list due to an outbreak, APHIS will reinstate the
region to the list in accordance with the procedures in 9 CFR 92.4.
Section 92.4 provides that after removing disease-free status from
all or part of a region, APHIS may reassess the disease situation in
that region to determine whether it is necessary to continue import
prohibitions or restrictions. When reassessing the region's disease
status, APHIS considers the standards of the World Organization for
Animal Health for reinstatement of disease-free status, as well as all
relevant information obtained through publicly available means or
collected by or submitted to APHIS through other means. Prior to
removing import prohibitions or restrictions, APHIS makes the
information regarding its assessment of the region's disease status
available to the public for comment through a notice published in the
Federal Register.
APHIS previously issued an import alert on November 22, 2017,
notifying trade partners that the Canton of Ticino, in Switzerland,
which had previously been considered to be a region in which ND is not
known to exist, was now affected with ND. APHIS had previously
determined that the Canton of Neuch[acirc]tel was affected with ND in
2011. In accordance with the regulations in Sec. 94.6, concurrent to
these determinations, APHIS placed restrictions on the importation of
poultry products for commodities from the two cantons.
APHIS completed a Report for Reassessment of Cantons
Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino in Switzerland as Free of Newcastle Disease
in January 2020. This document presents the results of APHIS'
reassessment of the ND status of the Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel and
Ticino. As a result of this reassessment, APHIS concludes that
Switzerland has effectively controlled and eradicated ND in its
domestic poultry population in the Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel and
Ticino and that competent veterinary authorities of the cantons have
adequate disease control measures in place to rapidly identify,
control, and eradicate the disease should it be reintroduced into
Switzerland. Based on the results of the reassessment, APHIS recommends
reinstating the Cantons Neuch[acirc]tel and Ticino onto the list of
regions in which ND is not known to exist.
The report 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
document is also available by contacting the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Information submitted in support of this
notice is also 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 the Cantons of Neuch[acirc]tel
and Ticino with respect to ND in a subsequent notice.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 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 21st day of October 2020.
Michael Watson,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-23664 Filed 10-23-20; 8:45 am]
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