[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
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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. 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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