[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 120 (Friday, June 25, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 33635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13552]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2021-0007]
Concurrence With OIE Risk Designation for Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our preliminary concurrence with
the World Organization for Animal Health's (OIE) bovine spongiform
encephalopathy (BSE) risk designation for Bolivia and the United
Kingdom's zone of Jersey. The OIE recognizes this country and this zone
as being of negligible risk for BSE. We are taking this action based on
our review of information supporting the OIE's risk designation for
Bolivia and the United Kingdom's zone of Jersey.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
August 24, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2021-0007 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2021-0007, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at
regulations.gov 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: 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: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 92 subpart B,
``Importation of Animals and Animal Products; Procedures for Requesting
BSE Risk Status Classification With Regard To Bovines'' (referred to
below as the regulations), set forth the process by which the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) classifies regions for
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk. Section 92.5 of the
regulations provides that all countries of the world are considered by
APHIS to be in one of three BSE risk categories: Negligible risk,
controlled risk, or undetermined risk. These risk categories are
defined in Sec. 92.1. Any region that is not classified by APHIS as
presenting either negligible risk or controlled risk for BSE is
considered to present an undetermined risk. The list of those regions
classified by APHIS as having either negligible risk or controlled risk
can be accessed on the APHIS website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information/animal-health-status-of-regions. The list can also be
obtained by writing to APHIS at Regionalization Evaluation Services,
4700 River Road, Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Under the regulations, APHIS may classify a region for BSE in one
of two ways. One way is for regions that have not received a risk
classification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to
request classification by APHIS. The other way is for APHIS to concur
with the classification given to a country or region by the OIE.
If the OIE has classified a region as either BSE negligible risk or
BSE controlled risk, APHIS will seek information to support concurrence
with the OIE classification. This information may be publicly available
information, or APHIS may request that regions supply the same
information given to the OIE. APHIS will announce in the Federal
Register, subject to public comment, its intent to concur with an OIE
classification.
In accordance with this process, we are giving notice in this
document that APHIS intends to concur with the OIE risk classification
of the country of Bolivia and the United Kingdom's zone of Jersey as
regions of negligible risk for BSE.
The OIE recommendation regarding Bolivia and the United Kingdom's
zone of Jersey can be viewed at https://www.oie.int/en/disease/bovine-spongiform-encephalopathy/. The conclusions of the OIE scientific
commission for Bolivia and the United Kingdom's zone of Jersey can be
viewed at https://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Internationa_Standard_Setting/docs/pdf/SCAD/A_SCAD_Feb2020.pdf (pages
53 for Bolivia and 56 for the United Kingdom's zone of Jersey).
After reviewing any comments that we receive, we will announce our
final determination regarding the BSE classification of Bolivia and the
United Kingdom's zone of Jersey in the Federal Register, along with a
discussion of and response to pertinent issues raised by commenters. If
APHIS recognizes Bolivia and the United Kingdom's zone of Jersey as
negligible risk for BSE, the Agency will include this country and zone
on the list of regions of negligible risk for BSE that is available to
the public on the Agency's website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information/animal-health-status-of-regions.
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 June 2021.
Jack Shere,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-13552 Filed 6-24-21; 8:45 am]
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