[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35729-35730]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14442]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 7, 2021 / 
Notices  

[[Page 35729]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2019-0034]


Oral Rabies Vaccine Program; Availability of a Supplemental 
Environmental Assessment

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared a supplemental environmental assessment 
(EA) relative to a 2019 EA of an oral rabies vaccination (ORV) program 
in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, 
Virginia, and West Virginia. This supplement analyzes the proposed 
expanded use of ONRAB vaccine-baits throughout the ORV distribution 
zone in Pennsylvania in cooperation with the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture's Forest Service. We are making the supplemental EA 
available to the public for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
August 6, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Enter APHIS-2019-0034 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-2019-0034, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    The supplemental environmental assessment and any comments we 
receive on this docket may be viewed at www.regulations.gov or in our 
reading room, whichis 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.
    This notice and the supplemental environmental assessment are also 
posted on the APHIS website at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/ws/ws_nepa_environmental_documents.shtml.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Chipman, Rabies Program 
Coordinator, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, 
Concord, NH 03301; (603) 223-9623. To obtain copies of the supplemental 
environmental assessment, contact Ms. Beth Kabert, Environmental 
Coordinator, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 2, 
Concord, NH 03301; (908) 442-6761; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Wildlife Services (WS) program in the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) cooperates with Federal agencies, State and 
local governments, and private individuals to research and implement 
the best methods of managing conflicts between wildlife and human 
health and safety, agriculture, property, and natural resources. 
Wildlife-borne diseases that can affect domestic animals and humans are 
among the types of conflicts that WS addresses. Wildlife is the 
dominant reservoir of rabies in the United States.
    Since 2011, WS has been conducting field trials to study the 
immunogenicity and safety of an oral rabies vaccine, a human adenovirus 
type 5 rabies glycoprotein recombinant vaccine called ONRAB. Beginning 
in 2012, WS expanded field trials into portions of New Hampshire, New 
York, Ohio, Vermont, and new areas of West Virginia, including National 
Forest System lands, in order to further assess the immunogenicity of 
ONRAB in raccoons and skunks for raccoon rabies virus variant.
    On July 9, 2019 we published in the Federal Register (84 FR 32700-
32701, Docket No. APHIS-2019-0034) \1\ a notice in which we announced 
the availability, for public review and comment, of an environmental 
assessment (EA) analyzing the environmental effects of continuing and 
expanding the oral rabies vaccine (ORV) program using the ONRAB vaccine 
in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, 
Virginia, and West Virginia. After soliciting and reviewing comments on 
the EA, we issued a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) reflecting 
our determination that the expanded distribution of the ONRAB wildlife 
rabies vaccine would not have a significant impact on the quality of 
the human environment.
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    \1\ The EA, Decision/FONSI, and comments we received may be 
viewed at https://www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2019-0034 in the 
Search field.
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    Based on the ORV program's safe and successful use of the ONRAB 
rabies vaccine, WS is proposing to further expand ONRAB vaccine 
distribution to protect human and animal health. ONRAB rabies vaccine 
has been used experimentally in eastern Ohio as part of an ongoing 
field evaluation and has successfully reduced the prevalence of the 
raccoon rabies virus variant in the State. WS has defined a strategic 
5-year programmatic goal to eliminate raccoon rabies in Ohio. In order 
to achieve this goal, better managing the disease in western 
Pennsylvania is critical. In the Pennsylvania ORV distribution zone, 
the program currently uses the RABORAL V-RG[supreg] rabies wildlife 
vaccine. However, despite historic and ongoing rabies management using 
the V-RG[supreg] rabies vaccine in Pennsylvania, rabies cases have 
persisted and contribute to a perpetual source of disease pressure into 
Ohio.
    Accordingly, APHIS has prepared a supplemental EA in which we 
analyze the potential environmental impacts of expanding the ONRAB ORV 
program to include the Pennsylvania ORV distribution zone in which the 
V-RG[supreg] vaccine is currently used. The supplemental EA analyzes a 
number of environmental issues or concerns with the ONRAB vaccine and 
activities associated with the field trial, such as capture and 
handling animals for monitoring and surveillance purposes with regard 
to the proposed action.

[[Page 35730]]

    We are making the supplemental EA available to the public for 
review and comment. We will consider all comments that we receive on or 
before the date listed under the heading DATES at the beginning of this 
notice.
    The supplemental EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website or 
in our reading room (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing 
Regulations.gov and information on the location and hours of the 
reading room). In addition, paper copies may be obtained by calling or 
writing to the individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    The supplemental 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 provisions 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).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of June 2021.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-14442 Filed 7-6-21; 8:45 am]
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