[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 31, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 48660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18788]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2019-0053]


Concurrence With OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform 
Encephalopathy

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our decision to concur with the 
World Organization for Animal Health's (OIE) bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE) risk designations for Ecuador and Serbia. The OIE 
recognizes Ecuador as being of controlled risk for BSE and Serbia as 
being of negligible risk for BSE. We are taking this action based on 
our review of information supporting the OIE's risk designations for 
these regions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kari Coulson, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Strategy and Policy, VS, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, 
Suite 200, Raleigh, NC 27606; (919) 480-9876; 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.
    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 published a notice \1\ in the 
Federal Register on October 25, 2019 (84 FR 57384-57385, Docket No. 
APHIS 2019-0053), in which we announced our intent to concur with the 
OIE risk classifications of the following regions:
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    \1\ To view the notice, go to www.regulations.gov and enter 
APHIS-2019-0053 in the Search field.
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     Regions of negligible risk for BSE: Serbia.
     Regions of controlled risk for BSE: Ecuador.
    We solicited comments on the notice for 60 days ending on December 
24, 2019. We did not receive any comments by this date.
    Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec.  92.5, we are 
announcing our decision to concur with the OIE risk classifications for 
Ecuador and Serbia.
    Pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs designated this action 
as not a major rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    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 25th day of August 2021.
Michael Watson,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-18788 Filed 8-30-21; 8:45 am]
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