[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 143 (Tuesday, July 26, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44503-44504]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18849]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 143 / Tuesday, July 26, 2011 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 44503]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 94
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0077]
Availability of a Risk Analysis Evaluating the Foot-and-Mouth
Disease Status of Japan
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 a risk analysis has been
prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service concerning
the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) status of Japan and the risk of
susceptible animals and animal products from Japan harboring the FMD
virus. This evaluation will be used as a basis for determining whether
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection again recognizes Japan as free
of FMD and allows the importation of whole cuts of boneless beef from
Japan to resume. Other ruminant meat and meat byproducts, as well as
fresh pork, live ruminants, and live swine, would remain prohibited due
to Japan's status for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, classical swine
fever, and swine vesicular disease. We are making this evaluation
available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
September 26, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0077-0005.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2010-0077, 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-2010-
0077 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 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) 6902817 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kelly Rhodes, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation Services--Import, National
Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 38,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-4356.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the
regulations) govern the importation of certain animals and animal
products into the United States in order to prevent the introduction of
various animal diseases, including rinderpest and foot-and-mouth
disease (FMD). Section 94.1 of the regulations lists regions of the
world that are considered free of rinderpest and FMD. Section 94.11
lists regions of the world considered free of rinderpest and FMD but
from which the importation of meat and other animal products into the
United States is subject to additional restrictions because of those
regions' proximity to or trading relationships with FMD-affected
regions.
In an interim rule \1\ effective and published in the Federal
Register on October 25, 2010 (75 FR 65431-65432, Docket No. APHIS-2010-
0077), we amended the regulations in paragraphs (a)(2) and (a)(3) of
Sec. 94.1 to remove Japan from the list of regions considered free of
rinderpest and FMD and to add Japan to the list of regions considered
free of rinderpest, respectively. We also amended the regulations in
Sec. 94.11 to remove Japan from the list of regions considered free of
rinderpest and FMD but from which the importation of meat and other
animal products of ruminants and swine into the United States is
subject to additional restrictions. The interim rule also clarified
that the importation into the United States of whole cuts of boneless
beef, which had been allowed under the provisions in Sec. 94.27 of the
regulations, was being prohibited due to FMD. Those actions were
necessary because, by July 4, 2010, Japan had reported FMD on a total
of 292 premises in Miyazaki prefecture of that country to the World
Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
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\1\ To view the interim rule and the comment we received, go to
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0077.
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The source of the virus has not been definitively identified.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in Japan
suspects that it was introduced through people or personal goods from a
nearby country contaminated with the FMD virus. Japan's official
veterinary services addressed the FMD outbreak through a stamping-out
policy that involved movement restrictions, culling, active
surveillance, and ultimately vaccination. All vaccinated animals were
subsequently culled. Intensive surveillance demonstrated that the virus
did not spread outside Miyazaki prefecture. On February 4, 2011, the
OIE reinstated Japan to its list of countries free of FMD without
vaccination.
Although we removed Japan from the list of regions in the world
considered free of rinderpest and FMD, and the list of regions
considered free of rinderpest and FMD but from which the importation of
meat and other animal products is subject to additional restrictions,
we recognized that Japan immediately responded to the detection of the
disease by imposing restrictions on the movement of susceptible animals
and animal products, both within and from Japan, and initiating
measures to eradicate the disease. We stated that, because of Japan's
response to detection of the disease, we intended to reassess the
situation in accordance with the standards of the OIE at a future date,
and that as part of the reassessment process, we would consider all
comments received during the comment period on the interim rule.
In this notice, we are announcing the availability for review and
comment of a document titled ``APHIS Evaluation of the Foot and Mouth
Disease Status of Japan.'' This evaluation examines the events that
occurred during and after the outbreaks and assesses the risk of live
animals and animal products from
[[Page 44504]]
Japan harboring the FMD virus. This risk analysis will serve as the
basis for our determination whether to reinstate Japan to the list of
regions free of FMD and rinderpest and the list of regions considered
free of FMD and rinderpest but from which the importation of meat and
other animal products of ruminants and swine into the United States is
subject to additional restrictions. The risk analysis will also serve
as the basis for our determination whether to allow the resumption of
the importation of whole cuts of boneless beef from Japan. We are
making the risk analysis available for public comment for 60 days.
The risk analysis may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site 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). You may request paper copies of the risk analysis by
calling or writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the analysis when requesting
copies.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, 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 20th day of July 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-18849 Filed 7-25-11; 8:45 am]
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