[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 60 (Wednesday, March 28, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 13222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06131]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 28, 2018 /
Notices
[[Page 13222]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2015-0042]
Notice of a Determination Regarding the Fever Tick Status of the
State of Chihuahua, Excluding the Municipalities of Guadalupe y Calvo
and Morelos
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have determined that the
State of Chihuahua, excluding the municipalities of Guadalupe y Calvo
and Morelos, is free from fever ticks. Based on an evaluation of the
fever tick status of this region, which we made available to the public
for review and comment through a previous notice, the Administrator has
determined that this region is free from fever ticks and that ruminants
imported from the region present a low risk of exposing ruminants in
the United States to fever ticks.
DATES: This change in fever tick status will be recognized on April 27,
2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Betzaida Lopez, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, National Import Export Services, VS, APHIS, 4700 River
Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-3300.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 93 prohibit or
restrict the importation of certain animals, birds, and poultry into
the United States to prevent the introduction of communicable diseases
of livestock and poultry. Subpart D of part 93 (Sec. Sec. 93.400
through 93.436, referred to below as the regulations) governs the
importation of ruminants; within the regulations, Sec. Sec. 93.424
through 93.429 specifically address the importation of ruminants from
Mexico into the United States.
The regulations in paragraph (b)(1) of Sec. 93.427 contain
conditions for the importation of ruminants from regions of Mexico that
we consider free from the Rhipicephalus (formerly Boophilus) annulatus
ticks and Rhipicephalus microplus ticks, known as cattle fever ticks.
Fever ticks are the North American vectors for bovine babesiosis, or
cattle fever. Regions of Mexico that we consider free from fever ticks
are listed at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information/ct_animal_disease_status.
Currently, the State of Sonora is the only region on this list.
The regulations in 9 CFR 92.2 contain requirements for requesting
the recognition of the animal health status of a region or for the
approval of the export of a particular type of animal or animal product
to the United States from a foreign region. If, after review and
evaluation of the information submitted in support of the request, the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) believes the request
can be safely granted, APHIS will make its evaluation available for
public comment through a notice published in the Federal Register.
Following the close of the comment period, APHIS will review all
comments received and will make a final determination regarding the
request that will be detailed in another notice published in the
Federal Register.
In accordance with that process, Mexico asked APHIS to recognize
the State of Chihuahua, except the municipalities of Guadalupe y Calvo
and Morelos, as a region free from fever ticks. In response to this
request, we prepared an evaluation of the fever tick status of this
region. The evaluation concluded that the State of Chihuahua, excluding
the municipalities of Guadalupe y Calvo and Morelos, is free from fever
ticks, and that ruminants imported from the region pose a low risk of
exposing ruminants within the United States to fever ticks.
On May 12, 2016, we published in the Federal Register (81 FR 29524-
29525, Docket No. APHIS-2015-0042) a notice \1\ in which we announced
the availability for review and comment of our evaluation of the fever
tick status of the State of Chihuahua, except the municipalities of
Guadalupe y Calvo and Morelos. We solicited comments on the notice for
60 days ending on July 11, 2016. We received no comments on our
evaluation.
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\1\ To view the notice and the evaluation, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0042.
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Therefore, based on the findings of our evaluation and the absence
of comments that would lead us to reconsider those findings, we are
announcing our determination to add the State of Chihuahua, excluding
the municipalities of Guadalupe y Calvo and Morelos, to the list of
regions of Mexico declared free from fever ticks. This list is
available on the APHIS website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information/ct_animal_disease_status.
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 22nd day of March 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-06131 Filed 3-27-18; 8:45 am]
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