Notice2022-18409
Notice of Availability of Bovine Tuberculosis Status Evaluation of Eight Mexican Regions and Intent To Classify Those Regions for Bovine Tuberculosis
Primary source
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Published
August 26, 2022
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Abstract
We are advising the public that we are proposing to classify eight Mexican regions for bovine tuberculosis as follows: The State of Sonora as Level II; the Yucat[aacute]n Peninsula region (States of Yucat[aacute]n and Quintana Roo, and part of the State of Campeche), the Huasteca region (parts of the States of Puebla, Veracruz, and Hidalgo), part of the State of Chihuahua, and part of the State of Durango as Level III; and part of the State of Coahuila, part of the State of Nuevo Le[oacute]n, and the State of Tamaulipas as Level IV. These proposed recognitions are based on an evaluation we have prepared in connection with this action, which we are making available for review and comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 165 (Friday, August 26, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 165 (Friday, August 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52500-52502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18409]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2021-0019]
Notice of Availability of Bovine Tuberculosis Status Evaluation
of Eight Mexican Regions and Intent To Classify Those Regions for
Bovine Tuberculosis
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we are proposing to classify
eight Mexican regions for bovine tuberculosis as follows: The State of
Sonora as Level II; the Yucat[aacute]n Peninsula region (States of
Yucat[aacute]n and Quintana Roo, and part of the State of Campeche),
the Huasteca region (parts of the States of Puebla, Veracruz, and
Hidalgo), part of the State of Chihuahua, and part of the State of
Durango as Level III; and part of the State of Coahuila, part of the
State of Nuevo Le[oacute]n, and the State of Tamaulipas as Level IV.
These proposed recognitions are based on an evaluation
[[Page 52501]]
we have prepared in connection with this action, which we are making
available for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
October 25, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Enter APHIS-2021-0019 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
<bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2021-0019, 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 <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> 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: Dr. Kari Coulson, Import Risk Analyst,
Regionalization Evaluation Services, Strategy and Policy, VS, APHIS,
USDA, 920 Main Campus Drive, Venture II, 3rd floor, Raleigh, NC 27606;
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c786b4ac95a2a0aea8a9a6abaebda6b3aea8a987b2b4a3a6e9a0a8b1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3574465e6750525c5a5b54595c4f54415c5a5b75404651541b525a43">[email protected]</span></a>; (919) 480-9876.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 93, subpart D
(Sec. Sec. 93.400 through 93.442, referred to below as part 93 or the
subpart), contain requirements for the importation of ruminants into
the United States to address the risk of introducing or disseminating
diseases of livestock within the United States. Part 93 currently
contains provisions that address the risk that imported bovines (cattle
or bison) may introduce or disseminate bovine tuberculosis within the
United States. Within part 93, Sec. 93.437 contains the requirements
for classification of foreign regions for bovine tuberculosis and Sec.
93.438 contains the process for requesting regional classification for
bovine tuberculosis.
In accordance with Sec. 93.437(f), the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) maintains lists of all Level I, Level II,
Level III, Level IV, and Level V regions for bovine tuberculosis and
adds foreign regions classified in accordance with Sec. 93.438 to
these lists. In accordance with Sec. 93.437(e), regions that do not
have a program that meets APHIS requirements for bovine tuberculosis
classification, have a prevalence of bovine tuberculosis in their
domestic bovine herds equal to or greater than 0.5 percent, or are
unassessed by APHIS with regard to bovine tuberculosis are considered
to be Level V.
Paragraph (a) of Sec. 93.438 provides that a representative of a
national government with authority to make such a request may request
that APHIS classify a region for bovine tuberculosis. Within that same
section, paragraph (b) provides that if, after reviewing and evaluating
the request for bovine tuberculosis classification, APHIS believes the
region can be accurately classified, APHIS will publish a notice in the
Federal Register with the proposed classification and make its
evaluation available for public comment. 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 document published in the Federal Register.
The Government of Mexico has requested that APHIS evaluate and
classify several Mexican regions for bovine tuberculosis. APHIS has
evaluated eight of the proposed Mexican regions to date in response to
this request: The State of Sonora; the Yucat[aacute]n Peninsula region
(States of Yucat[aacute]n and Quintana Roo, and part of the State of
Campeche); the Huasteca region (parts of the States of Puebla,
Veracruz, San Luis Potos[iacute], and Hidalgo); part of the State of
Chihuahua, part of the State of Durango; part of the State of Coahuila;
part of the State of Nuevo Le[oacute]n; and the State of Tamaulipas. We
have detailed the findings and conclusions in a document titled ``APHIS
Evaluation of Eight Mexican Regions for Bovine Tuberculosis (M. bovis)
Classification'' (March 2022). The evaluation concludes that the Sonora
region meets the conditions to be classified as Level II for bovine
tuberculosis, which supports adding the Sonora region to the web-based
list of Level II regions for bovine tuberculosis. The evaluation also
concludes that the Yucat[aacute]n Peninsula (States of Yucat[aacute]n
and Quintana Roo, and part of the State of Campeche), Huasteca
(including parts of the States of Puebla, Veracruz, and Hidalgo, but
excluding San Luis Potos[iacute]), Chihuahua, and Durango regions meet
the conditions to be classified as Level III for bovine tuberculosis,
which supports adding the Yucat[aacute]n Peninsula, Huasteca (parts of
the States of Puebla, Veracruz, and Hidalgo), Chihuahua, and Durango
regions to the web-based list of Level III regions for bovine
tuberculosis. The evaluation further concludes that the Coahuila, Nuevo
Le[oacute]n, and Tamaulipas regions meet the conditions to be
classified as Level IV for bovine tuberculosis, which supports adding
the Coahuila, Nuevo Le[oacute]n, and Tamaulipas regions to the web-
based list of Level IV regions for bovine tuberculosis.
Additionally, although the Government of Mexico requested inclusion
of part of the State of San Luis Potos[iacute] (Zone A1) in the
Huasteca region, the APHIS evaluation concluded that Zone A1 does not
meet the conditions to be classified as Level III at this time. San
Luis Potos[iacute] (Zone A1) is eligible to export bovine animals to
the United States under a previous agreement. Pursuant to a final rule
published in the Federal Register on September 17, 2020 (85 FR 57944-
57956, Docket No. APHIS-2011-0044),\1\ San Luis Potos[iacute] (Zone A1)
will continue to be able to trade with the United States under the
terms of the status it currently holds until we reevaluate the zone and
act to classify the zone in accordance with Sec. 93.437.
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\1\ To view the final rule, go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and enter
APHIS-2011-0044 in the Search field.
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Regions of Mexico not listed above do not currently hold bovine
tuberculosis status and are not eligible to export bovine animals to
the United States except to direct slaughter. These regions either do
not have a program that meets APHIS requirements for bovine
tuberculosis classification or are unassessed by APHIS with regard to
bovine tuberculosis and would be considered Level V for bovine
tuberculosis.
Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 93.438(b), we are announcing
the availability of our evaluation of these eight Mexican regions for
bovine tuberculosis for public review and comment.
Information submitted in support of Mexico's request is available
by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our final
determination regarding classification of these eight Mexican regions
with respect to bovine tuberculosis in a subsequent notice.
National Environmental Policy Act
On December 27, 2021, we published in the Federal Register a notice
(86 FR 73238-73239, Docket No. APHIS-2020-0071) announcing that we were
classifying Canada as Level I for
[[Page 52502]]
brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis. That final notice was accompanied
by a final environmental assessment and finding of no significant
impact (FONSI). The final environmental assessment and FONSI also
evaluated the possible environmental impacts associated with
classifying the State of Sonora as Level II; the Yucat[aacute]n
Peninsula region (States of Yucat[aacute]n and Quintana Roo, and part
of the State of Campeche), the Huasteca region (parts of the States of
Puebla, Veracruz, and Hidalgo), part of the State of Chihuahua, and
part of the State of Durango as Level III; and part of the State of
Coahuila, part of the State of Nuevo Le[oacute]n, and the State of
Tamaulipas as Level IV for bovine tuberculosis. Accordingly, we direct
the public to go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> and enter APHIS-2020-0071 in
the Search field to view those documents, and are not republishing them
for this action.
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 August 2022.
Anthony Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-18409 Filed 8-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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