Notice2026-04923
Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Cooperative State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the Cooperative State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12340-12341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04923]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2026-0232]
Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an
Information Collection; Cooperative State-Federal Brucellosis
Eradication Program
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Revision to and extension of approval of an information
collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's
intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an
information collection associated with the Cooperative State-Federal
Brucellosis Eradication Program.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May
12, 2026.
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-2026-0232 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-2026-0232, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside
Ave., #AP760, Beltsville, MD 20705.
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: For information on the Cooperative
State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program, contact Dr. Jennifer
Siembieda, Assistant Director, Ruminant Health Center, Strategy and
Policy, Veterinary Services, APHIS, 2150 Centre Ave., Bldg. B, Fort
Collins, CO 80526; (970) 278-7893. For more information on the
information collection reporting process, contact Ms. Sheniqua Harris,
APHIS' Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator, at (301) 851-2528 or email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8ccddcc4c5dfa2dcdecdccf9ffe8eda2ebe3fa"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f3b2a3bbbaa0dda3a1b2b386809792dd949c85">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Cooperative State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0047.
Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an
information collection.
Abstract: The Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.)
of 2002 gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to detect,
control, or eradicate pests or diseases of livestock or poultry. The
Secretary may also prohibit or restrict import or export of any animal
or related material if necessary, to prevent the spread of any
livestock or poultry pest or disease.
Disease prevention and disease surveillance are the most effective
methods for maintaining a healthy animal population and for enhancing
the United States' ability to compete in the world market of animal and
animal product trade. The Veterinary Services (VS) unit of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) is responsible for administering regulations intended
to protect the health of the U.S. livestock population.
Brucellosis is an infectious disease of animals and humans caused
by bacteria of the genus Brucella. The disease is characterized by
abortions and impaired fertility in its principal animal hosts. The
disease infects humans through contact with infected animals or with
certain body fluids of infected animals. Usually Brucella abortus is
associated with the disease in cattle or bison, Brucella suis with the
disease in swine, and Brucella melitensis with the disease in sheep and
goats. The continued presence of brucellosis in a herd seriously
threatens the health, welfare, and economic viability of the livestock
industry. There is no economically feasible treatment for brucellosis
in livestock.
The Cooperative State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program is a
national program to eliminate this serious disease of livestock. The
program is conducted under the authority of the various States and
supplemented by Federal authorities regulating interstate movement of
infected animals. Regulations in 9 CFR part 78 outline the Cooperative
State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program. The regulations include
required surveillance, epidemiological investigation, annual reporting,
and interstate movement activities that must be documented.
Minimum program standards known as the Brucellosis Eradication
Uniform Methods and Rules (UM&R) have been developed cooperatively by
organizations representing the livestock industry, State animal health
agencies, and the USDA. State and Federal officials in charge of
program activities in each State are responsible for continuously
evaluating the efficiency of local procedures in locating and
eliminating infected livestock. The minimum standards in the UM&R must
be met or exceeded throughout the certification period to maintain
continuous classification status. Meeting these standards requires
information collection.
Information is generally collected by State and Federal animal
health officials through interviews or reviewing records. In addition,
the information on some documents may be collected by private
veterinary practitioners (i.e., test charts, vaccination records, and
official Certificates of Veterinary Inspection) or blood collection
personnel on contract (i.e., market cattle slaughter surveillance blood
collection forms and brucellosis ring testing milk sample collection
forms). The information is collected at the time each appropriate event
occurs. In most instances, information is collected when testing or
vaccinating individual animals or herds, applying official
identification to animals, or conducting surveillance or
epidemiological investigation activities. Some events, such as market
cattle slaughter surveillance, occur daily. Other events, such as on-
farm blood testing and vaccination, occur as part of routine animal
health management. A few events, such as infected-herd investigations,
occur only a few times a year.
In addition, the bovine brucellosis program regulations in part 78
provide a system for classifying States or portions of States according
to the rate of B. abortus infection present and the general
effectiveness of a brucellosis control and eradication program. The
program also provides for the creation of brucellosis management areas
within a State and for testing and movement mitigation activities
before regulated animals are permitted to move interstate. This system
enhances the ability of States to move healthy,
[[Page 12341]]
brucellosis-free cattle and bison interstate and internationally. This
management area and testing system also enhances the effectiveness of
the Brucellosis Eradication Program by decreasing the likelihood that
infected animals will be moved interstate or internationally.
The creation of brucellosis management areas allows States that
have found B. abortus in wildlife (which are nonregulated animals) to
mitigate the risk of transmission and spread of disease while
maintaining the State's disease-free status in regulated domestic
livestock. The State must sign a memorandum of understanding with the
APHIS Administrator that describes its brucellosis management plan. The
brucellosis management plan developed by the State must define the
geographic brucellosis management area and describe the surveillance
and mitigation activities that the State will conduct to identify
occurrence of B. abortus in domestic livestock and wildlife and
potential risks for spread of the disease.
We are asking Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our
use of these information collection activities, as described, for an
additional 3 years. APHIS has amended this information collection by
increasing the number of Responses and Total Burden Hours being
reported for the collection.
The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public
(as well as affected agencies) concerning our information collection.
These comments will help us:
(1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology
and assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, through use, as appropriate, of automated,
electronic, mechanical, and other collection technologies; e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
Estimate of burden: The public burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 0.26 hours per response.
Respondents: Commercial livestock farm owners and managers; animal
agriculture-related business owners and managers; private
veterinarians; animal agriculture-related agencies and organizations;
breed registry agencies; agriculture extension agents; fair and
exhibition officials; owners, operators, and managers of livestock
markets; owners, operators, and managers of slaughter establishments
and dairy plants; and State animal health officials and laboratory
personnel (including wildlife biologists).
Estimated annual number of respondents: 87,974.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 11.
Estimated annual number of responses: 956,044.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 246,575 hours. (Due
to averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product
of the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden
per response.)
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of
public record.
Done in Washington, DC, this 9th day of March 2026.
Kelly Moore,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-04923 Filed 3-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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