Federal Register, Volume 67 Issue 6 (Wednesday, January 9, 2002)

[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 9, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1072-1074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-454]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. 01-031-3]

Change in Disease Status of The Netherlands and Northern Ireland
With Regard to Foot-and-Mouth Disease

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are amending the regulations governing the importation of
certain animals, meat, and other animal products by adding The
Netherlands and Northern Ireland to the list of regions considered free
of rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and to the list of
regions subject to certain import restrictions on meat and animal
products because of their proximity to or trading relationships with
rinderpest-or FMD-affected regions. This final rule follows interim
rules that removed France, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, and
Northern Ireland from those lists due to detection of FMD in those
regions. Based on the results of an evaluation of the current FMD
situation in The Netherlands and Northern Ireland, we have determined
that The Netherlands and Northern Ireland meet the standards of the
Office International des Epizooties for being considered free of FMD.
This rule relieves certain prohibitions and restrictions on the
importation of ruminants and swine and fresh (chilled or frozen) meat
and other products of ruminants and swine into the United States from
The Netherlands and Northern Ireland.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 9, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Anne Goodman, Senior Staff
Microbiologist, Regionalization Evaluation Services Staff, 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, foot-and-mouth disease
(FMD), African swine fever, hog cholera (also known as classical swine
fever), and swine vesicular disease. These are dangerous and
destructive communicable diseases of ruminants and swine. Section 94.1
of the regulations lists regions of the world that are considered free
of rinderpest or free of both rinderpest and FMD. Rinderpest or FMD is
considered to exist in all parts of the world not listed. Section 94.11
of the regulations lists regions of the world that the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has determined to be free of
rinderpest and FMD, but from which importation of meat and animal
products into the United States is restricted because of the regions'
proximity to or trading relationships with rinderpest-or FMD-affected
regions.
In an interim rule effective January 15, 2001, and published in the
Federal Register on March 14, 2001 (66 FR 14825-14826, Docket No. 01-
018-1), we amended the regulations by removing Great Britain and
Northern Ireland from the list of regions considered to be free of
rinderpest and FMD. (The Federal Register published a correction (66 FR
18357) to the interim rule on April 6, 2001.) In an interim rule
effective February 19, 2001, and published in the Federal Register on
June 1, 2001 (66 FR 29686-29689, Docket No. 01-031-1), we amended the
regulations by removing France, Ireland, and The Netherlands from the
list of regions considered to be free of rinderpest and FMD. These
actions were necessary because FMD had been confirmed in each of those
regions. The effect of the interim rules was to prohibit or restrict
the importation of any ruminant or swine and any fresh (chilled or
frozen) meat and other products of ruminants or swine into the United
States from Great Britain, Northern Ireland, France, Ireland, and The
Netherlands.
In those interim rules, we recognized that the appropriate
authorities had responded to the detection of FMD by imposing
restrictions on the movement of ruminants, swine, and ruminant and
swine products from FMD-affected areas; by conducting heightened
surveillance activities; and by initiating measures to eradicate the
disease. We stated that we intended to reassess the situations at a
future date in accordance with Office International des Epizooties
(OIE) standards, and that as part of that reassessment process, we
would consider all comments received regarding the interim rules.
Additionally, we stated that the future reassessments would enable us
to determine whether it was necessary to continue to prohibit or
restrict the importation of ruminants or swine and any fresh (chilled
or frozen) meat and other products of ruminants or swine from Great
Britain, Northern Ireland, France, Ireland, and The Netherlands, or
whether we could restore some or all of those regions to the list of
regions in which FMD is not known to exist or, alternatively,
regionalize portions of those regions as FMD-free.
We solicited comments concerning Docket No. 01-018-1 for 60 days
ending May 14, 2001, and received one comment by that date, submitted
by a medical product manufacturer, requesting permission to import a
specific medical product for human use that would otherwise be
prohibited importation from regions not listed as free of FMD. As a
result of this request, we determined that the product could be
imported with negligible risk of FMD, and allowed the product to be
imported in accordance with Sec. 94.3, which allows certain types of
products to be imported from FMD-affected regions for pharmaceutical or
biological purposes.
We solicited comments concerning Docket No. 01-031-1 for 60 days
ending July 31, 2001, and received four comments by that date. They
were from businesses, a livestock association, and a Member State of
the European Union. We addressed those comments in a final rule (66 FR
55872-55876, Docket No. 01-031-2), published in the Federal Register
and effective November 5, 2001, in which we restored France and Ireland
to both the list of regions considered to be free of rinderpest and FMD
and the list of regions subject to certain import restrictions on meat
and animal products because of their proximity to or trading
relationships with rinderpest-or FMD-affected regions.
One of the four comments we received suggested that The Netherlands
be recognized as FMD free, claiming that the Netherlands would be free
of the disease by August 25, 2001. We made no changes to the FMD status
of the Netherlands in the November 5 final rule, but responded that we
were continuing to monitor that country's progress with respect to the
disease and were reevaluating its FMD status. We stated that we would
publish a separate document in the Federal Register with respect to the
FMD status of The Netherlands when our evaluation was complete.

[[Page 1073]]

Status of The Netherlands and Northern Ireland

In this final rule, we are restoring The Netherlands and Northern
Ireland to the list in Sec. 94.1(a) of regions that are considered to
be free of rinderpest and FMD. Our reasons follow.
According to the OIE, when FMD occurs in an FMD-free country or
zone where vaccination is not practiced before the outbreak, the
following waiting periods are required to regain FMD-free status:
In cases where stamping-out and serological surveillance
are applied, 3 months after the last case; or
In cases where emergency vaccination, stamping out, and
serological surveillance are applied, 3 months after the slaughter of
the last vaccinated animal.
Neither Northern Ireland nor The Netherlands vaccinated animals
against FMD before the initial outbreaks that were confirmed in
Northern Ireland on February 28, 2001, and in The Netherlands on March
21, 2001. Both countries initiated immediate destruction of affected
animals and conducted clinical and serological surveillance.
Additionally, The Netherlands adopted a policy of emergency
vaccination.
The last case of FMD in Northern Ireland occurred on April 20,
2001, and the last case of FMD in The Netherlands occurred on April 22,
2001. The last vaccinated animal in The Netherlands was slaughtered on
May 25, 2001. We find that Northern Ireland as well as The Netherlands
meet the OIE standards for regaining FMD-free status.
We have evaluated the FMD eradication efforts in The Netherlands
and Northern Ireland based on information provided to us by those
regions and our own site visits. Our findings and site visit reports
may be viewed on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/reg-request.html. You may also request paper copies of these documents by
calling or writing the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. Please refer to Docket No. 01-031-3 when requesting copies.
These documents are also available in our reading room. (The reading
room 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) 690-2817 before
coming.)
Based on our findings and after reviewing comments submitted to us
on the interim rules, we are amending the regulations by restoring The
Netherlands and Northern Ireland to the list in Sec. 94.1(a)(2) of
regions that are declared free of both rinderpest and FMD. We are also
restoring The Netherlands and Northern Ireland to the list in
Sec. 94.11(a) of regions that are declared free of rinderpest and FMD
but that are subject to special restrictions on the importation of
their meat and other animal products into the United States. The
regions listed in Sec. 94.11(a) are subject to these special
restrictions because they: (1) Supplement their national meat supply by
importing fresh (chilled or frozen) meat of ruminants or swine from
regions that are designated in Sec. 94.1(a) as regions where rinderpest
or FMD exists; (2) have a common land border with regions where
rinderpest or FMD exists; or (3) import ruminants or swine from regions
where rinderpest or FMD exists under conditions less restrictive than
would be acceptable for importation into the United States.
This action relieves certain restrictions due to FMD and rinderpest
on the importation into the United States of certain live animals and
animal products from The Netherlands and Northern Ireland. However,
because The Netherlands and Northern Ireland have certain trade
practices regarding animals and animal products that are less
restrictive than are acceptable for importation into the United States,
the importation of meat and other products from ruminants and swine
into the United States from The Netherlands and Northern Ireland
continues to be subject to certain restrictions.

Effective Date

This is a substantive rule that relieves restrictions and, pursuant
to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made effective less than 30
days after publication in the Federal Register. This rule restores The
Netherlands and Northern Ireland to the list of regions considered free
of FMD. Immediate action is necessary to remove restrictions on the
importation of animals, meat, and other animal products that are no
longer necessary. Therefore, the Administrator of the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service has determined that this rule should be
effective upon publication in the Federal Register.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. For this
action, the Office of Management and Budget has waived its review
process required by Executive Order 12866.
We are amending the regulations governing the importation of
certain animals, meat, and other animal products by adding The
Netherlands and Northern Ireland to the list of regions considered to
be free of rinderpest and FMD and to the list of regions that are
subject to certain import restrictions on meat and animal products
because of their proximity to or trading relationships with rinderpest-
or FMD-affected regions. This final rule follows interim rules that
removed Great Britain, Northern Ireland, France, Ireland, and The
Netherlands from those lists due to detection of FMD in those regions.
Based on the results of an evaluation of the current FMD situation in
The Netherlands and Northern Ireland, we have determined that The
Netherlands and Northern Ireland meet the standards of OIE for being
considered free of FMD. This rule relieves certain prohibitions and
restrictions on the importation of ruminants and swine and fresh
(chilled or frozen) meat and other products of ruminants and swine into
the United States from The Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
The Netherlands and Northern Ireland have not generally been major
sources of U.S. imports of the products covered by the interim rule and
this final rule, which include live ruminants, live swine, fresh
(chilled or frozen) meat of ruminants and swine, processed ruminant and
swine meat, some dairy products, animal feeds, and other ruminant and
swine products such as semen, embryos, untanned hides and skins,
unwashed wool, hair, bones, blood, and some other byproducts. Also,
past imports of these products from The Netherlands and Northern
Ireland represent a small fraction of the total U.S. imports or total
U.S. production of these products. This final rule is not expected to
alter these past trade patterns.
The majority of entities potentially affected by this final rule
are considered small. For example, in 1997, approximately 97 percent
(2,919 of 2,992) of meat and meat product wholesalers, 99 percent
(1,490 of 1,503) of livestock wholesalers,\1\ 92 percent (79,155 of
86,022) of dairy farms, 99.3 percent (651,542 of 656,181) of cattle
farms, 87 percent (40,185 of 46,353) of hog and pig farms, 99.5 percent
(29,790 of 29,938) of sheep and goat farms,\2\ 98 percent (1,272 of
1,297) of slaughtering establishments, and 95 percent (1,324 of

[[Page 1074]]

1,393) of meat processing establishments \3\ would be considered small
entities under the criteria set by the Small Business Administration.
However, these entities should be little affected by this rulemaking
because of the negligible effect on imports.
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\1\ 1997 Economic Census, Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census.
\2\ 1997 Census of Agriculture, USDA, National Agricultural
Statistics Service.
\3\ 1997 Economic Census, Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census.
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Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.

Executive Order 12988

This final rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws
and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no
retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings
before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This final rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping
requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.).

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94

Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Meat and meat products, Milk,
Poultry and poultry products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR part 94 as follows:

PART 94--RINDERPEST, FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, FOWL PEST (FOWL
PLAGUE), EXOTIC NEWCASTLE DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE FEVER, HOG
CHOLERA, AND BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY: PROHIBITED AND
RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 94 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7711, 7712, 7713,7714, 7751, and 7754;
19 U.S.C. 1306; 21 U.S.C. 111, 114a, 134a, 134b, 134c, 134f, 136,
and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331 and 4332; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80,
and 371.4.

Sec. 94.1 [Amended]

2. In Sec. 94.1, paragraph (a)(2) is amended by adding, in
alphabetical order, the words ``The Netherlands,'' and ``Northern
Ireland,''.

Sec. 94.11 [Amended]

3. In Sec. 94.11, paragraph (a) is amended by adding, in
alphabetical order, the words ``The Netherlands,'' and ``Northern
Ireland,''.

Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of January 2002.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-454 Filed 1-8-02; 8:45 am]
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