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.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

10266 

Vol. 76, No. 37 

Thursday, February 24, 2011 

1 Instructions on accessing Regulations.gov and 

information on the location and hours of the 

reading room may be found at the beginning of this 

document under ADDRESSES. You may also request 

paper copies of the risk assessment by calling or 

writing the person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 94 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0085] 

RIN 0579–AD17 

Importation of Ovine Meat From 

Uruguay 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the regulations governing the 

importation of certain animals, meat, 

and other animal products to allow, 

under certain conditions, the 

importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) 

ovine meat from Uruguay. Based on the 

evidence in a risk assessment that we 

have prepared, we believe that fresh 

(chilled or frozen) ovine meat can safely 

be imported from Uruguay provided 

certain conditions are met. These 

actions would provide for the 

importation of ovine meat from Uruguay 

into the United States, while continuing 

to protect the United States against the 

introduction of foot-and-mouth disease. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before April 25, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/

component/main?main=DocketDetail&

d=APHIS-2008-0085 to submit or view 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available 

electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send one copy of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0085, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2008–0085. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on this 

docket 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. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Silvia Kreindel, Senior Staff 

Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation 

Services Staff, VS, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 734–8419. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the Animal Health Protection 

Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), the Secretary 

of Agriculture may prohibit the 

importation of any animal or article if 

the Secretary determines that the 

prohibition is necessary to prevent the 

introduction into or dissemination 

within the United States of any pest or 

disease of livestock. 

Pursuant to this Act, the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

of the United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) regulates the 

importation of animals and animal 

products into the United States to guard 

against the introduction of animal 

diseases not currently present or 

prevalent in this country. The 

regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to 

below as the regulations) prohibit or 

restrict the importation of specified 

animals and animal products to prevent 

the introduction into the United States 

of various animal diseases, including 

rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease 

(FMD). These are dangerous and 

destructive communicable diseases of 

ruminants and swine. 

Section 94.1 of the regulations lists 

regions of the world that are declared 

free of rinderpest and FMD. Section 

94.11 lists regions that have been 

determined to be free of rinderpest and 

FMD, but that are subject to certain 

restrictions because of their proximity to 

or trading relationships with rinderpestor FMD-affected regions. 

In a final rule effective and published 

in the Federal Register on May 29, 2003 

(68 FR 31940–31949, Docket No. 02– 

109–3), we amended the regulations to 

authorize the importation of fresh beef 

from Uruguay, a region of the world that 

we do not recognize as free of FMD, 

under certain conditions. Those 

conditions, found in § 94.22 of the 

regulations, require that the meat come 

from bovines that have been born, 

raised, and slaughtered in Uruguay, that 

the bovines have not been exposed to 

FMD on their premises of origin or 

through contact with bovines from other 

premises, that the bovines are subject to 

inspections and processing designed to 

detect FMD and remove potentially 

affected body parts, that the beef is 

subject to a maturation process designed 

to deactivate the FMD virus, that 

Uruguay is free of FMD for a year prior 

to the export of the beef, and that the 

beef has not come in contact with meat 

from FMD-affected regions. 

In 2006, Uruguay’s Ministry of 

Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries 

(MGAP) submitted information to 

APHIS in support of their request that 

we amend the regulations to allow the 

importation of fresh ovine meat into the 

United States. 

In response to this request, APHIS 

prepared a risk assessment, which can 

be viewed on the Internet on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room.1 This assessment pays 

close attention, in particular, to the role 

sheep played in the last outbreak of 

FMD in Uruguay in 2001, and the 

likelihood that FMD has been 

introduced into the domestic ovine 

population within the country since that 

time. In addition, as part of our 

evaluation of the risks associated with 

Uruguay’s request, APHIS conducted a 

site visit in Uruguay in March 2007. 

Based on the risk assessment and the 

site visit, we have determined that it is 

not necessary to prohibit the 

importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) 

ovine meat from Uruguay, provided 

certain requirements, similar to those 

described above for fresh beef and 

discussed later in this document, are 

met. These requirements would be 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2011 / Proposed Rules 10267 

nearly identical to the existing 

requirements for the importation of beef; 

hence we are proposing to revise § 94.22 

to authorize the importation of both beef 

and ovine meat from Uruguay into the 

United States. 

Mitigation Measures for the Importation 

of Ovine Meat From Uruguay 

There are several risk factors 

associated with the importation of ovine 

meat from Uruguay. We discuss our 

proposed mitigation measures for these 

risk factors in the following paragraphs. 

Uruguayan Origin of Ovine Meat; 

Restrictions on Contact With Meat of a 

Different Region of Origin 

Currently, paragraph (a) of § 94.22 

requires that beef from Uruguay must 

come from bovines that have been born, 

raised, and slaughtered in Uruguay. 

Likewise, paragraph (h) of § 94.22 

currently requires that beef from 

Uruguay not have been in contact with 

meat from regions other than those 

listed in § 94.1(a)(2), which lists regions 

declared to be free of both rinderpest 

and FMD. We would subject ovine meat 

from Uruguay to these same 

requirements. As documented in our 

assessment, Brazil and Argentina, 

countries that border Uruguay, both 

experienced outbreaks of FMD as 

recently as 2006, and FMD is under 

control, but endemic, in the region of 

South America surrounding Uruguay. 

FMD Status of Uruguay 

Currently, paragraph (b) of § 94.22 

requires that FMD not have been 

diagnosed in Uruguay within the 

previous 12 months before beef from 

Uruguay is exported to the United 

States. We would amend the paragraph 

so that it would state that, if FMD is 

detected anywhere in Uruguay, the 

export of beef and ovine meat from all 

of Uruguay to the United States is 

prohibited until at least 12 months have 

elapsed since the depopulation, 

cleaning, and disinfection of the last 

infected premises. The current 

provision could be construed to state 

that the 12 month prohibition begins 

following diagnosis of the last affected 

animal during an outbreak, while 

eradication, cleaning, and disinfection 

efforts are still ongoing. This is not the 

case; it is APHIS’ policy that the 12 

month prohibition begins only after all 

‘‘stamping out’’ efforts cease. 

Premises of Origin 

Paragraph (c) of § 94.22 currently 

requires that beef from Uruguay 

exported to the United States come from 

bovines that originated from premises 

where FMD has not been present during 

the lifetime of any bovines slaughtered 

for the export of beef to the United 

States. We would modify paragraph (c) 

so that it would pertain to both bovines 

and sheep. This measure is necessary 

because sheep that have been exposed 

to FMD on their premises of origin pose 

an unacceptably high risk of spreading 

the disease. 

Movement From the Premises of Origin 

Paragraph (d) of § 94.22 currently 

requires that beef from Uruguay come 

from bovines that were moved directly 

from the premises of origin to the 

slaughtering establishment without any 

contact with other animals. We would 

also subject ovine meat from Uruguay to 

this requirement, which addresses the 

risk of cattle or sheep coming into 

contact with or commingling during 

transit to slaughter with animals from 

regions in which FMD is known to exist, 

or that have not been evaluated by 

APHIS with regard to their FMD status. 

Ante- and Post-Mortem Inspections 

Paragraph (e) of § 94.22 currently 

requires that beef from Uruguay come 

from bovines that received ante- and 

post-mortem veterinary inspections, 

paying particular attention to the head 

and feet, at the slaughtering 

establishment, with no evidence found 

of vesicular disease. Because FMD has 

a short incubation period, if animals 

were infected with FMD at a premises 

of origin, it is likely that lesions would 

be visible in at least a few of those 

animals at the slaughtering 

establishment prior to slaughter. 

Similarly, post-mortem inspection of 

carcasses would be likely to identify any 

lesions and vesicles in animals infected 

with FMD. Since the lesions associated 

with FMD occur primarily on the feet 

and in the mouth, particular attention 

must be paid to the head and feet during 

these inspections. Because ante- and 

post-mortem inspections are effective in 

reducing disease risk, we are proposing 

to also require ante- and post-mortem 

inspections for sheep slaughtered for the 

export of fresh (chilled or frozen) ovine 

meat from Uruguay to the United States. 

Restrictions on Certain Ovine Parts 

Paragraph (f) of § 94.22 currently 

requires that beef from Uruguay consist 

only of bovine parts that are, by 

standard practice, part of the animal’s 

carcass that is placed in a chiller for 

maturation after slaughter. Accordingly, 

the paragraph prohibits the importation 

of all parts of bovine heads, feet, hump, 

hooves, or internal organs. 

We would apply this requirement to 

ovine meat from Uruguay, and would 

therefore authorize the importation into 

the United States only of ovine parts 

that are, by standard practice, part of the 

animal’s carcass that is placed in a 

chiller for maturation after slaughter. As 

a result, we would continue to prohibit 

the importation of ovine heads, feet, 

hooves, and internal organs into the 

United States; sheep have no humps. 

While portions of a sheep’s head, feet, 

hooves, and internal organs may reach 

the necessary pH level to inactivate the 

FMD virus during the required 

maturation process (see the section 

below titled ‘‘Maturation Process’’), 

these items can contain lymph tissue, 

depot fat, and blood clots that may 

potentially harbor active FMD virus, 

even after that process; hence the need 

for this requirement. 

Bone, Blood Clots, and Lymphoid Tissue 

Paragraph (g) of § 94.22 currently 

requires all bone and visually 

identifiable blood clots and lymphoid 

tissue to be removed from beef from 

Uruguay prior to export to the United 

States. We would subject ovine meat 

from Uruguay to this same requirement. 

The removal of bones and visually 

identifiable blood clots is necessary 

because any FMD virus these parts 

might potentially harbor may not be 

inactivated by the maturation process 

described later in this document. 

Although we consider the removal of 

these parts to be necessary, we 

recognize that meat may contain small 

portions of blood clots or lymphoid 

tissue that are not visually identifiable 

as such. Because such small parts are 

unlikely to harbor any FMD virus that 

is not inactivated by the maturation 

process, and because we recognize that 

it would be difficult, if not impossible, 

to remove parts of blood clots or 

lymphoid tissue that are not 

recognizable as such, we have specified 

that all visually identifiable blood clots 

and lymphoid tissue would have to be 

removed. 

Maturation Process 

Paragraph (i) of § 94.22 currently 

requires that beef from Uruguay come 

from bovine carcasses that were allowed 

to maturate at 40 to 50 °F (4 to 10 °C) 

for a minimum of 36 hours after 

slaughter and that reached a pH of 5.8 

or less in the loin muscle at the end of 

the maturation period. It further states 

that measurement of the pH must be 

taken at the middle of both longissimus 

dorsi muscles. Finally, it provides that 

any carcass in which the pH does not 

reach 5.8 or less may be allowed to 

maturate an additional 24 hours and be 

retested, and states that, if the carcass 

still has not reached a pH of 5.8 or less 

after 60 hours, the meat from the carcass 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
10268 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

may not be exported to the United 

States. These requirements are based on 

the fact that the FMD virus in meat is 

inactivated by acidification, which 

occurs naturally during maturation. An 

acid environment of a pH of 5.8 or less 

destroys the virus quickly. Accordingly, 

we would subject ovine meat from 

Uruguay to these same requirements. 

APHIS Inspection of Slaughtering 

Establishments 

Paragraph (j) of § 94.22 currently 

requires that an authorized veterinary 

official of the Government of Uruguay 

certify on the foreign meat inspection 

certificate that the conditions for 

importation of the beef have been met. 

Similarly, paragraph (k) currently 

requires that the establishment in which 

the bovines are slaughtered allow 

periodic APHIS inspection of their 

facilities, records, and operations. We 

would subject ovine meat from Uruguay 

to these requirements. We believe that, 

in the great majority of cases, 

certification by an authorized veterinary 

official of Uruguay will be sufficient 

verification that the ovine meat has met 

the conditions for importation into the 

United States. However, because of the 

possibility of occasional differing 

interpretations of the regulations, we 

consider it advisable to have provisions 

within the regulations enabling APHIS 

representatives to have access to 

slaughtering establishments for periodic 

inspections. 

Finally, we note that, in addition to 

the above provisions, any ovine meat 

imported from Uruguay would have to 

meet the additional certification 

requirements under § 94.11(c). That 

paragraph prohibits the export-approved 

slaughter establishment from receiving 

FMD-susceptible animals or animal 

products that originated, transported, or 

commingled with animals or animal 

products from regions that APHIS does 

not consider as FMD-free. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, 

therefore, has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

We are proposing to amend the 

regulations governing the importation of 

certain animals, meat, and other animal 

products by allowing, under certain 

conditions, the importation of fresh 

(chilled or frozen) ovine meat from 

Uruguay. Based on the evidence in a 

recent risk assessment, we believe that 

fresh (chilled or frozen) ovine meat can 

be safely imported from Uruguay 

provided certain conditions are met. 

We have prepared an economic 

analysis for this proposed rule. The 

analysis, which considers the number of 

and type of entities that are likely to be 

affected by this action and the potential 

economic effects on those entities, 

provides the basis for the 

Administrator’s determination that this 

action would not have a significant 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The economic analysis may be 

viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site 

(see ADDRESSES above for instructions 

for accessing Regulations.gov). Copies of 

the economic analysis are also available 

from the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is 

adopted: (1) No retroactive effect will be 

given to this rule and (2) administrative 

proceedings will not be required before 

parties may file suit in court challenging 

this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with section 3507(d) of 

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information 

collection or recordkeeping 

requirements included in this proposed 

rule have been submitted for approval to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). Please send written comments 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: 

Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington, DC 

20503. Please state that your comments 

refer to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0085. 

Please send a copy of your comments to: 

(1) Docket No. APHIS–2008–0085, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238, and (2) Clearance Officer, 

OCIO, USDA, room 404–W, 14th Street 

and Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20250. A comment to 

OMB is best assured of having its full 

effect if OMB receives it within 30 days 

of publication of this proposed rule. 

We are proposing to amend the 

regulations governing the importation of 

certain animals, meat, and other animal 

products to allow, under certain 

conditions, the importation of fresh 

(chilled or frozen) ovine meat from 

Uruguay. This action would provide for 

the importation of ovine meat from 

Uruguay into the United States, while 

continuing to protect the United States 

against the introduction of foot-andmouth disease. Under the proposed 

regulations, APHIS would collect 

information, provided by an authorized 

certifying official of the Government of 

Uruguay, certifying that specific 

conditions for importation have been 

met. 

We are soliciting comments from the 

public (as well as affected agencies) 

concerning our proposed information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements. These comments will 

help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper performance of our agency’s 

functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

information collection, 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 

information collection on those who are 

to respond (such as through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology; e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses). 

Estimate of burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 1.6 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Animal health officials 

of the government of Uruguay. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 5. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 1. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 5. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 8 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.) 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Mrs. Celeste 

Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2908. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance with the E-Government Act 

to promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this proposed rule, please contact 

Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ 

Information Collection Coordinator, at 

(301) 851–2908. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 37 / Thursday, February 24, 2011 / Proposed Rules 10269 

National Environmental Policy Act 

To provide the public with 

documentation of APHIS’ review and 

analysis of any potential environmental 

impacts associated with allowing the 

importation of ovine meat from Uruguay 

into the United States, we have 

prepared an environmental assessment. 

The environmental assessment was 

prepared in accordance with: (1) The 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the 

Council on Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

The environmental assessment may 

be viewed on the Internet on the 

Regulations.gov Web site and is 

available for public inspection in our 

reading room. (Instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room 

are provided under the heading 

ADDRESSES at the beginning of this 

proposed rule.) In addition, copies may 

be obtained by calling or writing to the 

individual listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

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 proposing to 

amend 9 CFR Part 94 as follows: 

PART 94—RINDERPEST, FOOT-ANDMOUTH DISEASE, EXOTIC 

NEWCASTLE DISEASE, AFRICAN 

SWINE FEVER, CLASSICAL SWINE 

FEVER, SWINE VESICULAR DISEASE, 

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, 7701–7772, and 

8301–8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 

U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4. 

2. Section 94.1 is amended by revising 

paragraph (b)(4) and the introductory 

text of paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 94.1 Regions where rinderpest or footand-mouth disease exists; importations 

prohibited. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) Except as provided in § 94.22 for 

fresh (chilled or frozen) beef and ovine 

meat from Uruguay. 

* * * * * 

(d) Except as otherwise provided in 

this part, fresh (chilled or frozen) meat 

of ruminants or swine raised and 

slaughtered in a region free of foot-andmouth disease and rinderpest, as 

designated in paragraph (a)(2) of this 

section, and fresh (chilled or frozen) 

beef and ovine meat exported from 

Uruguay in accordance with § 94.22, 

which during shipment to the United 

States enters a port or otherwise transits 

a region where rinderpest or foot-andmouth disease exists, may be imported 

provided that all of the following 

conditions are met: 

* * * * * 

3. Section 94.22 is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 94.22 Restrictions on importation of beef 

and ovine meat from Uruguay. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions 

of this part, fresh (chilled or frozen) beef 

and ovine meat from Uruguay may be 

exported to the United States under the 

following conditions: 

(a) The meat is beef and ovine meat 

from animals that have been born, 

raised, and slaughtered in Uruguay. 

(b) If foot-and-mouth disease is 

detected anywhere in Uruguay, the 

export of beef and ovine meat from all 

of Uruguay to the United States is 

prohibited until at least 12 months have 

elapsed since the depopulation, 

cleaning, and disinfection of the last 

infected premises. 

(c) The meat comes from bovines and 

sheep that originate from premises 

where foot-and-mouth disease has not 

been present during the lifetime of any 

bovines and sheep slaughtered for the 

export of beef and ovine meat to the 

United States. 

(d) The meat comes from bovines and 

sheep that were moved directly from the 

premises of origin to the slaughtering 

establishment without any contact with 

other animals. 

(e) The meat comes from bovines and 

sheep that received ante-mortem and 

post-mortem veterinary inspections, 

paying particular attention to the head 

and feet, at the slaughtering 

establishment, with no evidence found 

of vesicular disease. 

(f) The meat consists only of bovine 

parts and ovine parts that are, by 

standard practice, part of the animal’s 

carcass that is placed in a chiller for 

maturation after slaughter. The bovine 

and ovine parts that may not be 

imported include all parts of the head, 

feet, hump, hooves, and internal organs. 

(g) All bone and visually identifiable 

blood clots and lymphoid tissue have 

been removed from the meat. 

(h) The meat has not been in contact 

with meat from regions other than those 

listed in § 94.1(a)(2). 

(i) The meat comes from carcasses 

that were allowed to maturate at 40 to 

50 °F (4 to 10 °C) for a minimum of 36 

hours after slaughter and that reached a 

pH of 5.8 or less in the loin muscle at 

the end of the maturation period. 

Measurements for pH must be taken at 

the middle of both longissimus dorsi 

muscles. Any carcass in which the pH 

does not reach 5.8 or less may be 

allowed to maturate an additional 24 

hours and be retested, and, if the carcass 

still has not reached a pH of 5.8 or less 

after 60 hours, the meat from the carcass 

may not be exported to the United 

States. 

(j) An authorized veterinary official of 

the Government of Uruguay certifies on 

the foreign meat inspection certificate 

that the above conditions have been 

met. 

(k) The establishment in which the 

bovines and sheep are slaughtered 

allows periodic on-site evaluation and 

subsequent inspection of its facilities, 

records, and operations by an APHIS 

representative. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of 

February 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4138 Filed 2–23–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

NUCLEAR REGULATORY 

COMMISSION 

10 CFR Part 52 

[NRC–2010–0131] 

RIN 3150–AI81 

AP1000 Design Certification 

Amendment 

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC or Commission) 

proposes to amend its regulations to 

certify an amendment to the AP1000 

standard plant design. The purpose of 

the amendment is to replace the 

combined license (COL) information 

items and design acceptance criteria 

(DAC) with specific design information, 

address the effects of the impact of a 

large commercial aircraft, incorporate 

design improvements, and increase 

standardization of the design. Upon 

NRC rulemaking approval of its 

amendment to the AP1000 design, an 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with PROPOSALS