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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 15 (Thursday, January 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3775-3777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01229]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0105]

Notice of Availability of Evaluations of the Foot-and-Mouth 
Disease and Rinderpest Status of a Region of Patagonia, Argentina

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have determined that a 
region of Argentina, consisting of the areas of Patagonia South and 
Patagonia North B, is free of foot-and-mouth disease. We are making 
that determination, as well as an evaluation we have prepared in 
connection with this action, available for review and comment. In 
addition, we have prepared an evaluation assessing the rinderpest 
status of South America, which includes Argentina, and have determined, 
based on our evaluation, that rinderpest is not present in the entirety 
of Argentina. We are also making that determination, as well as our 
evaluation, available for review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 
24, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0105-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No.

[[Page 3776]]

APHIS-2013-0105, 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 http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-
0105 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Silvia Kreindel, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation Services, National Import 
Export Services, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 851-3308.

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 to prevent the introduction of various 
animal diseases, including rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). 
The regulations prohibit or restrict the importation of live ruminants 
and swine, and products from these animals, from regions where 
rinderpest or FMD is considered to exist.
    Within part 94, Sec.  94.1 contains requirements governing the 
importation of ruminants and swine from regions where rinderpest or FMD 
exists and the importation of the meat of any ruminants or swine from 
regions where rinderpest or FMD exists to prevent the introduction of 
either disease into the United States. We consider rinderpest and FMD 
to exist in all regions except those listed in accordance with 
paragraph (a)(2) of that section as free of rinderpest and FMD.
    Section 94.11 of the regulations contains requirements governing 
the importation of meat of any ruminants or swine from 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 rinderpest- or FMD-affected regions. Such 
regions are listed in accordance with paragraph (a)(2) of that section.
    The regulations in 9 CFR part 92, Sec.  92.2, contain requirements 
for requesting the recognition of the animal health status of a region 
(as well as 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 2003, the Government of Argentina submitted a request to 
recognize the region located south of latitude 42[deg] south, known as 
Patagonia South, as free of FMD. In 2008, Argentina expanded its 
request to include the region immediately north of latitude 42[deg] 
south, known as Patagonia North B. These two areas are referred to 
below as the Patagonia Region of Argentina.
    In response to this request, APHIS has conducted a qualitative risk 
assessment to evaluate the FMD status of the Patagonia Region of 
Argentina. Based on this evaluation, APHIS has found that FMD is not 
present in the Patagonia Region and that the surveillance, prevention, 
and control measures implemented by Argentina in the area under 
consideration as a region free of FMD are sufficient to minimize the 
likelihood of introducing FMD into the United States via imports of 
FMD-susceptible species or products. However, because of its proximity 
to or trading relationships with FMD-affected regions, APHIS has 
determined that it is necessary to impose certain restrictions on the 
importation of meat of any ruminants or swine from the Patagonia Region 
of Argentina.
    Rinderpest has never been established in South America. No South 
American country has ever reported the disease except Brazil, which had 
an outbreak in 1921 that was limited in scope and quickly eradicated. 
Furthermore, the global distribution of rinderpest has diminished 
significantly in recent years as a result of the Food and Agriculture 
Organization Global Rinderpest Eradication Program. The last known 
cases of rinderpest worldwide occurred in the southern part of the 
``Somali pastoral ecosystem'' consisting of southern Somalia, eastern 
Kenya, and southern Ethiopia. In May 2011, the World Organization for 
Animal Health (OIE) announced its recognition of global rinderpest 
freedom.
    Based on the foregoing conclusions, APHIS has found that the 
Patagonia Region of Argentina is free of rinderpest and FMD.
    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  92.2(e), we are announcing the 
availability of our evaluation of the FMD status of the region under 
consideration, as well as an evaluation assessing the rinderpest status 
of South America, for public review and comment. We are also announcing 
the availability of an environmental assessment (EA) entitled 
``Recognition of Patagonia Region in Argentina as Free of Foot-and-
Mouth Disease,'' which has been 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 provision 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 evaluation 
and the EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or 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 notice.) The 
evaluations, as well as relevant information used in the review 
process, are available by contacting the person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Information submitted in support of 
Argentina's original request for recognition may also be viewed on the 
APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/reg_request.shtml by following the link for ``Previous regionalization 
requests and supporting documentation.'' Information submitted in 
support of the expanded request may be viewed on the Regulations.gov 
Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing 
Regulations.gov).
    After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our 
decision regarding the disease status of the region of Argentina under 
consideration with respect to FMD and rinderpest and the import status 
of susceptible animals and products of such animals in a subsequent 
notice.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 21 
U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

[[Page 3777]]

    Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of January 2014.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-01229 Filed 1-21-14; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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