76006 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 229 / Friday, November 27, 2020 / Notices 

1The Mexican States of Campeche, Quintana Roo, 

and Yucatan can import certain poultry and poultry 

products into the United States under the 

restrictions set forth in § 94.33 because they: (1) 

Supplement their meat supply by importing fresh 

(chilled or frozen) poultry meat from regions where 

ND is considered to exist; (2) share a common land 

border with regions where ND is considered to 

exist; or (3) import live poultry from regions where 

ND is considered to exist under conditions less 

restrictive than would be acceptable for importation 

into the United States. 

to transit the United States via land 

ports, for immediate export, from 

certain Mexican States.1 APHIS believes 

that allowing such in-transit movements 

presents a negligible risk of introducing 

ND into the United States while 

simultaneously avoiding unnecessary 

restrictions on trade. 

APHIS also currently has regulations 

in place that restrict the importation of 

poultry meat and other poultry products 

from Mexico due to the presence of ND 

in that country. However, under the 

regulations in § 94.30, APHIS allows the 

importation of poultry meat and poultry 

products from the Mexican States of 

Sinaloa and Sonora, if imported 

according to APHIS’ requirements, 

because APHIS has determined that 

poultry meat and products from these 

two Mexican States pose a negligible 

risk of introducing ND into the United 

States. 

To ensure the above commodities are 

safe for importation, APHIS requires 

that certain information collection 

activities take place such as foreign 

meat inspection certificates, serially 

numbered seals, applications for import 

permits, emergency action notification, 

and pre-arrival notifications. 

This collection includes activities 

associated with the regulations 

currently in § 94.15 for the transit of 

pork and pork products from certain 

Mexican States through the United 

States, under seal, to export to another 

country. These regulations were 

adopted because APHIS considered 

Mexico, except for certain States, to be 

affected with classical swine fever 

(CSF). However, in January 16, 2018, 

APHIS published a notice (83 FR 2131– 

2132, APHIS–2016–0038) announcing 

the addition of Mexico to the list of 

regions that are considered to be free of 

CSF, thus eliminating the basis for this 

regulatory requirement. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of these information 

collection activities, as described, for an 

additional 3 years. 

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 0.99 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Federal animal health 

authorities in Mexico and U.S. 

importers and exporters of poultry meat, 

other poultry products, pork, and pork 

products from Mexico. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 79. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 41. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 3,214. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 3,212 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 23rd day of 

November 2020. 

Mark Davidson, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26208 Filed 11–25–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2020–0088] 

International Sanitary and 

Phytosanitary Standard-Setting 

Activities 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with legislation 

implementing the results of the Uruguay 

Round of negotiations under the General 

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, we are 

informing the public of the international 

standard-setting activities of the World 

Organization for Animal Health, the 

Secretariat of the International Plant 

Protection Convention, and the North 

American Plant Protection Organization, 

and we are soliciting public comment 

on the standard-setting activities. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2020-0088. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2020–0088, 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-2020-0088 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 

general information on the topics 

covered in this notice, contact Ms. 

Jessica Mahalingappa, Associate Deputy 

Administrator for International Services, 

APHIS, Room 1132, USDA South 

Building, 14th Street and Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250; 

(202) 799–7121. 

For specific information regarding 

standard-setting activities of the World 

Organization for Animal Health, contact 

Dr. Paul Gary Egrie, Office of 

International Affairs, Veterinary 

Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 

33, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851– 

3304. 

For specific information regarding the 

standard-setting activities of the 

International Plant Protection 

Convention, contact Dr. Marina Zlotina, 

PPQ’s IPPC Technical Director, 

International Phytosanitary Standards, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 130, 

Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851–2200. 

For specific information on the North 

American Plant Protection Organization, 

contact Ms. Patricia Abad, PPQ’s 

NAPPO Technical Director, 

International Phytosanitary Standards, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 130, 

Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851–2264. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 229 / Friday, November 27, 2020 / Notices 76007 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The World Trade Organization (WTO) 

was established as the common 

international institutional framework for 

governing trade relations among its 

members in matters related to the 

Uruguay Round Agreements. The WTO 

is the successor organization to the 

General Agreement on Tariffs and 

Trade. U.S. membership in the WTO 

was approved by Congress when it 

enacted the Uruguay Round Agreements 

Act (Pub. L. 103–465), which was 

signed into law on December 8, 1994. 

The WTO Agreements, which 

established the WTO, entered into force 

with respect to the United States on 

January 1, 1995. The Uruguay Round 

Agreements Act amended Title IV of the 

Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 

U.S.C. 2531 et seq.). Section 491 of the 

Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 2578), requires the 

President to designate an agency to be 

responsible for informing the public of 

the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) 

standard-setting activities of each 

international standard-setting 

organization. The designated agency 

must inform the public by publishing an 

annual notice in the Federal Register 

that provides the following information: 

(1) The SPS standards under 

consideration or planned for 

consideration by the international 

standard-setting organization; and (2) 

for each SPS standard specified, a 

description of the consideration or 

planned consideration of that standard, 

a statement of whether the United States 

is participating or plans to participate in 

the consideration of that standard, the 

agenda for U.S. participation, if any, and 

the agency responsible for representing 

the United States with respect to that 

standard. 

‘‘International standard’’ is defined in 

19 U.S.C. 2578b as any standard, 

guideline, or recommendation: (1) 

Adopted by the Codex Alimentarius 

Commission (Codex) regarding food 

safety; (2) developed under the auspices 

of the World Organization for Animal 

Health (OIE, formerly known as the 

Office International des Epizooties) 

regarding animal health; (3) developed 

under the auspices of the Secretariat of 

the International Plant Protection 

Convention (IPPC or the Convention) 

and the North American Plant 

Protection Organization (NAPPO) 

regarding plant health; or (4) established 

by or developed under any other 

international organization agreed to by 

the member countries of the United 

States-Mexico-Canada Agreement 

(USMCA) or the member countries of 

the WTO. 

The President, pursuant to 

Proclamation No. 6780 of March 23, 

1995 (60 FR 15845), designated the 

Secretary of Agriculture as the official 

responsible for informing the public of 

the SPS standard-setting activities of 

Codex, OIE, IPPC, and NAPPO. The 

United States Codex Office (USCO), in 

the United States Department of 

Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Trade and 

Foreign Affairs mission area, informs 

the public of standard-setting activities 

of Codex, and USDA’s Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

informs the public of OIE, IPPC, and 

NAPPO standard-setting activities. 

USCO publishes an annual notice in 

the Federal Register to inform the 

public of SPS standard-setting activities 

for Codex (85 FR 34161). Codex was 

established in 1963 by two United 

Nations organizations, the Food and 

Agriculture Organization and the World 

Health Organization. It is the principle 

international organization for 

establishing food standards that protect 

consumer health and promote fair 

practices in food trade. 

APHIS is responsible for publishing 

an annual notice of OIE, IPPC, and 

NAPPO activities related to 

international standards for plant and 

animal health and representing the 

United States with respect to these 

standards. Following are descriptions of 

the OIE, IPPC, and NAPPO 

organizations and the standard-setting 

agenda for each of these organizations. 

We have described the agenda that each 

of these organizations will address at 

their annual general sessions, including 

standards that may be presented for 

adoption or consideration, as well as 

other initiatives that may be underway 

at the OIE, IPPC, and NAPPO. 

The agendas for these meetings are 

subject to change, and the draft 

standards identified in this notice may 

not be sufficiently developed and ready 

for adoption as indicated. Also, while it 

is the intent of the United States to 

support adoption of international 

standards and to participate actively 

and fully in their development, it 

should be recognized that the U.S. 

position on a specific draft standard will 

depend on the acceptability of the final 

draft. Given the dynamic and interactive 

nature of the standard-setting process, 

we encourage any persons who are 

interested in the most current details 

about a specific draft standard or the 

U.S. position on a particular standardsetting issue, or in providing comments 

on a specific standard that may be under 

development, to contact APHIS. Contact 

information is provided at the beginning 

of this notice under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

OIE Standard-Setting Activities 

The OIE was established in Paris, 

France, in 1924 with the signing of an 

international agreement by 28 countries. 

It is currently composed of 182 

Members, each of which is represented 

by a delegate who, in most cases, is the 

chief veterinary officer of that country 

or territory. The WTO has recognized 

the OIE as the international forum for 

setting animal health standards, 

reporting global animal disease events, 

and presenting guidelines and 

recommendations on sanitary measures 

relating to animal health. 

The OIE facilitates intergovernmental 

cooperation to prevent the spread of 

contagious diseases in animals by 

sharing scientific research among its 

Members. The major functions of the 

OIE are to collect and disseminate 

information on the distribution and 

occurrence of animal diseases and to 

ensure that science-based standards 

govern international trade in animals 

and animal products. The OIE aims to 

achieve these through the development 

and revision of international standards 

for diagnostic tests, vaccines, and the 

safe international trade of animals and 

animal products. 

The OIE provides annual reports on 

the global distribution of animal 

diseases, recognizes the free status of 

Members for certain diseases, 

categorizes animal diseases with respect 

to their international significance, 

publishes bulletins on global disease 

status, and provides animal disease 

control guidelines to Members. Various 

OIE commissions and working groups 

undertake the development and 

preparation of draft standards, which 

are then circulated to Members for 

consultation (review and comment). 

Draft standards are revised accordingly 

and are presented to the OIE World 

Assembly of Delegates (all the Members) 

for review and adoption during the 

General Session, which meets annually 

every May. Adoption, as a general rule, 

is based on consensus of the OIE 

membership. 

The most recent OIE General Session 

was scheduled to occur from May 24 to 

29, 2020, in Paris, France. The Associate 

Administrator for APHIS serves as the 

official U.S. Delegate to the OIE. 

Information about OIE draft Terrestrial 

and Aquatic Animal Health Code 

chapters may be found on the internet 

at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ 

ourfocus/animalhealth/export/ 

international-standard-setting-activitiesoie/regionalization/ct_international_

standard_setting_activities_oie or by 


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76008 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 229 / Friday, November 27, 2020 / Notices 

1To sign up for the Stakeholder Registry, go to: 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/ 

USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new. 

2For more information on the IPPC draft ISPM 

consultation: https://;www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ 

ourfocus/planthealth/international/sa_

phytostandards/ct_draft_standards. 

3 IPPC list of topics: https://www.ippc.int/en/coreactivities/standards-setting/list-topics-ippcstandards/. 

contacting Dr. Paul Gary Egrie (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above). 

The COVID–19 situation worldwide 

did not allow the OIE to have its 

General Session in 2020, and 

consequently no Code chapters were 

presented for adoption. The 

corresponding chapters will be 

proposed for adoption during the 

General Session tentatively scheduled 

for May 2021. 

• Chapter 1.1., Notification of 

diseases, infections and infestations, 

and provision of epidemiological 

information. 

• Chapter 1.4.3., Animal Health 

Surveillance. 

• Chapter 1.6., Procedures for selfdeclaration and for official recognition 

by the OIE. 

• Chapter 3.2., Evaluation of 

Veterinary Services. 

• Chapter 3.4., Veterinary legislation. 

• Chapter 4.Y., Draft new chapter on 

official control programs for listed and 

emerging diseases. 

• Chapter 7.Z., Draft new chapter on 

animal welfare and laying hen 

production systems. 

• Chapter 8.Y., Infection with animal 

trypanosomes of African origin. 

• Chapter 8.15., Infection with Rift 

Valley fever virus. 

• Chapter 9.4, Article 9.4.5., 

Infestation with Aethina tumida (small 

hive beetle). 

• Chapter 10.4., Infection with avian 

influenza viruses. 

• Chapter 15.2., Infection with 

classical swine fever virus. 

• Articles 14.7.3., 14.7.7., 14.7.24. 

and 14.7.34., Infection with peste des 

petits ruminants virus. 

IPPC Standard-Setting Activities 

The IPPC is a multilateral convention 

adopted in 1952 to prevent the spread 

and introduction of pests of plants and 

plant products and to promote 

appropriate measures for their control. 

The WTO recognizes the IPPC as the 

standard setting body for plant health. 

Under the IPPC, the understanding of 

plant protection encompasses the 

protection of both cultivated and noncultivated plants from direct or indirect 

injury by plant pests. The IPPC 

addresses the following activities: 

Developing, adopting, and 

implementing international standards 

for phytosanitary (plant health) 

measures (ISPMs); harmonizing 

phytosanitary activities through adopted 

standards; facilitating the exchange of 

official and scientific information 

among contracting parties; and 

providing technical assistance to 

developing countries that are 

contracting parties to the Convention. 

The IPPC is deposited within the 

Food and Agriculture Organization of 

the United Nations and is an 

international agreement of 184 

contracting parties. National plant 

protection organizations (NPPOs), in 

cooperation with regional plant 

protection organizations, the 

Commission on Phytosanitary Measures 

(CPM), and the Secretariat of the IPPC, 

implement the Convention. The IPPC 

continues to be administered at the 

national level by plant quarantine 

officials, whose primary objective is to 

safeguard plant resources from injurious 

pests. In the United States, the NPPO is 

APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine 

(PPQ) program. 

Because of the COVID–19 pandemic, 

the 15th Session of the CPM was 

tentatively postponed to 2021. 

Standards recommended for adoption 

in 2020 will be tabled for adoption in 

2021, and are listed below. The United 

States develops its position on each of 

these draft standards prior to the CPM 

session based on APHIS’ analyses and 

other relevant information from other 

U.S. Government agencies and 

interested stakeholders: 

• Draft Revision of ISPM 8: 

Determination of pest status in an area. 

• Draft ISPM: Requirements for the 

use of modified atmosphere treatments 

as phytosanitary measures. 

• Draft ISPM 5: Glossary of 

phytosanitary terms (2018 revisions). 

In lieu of the Commission meeting, 

the CPM Bureau has been advancing the 

IPPC work program, including standards 

setting, as actively as possible via 

virtual means. The IPPC Standards 

Committee and Implementation and 

Capacity Development Committee also 

continued working during the pandemic 

by virtually approving draft standards 

for consultation, selecting experts to 

expert drafting groups, and addressing 

pending standard setting and other 

plant health initiatives. The IPPC 

electronic certification system (ePhyto) 

solution also progressed in 2020. For 

example, 27 countries in the European 

Union joined ePhyto through its own 

system of electronic certification named 

TRACES; Argentina and Chile moved to 

fully electronic operation for all their 

plant trade; the United Nations 

International Computing Centre and the 

ePhyto Steering Committee are 

developing and providing training on 

ePhyto; and preparations are underway 

to deploy features allowing industry 

systems to receive ePhytos. 

New IPPC Standard-Setting Initiatives, 

Including Those Under Development 

A number of expert working group 

(EWG) meetings and technical 

consultations took place from October 

2019 through September 2020 on the 

topics listed below. These IPPC projects 

are currently under development and 

intended for future adoption and 

publication. APHIS participated actively 

and fully in each of these working 

groups. APHIS developed its position 

on each of the topics prior to the 

working group meeting. The APHIS 

position was based on relevant scientific 

information and technical analyses, 

including information from other U.S. 

Government agencies and from 

interested stakeholders: 

• EWG for the focused revision of 

ISPM 12: Phytosanitary certificates in 

relation to re-export. 

• Working group for the revision of 

the plant pest surveillance guide. 

• Reviewing and commenting on the 

Implementation Guide to ISPM 8 

currently under development. 

• Reviewing and commenting on the 

draft outline of the future 

Implementation Guide on e-Commerce. 

• Technical Panel on Diagnostic 

Protocols. 

• Technical Panel on Phytosanitary 

Treatments. 

• Technical Panel for the Glossary. 

For more detailed information on the 

above, contact Dr. Marina Zlotina (see 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

above). 

PPQ actively works to achieve broad 

participation by States, industry, and 

other stakeholders in the development 

and use of international and regional 

plant health standards, including 

through the use of APHIS Stakeholder 

Registry notices 1 and the APHIS public 

website. Plant health stakeholders are 

strongly encouraged to comment on 

draft standards, documents, and 

specifications during the consultation 

periods. In 2020, 16 draft standards 

(including phytosanitary treatments), 3 

draft specifications, 1 draft outline, and 

1 draft CPM recommendation were open 

for consultation. APHIS posts links to 

draft standards on its website as they 

become available and provides 

information on the due dates for 

comments.2 Additional information on 

IPPC standards (including the IPPC 

work program (list of topics 3), calls for 

new standards, experts to serve on 

technical panels and other working 


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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 229 / Friday, November 27, 2020 / Notices 76009 

4 IPPC website: https://www.ippc.int/. 

5Proceedings of the NAPPO Organized 

Hemispheric Workshop on ISPM 38: International 

movement of seeds: https://nappo.org/application/ 

files/7115/8687/1174/Final__Proceedings_ISPM_

38_Implementation_Workshop.pdf. 

6NAPPO work program: https://mail.nappo.org/ 

application/files/5415/8624/3760/FINAL_2020_

NAPPO_Work_Program_-e.pdf. 

groups, proposed phytosanitary 

treatments, standard-setting process, 

and adopted standards) is available on 

the IPPC website.4 For the most current 

information on official U.S. 

participation in IPPC activities, 

including U.S. positions on standards 

being considered, contact Dr. Marina 

Zlotina (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT above). Those wishing to 

provide comments on any of the areas 

of work being undertaken by the IPPC 

may do so at any time by responding to 

this notice (see ADDRESSES above) or by 

providing comments through Dr. 

Zlotina. 

NAPPO Standard-Setting Activities 

NAPPO, a regional plant protection 

organization created in 1976 under the 

IPPC, coordinates the efforts among the 

United States, Canada, and Mexico to 

protect their plant resources from the 

entry, establishment, and spread of 

harmful plant pests, while facilitating 

safe intra- and inter-regional trade. As 

the NPPO of the United States, APHIS’ 

PPQ is the organization officially 

identified to participate in NAPPO. 

Through NAPPO, APHIS works closely 

with its regional counterparts and 

industries to develop harmonized 

regional standards and approaches for 

managing pest threats. This critical 

work facilitates the safe movement of 

plants and plant products into and 

within the region. NAPPO conducts its 

work through priority-driven projects 

approved by the NAPPO Executive 

Committee via an annual work program, 

and conducted by expert groups, 

including subject matter experts from 

each member country and regional 

industry representatives. Project results 

and updates are provided during the 

NAPPO annual meeting as well as 

NAPPO governance meetings. Projects 

can include the development of 

positions, policies, technical 

documents, or the development or 

revision of regional standards for 

phytosanitary measures (RSPMs). 

Projects can also include 

implementation of standards or other 

capacity development activities such as 

workshops. 

The 43rd NAPPO annual meeting was 

held October 28 to November 1, 2019, 

in Montreal, Canada. The meeting 

featured several strategic topics related 

to NAPPO’s work program (e.g. seeds, 

forest pests, lab accreditation, plants for 

planting, biological control, and riskbased sampling), as well as discussions 

on sea containers, invasive species, the 

International Year of Plant Health 

(IYPH), the United States-MexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA), and a live 

ePhyto exchange demonstration 

between the United States and Jamaica. 

The meeting also featured a 1-day 

symposium on comparing the decisionmaking procedures used by the three 

countries (Canada, Mexico, and the 

United States) when an exotic plant pest 

is confirmed in a NAPPO member 

country. The NAPPO Executive 

Committee meetings took place on 

October 28, 2019, and July 16, 2020 

(virtual meeting). The Deputy 

Administrator for PPQ is the U.S. 

member of the NAPPO Executive 

Committee. 

Despite the COVID–19 pandemic, 

NAPPO’s Secretariat and its member 

countries, including regulatory, plant 

health, and industry officials, continue 

to actively progress on projects and 

initiatives under the NAPPO work 

program, taking advantage of 

teleconferencing and other virtual 

meeting tools. NAPPO governance 

committees, including NAPPO’s 

Executive Committee and the Advisory 

and Management Committee, as well as 

expert groups, continue to communicate 

and meet virtually on a regular basis to 

actively progress on NAPPO strategic 

and work program initiatives. NAPPO’s 

Advisory and Management Committee 

continued working during the pandemic 

by virtually approving draft standards 

for consultation; selecting and 

onboarding experts to newly launched 

NAPPO expert groups on seeds and 

diagnostics, consignments in transit, 

and wooden and bamboo commodities; 

and addressing other pending work 

program initiatives. The NAPPO expert 

groups, including member countries’ 

subject matter experts, in collaboration 

with NAPPO’s Secretariat, significantly 

progressed or finalized the following 

regional standards, documents, 

products, and projects during the period 

of October 2019 to the end of September 

2020: 

• Reviewed, discussed, and agreed to 

archive RSPM 17: Guidelines for the 

establishment, maintenance and 

verification of fruit fly free areas in 

North America. Experts from all three 

member countries agreed that more 

comprehensive international standards 

have been adopted at the IPPC that 

effectively build-on and supersede 

RSPM 17. 

• Completed and published 

proceedings from the NAPPO-organized 

March 2019, Hemispheric Workshop on 

ISPM 38: International movement of 

seeds. Proceedings are now available on 

the NAPPO website.5

• Completed the revision or 

development of the following regional 

standards and documents and launched 

them for country consultation (public 

comment period) during the summer of 

2020: RSPM 9: Authorization of 

laboratories for performing 

phytosanitary testing, RSPM 5: NAPPO 

glossary of phytosanitary terms, and 

NAPPO Science and Technology (S&T) 

Document on the risks associated with 

the introduction of exotic lymantriid 

species of potential concern to the 

NAPPO region. As next steps, comments 

received from the consultation will be 

reviewed by expert group members to 

adjust the documents for eventual 

Executive Committee approval. 

• Issued via NAPPO’s Phytosanitary 

Alert System: 23 Official Pest Reports 

for Fiscal Year 2020 (from October 2019 

to September 2020). 

In addition, NAPPO conducted a call 

for new project proposals for its 2020 

Work Program during 2019. U.S. 

stakeholders were invited to submit 

topics and comment on their priorities 

through APHIS. In late October 2019, 

the NAPPO call for new project 

proposals (taking stakeholders’ 

comments into account) resulted in 

three new prioritized projects by the 

NAPPO’s Executive Committee, which 

have been added to the 2020 annual 

work program. The new, prioritized 

projects focus on the following topics: 

The harmonization of diagnostic 

protocols for seed pests focused on 

Tomato brown rugose virus (ToBRFV); 

consignments in transit; and the import 

of wooden and bamboo commodities. 

New NAPPO Standard-Setting 

Initiatives, Including Those in 

Development 

The 2020 work program 6 includes the 

following topics being worked on by 

NAPPO expert groups and NAPPO’s 

Advisory and Management Committee. 

APHIS is actively and fully participating 

in the 2020 NAPPO work program. The 

APHIS position on each topic is guided 

and informed by the best technical and 

scientific information available, as well 

as on relevant input from stakeholders. 

For each of the following, where 

applicable, the United States will 

consider its position on any draft 

standard after it reviews a prepared 

draft. Information regarding the 

following NAPPO projects, assignments, 

activities, and updates on meeting times 

and locations may be obtained from the 


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76010 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 229 / Friday, November 27, 2020 / Notices 

7For more information on the NAPPO draft 

RSPM consultation: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/international/sa_

phytostandards/ct_draft_standards. 

8NAPPO website: http://nappo.org/. 

NAPPO website or by contacting Ms. 

Patricia Abad (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above). 

1. Seed Diagnostics: A pilot for the 

harmonization of diagnostic protocols 

for seed pests focused on ToBRFV. 

2. Development of harmonized 

regional guidance for North America 

based on ISPM 25: Consignments in 

transit and the IPPC Transit Manual. 

3. Revision of RSPM 38: Importation 

of certain wooden and bamboo 

commodities into a NAPPO member 

country. 

4. Revision of RSPM 22: Guidelines 

for construction and operation of a 

containment facility for insects and 

mites used as biological control agents. 

5. Forest Products: Develop a NAPPO 

Science and Technology (S&T) 

document to provide scientific 

background on live contaminant pests 

associated with wood commodities and 

wood packaging; and provide guidance 

regarding actions appropriate for 

addressing related phytosanitary risks. 

6. Support the IYPH: Exchange ideas, 

develop appropriate materials, and 

support IYPH events in the NAPPO 

region. 

7. Revision of RSPM 9: Authorization 

of laboratories for performing 

phytosanitary testing. 

8. Revision of RSPM 35: Guidelines 

for the movement of stone and pome 

fruit trees and grapevines into a NAPPO 

member country. 

9. Lymantriids: Complete a NAPPO 

Science and Technology (S&T) 

document on the risks associated with 

the introduction of exotic lymantriid 

species of potential concern to the 

NAPPO region. 

10. Revision of RSPM 5: NAPPO 

glossary of phytosanitary terms. 

11. Risk-Based Sampling: Complete 

and publish a Risk-Based Sampling 

Manual. 

12. Asian Gypsy Moth: Validate 

specific risk periods for regulated Asian 

gypsy moth in countries of origin. 

13. Foundation and Procedure 

documents: Continue to update and 

finalize various NAPPO foundation or 

procedure documents. 

14. Phytosanitary Alert System: 

Continue to manage the NAPPO pest 

reporting system. 

15. Electronic phytosanitary 

certification (ePhyto): Provide assistance 

and technical support to the IPPC 

ePhyto Steering Group. 

16. Stakeholder Engagement: Plan, 

coordinate and execute activities for the 

next NAPPO Annual Meeting, and 

publish the quarterly newsletter. 

Because of the COVID–19 pandemic, the 

2020 NAPPO annual meeting has been 

postponed to 2021. The 2021 NAPPO 

annual meeting is expected to take place 

in the United States (and hosted by 

APHIS) in accordance with the NAPPO 

country rotation. 

17. Regional Collaboration: 

Collaboration, focused on information 

exchange, with the Inter-American 

Coordinating Group in Plant Protection, 

via Technical Working Groups on 

ePhyto, citrus greening 

(Huanglongbing), fruit flies, and Tuta 

absoluta. 

The PPQ Assistant Deputy 

Administrator, as the official U.S. 

delegate to NAPPO, intends to 

participate in the adoption of these 

regional plant health standards and 

projects, including the work described 

above, once they are completed and 

ready for such consideration. 

The information in this notice 

contains all the information available to 

us on NAPPO standards or projects 

under development or consideration. 

For updates on meeting times and for 

information on the expert groups that 

may become available following 

publication of this notice, visit the 

NAPPO website or contact Ms. Patricia 

Abad (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT above). PPQ actively works to 

achieve broad participation by States, 

industry, and other stakeholders in the 

development and use of international 

and regional plant health standards, 

including through the use of APHIS 

Stakeholder Registry notices and the 

APHIS public website. Plant health 

stakeholders are strongly encouraged to 

comment on draft standards, 

documents, and specifications during 

consultation periods. In 2020, two 

revised NAPPO standards and one 

Science & Technology document were 

open for consultation. APHIS posts 

links to draft standards on the internet 

as they become available and provides 

information on the due dates for 

comments.7 Additional information on 

NAPPO standards (including the 

NAPPO Work Program, standard setting 

process, and adopted standards) is 

available on the NAPPO website.8

Information on official U.S. 

participation in NAPPO activities, 

including U.S. positions on standards 

being considered, may also be obtained 

from Ms. Abad. Those wishing to 

provide comments on any of the topics 

being addressed in the NAPPO work 

program may do so at any time by 

responding to this notice (see 

ADDRESSES above) or by transmitting 

comments through Ms. Abad. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of 

November 2020. 

Mark Davidson, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26210 Filed 11–25–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Notice of Public Meeting of the Illinois 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: U.S. Commission on Civil 

Rights. 

ACTION: Announcement of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights and the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act that the 

Illinois Advisory Committee 

(Committee) will hold a meeting via 

teleconference on Tuesday, December 8, 

2020 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time, the 

purpose of the meeting is for the 

Committee to approval the report on 

Fair Housing in Illinois. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 12:00 

p.m. Central Time. Public Call 

Information: Dial: 800–367–2403; 

Conference ID: 2202630. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David Barreras, Designated Federal 

Official, at dbarreras@usccr.gov or 202– 

499–4066. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Members 

of the public may listen to the 

discussion. This meeting is available to 

the public through the call-in 

information listed above. Any interested 

member of the public may call this 

number and listen to the meeting. An 

open comment period will be provided 

to allow members of the public to make 

a statement to the Committee as time 

allows. The conference call operator 

will ask callers to identify themselves, 

the organization they are affiliated with 

(if any), and an email address prior to 

placing callers into the conference 

room. Callers can expect to incur regular 

charges for calls they initiate over 

wireless lines, according to their 

wireless plan. The Commission will not 

refund any incurred charges. Callers 

will incur no charge for calls they 

initiate over land-line connections to 

the toll-free telephone number. Persons 

with hearing impairments may also 

follow the proceedings by first calling 

the Federal Relay Service at 1–800–877– 

8339 and providing the Service with the 


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