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

70515 

Vol. 78, No. 228 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 3 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0106] 

Petition To Promulgate Standards for 

Bears Under the Animal Welfare Act 

Regulations 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of petition. 

SUMMARY: We are notifying the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has received a 

petition requesting that we amend the 

Animal Welfare Act regulations to add 

specific standards for the humane 

handling, care, treatment, and 

transportation of all species of bears 

held in captivity except polar bears, for 

which there are already standards. We 

are making this petition available to the 

public and soliciting comments 

regarding the petition and any issues 

raised by the petition that we should 

take into account as we consider this 

petition. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before January 27, 

2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!document

Detail;D=APHIS-2012-0106-0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0106, 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-2012-0106 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. 

Barbara Kohn, DVM, Senior Staff 

Officer, USDA, APHIS, Animal Care, 

4700 River Road Unit 84, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1234; (301) 851–3751. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA, 7 

U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) authorizes the 

Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate 

standards and other requirements 

governing the humane handling, care, 

treatment, and transportation of certain 

animals by dealers, research facilities, 

exhibitors, operators of auction sales, 

and carriers and intermediate handlers. 

The Secretary has delegated the 

responsibility for enforcing the AWA to 

the Administrator of the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS). Within APHIS, the 

responsibility for administering the 

AWA has been delegated to the Deputy 

Administrator for Animal Care. 

Regulations and standards promulgated 

under the AWA are contained in Title 

9 of the Code of Federal Regulations 

(CFR), parts 1, 2 and 3. Part 1 contains 

definitions for terms used in parts 2 and 

3; part 2 contains licensing and 

registration regulations, regulations 

specific to research facilities, and 

regulations governing veterinary care, 

animal identification, recordkeeping, 

access for inspection, confiscation of 

animals, and handling, among other 

requirements; and part 3 contains 

specific standards for the humane 

handling, care, treatment, and 

transportation of categories of animals 

covered under the AWA. Currently, part 

3 comprises subparts A through E, 

which contain specific standards for 

dogs and cats, guinea pigs and hamsters, 

rabbits, nonhuman primates, and 

marine mammals (including polar 

bears), and subpart F, which contains 

general standards for warmblooded 

animals other than the aforementioned 

animals. 

On September 25, 2012, APHIS 

received a petition from People for the 

Ethical Treatment of Animals requesting 

that we initiate rulemaking proceedings 

to amend part 3 to add specific 

standards for all species of bears held in 

captivity except polar bears, for which 

there are specific standards in subpart E. 

The petition states that the generic 

standards in subpart F are inadequate to 

ensure the humane handling, treatment, 

and care of bears, and do not address 

the complex and unique behavioral, 

dietary, and physiological needs of 

bears. The petition proposes specific 

regulatory language to, among other 

things, prohibit the use of barren and 

pit-type enclosures, set minimum space 

standards for primary housing, require 

environmental enrichment and den and 

pool access, and prescribe general 

feeding schedules. The petition also 

requests that APHIS hire a full-time 

specialist with knowledge, background, 

and experience in the proper husbandry 

and care of bears to oversee the 

implementation and enforcement of the 

requested regulations. 

We are making this petition available 

to the public and soliciting comments to 

help determine what action, if any, to 

take in response to this request. The 

petition and any comments submitted 

are available for review as indicated 

under ADDRESSES above. We welcome 

all comments on the issues outlined in 

the petition. In particular, we invite 

responses to the following questions: 

1. Do the current standards in subpart 

F adequately ensure the humane 

handling, treatment, and care of bears in 

captivity? 

2. In what respects are the standards 

in subpart F inadequate for captive 

bears? 

3. Would prohibiting pit-type 

enclosures adversely affect Native 

Americans regulated under the AWA? 

4. Do bears have unique needs that 

should be addressed by special handling 

and care? If so, why? 

5. What scientific knowledge of 

captive bears and their specific needs 

has been gained since the standards in 

subpart F were promulgated? 

6. Should persons holding bears in 

captivity be required to provide the 

bears with environmental enrichment? 

If so, why? 

7. Should persons holding bears in 

captivity be prohibited from housing 

them in pits or other similar enclosures? 

If so, why? 

8. Are current standards for space 

adequate for captive bears? If not, why, 

and what would the minimal space 

requirements for bears be? 


rmajette on DSK2TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
70516 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 228 / Tuesday, November 26, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

9. What are the physiological and 

psychological needs of bears in 

captivity, and would bear-specific 

standards address them? 

10. Is there evidence that a captive 

bear housed in a particular type of 

enclosure is more prone to disease or 

injury, or more likely to develop 

aggressive behavior habits than captive 

bears housed in a different type of 

enclosure? 

11. Should persons holding bears in 

captivity be required to provide bears 

with the means to self-groom, with 

enclosure mates, with the opportunity 

and means to hibernate, and with pools? 

12. Should there be a prohibition on 

the sale or transportation of infant or 

young bears in captivity? 

13. Should exhibitors and dealers be 

required to house captive bear cubs with 

their mothers until after they are 

naturally weaned? 

14. Should exhibitors and dealers be 

prohibited from declawing captive 

bears? 

15. Should exhibitors and dealers be 

prohibited from permitting public 

feeding of captive bears? 

We encourage the submission of 

scientific data, studies, or research to 

support your comments and position, 

including scientific data or research that 

supports any industry or professional 

standards that pertain to the care of 

bears. We also invite data on the costs 

and benefits associated with any 

recommendations. We will consider all 

comments and recommendations we 

receive. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 2131–2159; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.7. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of 

November 2013. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–28312 Filed 11–25–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R05–OAR–2013–0501; FRL 9902– 

27–Region 5] 

Approval and Promulgation of Air 

Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

a revision to the Illinois state 

implementation plan (SIP). The 

submission amends the Illinois 

Administrative Code by updating the 

definition of ‘‘Volatile organic material 

(VOM) or Volatile organic compound 

(VOC)’’ to add trans-1,3,3,3-tetraflouropropene (HFO–1234ze) to the list 

of compounds excluded from the 

definition of VOM or VOC. This 

revision is based on EPA’s 2012 

rulemaking which added HFO–1234ze 

to the list of chemical compounds that 

are excluded from the Federal definition 

of VOC because of their negligible 

contribution to the formation of 

tropospheric ozone. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 26, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R05– 

OAR–2013–0501, by one of the 

following methods: 

1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the 

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

2. Email: blakley.pamela@epa.gov. 

3. Fax: (312) 692–2450. 

4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, 

Control Strategies Section, Air Programs 

Branch (AR–18J), U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson 

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 

5. Hand Delivery: Pamela Blakley, 

Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air 

Programs Branch (AR–18J), U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 77 

West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, 

Illinois 60604. Such deliveries are only 

accepted during the Regional Office 

normal hours of operation, and special 

arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. The 

Regional Office official hours of 

business are Monday through Friday, 

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 

Federal holidays. 

Please see the direct final rule which 

is located in the Rules section of this 

Federal Register for detailed 

instructions on how to submit 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Charles Hatten, Environmental 

Engineer, Control Strategies Section, Air 

Programs Branch (AR–18J), 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 

Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886–6031, 

hatten.charles@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the 

Final Rules section of this issue of the 

Federal Register, EPA is approving the 

state’s SIP submittal as a direct final 

rule without prior proposal because the 

Agency views this as a noncontroversial 

submittal and anticipates no adverse 

comments. A detailed rationale for the 

approval is set forth in the direct final 

rule. If no adverse comments are 

received in response to this rule, no 

further activity is contemplated. If EPA 

receives adverse comments, the direct 

final rule will be withdrawn and all 

public comments received will be 

addressed in a subsequent final rule 

based on this proposed rule. EPA will 

not institute a second comment period. 

Any parties interested in commenting 

on this action should do so at this time. 

Please note that if EPA receives adverse 

comment on an amendment, paragraph, 

or section of this rule, and if that 

provision may be severed from the 

remainder of the rule, EPA may adopt 

as final those provisions of the rule that 

are not the subject of an adverse 

comment. For additional information, 

see the direct final rule which is located 

in the Rules section of this issue of the 

Federal Register. 

Dated: October 17, 2013. 

Susan Hedman, 

Regional Administrator, Region 5. 

[FR Doc. 2013–27705 Filed 11–25–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2013–0562; FRL–9903–16– 

Region 4] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; North Carolina: 

Non-Interference Demonstration for 

Removal of Federal Low-Reid Vapor 

Pressure Requirement for the 

Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point 

Area 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve 

the State of North Carolina’s April 12, 

2013, State Implementation Plan (SIP) 

revision associated with the currently 

approved maintenance plan addressing 

the 1997 8-hour national ambient air 

quality standards (NAAQS) for the 

Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point 

(Triad) Area. Specifically, North 

Carolina’s revision, including updated 

modeling, shows that the Triad Area 

would continue to maintain the 1997 8- 

hour ozone standard if the currently 

applicable Federal Reid Vapor Pressure 

(RVP) standard for gasoline of 7.8 

pounds per square inch (psi) were 

modified to 9.0 psi for four portions 

(Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford and Davie 

Counties) of the ‘‘Triad Area’’ during the 

high-ozone season. The State has 

included a technical demonstration 

with the revision to demonstrate that a 


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