81090 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 78 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0083] 

RIN 0579–AD22 

Brucellosis Class Free States and 

Certified Brucellosis-Free Herds; 

Revisions to Testing and Certification 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

brucellosis regulations to reduce the 

amount of testing required to maintain 

Class Free status for States that have 

been Class Free for 5 or more years and 

have no Brucella abortus in wildlife. We 

are also removing the provision for 

automatic reclassification of any Class 

Free State or area to a lower status if two 

or more herds are found to have 

brucellosis within a 2-year period or if 

a single brucellosis-affected herd is not 

depopulated within 60 days. Further, 

we are reducing the age at which cattle 

are included in herd blood tests. We are 

also adding a requirement that any Class 

Free State or area with Brucella abortus 

in wildlife must develop and implement 

a brucellosis management plan 

approved by the Administrator in order 

to maintain Class Free status. Finally, 

we are providing an alternative testing 

protocol for maintaining the certified 

brucellosis-free status of dairy herds, 

which will give producers more 

flexibility for the herd certification 

process. These changes are necessary to 

refocus resources to control and prevent 

the spread of brucellosis and to protect 

and maintain the economic viability of 

the domestic livestock industry. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective 

December 27, 2010. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

February 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-2009-0083 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–2009–0083, 

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– 

2009–0083. 

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. 

Debbi Donch, National Brucellosis 

Epidemiologist and Program Manager, 

National Center for Animal Health 

Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 

(301) 734–6954. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Brucellosis is a contagious disease, 

caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella 

that affects both animals and humans. 

The disease mainly affects cattle, bison, 

and swine; however, goats, sheep, 

horses, and humans are susceptible as 

well. In its principal animal hosts, it 

causes loss of young through 

spontaneous abortion or birth of weak 

offspring, reduced milk production, and 

infertility. There is no economically 

feasible treatment for brucellosis in 

livestock. In humans, brucellosis 

initially causes flu-like symptoms, but 

the disease may develop into a variety 

of chronic conditions, including 

arthritis. Humans can be treated for 

brucellosis with antibiotics. 

The brucellosis regulations, contained 

in 9 CFR part 78 (referred to below as 

the regulations), provide a system for 

classifying States or portions of States 

according to the rate of Brucella abortus 

(B. abortus) infection present and the 

general effectiveness of a brucellosis 

control and eradication program. The 

classifications are Class Free, Class A, 

Class B, and Class C. States or areas that 

do not meet the minimum standards for 

Class C status are required to be placed 

under Federal quarantine. Restrictions 

on moving cattle and bison interstate 

become less stringent as a State or area 

approaches or achieves Class Free 

status. 

APHIS’ regulations support a 

cooperative Federal-State-industry 

program that has made considerable 

progress in eradicating brucellosis from 

the United States. By 2007, the national 

brucellosis program had achieved an alltime low national herd prevalence of 

0.0001 percent (one affected herd in 

approximately 1 million cattle herds). In 

February 2008, every State, along with 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

achieved Class Free status for the first 

time in the program’s 74-year history. 

Currently, all States, including Puerto 

Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are 

Class Free for brucellosis. In addition, 

every State except Montana, Idaho, 

Wyoming, and Texas has been classified 

as free from brucellosis for at least 5 

consecutive years. Each of the three 

States in the Greater Yellowstone Area, 

Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, 

experienced a temporary loss of Class 

Free status for a period of time during 

the past 7 years. The source of disease 

in these three States is attributable to 

exposure to brucellosis-affected wildlife 

in the Greater Yellowstone Area. 

The brucellosis Class Free 

classification is based on a finding of no 

known brucellosis in cattle for the 12 

months preceding classification as Class 

Free. In order to maintain Class Free 

classification, the regulations have 

required Class Free States or areas to 

conduct surveillance by carrying out as 

many brucellosis ring tests per year as 

are necessary to ensure that all cattle 

herds producing milk for sale are tested 

at least twice per year at approximately 

6-month intervals. In addition, the 

regulations have required Class Free 

States or areas to collect blood samples 

from at least 95 percent of all cows and 

bulls 2 years of age or over at each 

recognized slaughtering establishment 

and subject the samples to an official 

brucellosis test. The regulations have 

further provided that a Class Free State 

or area may have no more than one herd 

determined to be affected with 

brucellosis within a 2-year period, and 

if a herd is found to be affected with 

brucellosis, the herd must be 

depopulated within 60 days of an 

infected animal being detected. If two or 

more herds are found to be affected with 

brucellosis within a 2-year period or if 

an affected herd is not depopulated 

within 60 days, the State or area loses 

its Class Free status. The regulations 

have provided no exceptions to these 

requirements for reclassification. 

These requirements have encouraged 

producers to depopulate brucellosisaffected herds to prevent a 

reclassification of State status. Cattle 

and bison from States or areas 

reclassified to a lower status—usually 

Class A—are subject to testing 

requirements for interstate movement. 

Furthermore, the regulations in 9 CFR 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 81091 

part 51 authorize APHIS to pay 

indemnity to owners of animals 

destroyed because of brucellosis. These 

payments provide a financial incentive 

for owners to elect depopulation instead 

of maintaining a herd under quarantine. 

APHIS has reevaluated this approach 

and no longer uniformly recommends 

whole herd depopulation for disease 

management. The number of 

brucellosis-infected animals found in a 

herd is often small and test and removal 

of the infected animals will often 

mitigate transmission of brucellosis 

within and from the herd. In such 

circumstances, it is difficult to justify 

depopulation. Limited indemnity funds 

also make herd depopulation a less 

viable option, especially as herd sizes 

continue to increase. In addition, the 

public perceives whole-herd 

depopulation as a less acceptable 

approach for disease management. 

Changing social values concerning the 

care and well-being of livestock, the 

recognition of the environmental 

consequences of animal disposal, and 

the value of proteins derived from 

livestock also drive the need to develop 

new approaches to disease control. 

APHIS has announced its intention to 

take a new approach to managing the 

bovine brucellosis eradication program 

that will allow APHIS and States to 

apply limited resources effectively and 

efficiently and focus on current program 

disease-risk issues. The new approach 

for the program, which includes 

strategies for surveillance and 

depopulation and would involve 

revisions to the brucellosis regulations, 

is described in the brucellosis concept 

paper that was made available for public 

comment on October 5, 2009. (See ‘‘A 

Concept Paper for a New Direction for 

the Bovine Brucellosis Program,’’ 74 FR 

51115–51116; Docket No. APHIS–2009– 

0006). In the meantime, the 

requirements for maintaining Class Free 

status give APHIS little flexibility in 

reclassifying States or areas based on 

risk. This lack of flexibility is an 

obstacle to effectively addressing the 

current challenges of the brucellosis 

program. When a Class Free State is 

reclassified to a lower status, APHIS and 

the State expend scarce resources to 

enable the State to regain its status or to 

establish split-State status. These 

resources could be applied more 

effectively to program activities that 

would have a greater impact on disease 

management and elimination. 

Additionally, many producers in Class 

Free States that are reclassified incur 

additional costs to meet testing and 

other interstate movement requirements 

associated with the reclassification, 

regardless of the risk associated with 

their particular herd. 

As we proceed to develop this new 

approach, APHIS intends to continue 

making decisions regarding the 

disposition of each brucellosis-affected 

herd after evaluating the circumstances 

surrounding each herd. APHIS will 

continue to offer indemnity (depending 

on the availability of funding) to 

compensate producers considering 

depopulation when the evaluation 

indicates that other options will not 

mitigate disease spread, there is an 

imminent public or animal health risk, 

and/or it is cost-beneficial to do so. 

Where depopulation and indemnity are 

not considered appropriate, APHIS will 

continue to rely on State animal health 

agencies to maintain affected herds 

under quarantine and implement a 

program to periodically test the animals 

for brucellosis and remove and destroy 

those that do not test negative. ‘‘Test and 

remove’’ strategies can be an effective 

alternative to depopulation provided 

that the State or area maintains all 

affected herds under quarantine and 

applies adequate measures within the 

State to detect and prevent the spread of 

brucellosis, including from infected 

wildlife. When a Class Free State or area 

implements all of these measures, 

APHIS does not believe it is necessary 

to reclassify the State or area to a lower 

status or to restrict the interstate 

movement of all cattle and bison from 

the State or area in order to prevent the 

interstate spread of brucellosis. 

Changes to Requirements for 

Maintaining Class Free Status 

For the reasons given above, we are 

removing the requirement that a Class 

Free State or area must lose its Class 

Free status if two or more herds are 

found to have brucellosis within 24 

months or if a brucellosis-affected herd 

is not depopulated within 60 days. We 

will allow a Class Free State or area to 

maintain its Class Free status if: 

• The affected herds are maintained 

under quarantine; 

• A herd plan has been implemented 

for each affected herd to prevent the 

spread of brucellosis; 

• The animals under quarantine are 

periodically tested for brucellosis as 

required by the Administrator and all 

animals that do not test negative are 

removed and destroyed until there is no 

evidence of brucellosis within the herd; 

and 

• The State conducts surveillance 

adequate to detect brucellosis if it is 

present in other herds or species. 

We are retaining the provision that an 

epidemiological investigation must be 

performed and that herds adjacent to the 

affected herd, herds from which animals 

may have been brought into the affected 

herd, and herds which may have had 

contact with or accepted animals from 

affected herds, must be 

epidemiologically investigated to 

confirm that brucellosis has not spread. 

The Administrator may reclassify a 

State or area to a lower status if these 

conditions are not met or under any 

other circumstances if the Administrator 

determines it is necessary to do so to 

prevent the spread of brucellosis. 

Cattle and bison from Class Free 

States or areas that maintain affected 

herds under quarantine without loss of 

Class Free status would be subject to the 

same interstate movement requirements 

as cattle and bison from Class Free 

States or areas with 0.0 percent of field 

strain brucellosis, except as otherwise 

required by a brucellosis management 

plan, as discussed below. 

Consistent with this change in the 

regulations, APHIS is allowing Idaho to 

use a test and remove strategy on a 

brucellosis-affected herd identified in 

November 2009 without loss of Class 

Free status. 

Another change to the requirements 

for maintaining Class Free status 

concerns brucellosis management plans. 

We are requiring any Class Free State or 

area in which the Administrator has 

determined wildlife are infected with B. 

abortus to develop and implement a 

brucellosis management plan approved 

by the Administrator. The existence of 

B. abortus in wildlife will be 

determined by the Administrator, based 

on, but not limited to, histopathology, 

testing data, or epidemiology. The 

Administrator may also require a Class 

Free State or area to develop and 

implement a brucellosis management 

plan under any other circumstances if 

the Administrator determines it is 

necessary to prevent the spread of 

brucellosis. The State must sign a 

memorandum of understanding (MOU) 

with the Administrator that describes its 

brucellosis management plan. The 

brucellosis management plan must 

define and explain the basis for the 

geographic area in which a disease risk 

exists from B. abortus and to which the 

brucellosis management plan applies. 

The brucellosis management plan must 

also describe the surveillance activities 

that the State will conduct to identify 

occurrence of B. abortus in domestic 

livestock and wildlife and potential 

risks for spread of the disease. The 

brucellosis management plan must also 

describe mitigation activities to prevent 

the spread of B. abortus from domestic 

livestock and/or wildlife, as applicable. 

The Administrator may reclassify to a 

lower status any State or area that has 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
81092 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

not implemented an approved 

brucellosis management plan within 6 

months of being required to develop 

one. 

For States or areas that have been 

Class Free for 5 or more years and do 

not have B. abortus in wildlife, we are 

also revising requirements for 

maintaining Class-Free status by 

removing the requirement for twiceyearly brucellosis ring testing of dairy 

cattle herds producing milk for sale and 

the requirement for each State to collect 

blood samples from at least 95 percent 

of all cows and bulls 2 years of age or 

over at each recognized slaughtering 

facility and subject the samples to an 

official brucellosis test. Instead, we will 

require that all recognized slaughtering 

establishments in such States or areas 

must, upon request by APHIS, agree to 

participate in slaughter surveillance 

testing as part of a new national bovine 

brucellosis surveillance plan being 

developed by APHIS. The new plan, 

along with the changes made in this 

interim rule, will allow us to reduce the 

level of surveillance testing in States or 

areas that have been Class Free for 5 or 

more years and do not have B. abortus 

in wildlife. This will eliminate 

redundancies in slaughter surveillance 

testing and increase the efficiency of the 

bovine brucellosis slaughter 

surveillance program, allowing us to 

focus activities on States and areas of 

greater risk for spreading brucellosis 

(i.e., States and areas that have B. 

abortus in wildlife). The slaughter 

surveillance sampling strategy APHIS is 

developing as part of the new national 

bovine brucellosis surveillance plan 

provides 95 percent confidence of 

detecting brucellosis at a prevalence 

level of less than 1 infected animal per 

1 million animals (0.0001 percent) in 

the National dairy and beef cattle 

populations. Information about the 

statistical analysis and the new national 

brucellosis surveillance plan is available 

to the public on APHIS’ brucellosis Web 

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

animal_health/animal_diseases/

brucellosis/). 

Changes to Requirements for Herd 

Blood Tests 

The regulations include, in some 

cases, requirements for blood testing of 

herds from which cattle and bison 

intended for interstate movement 

originate or blood testing of herds 

identified as adjacent, source, or contact 

herds in an epidemiologic investigation. 

In the definition for herd blood test, the 

regulations list cattle and bison to be 

included in herd blood tests. Prior to 

this interim rule, we required the 

following sexually intact cattle and 

bison to be included in herd blood tests: 

• Cattle and bison 6 months of age 

and older if not vaccinated; 

• Cattle and bison 20 months of age 

and older if vaccinated and a dairy 

breed; 

• Cattle and bison 24 months of age 

and older if vaccinated and a beef breed; 

and 

• Cattle and bison of any age if 

vaccinated and parturient or postparturient. 

These age requirements were 

established because the previously used 

B. abortus Strain 19 vaccine had the 

propensity to cause false positive test 

results in younger vaccinated animals. 

The B. abortus RB 51 vaccine that is 

now in use, and that has been in use for 

the past 13 years, does not have the 

propensity to cause false positive test 

results. Therefore, we are making a 

change in our definition of herd blood 

test to require that all sexually intact 

cattle and bison 6 months of age and 

older be included in all herd blood tests 

(vaccinated cattle and bison of any age 

that are parturient or post-parturient 

will continue to be included in herd 

blood tests). When herd blood tests are 

required, the inclusion of official 

vaccinates 6 months of age and older 

will ensure that brucellosis is detected 

in younger animals that may be 

infected. 

Changes to Requirements for Certified 

Brucellosis-Free Herds 

Under the current regulations, 

interstate movement restrictions for 

cattle or bison from certified brucellosisfree herds may be less restrictive than 

those applied to other cattle or bison 

moving from the State or area. The 

requirements for achieving certified 

brucellosis-free herd status are 

contained in the definition of certified 

brucellosis-free herd. For dairy herds, 

the regulations have provided that 

certification may be achieved through 

negative results to two herd blood tests 

or through negative results to a series of 

brucellosis ring tests, followed by a 

negative herd blood test. 

The brucellosis ring test is conducted 

on milk from dairy animals. Additional 

types of brucellosis tests for milk are 

under development and may be 

approved for use in the brucellosis 

program. To allow for use of new milk 

tests, if approved, we are amending the 

provisions for certifying dairy herds to 

provide for use of either the brucellosis 

ring test or another official brucellosis 

milk test approved by the 

Administrator. 

To maintain certification, the 

regulations have required that dairy 

herds must test negative to a herd blood 

test conducted within a certain period 

of time following the initial 

certification. As an alternative, this rule 

will allow dairy herds to maintain 

certification through negative results to 

a series of four brucellosis ring tests, or 

through another testing protocol if the 

Administrator finds that the protocol is 

adequate to determine there is no 

evidence of brucellosis in the herd. 

These changes will give producers 

more options for achieving and 

maintaining certified brucellosis-free 

status for dairy herds. 

Miscellaneous Changes 

As explained earlier, the regulations 

require Class Free States or areas to 

conduct certain surveillance testing in 

order to maintain Class Free status. 

Under this interim rule, States that have 

not been Class Free for 5 or more years 

or that have B. abortus in wildlife must 

continue to conduct the same level of 

surveillance testing as in the past. 

However, as an alternative to 

conducting brucellosis ring tests, this 

interim rule will allow use of another 

official brucellosis milk test if one is 

approved by the Administrator for use 

in the brucellosis program. This change 

is in the definition of Class Free State 

or area, paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(A). 

We are also making several other 

minor changes to the regulations. We 

are correcting an oversight in paragraph 

(d) under the definition for approved 

intermediate handling facility by 

extending the period of time from 1 year 

to 2 years for retaining documents 

related to cattle and bison that are or 

have been in the facility. We are making 

this change to be consistent with current 

record-keeping practices required under 

§ 71.20 of the regulations, which 

contains provisions for stockyards, 

livestock facilities, buying stations, 

concentration points, or ‘‘any other 

premises under State or Federal 

veterinary supervision where livestock 

are assembled’’ to acquire and retain 

status as approved facilities. One of the 

requirements for qualifying as an 

approved facility, including an 

approved intermediate handling facility, 

is the retention, for a period of 2 years, 

of all documents such as weight tickets, 

sales slips, and records of origin, 

identification, and destination that 

relate to livestock that are in, or that 

have been in, the facility. When the 2- 

year record requirement was established 

in § 71.20 on October 31, 1996 (61 FR 

56155–56165, Docket No. 96–041–1), we 

neglected to make the corresponding 

change in the definition of approved 

intermediate handling facilities. We are 

correcting that oversight now. 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 81093 

In addition, in paragraph (c)(1) under 

the definition for certificate, we are 

correcting a typographical error by 

replacing the word ‘‘stabled’’ with the 

word ‘‘stapled.’’ 

Finally, we are reorganizing the 

requirements under the definitions for 

Certified brucellosis-free herd and Class 

Free State or area to make them clearer 

to read. 

Immediate Action 

Immediate action is warranted to 

remove requirements that present an 

obstacle to effectively managing the 

brucellosis program. Changes to the 

requirements for maintaining Class Free 

status, in particular, are necessary so 

that APHIS and States can use available 

resources on program activities that will 

have the greatest impact on disease 

management and disease risk 

mitigation. The changes in age 

requirements for sexually intact 

vaccinates to be included in herd blood 

testing are necessary to ensure that 

brucellosis is detected in younger 

animals that may be infected. Under 

these circumstances, the Administrator 

has determined that prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment are 

contrary to the public interest and that 

there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 

for making this action effective less than 

30 days after publication in the Federal 

Register. 

We will consider comments we 

receive during the comment period for 

this interim rule (see DATES above). 

After the comment period closes, we 

will publish another document in the 

Federal Register. The document will 

include a discussion of any comments 

we receive and any amendments we are 

making to the rule. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This interim 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. 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, we have analyzed the 

potential economic effects of this action 

on small entities. The analysis identifies 

beef cattle and dairy operations as the 

small entities most likely to be affected 

by this action and considers the effects 

of the rule on the beef and dairy 

industry. Based on the information 

presented in the analysis, the 

Administrator has certified that this 

action will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The full 

economic analysis may be viewed on 

the Regulations.gov Web site (see 

ADDRESSES 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 12372 

This program/activity is listed in the 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

under No. 10.025 and is subject to 

Executive Order 12372, which requires 

intergovernmental consultation with 

State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part 

3015, subpart V.) 

Executive Order 12988 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. This rule: (1) Has no retroactive 

effect; and (2) does not require 

administrative proceedings 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 interim 

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–2009–0083. 

Please send a copy of your comments to: 

(1) Docket No. APHIS–2009–0083, 

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, Rroom 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 60 days 

of publication of this interim rule. 

The APHIS bovine brucellosis 

program regulations in 9 CFR part 78 

provide a system for classifying States 

or portions of States according to the 

rate of Brucella abortus infection 

present and the general effectiveness of 

a brucellosis control and eradication 

program. The program also provides for 

the creation of brucellosis management 

areas within a State and for testing and 

movement mitigation activities before 

regulated animals are permitted to move 

interstate. This system enhances the 

ability of States to move healthy, 

brucellosis-free cattle and bison 

interstate and internationally. This 

management area and testing system 

also enhances the effectiveness of the 

Bovine Brucellosis Eradication Program 

by decreasing the likelihood that 

infected animals will be moved 

interstate or internationally. 

The creation of brucellosis 

management areas allow States that 

have found B. abortus in wildlife (which 

are nonregulated animals) to mitigate 

the risk of transmission and spread of 

disease while maintaining the State’s 

disease-free status in regulated domestic 

livestock. The State must sign a 

memorandum of understanding (MOU) 

with the Administrator that describes its 

brucellosis management plan. The 

brucellosis management plan developed 

by the State must define the geographic 

brucellosis management area and 

describe the surveillance and mitigation 

activities that the State will conduct to 

identify occurrence of B. abortus in 

domestic livestock and wildlife and 

potential risks for spread of the disease. 

The information provided by these 

documents is critical to APHIS’ mission 

to prevent the introduction or spread of 

bovine brucellosis. APHIS is asking the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) to approve the use of these 

information-gathering activities for 3 

years in connection with APHIS’ bovine 

brucellosis program. 

We are soliciting comments from the 

public (as well as affected agencies) 

concerning our information collection 

and recordkeeping requirements. These 

comments will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the 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 

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 300 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: State animal health and 

wildlife officials. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 3. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 2. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 6 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
81094 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 1,800 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 interim rule, please contact Mrs. 

Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851– 

2908. 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 78 

Animal diseases, Bison, Cattle, Hogs, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation. 

■ Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR 

part 78 as follows: 

PART 78—BRUCELLOSIS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 78 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8301–8317; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.4. 

■ 2. Section 78.1 is amended as follows: 

■ a. In the definition of Approved 

intermediate handling facility, by 

revising paragraph (d) to read as set 

forth below. 

■ b. In the definition of Certificate, by 

revising paragraph (c)(1) to read as set 

forth below. 

■ c. By revising the definitions of 

Certified brucellosis-free herd, Class 

Free State or area, and Herd blood test 

to read as set forth below. 

§ 78.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Approved intermediate handling 

facility. 

* * * * * 

(d) Any document relating to cattle or 

bison which are or have been in the 

facility shall be maintained by the 

facility for a period of 2 years; 

* * * * * 

Certificate. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) A legible copy of the official brand 

inspection certificate must be stapled to 

the original and each copy of the 

certificate; 

* * * * * 

Certified brucellosis-free herd. A herd 

of cattle or bison which has qualified for 

and whose owner has been issued a 

certified brucellosis-free herd certificate 

signed by the appropriate State animal 

health official and the Veterinarian in 

Charge. 

(a) Certification. The following 

methods may be used to qualify a herd: 

(1) By conducting at least two 

consecutive negative herd blood tests 

not less than 10 months nor more than 

14 months apart; or 

(2) As an alternative for dairy cattle, 

by conducting a minimum of four 

consecutive negative brucellosis ring 

tests, or other official brucellosis milk 

test approved by the Administrator, at 

not less than 90-day intervals, followed 

by a negative herd blood test within 90 

days after the last negative brucellosis 

ring test or other official brucellosis 

milk test approved by the 

Administrator. 

(b) Maintaining certification. Certified 

brucellosis-free herd status will remain 

in effect for 1 year beginning with the 

date of issuance of the certified 

brucellosis-free herd certificate. The 

following methods may be used to 

maintain herd certification: 

(1) A negative herd blood test must be 

conducted within 10 to 12 months of 

the last certification date for continuous 

status. Lapsed certification may be 

reinstated if a herd blood test is 

conducted within 14 months of the last 

certification date. A new recertification 

test date may be established if requested 

by the owner and if the herd is negative 

to a herd blood test on that date, 

provided that date is within 1 year of 

the previous certification date. 

(2) As an alternative for dairy cattle, 

a minimum of four consecutive negative 

brucellosis ring tests, or other official 

brucellosis milk test approved by the 

Administrator, must be conducted at 

approximately 90-day intervals, with 

the fourth test conducted within 60 days 

before the 1-year anniversary of the 

previous certification date. 

(3) The Administrator may allow 

another testing protocol to be used if the 

Administrator determines that such a 

protocol is adequate to determine there 

is no evidence of brucellosis in the herd. 

(c) Loss of certification. A herd which 

loses certified brucellosis-free herd 

status because a brucellosis reactor is 

found in the herd may be recertified 

only by repeating the certification 

process, except that certified 

brucellosis-free herd status may be 

reinstated without repeating the 

certification process if epidemiological 

studies and bacteriological cultures 

conducted by an APHIS representative 

or State representative show that the 

herd was not affected with Brucella 

abortus. 

* * * * * 

Class Free State or area. A State or 

area which meets standards for 

classification as a Class Free State or 

area and is certified as such on initial 

classification or on reclassification by 

the State animal health official, the 

Veterinarian in Charge, and the 

Administrator. For initial classification 

or reclassification, all cattle herds in the 

State or area must have remained free of 

Brucella abortus for 12 consecutive 

months, based on surveillance and 

epidemiologic investigations as required 

for Class A States or areas, and the State 

or area must have a cattle herd infection 

rate, based on the number of herds 

found to have brucellosis reactors 

within the State or area during any 12 

consecutive months due to Brucella 

abortus, of 0.0 percent or 0 herds per 

1,000. Any reclassification will be made 

in accordance with § 78.40 of this part. 

All cattle herds in the State or area in 

which brucellosis has been known to 

exist must be released from any State or 

Federal brucellosis quarantine prior to 

classification. In addition, if any herds 

of other species of domestic livestock 

have been found to be affected with 

brucellosis, they must be subjected to an 

official test and found negative, 

slaughtered, or quarantined so that no 

foci of brucellosis in any species of 

domestic livestock are left uncontrolled. 

The following are the standards to 

maintain Class Free status. 

(a) Surveillance. (1) Testing 

requirements. (i) States or areas that 

have been Class Free for 5 consecutive 

years or longer and that do not have B. 

abortus in wildlife. All recognized 

slaughtering establishments in the State 

or area, upon request by APHIS, must 

agree to participate in market cattle 

identification (MCI) testing as part of the 

national brucellosis surveillance plan. 

(ii) States or areas that have not been 

Class Free for 5 consecutive years or 

longer or that have B. abortus in 

wildlife. The State or area must carry out 

testing as provided in paragraphs 

(a)(1)(ii)(A) and (a)(1)(ii)(B) of this 

definition: 

(A) Brucellosis ring test. The State or 

area shall conduct as many brucellosis 

ring tests per year as are necessary to 

ensure that all herds producing milk for 

sale are tested at least twice per year at 

approximately 6-month intervals. 

Another official brucellosis milk test 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 81095 

may be used as approved by the 

Administrator. 

(B) Market Cattle Identification (MCI) 

program. All recognized slaughtering 

establishments in the State or area must 

participate in the MCI program. Blood 

samples shall be collected from at least 

95 percent of all cows and bulls 2 years 

of age or over at each recognized 

slaughtering establishment and 

subjected to an official test. 

(2) Brucellosis reactors. All Class Free 

States or areas must comply with the 

following requirements upon detection 

of a brucellosis reactor: 

(i) Tracebacks. The State or area must 

trace at least 90 percent of all 

brucellosis reactors found in the course 

of MCI testing to the farm of origin. 

(ii) Successfully closed cases. The 

State or area must successfully close at 

least 95 percent of the MCI reactor cases 

traced to the farm of origin during the 

12-consecutive-month period 

immediately prior to the most recent 

anniversary of the date the State or area 

was classified Class Free. To 

successfully close an MCI reactor case, 

State representatives or APHIS 

representatives must conduct an 

epidemiologic investigation at the farm 

of origin within 15 days after 

notification by the cooperative StateFederal laboratory that brucellosis 

reactors were found on the MCI test. 

Herd blood tests must be conducted or 

the herd must be confined to the 

premises under quarantine within 30 

days after notification that brucellosis 

reactors were found on the MCI test, 

unless a designated epidemiologist 

determines that: 

(A) The brucellosis reactor is located 

in a herd in a different State than the 

State where the MCI blood sample was 

collected. In such cases a State 

representative or APHIS representative 

must give written notice of the MCI test 

results to the State animal health official 

in the State where the brucellosis 

reactor is located; or 

(B) Evidence indicates that the 

brucellosis reactor is from a herd that no 

longer presents a risk of spreading 

brucellosis, or is from a herd that is 

unlikely to be infected with brucellosis. 

Such evidence could include, but is not 

limited to, situations where: 

(1) The brucellosis reactor is traced 

back to a herd that has been sold for 

slaughter in entirety; 

(2) The brucellosis reactor is traced 

back to a herd that is certified 

brucellosis free and is 100-percent 

vaccinated; or 

(3) The brucellosis reactor showed a 

low titer in the MCI test and is traced 

back to a dairy herd that is 100 percent 

vaccinated and has tested negative to 

the most recent brucellosis ring test 

required by this section for herds 

producing milk for sale. 

(iii) Epidemiologic surveillance. (A) 

Adjacent herds. All adjacent herds or 

other herds having contact with cattle in 

a herd known to be affected shall be 

placed under quarantine and have an 

approved individual herd plan in effect 

within 15 days after notification of 

brucellosis in the herd known to be 

affected; 

(B) Epidemiologically traced herds. 

All herds from which cattle are moved 

into a herd known to be affected and all 

herds which have received cattle from a 

herd known to be affected shall be 

placed under quarantine and have an 

approved individual herd plan in effect 

within 15 days of locating the source 

herd or recipient herd. Each State shall 

ensure that such approved individual 

herd plans are effectively complied 

with, as determined by the 

Administrator. 

(b) Herd infection rate. (1) Affected 

herds. Except as provided in paragraph 

(b)(4) of this definition, all cattle herds 

in the State or area must remain free of 

Brucella abortus. 

(2) Epidemiologic investigation. 

Within 15 days after notification by the 

cooperative State-Federal laboratory that 

brucellosis reactors have been found in 

any herd, State representatives or 

APHIS representatives shall investigate 

that herd to identify possible sources of 

brucellosis. All possible sources of 

brucellosis identified shall be contacted 

within an additional 15 days to 

determine appropriate action. 

(3) Approved herd plans. All herds 

known to be affected shall have 

approved individual herd plans in effect 

within 15 days after notification by a 

State representative or APHIS 

representative of a brucellosis reactor in 

the herd. Each State shall ensure that 

such approved individual herd plans 

are effectively complied with, as 

determined by the Administrator. 

(4) Affected herd. If any herd in a 

Class Free State or area is found to be 

affected with brucellosis, the State or 

area may retain its Class Free status if 

it meets the conditions of this 

paragraph; provided that the 

Administrator may reclassify a State or 

area to a lower status upon finding that 

continued detection of brucellosis 

presents a risk that the disease will 

spread. 

(i) The affected herd. (A) The affected 

herd must be quarantined immediately, 

and, within 60 days, tested for 

brucellosis and depopulated; or 

(B) The affected herd must be 

quarantined immediately and tested for 

brucellosis as required by the 

Administrator until there is no evidence 

of brucellosis in the herd; and 

(ii) Other herds. An epidemiological 

investigation must be performed within 

60 days of the detection of an infected 

animal in a herd. All herds on premises 

adjacent to the affected herd (adjacent 

herds), all herds from which animals 

may have been brought into the affected 

herd (source herds), and all herds that 

may have had contact with or accepted 

animals from the affected herd (contact 

herds) must be epidemiologically 

investigated, and each of those herds 

must be placed under an approved 

individual herd plan. If the investigating 

epidemiologist determines that a herd 

blood test for a particular adjacent herd, 

source herd, or contact herd is not 

warranted, the epidemiologist must 

include that determination, and the 

reasons supporting it, in the individual 

herd plan. 

(iii) APHIS review. After the close of 

the 60-day period following the date an 

animal in the herd is determined to be 

infected, APHIS will conduct a review 

to confirm that the requirements of 

paragraphs (b)(4)(i) and (b)(4)(ii) of this 

definition have been satisfied and that 

the State or area is in compliance with 

all other applicable provisions. 

(c) Brucellosis management plans. 

(1) Any State in which the 

Administrator has determined wildlife 

are infected with B. abortus must 

develop and implement a brucellosis 

management plan approved by the 

Administrator. The existence of B. 

abortus in wildlife will be determined 

by the Administrator, based on, but not 

limited to, histopathology, testing data, 

or epidemiology. The Administrator 

may also require a Class Free State or 

area to develop and implement a 

brucellosis management plan under any 

other circumstances if the Administrator 

determines it is necessary to prevent the 

spread of brucellosis. The State must 

sign a memorandum of understanding 

(MOU) with the Administrator that 

describes its brucellosis management 

plan. The MOU must be updated 

annually. The Administrator may 

reclassify to a lower status any State or 

area that has not implemented an 

approved brucellosis management plan 

within 6 months of being required to 

develop one. 

(2) The brucellosis management plan 

reflected in the MOU must: 

(i) Define and explain the basis for the 

geographic area in which a disease risk 

exists from B. abortus and to which the 

brucellosis management plan activities 

apply; 

(ii) Describe epidemiologic 

assessment and surveillance activities to 

identify occurrence of B. abortus in 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES
81096 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 247 / Monday, December 27, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

1See 12 U.S.C. 4562. For that reason, consistent 

with the proposed rule, the final rule provides that 

such loans are not eligible to be counted toward the 

Banks’ housing goals either. The AMA regulation 

also authorizes the Banks to purchase other real 

estate-related collateral, including: second liens and 

commercial real estate loans; small business, small 

farm and small agri-business loans; whole loans 

secured by manufactured housing regardless of 

whether the housing qualifies as residential real 

property; and state and local housing finance 

agency bonds, subject to prior new business activity 

approval by FHFA under 12 CFR part 980. See 12 

CFR 955.2(a). 

domestic livestock and wildlife and 

potential risks for spread of disease; and 

(iii) Describe mitigation activities to 

prevent the spread of B. abortus from 

domestic livestock and/or wildlife, as 

applicable, within or from the 

brucellosis management area. 

* * * * * 

Herd blood test. A blood test for 

brucellosis conducted in a herd on all 

cattle or bison 6 months of age or over, 

except steers and spayed heifers. 

* * * * * 

Done in Washington, DC, this 17th day of 

December 2010. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32371 Filed 12–22–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

FEDERAL HOUSING FINANCE 

AGENCY 

12 CFR Part 1281 

RIN 2590–AA16 

Federal Home Loan Bank Housing 

Goals 

AGENCY: Federal Housing Finance 

Agency. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: Section 1205 of the Housing 

and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 

(HERA) amended the Federal Home 

Loan Bank Act (Bank Act) by adding a 

new section 10C(a) that requires the 

Director of the Federal Housing Finance 

Agency (FHFA) to establish housing 

goals with respect to the Federal Home 

Loan Banks’ (Banks) purchase of 

mortgages, if any. Section 10C(b) 

provides that the Banks’ housing goals 

are to be consistent with the housing 

goals established by FHFA for the 

Federal National Mortgage Association 

(Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home 

Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie 

Mac) (collectively, the Enterprises) 

under sections 1331 through 1334 of the 

Federal Housing Enterprises Financial 

Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 

(Safety and Soundness Act), as amended 

by HERA, taking into consideration the 

unique mission and ownership structure 

of the Banks. 

To implement section 10C, FHFA is 

adopting a final rule that is substantially 

the same as the proposed rule published 

by FHFA for notice and comment. The 

final rule establishes three single-family 

owner-occupied purchase money 

mortgage goals and one single-family 

refinancing mortgage goal applicable to 

the Banks’ purchases of single-family 

owner-occupied mortgages, if any, 

under their Acquired Member Assets 

(AMA) programs, consistent with the 

single-family housing goals for the 

Enterprises. A Bank will be subject to 

the housing goals if its AMA-approved 

mortgage purchases in a given year 

exceed a volume threshold of $2.5 

billion. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 26, 

2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Doherty, Acting Senior Associate 

Director, (202) 408–2991, Charles E. 

McLean, Associate Director, (202) 408– 

2537, or Rafe R. Ellison, Senior Program 

Analyst, (202) 408–2968, Office of 

Housing and Community Investment, 

1625 Eye Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20006. (These are not toll-free numbers.) 

For legal matters, contact Kevin 

Sheehan, Attorney, (202) 414–8952, or 

Sharon Like, Managing Associate 

General Counsel, (202) 414–8950, Office 

of General Counsel, Federal Housing 

Finance Agency, Fourth Floor, 1700 G 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552. 

(These are not toll-free numbers.) The 

telephone number for the 

Telecommunications Device for the 

Hearing Impaired is (800) 877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

A. Federal Home Loan Bank System 

The Federal Home Loan Bank System 

(System) was created by the Bank Act to 

support mortgage lending and related 

community investment. See 12 U.S.C. 

1421 et seq. The System is composed of 

12 Banks with more than 8,000 member 

financial institutions, and the System’s 

fiscal agent, the Office of Finance. The 

Banks fulfill their statutory mission 

primarily by providing secured loans 

(called advances) to their members. The 

Bank Act provides the Banks explicit 

authority to make secured advances. 12 

U.S.C. 1430(a). Advances provide 

members with a source of funding for 

mortgages and asset-liability 

management, liquidity for a member’s 

short-term needs, and additional funds 

for housing finance and community 

investment. Advances are collateralized 

primarily by residential mortgage loans 

and government and agency securities. 

12 U.S.C. 1430(a)(3). Community 

financial institutions (CFIs) (i.e., 

members with average total assets of 

less than $1 billion (as adjusted 

annually for inflation)) may also pledge 

small business, small agriculture or 

community development loans as 

collateral for advances. 12 U.S.C. 

1430(a)(3)(E). 

Consolidated obligations, consisting 

of bonds and discount notes, are the 

principal source for the Banks to fund 

advances and investments. The Office of 

Finance issues all consolidated 

obligations on behalf of the 12 Banks. 

Although each Bank is primarily liable 

for the portion of consolidated 

obligations corresponding to the 

proceeds received by that Bank, each 

Bank is also jointly and severally liable 

with the other eleven Banks for the 

payment of principal of, and interest on, 

all consolidated obligations. See 12 CFR 

966.9. 

B. Bank AMA Programs 

In July 2000, the Federal Housing 

Finance Board (FHFB) adopted a final 

regulation authorizing the Banks to 

establish Acquired Member Assets 

(AMA) programs. See 12 CFR part 955. 

A Bank may participate in an AMA 

program at its discretion; FHFA does 

not have the authority to compel a Bank 

to engage in any mortgage purchase 

activities. Each Bank must receive 

approval from FHFA pursuant to the 

requirements for new business activities 

in order to establish an AMA program. 

See 12 CFR part 980. A majority of the 

Banks have implemented AMA 

programs pursuant to the AMA approval 

authority. 

In order for a Bank to acquire a 

mortgage loan under an AMA program, 

the loan must meet the requirements set 

forth under a three-part test established 

by the regulation. The three-part test 

consists of: A loan type requirement; a 

member or housing associate nexus 

requirement; and a credit risk-sharing 

requirement. 12 CFR 955.2. The AMA 

regulation generally authorizes the 

Banks to purchase conforming whole 

loans on single-family residential real 

property not more than 90 days 

delinquent. In addition, the Banks are 

authorized to purchase conforming 

whole loans on single-family residential 

real property regardless of delinquency 

status if the loan is insured or 

guaranteed by the U.S. government, 

although such loans are not eligible to 

be counted toward the Enterprises’ 

housing goals, as provided in the Safety 

and Soundness Act.1 The Banks acquire 

AMA from their participating members 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with RULES