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

81401 

Vol. 76, No. 249 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0084] 

RIN 0579–AD56 

Importation of Litchi Fruit From 

Australia 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to allow, 

under certain conditions, the 

importation of commercial shipments of 

litchi fruit from Australia into the 

continental United States, except 

Florida. As a condition of entry, the 

litchi fruit would have to be grown in 

production areas that are registered with 

and monitored by the national plant 

protection organization of Australia and 

treated with irradiation at a dose of 400 

gray for plant pests of the class Insecta, 

except pupae and adults of the order 

Lepidoptera, and subject to inspection. 

The fruits would also have to be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate with an additional 

declaration stating that the conditions 

for importation have been met. 

Additionally, litchi would not be 

imported into or distributed to the State 

of Florida, due to the presence of litchi 

rust mite in Australia. This action 

would allow for the importation of litchi 

fruit from Australia into the continental 

United States, except Florida, while 

continuing to provide protection against 

the introduction of quarantine pests. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before February 

27, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2009-0084- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2009–0084, 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-2009-0084 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) 6902817 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Dorothy C. Wayson, Regulatory 

Coordination Specialist, PPQ, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 141, Riverdale, 

MD 20737–1231; (301) 734–0772. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart—Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–54, referred to below as 

the regulations) prohibit or restrict the 

importation of fruits and vegetables into 

the United States from certain parts of 

the world to prevent the introduction 

and dissemination of plant pests that are 

new to or not widely distributed within 

the United States. 

The national plant protection 

organization (NPPO) of Australia has 

requested that the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

amend the regulations to allow fresh 

litchi fruit (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) from 

Australia to be imported into the 

continental United States. As part of our 

evaluation of Australia’s request, we 

prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) 

and a risk management document. 

Copies of the PRA and risk management 

document may be obtained from the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT or viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

a link to Regulations.gov and 

information on the location and hours of 

the reading room). 

As part of our evaluation of that 

request, we prepared a PRA titled 

‘‘Importation of Fresh Litchi, Litchi 

chinensis Sonn. Fruit from Australia 

into the Continental United States’’ 

(November 2008). That PRA evaluates 

the risks associated with the 

importation of litchi fruit with up to 5 

millimeters of stem into the continental 

United States from Australia. The 

threshold allowing for a maximum of 5 

millimeters of stem on the imported 

litchi fruit was included in Australia’s 

request and therefore established as the 

allowable limit in the PRA. 

The PRA identified 15 pests of 

quarantine significance present in 

Australia that could be introduced into 

the United States through the 

importation of litchi fruit, including 3 

fruit flies, 7 lepidopteran pests, 2 scales, 

2 insect pests, and 1 mite. 

Fruit flies 

Jarvis’s fruit fly (Bactrocera jarvisi). 

Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera 

tryoni). 

Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis 

capitata). 

Lepidopteran pests 

Yellow peach moth (Conogethes 

punctiferalis). 

Litchi fruit moth (Cryptophlebia 

ombrodelta). 

Orange fruit borer (Isotenes 

miserana). 

The moth Cateremna quadriguttella. 

Bright cornelian (Deudorix diovis). 

Dull cornelian (Deudorix epijarbas 

dido). 

Flower caterpillar (Phycita 

leucomilta). 

Scales 

Red wax scale (Ceroplastes rubens). 

Green scale (Coccus viridis). 

Insect pests 

Spherical mealybug (Nipaecoccus 

viridis). 

Passionvine mealybug (Planococcus 

minor). 

Mite 

Litchi hairy mite (Aceria litchii). 

Proposed Systems Approach 

Based on the risk management 

document, APHIS has determined that 

measures beyond the standard port of 

arrival inspection are required to 

mitigate the risks posed by these plant 

pests. Therefore, we are proposing to 

allow the importation of litchi from 

Australia into the United States only if 

they are produced in accordance with a 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

81402 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

systems approach to mitigate pest risk 

as outlined below. We are proposing to 

add the systems approach to the 

regulations in a new § 319.56–55 

governing the importation of litchi from 

Australia. 

Place of Production Requirements 

Paragraph (a) of proposed § 319.56–55 

would require that litchi fruit be grown 

in approved places of production that 

are registered with and monitored by 

the NPPO of Australia. 

Treatment 

Paragraph (b) of proposed § 319.56–55 

would require that litchi fruit be treated 

with a minimum absorbed irradiation 

dose of 400 gray in accordance with the 

provisions of § 305.9 and the PPQ 

Treatment Manual (table 3–8–1). This is 

the established generic dose for all 

insect pests except pupae and adults of 

the order Lepidoptera. Seven of the 

insect pests of concern, yellow peach 

moth, litchi fruit moth, orange fruit 

borer, the moth Cateremna 

quadriguttella, bright cornelian, dull 

cornelian, and flower caterpillar, belong 

to the order Lepidoptera, and the 400 

gray dose is not approved to treat pupae 

and adults of the order Lepidoptera. 

However, the life stages of concern for 

these pests are the eggs and the larvae, 

because the eggs and the larvae of these 

species are internal feeders and thus 

difficult to detect through inspection; 

the 400 gray dose is approved to treat 

those stages of the life cycle for 

Lepidoptera pests. The pupae and 

adults of these species are external 

feeders, and we are confident that 

inspection can detect them. Within part 

305, § 305.9 contains a number of other 

requirements for irradiation treatment, 

including monitoring by APHIS 

inspectors and safeguarding of the fruit. 

Treatment could be conducted at an 

approved facility in Australia or in the 

United States. 

Paragraph (c) would require that each 

shipment of fruit be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate issued by the 

NPPO of Australia containing an 

additional declaration stating that the 

conditions for importation have been 

met. 

Distribution Restrictions 

The required irradiation treatment 

would not mitigate the risks posed by 

the litchi hairy mite (Aceria litchii), and 

because of the mite’s microscopic size, 

inspection alone is not considered 

sufficient to mitigate the risk of 

introduction into the United States. 

Based on the distribution and reported 

host range of this pest, we estimate it 

could establish in the continental 

United States in USDA Plant Hardiness 

Zones 9 through 11. Neither of its two 

hosts, longan or litchi, occur naturally 

in the United States; however, both 

litchis and longans are commercially 

grown in the State of Florida and the 

climatic conditions in Florida present 

the highest risk for establishment of the 

pest. For this reason, our regulations 

generally prohibit the movement of 

litchi into Florida from areas where the 

litchi hairy mite is present. Litchi from 

China, India, and Thailand that are 

imported under § 319.56–13 and 

§ 319.56–47, respectively, are also not 

allowed to be imported or distributed in 

Florida. 

Because the litchi hairy mite is not 

present in Florida and because we have 

consistently prohibited host movement 

into Florida from areas where that pest 

is present, we propose to prohibit the 

importation and distribution of litchi 

from Australia into the State of Florida. 

Accordingly, paragraph § 319.56–55 (d) 

would stipulate that all cartons of litchi 

would have to be stamped ‘‘Not for 

importation into or distribution in FL.’’ 

Commercial Shipments 

Paragraph (e) would state that only 

commercial consignments of litchi fruit 

would be allowed to be imported. 

Produce grown commercially is less 

likely to be infested with plant pests 

than noncommercial shipments. 

Noncommercial shipments are more 

prone to infestations because the 

commodity is often ripe to overripe, 

could be of a variety with unknown 

susceptibility to pests, and is often 

grown with little or no pest control. 

Commercial shipments, as defined in 

§ 319.56–1, are shipments of fruits and 

vegetables that an inspector identifies as 

having been produced for sale and 

distribution in mass markets. 

Identification of a particular shipment 

as commercial is based on a variety of 

indicators, including, but not limited to, 

the quantity of produce, the type of 

packaging, identification of a grower or 

packinghouse on the packaging, and 

documents consigning the shipment to 

a wholesaler or retailer. 

Commercially produced fruit in 

Australia are already subjected to 

standard commercial cultural and postharvest practices that reduce the risk 

associated with plant pests. While not 

specifically required by this proposal, 

standard cultural practices other than 

the twice yearly application of broad 

spectrum fungicides (e.g., the regular 

use of sanitation measures, irrigation, 

fertilization, and pest control) help to 

further ensure that the pests of concern 

do not follow the pathway. All export 

orchards are registered production sites 

with traceback capability. Harvested 

fruit is moved to the packinghouses in 

a manner that would preclude 

reinfestation by pests. Culling of 

blemished and damaged fruit occurs in 

the field and during the post-harvest 

commercial processing of the fruit. 

The regulations in § 319.56–3 provide 

that all imported fruits and vegetables 

shall be inspected, and shall be subject 

to such disinfection at the port of first 

arrival as may be required by an 

inspector. The pre-export inspection 

conducted by APHIS personnel as part 

of preclearance activities in the country 

of export typically serves to satisfy the 

inspection requirement. Section 319.56– 

3 also provides that any shipment of 

fruits and vegetables may be refused 

entry if the shipment is so infested with 

plant pests that an inspector determines 

that it cannot be cleaned or treated. We 

believe that the proposed conditions 

described above, as well as all other 

applicable requirements in § 319.56–3, 

would be adequate to prevent the 

introduction of plant pests into the 

continental United States, except 

Florida, with litchi fruit imported from 

Australia. 

The proposed conditions described 

above for the importation of litchi fruit 

from Australia into the continental 

United States, except Florida, would be 

added to the fruits and vegetables 

regulations as a new § 319.56–55. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, 

therefore, has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, we have analyzed the 

potential economic effects of this action 

on small entities. The analysis is 

summarized below. Copies of the full 

analysis are available by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT or on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see 

ADDRESSES above for instructions for 

accessing Regulations.gov). 

This proposed rule is in response to 

a request from Australia to export fresh 

litchis to all States in the United States 

except Florida. Litchi is grown in 

Florida, Hawaii, and California, and 

U.S. production is estimated to be about 

500 metric tons (MT) per year. Based on 

available information, most, if not all, 

litchi farms are small entities. 

The United States imports litchis from 

such countries as Taiwan, China, Israel, 

and Mexico. Australia expects to export 

about 400 MT of litchis to the United 

States annually. This amount is 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules 81403 

equivalent to less than 3 percent of the 

quantity of litchis that was imported by 

the United States in 2004, the latest year 

for which we have data. Most likely, the 

quantity of litchis expected to be 

imported from Australia is of even 

lesser significance when compared to 

current litchi imports by the United 

States, given the expanding demand for 

this fruit. 

Any litchi price declines that might 

result from this rule would be 

insignificant, especially if, as is likely, 

at least some litchi imports from 

Australia were to displace imports from 

other countries. Moreover, given that 

the agricultural seasons in the Southern 

Hemisphere are generally the opposite 

of those in the Northern Hemisphere, 

the proposed imports from Australia 

likely would not directly compete with 

U.S. litchi production. 

Under these circumstances, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 

determined that this action would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Executive Order 12988 

This proposed rule would allow litchi 

fruit to be imported into the United 

States from Australia. If this proposed 

rule is adopted, State and local laws and 

regulations regarding litchi fruit 

imported under this rule would be 

preempted while the fruit is in foreign 

commerce. Fresh fruits and vegetables 

are generally imported for immediate 

distribution and sale to the consuming 

public and would remain in foreign 

commerce until sold to the ultimate 

consumer. The question of when foreign 

commerce ceases in other cases must be 

addressed on a case-by-case basis. If this 

proposed rule is adopted, no retroactive 

effect will be given to this rule, and this 

rule will 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 proposed 

rule have been submitted for approval to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). Please send written comments 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Attention: 

Desk Officer for APHIS, Washington, DC 

20503. Please state that your comments 

refer to Docket No. APHIS–2009–0084. 

Please send a copy of your comments to: 

(1) Docket No. APHIS–2009–0084, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238, and (2) Clearance Officer, 

OCIO, USDA, room 404–W, 14th Street 

and Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250. A comment to 

OMB is best assured of having its full 

effect if OMB receives it within 30 days 

of publication of this proposed rule. 

APHIS is proposing to amend the 

fruits and vegetables regulations to 

allow, under certain conditions, the 

importation into the United States of 

commercial consignments of litchi fruit 

from Australia. The conditions for the 

importation of litchi fruit from Australia 

include requirements for pest exclusion 

at the production site, irradiation 

treatment, pest-excluding packinghouse 

procedures and port-of-entry 

inspections. The litchi would also be 

required to be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate issued by the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of Australia with an additional 

declaration confirming that the litchi 

had been produced in accordance with 

the proposed requirements. This action 

would allow for the importation of litchi 

fruit from Australia while continuing to 

provide protection against the 

introduction of injurious plant pests 

into the United States. 

Implementing this rule will require 

the completion of phytosanitary 

certificates, compliance agreements, 

preclearance workplans, treatment 

records and trust fund agreements. We 

are soliciting comments from the public 

(as well as affected agencies) concerning 

our proposed information collection and 

recordkeeping requirements. These 

comments will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper performance of our agency s 

functions, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

information collection, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

information collection on those who are 

to respond (such as through the use of 

appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical, or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology; e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses). 

Estimate of burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 0.5455 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Foreign business and 

NPPO of Australia. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 2. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 11. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 22. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 12 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 EGovernment Act 

to promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this proposed rule, please contact 

Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ 

Information Collection Coordinator, at 

(301) 851–2908. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, 

Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Vegetables. 

Accordingly, we propose to amend 7 

CFR part 319 as follows: 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

1. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and 

7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

2. A new § 319.56–55 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–55 Litchi from Australia 

(including Tasmania). 

Litchi (Litchi chinensis) with up to 5 

millimeters of stem may be imported 

into the continental United States from 

Australia only under the following 

conditions and in accordance with all 

other applicable provisions of this 

subpart: 

(a) Litchi must be grown in a 

production area that is registered with 

and monitored by the national plant 

protection organization (NPPO) of 

Australia. 

(b) The litchi must be treated for plant 

pests of the class Insecta, except pupae 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS

81404 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 28, 2011 / Proposed Rules 

and adults of the order Lepidoptera, 

with irradiation in accordance with 

§ 305.9 of this chapter. Treatment must 

be conducted prior to importation of the 

fruits into the United States. 

(c) Each shipment of litchi must be 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate of inspection issued by the 

NPPO of Australia with an additional 

declaration stating that the litchi were 

treated with irradiation as described in 

the Plant Protection and Quarantine 

Treatment Manual. 

(d) In addition to meeting the labeling 

requirements in Part 305 of this chapter, 

cartons in which litchi are packed must 

be stamped ‘‘Not for importation into or 

distribution in FL.’’ 

(e) The litchi may be imported in 

commercial consignments only. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of 

December 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–33201 Filed 12–27–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 92 

[Docket No. APHIS–2007–0158] 

RIN 0579–AD30 

Information From Foreign Regions 

Applying for Recognition of Animal 

Health Status 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the regulations that govern the 

importation of animals and animal 

products by revising the list of factors 

APHIS considers when evaluating the 

animal health status of a foreign region. 

Additionally, we are proposing criteria 

for considering a region to be 

historically free of a specific disease. 

These changes would make clearer the 

type of information APHIS needs from 

a requesting region to most 

expeditiously conduct an evaluation. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before February 

27, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2007-0158- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2007–0158, 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-2007-0158 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) 690–2817 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Kelly Rhodes, Regionalization 

Evaluation Services, Sanitary Trade 

Issues Team, National Center for Import 

and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 734–4356. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 9 CFR part 92, 

‘‘Importation of Animals and Animal 

Products; Procedures for Requesting 

Recognition of Regions’’ (referred to 

below as the regulations), set forth the 

process by which a foreign government 

may request recognition of the animal 

health status of a region. 

Section 92.2 of the regulations 

requires that such requests be 

accompanied by information regarding 

the region that will enable the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) of the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture to evaluate the request. 

Currently, the provisions in paragraph 

(b) of § 92.2 state that each request must 

include the following information, 

which APHIS commonly refers to as 

‘‘the 11 factors’’: 

• The authority, organization, and 

infrastructure of the veterinary services 

organization in the region. 

• Disease status, i.e., is the restricted 

disease agent known to exist in the 

region? If ‘‘yes,’’ at what prevalence? If 

‘‘no,’’ when was the most recent 

diagnosis? 

• The status of adjacent regions with 

respect to the agent. 

• The extent of an active disease 

control program, if any, if the agent is 

known to exist in the region. 

• The vaccination status of the region. 

When was the last vaccination? What is 

the extent of vaccination if it is 

currently used, and what vaccine is 

being used? 

• The degree to which the region is 

separated from adjacent regions of 

higher risk through physical or other 

barriers. 

• The extent to which movement of 

animals and animal products is 

controlled from regions of higher risk, 

and the level of biosecurity regarding 

such movements. 

• Livestock demographics and 

marketing practices in the region. 

• The type and extent of disease 

surveillance in the region, e.g., is it 

passive and/or active; what is the 

quantity and quality of sampling and 

testing? 

• Diagnostic laboratory capabilities. 

• Policies and infrastructure for 

animal disease control in the region, i.e., 

emergency response capacity. 

Current paragraph (e) of § 92.2 

provides that if, after evaluating the 

information submitted, APHIS believes 

the action being requested can be safely 

taken, the Agency will publish a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register 

proposing to take such action and will 

provide a period of time during which 

the public may comment on the 

proposal. Current paragraph (f) of § 92.2 

provides that, during the comment 

period, the public will have access both 

to the information upon which APHIS 

based its analysis of risk and the 

analysis itself. Once APHIS reviews and 

considers all comments received, it 

makes a final decision regarding the 

request and publishes that decision in 

the Federal Register. 

In order to conduct a valid evaluation 

of a region’s animal health status and 

any risk that might be associated with 

the action requested, it is important that 

APHIS have complete and pertinent 

information regarding the region, its 

disease history, its animal health 

practices and capabilities, and any effect 

its import practices or relationship to 

adjacent regions might have on disease 

risk. 

The 11 factors listed in § 92.2(b) 

specify the types of information APHIS 

needs to accomplish its evaluation. To 

assist foreign governments making a 

request under § 92.2, APHIS also makes 

available on its Web site detailed 

guidance as to the types of information 

required. This guidance is forth in a 

document titled ‘‘Clarification of 

Information Requested for Recognition 

of a Region,’’ which can be viewed at 

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

import_export/downloads/ 

info_request.pdf. 

Each year, APHIS receives a number 

of requests to evaluate the animal health 

status of foreign regions. However, the 

evaluation process is often hindered 

because, even with the assistance of the 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS