64134 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

When inspection of regulated articles

or outdoor household articles reveals

gypsy moth, treatment is often

necessary. Treatment is done by

qualified certified applicators, which

are private businesses that charge, on

the average, $50 to $100 to treat a

shipment of articles. Most qualified

certified applicators are small

businesses. By declaring an area as a

generally infested area, the regulations

may increase business for qualified

certified applicators located in generally

infested areas. It is estimated that these

businesses will average $50 to $150 per

month in additional income per

business. A few of the newly

quarantined counties contain large

urban areas that may have several

hundred shipments annually containing

outdoor household articles that will

require inspection to move interstate

from the generally infested area. Thus,

there will likely be a need to train

additional qualified certified applicators

in those areas.

Entities in the newly quarantined

areas that will incur the most costs from

the interim rules will be establishments

moving trees or shrubs with roots, such

as nurseries. We estimate that

approximately 60 such establishments

move approximately 165 shipments of

trees and shrubs each year from the

newly quarantined areas. All of these

establishments are believed to be small

entities. These establishments will need

to be inspected, either by an inspector

or through self-inspection under a

compliance agreement. If the inspection

reveals signs of gypsy moth, the

establishment will have to be treated in

order to ship regulated articles outside

the generally infested area. We estimate

that annually, approximately 5 of these

establishments will require treatment,

and that the average area to be treated

will be 20 acres. At an average treatment

cost of $10 to $20 per acre, the average

total annual cost to each establishment

would be $200 to $400.

The Christmas tree industry and

establishments that sell other forest

products and that move their products

interstate will also bear direct costs from

the interim rules. There are

approximately 689 farms that sell forest

products and Christmas trees in the

newly quarantined areas. These account

for 9.4 percent of the total number of

such farms in Ohio, Virginia, West

Virginia, and Wisconsin. All of these

establishments are believed to be small

entities. Services of an inspector will be

available without charge to inspect

these farms and issue certificates and

permits. We estimate that less than four

percent of all these farms will be found

to contain gypsy moth and, therefore,

require treatment in order to ship trees.

It is expected that, in most cases,

Christmas tree farms will be free of

gypsy moth and Christmas tree growers

will meet the requirements for

certification by having inspectors certify

that the tree farms are free from gypsy

moth. This alternative is less costly than

inspecting or treating each individual

shipment of trees and will thus

minimize the economic impact of the

change to the regulations for the newly

quarantined areas.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

Agricultural commodities,

Incorporation by reference, Plant

diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Transportation.

PART 301—DOMESTIC QUARANTINE

NOTICES

Accordingly, we are adopting as a

final rule, without change, two interim

rules that amended 7 CFR part 301 and

that were published at 62 FR 29286–

29287 on May 30, 1997, and 62 FR

36645–36646 on July 9, 1997.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150bb, 150dd,

150ee, 150ff, 161, 162, and 164–167; 7 CFR

2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of

November 1997.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97–31755 Filed 12–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 78

[Docket No. 97–108–1]

Brucellosis in Cattle; State and Area

Classifications; Arkansas

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Interim rule and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: We are amending the

brucellosis regulations concerning the

interstate movement of cattle by

changing the classification of Arkansas

from Class A to Class Free. We have

determined that Arkansas meets the

standards for Class Free status. This

action relieves certain restrictions on

the interstate movement of cattle from

Arkansas.

DATES: Interim rule effective on

December 3, 1997. Consideration will be

given only to comments received on or

before February 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 97–108–1, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 97–108–1. Comments

received may be inspected at USDA,

room 1141, South Building, 14th Street

and Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

R.T. Rollo, Jr., Staff Veterinarian,

National Animal Health Programs, VS,

APHIS, Suite 3B08, 4700 River Road

Unit 36, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231,

(301) 734–7709; or e-mail:

rrollo@aphis.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Brucellosis is a contagious disease

affecting animals and humans, caused

by bacteria of the genus Brucella.

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

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 are

required to be placed under Federal

quarantine.

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. The Class C classification is for

States or areas with the highest rate of

brucellosis. Class B and Class A fall

between these two extremes.

Restrictions on moving cattle interstate

become less stringent as a State

approaches or achieves Class Free

status.

The standards for the different

classifications of States or areas entail

(1) maintaining a cattle herd infection

rate not to exceed a stated level during
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 233 / Thursday, December 4, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 64135

12 consecutive months; (2) tracing back

to the farm of origin and successfully

closing a stated percent of all brucellosis

reactors found in the course of Market

Cattle Identification (MCI) testing; (3)

maintaining a surveillance system that

includes testing of dairy herds,

participation of all recognized

slaughtering establishments in the MCI

program, identification and monitoring

of herds at high risk of infection

(including herds adjacent to infected

herds and herds from which infected

animals have been sold or received),

and having an individual herd plan in

effect within a stated number of days

after the herd owner is notified of the

finding of brucellosis in a herd he or she

owns; and (4) maintaining minimum

procedural standards for administering

the program.

Before the effective date of this

interim rule, Arkansas was classified as

a Class A State.

To attain and maintain Class Free

status, a State or area must (1) remain

free from field strain Brucella abortus

infection for 12 consecutive months or

longer; (2) trace back at least 90 percent

of all brucellosis reactors found in the

course of MCI testing to the farm of

origin; (3) 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; and (4) have a specified

surveillance system, as described above,

including an approved individual herd

plan in effect within 15 days of locating

the source herd or recipient herd.

After reviewing the brucellosis

program records for Arkansas, we have

concluded that this State meets the

standards for Class Free status.

Therefore, we are removing Arkansas

from the list of Class A States in

§ 78.41(b) and adding it to the list of

Class Free States in § 78.41(a). This

action relieves certain restrictions on

moving cattle interstate from Arkansas.

Immediate Action

The Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has

determined that there is good cause for

publishing this interim rule without

prior opportunity for public comment.

Immediate action is warranted to

remove unnecessary restrictions on the

interstate movement of cattle from

Arkansas.

Because prior notice and other public

procedures with respect to this action

are impracticable and contrary to the

public interest under these conditions,

we find good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553

to make it effective on December 3,

1997. We will consider comments that

are received within 60 days of

publication of this rule in the Federal

Register. After the comment period

closes, we will publish another

document in the Federal Register. It

will include a discussion of any

comments we receive and any

amendments we are making to the rule

as a result of the comments.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12866. For this action,

the Office of Management and Budget

has waived its review process required

by Executive Order 12866.

Cattle moved interstate are moved for

slaughter, for use as breeding stock, or

for feeding. Changing the brucellosis

status of Arkansas from Class A to Class

Free will promote economic growth by

reducing certain testing and other

requirements governing the interstate

movement of cattle from this State.

Testing requirements for cattle moved

interstate for immediate slaughter or to

quarantined feedlots are not affected by

this change. Cattle from certified

brucellosis-free herds moving interstate

are not affected by this change.

The groups affected by this action will

be herd owners in Arkansas, as well as

buyers and importers of cattle from this

State.

There are an estimated 32,553 cattle

herds in Arkansas that would be

affected by this rule. All of these are

owned by small entities. Test-eligible

cattle offered for sale interstate from

other than certified-free herds must

have a negative test under present Class

A status regulations, but not under

regulations concerning Class Free status.

If such testing were distributed equally

among all animals affected by this rule,

Class Free status would save

approximately $3 per head.

Therefore, we believe that changing

the brucellosis status of Arkansas will

not have a significant economic impact

on the small entities affected by this

interim rule.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

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) Preempts all State

and local laws and regulations that are

in conflict with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) does not

require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court

challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This document contains no

information collection or recordkeeping

requirements under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501

et seq.).

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 78

Animal diseases, Bison, Cattle, Hogs,

Quarantine, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements,

Transportation.

Accordingly, 9 CFR part 78 is

amended as follows:

PART 78—BRUCELLOSIS

1. The authority citation for part 78

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 111–114a–1, 114g,

115, 117, 120, 121, 123–126, 134b, and 134f;

7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

§ 78.41 [Amended]

2. In § 78.41, paragraph (a) is

amended by adding ‘‘Arkansas,’’

immediately after ‘‘Arizona,’’ and

paragraph (b) is amended by removing

‘‘Arkansas,’’.

Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of

November 1997.

Craig A. Reed,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97–31756 Filed 12–3–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency

12 CFR Part 8

[Docket No. 97–23]

RIN 1557–AB41

Assessment of Fees; National Banks;

District of Columbia Banks

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the

Currency, Treasury.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller

of the Currency (OCC), in order to more

accurately reflect the OCC’s costs of