Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 87 / Thursday, May 7, 2009 / Notices 21313 

1OIE (2008). Risk Analysis. In, Terrestrial Animal 

Health Code, 17th edition. Paris, World 

Organization for Animal Health: Chapter 2.2 on 

Import Risk Analysis; Chapter 10.4 on Avian 

Influenza. To view the document on the Internet, 

go to http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/ 

A_summry.htm?e1d11. 

In February 2007, the Chief Veterinary 

Officer of the United Kingdom of Great 

Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) 

reported to the World Organization for 

Animal Health (OIE) the occurrence of 

HPAI H5N1 in domestic poultry in 

Suffolk County, England, near the 

border with Norfolk County. Emergency 

response measures implemented by UK 

animal health authorities included 

establishing a restricted zone of control 

measures that encompassed parts of 

Suffolk and Norfolk Counties. 

In November 2007, a second outbreak 

of HPAI H5N1 was reported to have 

occurred in domestic poultry in Suffolk 

County. Animal health authorities in the 

UK again implemented emergency 

control measures to prevent the spread 

of HPAI H5N1 and eradicate it from the 

domestic poultry population. 

Additional surveillance revealed no 

evidence of subsequent cases of HPAI 

H5N1 in Suffolk or Norfolk County. 

Accordingly, the emergency measures 

were lifted on December 19, 2007. On 

May 12, 2008, the UK formally notified 

the OIE that the outbreak had been 

resolved. 

To prevent the introduction of HPAI 

H5N1 into the United States, APHIS 

added Suffolk and Norfolk Counties to 

the list of regions that APHIS considers 

to be affected with HPAI H5N1. This 

resulted in restriction on the 

importation of bird, poultry, and bird 

and poultry products into the United 

States from those two counties. 

In a document titled ‘‘Evaluation of 

the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza 

H5N1 Status of Suffolk and Norfolk 

Counties, England’’ (January 2009), we 

present the results of our evaluation of 

the status of HPAI H5N1 in domestic 

poultry in Suffolk and Norfolk Counties, 

England, in light of the actions taken by 

UK authorities since the outbreaks, and 

document our analysis of the risk of 

HPAI H5N1 introduction and spread in 

Suffolk and Norfolk Counties, England, 

and whether removing Suffolk and 

Norfolk Counties from the list of regions 

that APHIS considers to be affected with 

HPAI H5N1 would be appropriate. 

We based our evaluation of the HPAI 

H5N1 status of Suffolk and Norfolk 

Counties in England, on the following 

critical factors: 

• Suffolk and Norfolk Counties have 

been free of outbreaks of the H5N1 

subtype in its domestic poultry for at 

least 3 months as a result of effective 

control measures taken by a competent 

veterinary infrastructure; 

• HPAI H5N1 was a reportable 

disease in the UK and an ongoing 

awareness program was in place; 

• An effective surveillance program 

for HPAI that supported the detection 

and investigation of outbreaks was in 

place; 

• All reported suspected or confirmed 

cases of avian influenza were 

investigated; 

• The system for recording, 

managing, and analyzing diagnostic and 

surveillance data was sufficient to 

demonstrate the effectiveness of the 

UK’s HPAI H5N1 control measures; 

• Diagnostic and laboratory 

capabilities were effective, and testing 

procedures were documented and 

standardized; 

• Eradication and control measures, 

including movement restrictions, were 

effectively implemented in response to 

outbreaks to prevent further spread of 

disease; and 

• Procedures used for depopulation 

cleaning and disinfection of affected 

premises were documented and 

effective. 

Based on these factors, which are 

consistent with the OIE’s 

recommendations for reinstatement for 

trade with a country that has 

experienced an HPAI H5N1 outbreak,1

our evaluation concludes that the UK 

was able to effectively control and 

eradicate HPAI H5N1 in the domestic 

poultry population and that the UK 

authorities have adequate control 

measures in place to rapidly identify, 

control, and eradicate the disease 

should it be introduced into the UK’s 

wild birds or domestic poultry 

population. 

We are making the evaluation 

available for public comment. We will 

consider all comments that we receive 

on or before the date listed under the 

heading DATES at the beginning of this 

notice. 

If, after the close of the comment 

period, APHIS can identify no 

additional risk factors that would 

indicate that domestic poultry in 

Suffolk and Norfolk Counties in 

England continue to be affected with 

HPAI H5N1, we would conclude that 

the importation of live birds, poultry 

carcasses, parts of carcasses, and eggs 

(other than hatching eggs) of poultry, 

game birds, or other birds from regions 

of Suffolk and Norfolk Counties 

presents a low risk of introducing HPAI 

H5N1 into the United States. 

The evaluation may be 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). You may request 

paper copies of the evaluation by calling 

or writing to the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please 

refer to the title of the evaluation when 

requesting copies. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

May 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–10630 Filed 5–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0021] 

Pale Cyst Nematode; Update of 

Quarantined Areas 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of changes to 

quarantined area. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that we have made changes to the area 

in the State of Idaho that is quarantined 

to prevent the spread of pale cyst 

nematode. The description of the 

quarantined area was updated on 

February 10, 2009, when approximately 

2,721 acres were removed from the 

quarantined area and approximately 

4,976 acres were added to the 

quarantined area. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Eileen Y. Smith, National Program 

Manager, Emergency and Domestic 

Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 150, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1236; (301) 734–5235. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The pale cyst nematode (PCN) 

(Globodera pallida) is a major pest of 

potato crops in cool-temperature areas. 

Other solanaceous hosts include 

tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, tomatillos, 

and some weeds. The PCN is thought to 

have originated in Peru and is now 

widely distributed in many potatogrowing regions of the world. PCN 

infestations may be expressed as 

patches of poor growth. Affected potato 

plants may exhibit yellowing, wilting, 

or death of foliage. Even with only 

minor symptoms on the foliage, potato 

tuber size can be affected. Unmanaged 

infestations can cause potato yield loss 

ranging from 20 to 70 percent. The 

spread of this pest in the United States 

21314 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 87 / Thursday, May 7, 2009 / Notices 

could result in a loss of domestic or 

foreign markets for U.S. potatoes and 

other commodities. 

The PCN quarantine regulations 

(§§ 301.86 through 301.86–9, referred to 

below as the regulations) set out 

procedures for determining the areas 

quarantined for PCN and impose 

restrictions on the interstate movement 

of regulated articles from quarantined 

areas. 

Section 301.86–3 of the regulations 

sets out the procedures for determining 

the areas quarantined for PCN. 

Paragraph (a) of § 301.86–3 states that, 

in accordance with the criteria listed in 

§ 301.86–3(c), the Administrator will 

designate as a quarantined area each 

field that has been found to be infested 

with PCN, each field that has been 

found to be associated with an infested 

field, and any area that the 

Administrator considers necessary to 

quarantine because of its inseparability 

for quarantine enforcement purposes 

from infested or associated fields. 

Paragraph (c) provides that the 

Administrator will designate a field as 

an infested field when PCN is found in 

the field. Paragraph (c) also provides 

that the Administrator will designate a 

field as an associated field when PCN 

host crops, as listed in § 301.86–2(b), 

have been grown in the field in the last 

10 years and the field shares a border 

with an infested field; the field came 

into contact with a regulated article 

listed in § 301.86–2 from an infested 

field within the last 10 years; or, within 

the last 10 years, the field shared 

ownership, tenancy, seed, drainage or 

runoff, farm machinery, or other 

elements of shared cultural practices 

with an infested field that could allow 

spread of the PCN, as determined by the 

Administrator. 

Paragraph (b) describes the conditions 

for the designation of an area less than 

an entire State as a quarantined area. 

Less than an entire State will be 

designated as a quarantined area only if 

the Administrator determines that: 

1. The State has adopted and is 

enforcing restrictions on the intrastate 

movement of the regulated articles that 

are equivalent to those imposed by the 

regulations on the interstate movement 

of regulated articles; and 

2. The designation of less than the 

entire State as a quarantined area will 

prevent the interstate spread of PCN. 

We have determined that it is not 

necessary to designate the entire State of 

Idaho as a quarantined area. Idaho has 

adopted and is enforcing restrictions on 

the intrastate movement of regulated 

articles from that area that are 

equivalent to those we are imposing on 

the interstate movement of regulated 

articles. 

Paragraph (d) provides for the 

removal of fields from quarantine. An 

infested field will be removed from 

quarantine when a 3-year biosurvey 

protocol approved by the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service has 

been completed and the field has been 

found to be free of PCN. An associated 

field will be removed from quarantine 

when the field has been found to be free 

of PCN according to a survey protocol 

approved by the Administrator as 

sufficient to support removal from 

quarantine. Any area other than infested 

or associated fields which has been 

quarantined by the Administrator 

because of its inseparability for 

quarantine enforcement purposes from 

infested or associated fields will be 

removed from quarantine when the 

relevant infested or associated fields are 

removed from quarantine. 

Paragraph (a) of § 301.86–3 further 

provides that the Administrator will 

publish the description of the 

quarantined area on the Plant Protection 

and Quarantine (PPQ) Web site, http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ 

plant_pest_info/potato/pcn.shtml. The 

description of the quarantined area will 

include the date the description was last 

updated and a description of the 

changes that have been made to the 

quarantined area. The description of the 

quarantined area may also be obtained 

by request from any local office of PPQ; 

local offices are listed in telephone 

directories. Finally, paragraph (a) 

establishes that, after a change is made 

to the quarantined area, we will publish 

a notice in the Federal Register 

informing the public that the change has 

occurred and describing the change to 

the quarantined area. 

We are publishing this notice to 

inform the public of changes to the PCN 

quarantined area in accordance with 

§ 301.86–3(a). On February 10, 2009, we 

updated the quarantined area to remove 

approximately 2,721 acres. This acreage 

was composed of associated fields that 

were found to be free of PCN according 

to a survey protocol approved by the 

Administrator, under § 301.86–3. The 

fields removed from quarantine were in 

Bingham, Bonneville, and Jefferson 

Counties. 

We also added approximately 4,976 

acres to the PCN quarantined area. This 

acreage was composed of fields that we 

determined to be associated with a field 

that was quarantined as an infested field 

on December 11, 2008. The fields added 

to the quarantined area were in 

Bingham and Bonneville Counties. 

The current map of the quarantined 

area can be viewed on the PPQ Web site 

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

plant_health/plant_pest_info/potato/ 

pcn.shtml. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 7781– 

7786; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

May 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–10628 Filed 5–6–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0166] 

Use of Genetically Engineered Fruit Fly 

and Pink Bollworm in APHIS Plant Pest 

Control Programs; Record of Decision 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice advises the public 

of the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service’s record of decision 

for the Use of Genetically Engineered 

Fruit Fly and Pink Bollworm in APHIS 

Plant Pest Control Programs Final 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the record of 

decision and the final environmental 

impact statement on which the record of 

decision is based are available for public 

inspection 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. To be sure 

someone is there to help you, please call 

(202) 690–2817 before coming. 

The record of decision may also be 

viewed on the APHIS Web site at 

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

plant_health/ea/geneng.shtml. 

Supporting and related materials, 

including the final environmental 

impact statement, may also be viewed 

on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2006-0166. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

David A. Bergsten, APHIS Interagency 

NEPA Contact, Environmental Services, 

PPD, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 149, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238; (301) 734– 

6103. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice advises the public that the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) has prepared a record