This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

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examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

12656 

Vol. 87, No. 44 

Monday, March 7, 2022 

1To view the notice, evaluation, environmental 

assessment, and comments we received go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS–2020–0070 

in the Search field. 2See footnote 1. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2020–0070] 

Classify the State of Sonora, Mexico, 

as Level I for Brucellosis 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our decision to classify the State of 

Sonora, Mexico as Level I for 

brucellosis. This recognition is based on 

an evaluation we prepared in 

connection with this action, which we 

made available to the public for review 

and comment through a previous notice. 

DATES: Imports under this classification 

may be authorized beginning March 7, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Kelly Rhodes, Senior Staff Veterinarian, 

Regionalization Evaluation Services, 

Strategy and Policy, VS, APHIS, USDA, 

4700 River Road, Unit 38, Riverdale, 

MD 20737–1231; (301) 851–3315; 

Ask.Regionalization@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

regulations in 9 CFR part 93, subpart D 

(§§ 93.400 through 93.442, referred to 

below as part 93 or the subpart), contain 

requirements for the importation of 

ruminants into the United States to 

address the risk of introducing or 

disseminating diseases of livestock 

within the United States. Part 93 

currently contains provisions that 

address the risk that imported bovines 

(cattle or bison) may introduce or 

disseminate bovine tuberculosis or 

brucellosis within the United States. 

Within part 93, § 93.440 contains the 

requirements for classification of foreign 

regions for brucellosis and § 93.441 

contains the process for requesting 

regional classification for brucellosis. In 

accordance with § 93.440(d), the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) maintains lists of all Level I, 

Level II, and Level III regions for 

brucellosis and adds regions classified 

in accordance with § 93.441 to these 

lists. 

Paragraph (a) of § 93.441 provides that 

a representative of a national 

government with authority to make such 

a request may request that APHIS 

classify a region for brucellosis. Within 

the same section, paragraph (b) provides 

that if, after reviewing and evaluating 

the request for brucellosis classification, 

APHIS believes the region can be 

accurately classified, APHIS will 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

with the proposed classification and 

make its evaluation available for public 

comment. Following the close of the 

comment period, APHIS will review all 

comments received and will make a 

final determination regarding the 

request that will be detailed in another 

document published in the Federal 

Register. 

In accordance with that process, we 

published a notice 1 in the Federal 

Register on February 24, 2021 (86 FR 

11219–11220, Docket No. APHIS–2020– 

0070), in which we announced the 

availability, for review and comment, of 

an evaluation of the State of Sonora, 

Mexico for brucellosis classification, as 

well as an environmental assessment 

(EA). The notice proposed to classify 

Sonora as Level I for brucellosis. 

We solicited comments on the notice 

for 60 days ending April 26, 2021. We 

received two comments by that date. 

The comments were from private 

citizens. 

One commenter stated that it was 

difficult to know what the different 

classification levels for disease status 

meant and asked that we explain what 

they meant. The other commenter asked 

why we wanted to classify Sonora as 

Level I for brucellosis and what 

evidence we had to support that 

decision. 

As we explained in the notice, 

§ 93.440 of the regulations contains the 

requirements for classification of foreign 

regions for brucellosis and § 93.441 

contains the process for requesting 

regional classification for brucellosis. As 

part of the process for requesting 

regional classification, the national 

government of the region must submit 

an application to APHIS that defines the 

boundaries of the region, specifies the 

prevalence level for brucellosis within 

the region, and demonstrate that, among 

other things: 

• There is effective veterinary control 

and oversight within the region; 

• That brucellosis is a notifiable 

disease within the region; 

• The region has a program for 

brucellosis in place that includes 

epidemiological investigations, 

management of affected herds, 

diagnostic testing, and disease 

surveillance. 

When the application is complete, 

APHIS will review and evaluate the 

request for classification. If, based on 

that evaluation, we believe the region 

can be accurately classified for 

brucellosis, we will publish a notice in 

the Federal Register proposing to 

classify the region according to § 93.440, 

and make available to the public the 

information upon which this proposed 

classification is based. 

The specific requirements for 

classification as a Level I region for 

brucellosis are set out in paragraph (a) 

of § 93.440. To receive Level I 

classification for brucellosis, a region 

must meet APHIS requirements for 

brucellosis classification in accordance 

with § 93.441, and also have a 

prevalence of brucellosis in their 

domestic bovine herds of less than 0.001 

percent over at least the previous 2 

years (24 consecutive months). 

In the evaluation titled ‘‘APHIS 

Evaluation of the State of Sonora, 

Mexico for Bovine Brucellosis (Brucella 

abortus) Classification’’ (September 

2017) that accompanied our February 

24, 2021 notice,2 we set forth the results 

of our evaluation of the State of Sonora, 

Mexico for bovine brucellosis. APHIS 

concluded that Sonora fully meets the 

APHIS requirements for classification 

and that brucellosis has not been 

confirmed in a bovine animal in Sonora 

since 2009, qualifying Sonora for Level 

I classification for brucellosis. 

One commenter asked about the 

significance of classifying Sonora as a 

Level I region compared to the impact 

of Level II or Level III classifications, 

and how the classification as Level I, II, 

and III would impact Sonora 

economically. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 44 / Monday, March 7, 2022 / Notices 12657 

As we explained above, the 

requirements for classification as a 

region for brucellosis are set out in 

§ 93.440 of the regulations. To receive 

Level I or II classification for 

brucellosis, a region must meet APHIS 

requirements for brucellosis 

classification in accordance with 

§ 93.441. Level I regions must also have 

a prevalence of brucellosis in their 

domestic bovine herds of less than 0.001 

percent over at least the previous 2 

years (24 consecutive months). Level II 

regions must have a prevalence of 

brucellosis in their domestic bovine 

herds equal to or greater than 0.001 

percent, but less than 0.01 percent over 

at least the previous 2 years (24 

consecutive months). Level III regions 

do not meet APHIS requirements for 

brucellosis classification in accordance 

with § 93.441, have a prevalence of 

brucellosis in their domestic bovine 

herds equal to or greater than 0.01 

percent, or are unassessed by APHIS 

with regard to brucellosis prevalence. 

The requirements for importation of 

ruminants from any part of the world 

with respect to brucellosis are linked to 

the classification levels, as described in 

§ 93.442 of the regulations. The 

regulations provide that steers and 

spayed heifers may be imported into the 

United States from anywhere in the 

world without additional restrictions. 

Sexually intact cattle from Level I 

regions may also be imported into the 

United States without additional 

restrictions. However, sexually intact 

cattle from Level II and Level III regions 

are subject to restrictions, such as 

originating in accredited herds, or 

whole herd and individual testing 

requirements. 

Consequently, classification as Level I 

will effectively exempt sexually intact 

cattle from Sonora from brucellosis 

testing prior to export, saving Sonoran 

producers the cost of testing or the cost 

of castrating bulls and spaying heifers to 

avoid the testing requirement. Under 

Level II or III, producers would still bear 

those costs. 

One commenter asked if brucellosis 

posed an immediate threat to the people 

of the United States. 

As we explained in the evaluation 

that accompanied the initial notice, 

bovine brucellosis is caused by the 

bacterium Brucella abortus. Infection 

with B. abortus causes abortions and 

stillbirths in cattle. B. abortus also 

affects other species including bison, 

buffalo, and elk. In addition, B. abortus 

is a human pathogen that can cause 

serious disease. Human cases of 

brucellosis in the United States are rare, 

can be treated with antibiotics, and can 

be prevented with appropriate food 

safety measures. 

One commenter asked what efforts 

will be taken to stop the spread of 

brucellosis, and if the export of beef 

would still be allowed. 

In the event that the prevalence of 

brucellosis in Sonora rises to above 

0.001 percent, APHIS will take action to 

reclassify the region as Level II or III, as 

appropriate, and impose the 

corresponding restrictions on imported 

bovines. Reclassification would not 

result in changes to the requirements for 

exporting beef to the United States from 

Sonora. 

One commenter asked what effect 

brucellosis would have on the 

production of food in the area and how 

this could hurt the citizens. 

As we explained in the evaluation 

that accompanied the initial notice, 

Sonora has averaged 28 cases of 

brucellosis in humans annually since 

2002, primarily due to B. abortus. 

Public health officials in Sonora 

attribute the majority of cases to 

exposure through soft cheeses and/or 

raw milk from other Mexican States. 

Animal and public health officials in 

Sonora work closely to monitor the 

incidence of brucellosis in humans and 

investigate any potential connection to 

Sonoran livestock. For example, a case 

rate spike in humans in 2010 led to 

detection of an infected goat herd that 

produced cheese and milk for local 

consumption. 

Therefore, in accordance with the 

regulations in §§ 93.440 and 93.441, we 

are announcing our decision to classify 

the State of Sonora, Mexico as Level I 

for brucellosis, and to add the State of 

Sonora to the web-based list of Level I 

regions for brucellosis. Bovines from the 

State of Sonora may be imported under 

the conditions listed in §§ 93.439 and 

93.442 for the appropriate classification 

level. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

On December 27, 2022, we published 

in the Federal Register a notice (86 FR 

73238–73239, Docket No. APHIS–2020– 

0071) announcing that we were 

classifying Canada as Level I for 

brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis. 

That final notice was accompanied by a 

final environmental assessment and 

finding of no significant impact 

(FONSI). The final environmental 

assessment and FONSI also evaluated 

the possible environmental impacts 

associated with classifying Sonora as 

Level I for brucellosis. Accordingly, we 

direct the public to https://

www.regulations.gov/docket/APHIS2020-0071 to view those documents, 

and are not republishing them for this 

action. 

Congressional Review Act 

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs 

designated this action as not a major 

rule, as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301– 

8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 

9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of 

March 2022. 

Anthony Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–04720 Filed 3–4–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Notice of Proposed New Fee Site(s) 

AGENCY: Forest Service, Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed new fee 

sites. 

SUMMARY: The Santa Fe National Forest 

is proposing to charge new fees at 

recreation sites listed in SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION of this notice. Funds from 

fees would be used for operation, 

maintenance, and improvements of 

these recreation sites. An analysis of 

nearby developed recreation sites with 

similar amenities shows the proposed 

fees are reasonable and typical of 

similar sites in the area. 

DATES: If approved, the new fee would 

be implemented no earlier than six 

months following the publication of this 

notice in the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Santa Fe National Forest, 11 

Forest Lane, Santa Fe, NM 87508. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeremy Golston, Recreation Program 

Manager, 505–438–5375 or 

jeremy.golston@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement 

Act (Title VII, Pub. L. 108–447) directed 

the Secretary of Agriculture to publish 

a six-month advance notice in the 

Federal Register whenever new 

recreation fee areas are established. The 

fees are only proposed at this time and 

will be determined upon further 

analysis and public comment. 

Reasonable fees, paid by users of these 

sites, will help ensure that the Forest 

can continue maintaining and 

improving recreation sites like this for 

future generations. 


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