Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Notices 103765 

garner qualitative customer and 

stakeholder feedback in an efficient, 

timely manner. By qualitative feedback 

we mean information that provides 

useful insights on perceptions and 

opinions but are not statistical surveys 

that yield quantitative results that can 

be generalized to the population of 

study. This feedback will provide 

insights into customer or stakeholder 

perceptions, experiences, and 

expectations, provide an early warning 

of issues with service, or focus attention 

on areas where communication, 

training, or changes in operations might 

improve delivery of products or 

services. These collections will allow 

for ongoing, collaborative, and 

actionable communications between the 

Agency and its customers and 

stakeholders. It will also allow feedback 

to contribute directly to the 

improvement of program management. 

The Agency will collect, analyze, and 

interpret information gathered through 

this generic clearance to identify 

strengths and weaknesses of the current 

services, information, and make 

improvements in service delivery based 

on feedback. The solicitation of 

feedback will target areas such as: 

timeliness, appropriateness, accuracy of 

information, courtesy, efficiency of 

service delivery, and resolution of 

issues with service delivery. Responses 

will be assessed to plan and inform 

efforts to improve or maintain the 

quality of service offered to the public. 

The Agency will only submit a 

collection for approval under this 

generic clearance if it meets the 

following conditions: 

• Information gathered will be used 

only internally for general service 

improvement and program management 

purposes and is not intended for release 

outside of the agency (if released, 

procedures outlined in Question 16 will 

be followed); 

• Information gathered will not be 

used for the purpose of substantially 

informing influential policy decisions; 

• Information gathered will yield 

qualitative information; the collections 

will not be designed or expected to 

yield statistically reliable results or used 

as though the results are generalizable to 

the population of study; 

• The collections are voluntary; 

• The collections are low-burden for 

respondents (based on considerations of 

total burden hours, total number of 

respondents, or burden-hours per 

respondent) and are low-cost for both 

the respondents and the Federal 

Government; 

• The collections are noncontroversial and do not raise issues of 

concern to other Federal agencies; 

• Any collection is targeted to the 

solicitation of opinions from 

respondents who have experience with 

the program or may have experience 

with the program in the near future; and 

• With the exception of information 

needed to provide remunerations for 

participants of focus groups and 

cognitive laboratory studies, personally 

identifiable information (PII) is 

collected only to the extent necessary 

and is not retained. 

As a general matter, information 

collections will not result in any new 

system of records containing privacy 

information and will not ask questions 

of a sensitive nature, such as sexual 

behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, 

and other matters that are commonly 

considered private. 

The projected average annual burden 

estimates for the next three years are 

listed below. The burdens have been 

increased from the 60-day notice 

amounts due to internal agency 

discussions on expected needs. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 200,000. 

Responses per Respondent: 1. 

Annual Responses: 200,000. 

Average Minutes per Response: 15 

minutes. 

Annual Burden Hours: 50,000 hours. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Dated: December 16, 2024. 

Taniesha D. Tolbert, 

Supervisory Records Information 

Management Specialist, Bureau for 

Management, Office of Management Services, 

Information and Records Division. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30258 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6116–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2024–0009] 

International Sanitary and 

Phytosanitary Standard-Setting 

Activities 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 

491 of the Trade Agreements Act of 

1979, as amended, and legislation 

implementing the results of the Uruguay 

Round of negotiations under the General 

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, we are 

informing the public of the international 

standard-setting activities of the World 

Organization for Animal Health, the 

Secretariat of the International Plant 

Protection Convention, and the North 

American Plant Protection Organization, 

and we are soliciting public comment 

on these standard-setting activities. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS– 

2024–0009 in the Search field. Select 

the Documents tab, then select the 

Comment button in the list of 

documents. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2024–0009, 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 regulations.gov or in 

our reading room, which is located in 

Room 1620 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) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information on the topics 

covered in this notice, contact Mr. Eric 

Nichols, Director, Trade Support Team, 

APHIS–IS, Room 1627–S, USDA South 

Building, 14th Street and Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250; 

(202) 799–7122. 

For specific information regarding 

standard-setting activities of the World 

Organization for Animal Health, contact 

Dr. Paul Gary Egrie, Office of 

International Affairs, Veterinary 

Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 

33, Riverdale, MD 20737; (227) 215– 

2876. 

For specific information regarding the 

standard-setting activities of the 

International Plant Protection 

Convention (IPPC), contact Dr. Marina 

Zlotina, IPPC Technical Director, 

International Phytosanitary Standards, 

Plant Protection and Quarantine, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 

20737; (301) 832–0611; 

marina.a.zlotina@usda.gov. 

For specific information on the North 

American Plant Protection Organization 

(NAPPO), contact Stephanie Dubon, 

NAPPO Technical Director, 

International Phytosanitary Standards, 

Plant Protection and Quarantine, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 

20737; (301) 332–9071; 

Stephanie.M.Dubon@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


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103766 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Notices 

1The World Organization for Animal Health 

internationally follows a British English spelling of 

‘‘organisation’’ in its name; it was formerly the 

Office International des Epizooties, or OIE, but on 

May 28, 2022, the organization announced that the 

acronym was changed from OIE to WOAH. 

Background 

The World Trade Organization (WTO) 

was established as the common 

international institutional framework for 

governing trade relations among its 

members in matters related to the 

Uruguay Round Agreements. The WTO 

is the successor organization to the 

General Agreement on Tariffs and 

Trade. U.S. membership in the WTO 

was approved by Congress when it 

enacted the Uruguay Round Agreements 

Act (Pub. L. 103–465), which was 

signed into law on December 8, 1994. 

The WTO Agreements, which 

established the WTO, entered into force 

with respect to the United States on 

January 1, 1995. The Uruguay Round 

Agreements Act amended Title IV of the 

Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (19 

U.S.C. 2531 et seq.). Section 491 of the 

Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as 

amended (19 U.S.C. 2578), requires the 

President to designate an agency to be 

responsible for informing the public of 

the sanitary and phytosanitary standardsetting (SPS) activities of each 

international standard-setting 

organization. The designated agency 

must inform the public by publishing an 

annual notice in the Federal Register 

that provides the following information: 

(1) The SPS standards under 

consideration or planned for 

consideration by the SPS organization; 

and (2) for each SPS standard specified, 

a description of the consideration or 

planned consideration of that standard, 

a statement of whether the United States 

is participating or plans to participate in 

the consideration of that standard, the 

agenda for U.S. participation, if any, and 

the agency responsible for representing 

the United States with respect to that 

standard. 

‘‘International standard’’ is defined in 

19 U.S.C. 2578b as any standard, 

guideline, or recommendation: (1) 

Adopted by the Codex Alimentarius 

Commission (Codex) regarding food 

safety; (2) developed under the auspices 

of the World Organization for Animal 

Health (WOAH) 1 regarding animal 

health; (3) developed under the auspices 

of the Secretariat of the International 

Plant Protection Convention (IPPC or 

the Convention) and the North 

American Plant Protection Organization 

(NAPPO) regarding plant health; or (4) 

established by or developed under any 

other international organization agreed 

to by the member countries of the 

United States-Mexico-Canada 

Agreement (USMCA) or the member 

countries of the WTO. 

The President, pursuant to 

Proclamation No. 6780 of March 23, 

1995 (60 FR 15845), designated the 

Secretary of Agriculture as the official 

responsible for informing the public of 

the SPS activities of Codex, WOAH, 

IPPC, and NAPPO. The U.S. Codex 

Office (USCO), in the United States 

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) 

Trade and Foreign Affairs mission area, 

informs the public of standard-setting 

activities of Codex, and the USDA 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) informs the public of 

WOAH, IPPC, and NAPPO standardsetting activities. 

USCO publishes an annual notice in 

the Federal Register to inform the 

public of SPS activities for Codex (86 FR 

29987). Codex was established in 1963 

by two United Nations organizations, 

the Food and Agriculture Organization 

and the World Health Organization. It is 

the principle international organization 

for establishing food standards that 

protect consumer health and promote 

fair practices in food trade. 

APHIS is responsible for publishing 

an annual notice of WOAH, IPPC, and 

NAPPO activities related to 

international standards for plant and 

animal health and representing the 

United States with respect to these 

standards. Following are descriptions of 

the WOAH, IPPC, and NAPPO 

organizations and the standard-setting 

agenda for each of these organizations. 

We have described the agenda that each 

of these organizations will address at 

their annual general sessions, including 

standards that may be presented for 

adoption or consideration, as well as 

other initiatives that may be underway 

at the WOAH, IPPC, and NAPPO. 

The agendas for these meetings are 

subject to change, and the draft 

standards identified in this notice may 

not be sufficiently developed and ready 

for adoption as indicated. Also, while it 

is the intent of the United States to 

support adoption of international 

standards and to participate actively 

and fully in their development, it 

should be recognized that the U.S. 

position on a specific draft standard will 

depend on the acceptability of the final 

draft. Given the dynamic and interactive 

nature of the standard-setting process, 

we encourage any persons who are 

interested in the most current details 

about a specific draft standard or the 

U.S. position on a particular standardsetting issue, or in providing comments 

on a specific standard that may be under 

development, to contact APHIS. Contact 

information is provided at the beginning 

of this notice under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

WOAH Standard-Setting Activities 

The WOAH was established in Paris, 

France, in 1924, with the signing of an 

international agreement by 28 countries. 

It is currently composed of 183 

Members, each of which is represented 

by a delegate who, in most cases, is the 

chief veterinary officer of that country 

or territory. The Deputy Administrator 

of APHIS’ Veterinary Services program 

is the U.S. Chief Veterinary Officer and 

serves as the official U.S. Delegate to the 

WOAH. The WTO has recognized the 

WOAH as the international forum for 

setting animal health standards, 

reporting global animal disease events, 

and presenting guidelines and 

recommendations on sanitary measures 

relating to animal health. 

The WOAH facilitates 

intergovernmental cooperation to 

prevent the spread of contagious 

diseases in animals by sharing scientific 

research among its Members. The major 

functions of the WOAH are to collect 

and disseminate information on the 

distribution and occurrence of animal 

diseases and to ensure that sciencebased standards govern animal disease 

control efforts and international trade in 

animals and animal products. The 

WOAH also aims to achieve these 

objectives through the development and 

revision of international standards for 

diagnostic tests and vaccines. 

The WOAH provides annual reports 

on the global distribution of animal 

diseases, recognizes Members’ disease 

status for certain diseases, categorizes 

animal diseases with respect to their 

international significance, publishes 

bulletins on global disease status, and 

provides animal disease control 

guidelines to Members. Various WOAH 

commissions and working groups 

undertake the development and 

preparation of draft standards, which 

are then circulated to Members for 

consultation (review and comment). 

Draft standards are revised accordingly 

and are presented to WOAH’s World 

Assembly of Delegates (all the Members) 

for review and adoption during the 

General Session, which meets annually 

every spring. Adoption, as a general 

rule, is based on consensus of the 

WOAH membership. 

The 90th WOAH General Session was 

held from May 21 to 25, 2023, in Paris, 

France. The following are some of the 

chapters adopted into code during the 

90th Session; visit https://

www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/ 

standards/codes-and-manuals/ for a full 

list of the current WOAH codes and 

manuals: 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Notices 103767 

2To sign up for the Stakeholder Registry, go to: 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/ 

USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new. 

3For more information on the IPPC draft ISPM 

consultation, go to: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

international-standards/plant-health-standards/ 

draft. 

• User’s Guide. 

• Glossary. 

• Chapter 1.3., Diseases, Infections, 

and Infestations Listed by WOAH. 

• Chapter 8.14., Infection with Rabies 

Virus. 

• Chapter 8.15., Infection with Rift 

Valley Fever Virus. 

• Chapter 10.9., Infection with 

Newcastle Disease Virus. 

• Chapter 11.4., Bovine Spongiform 

Encephalopathy. 

• Chapter 12.2., Contagious Equine 

Metritis. 

• Chapter 12.2., Infection with 

Taylorella equigenitalis (Contagious 

Equine Metritis). 

• Chapter 12.6., Infection with Equine 

Influenza Virus. 

• Chapter 12.7., Infection with 

Theileria equi and Babesia caballi 

(Equine Piroplasmosis). 

• Chapter 14.X., Infection with 

Theileria Lestoquardi, T. Luwenshuni 

and T. Uilenbergi. 

• Chapter 16.1., Infection with 

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome 

Coronavirus. 

• Chapter 8.Y., Infection with 

Leishmania Spp. Leishmaniosis. 

More information on the standards 

currently under consideration and how 

comments are solicited may be found at 

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

international-standards/woah or by 

contacting Dr. Paul Gary Egrie (see FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above). 

IPPC Standard-Setting Activities 

The IPPC is a multilateral convention 

adopted in 1952 to prevent the spread 

and introduction of pests of plants and 

plant products and to promote 

appropriate measures for their control. 

The WTO recognizes the IPPC as the 

standard-setting body for plant health. 

Under the IPPC, the understanding of 

plant protection encompasses the 

protection of both cultivated and noncultivated plants from direct or indirect 

injury by plant pests. The IPPC 

addresses the following activities: 

Developing, adopting, and 

implementing international standards 

for phytosanitary (plant health) 

measures (ISPMs); harmonizing 

phytosanitary activities through adopted 

standards; facilitating the exchange of 

official and scientific information 

among contracting parties; and 

providing technical assistance to 

developing countries that are 

contracting parties to the Convention. 

The IPPC is deposited within the 

Food and Agriculture Organization of 

the United Nations and is an 

international agreement of 185 

contracting parties. National plant 

protection organizations (NPPOs), in 

cooperation with regional plant 

protection organizations, the 

Commission on Phytosanitary Measures 

(CPM), and the Secretariat of the IPPC, 

implement the Convention. The IPPC 

continues to be administered at the 

national level by plant quarantine 

officials, whose primary objective is to 

safeguard plant resources from injurious 

pests. In the United States, the NPPO is 

the APHIS Plant Protection and 

Quarantine (PPQ) program. 

The 17th Session of the CPM was held 

in Rome, Italy, from March 27 to March 

31, 2023. 

The U.S. CPM adopted the following 

international phytosanitary standards in 

2023. The United States develops its 

position on each of these draft standards 

prior to the CPM session based on 

APHIS’ analyses and other relevant 

information from other U.S. 

Government agencies and interested 

stakeholders: 

• ISPM 5: Glossary of phytosanitary 

terms (2021 revisions). 

• Annex to ISPM 20 (Guidelines for a 

phytosanitary import regulatory 

system): Use of specific import 

authorizations. 

• Revision of ISPM 18 (Requirements 

for the use of irradiation as a 

phytosanitary measure). 

The following phytosanitary 

treatments were adopted as Annexes to 

ISPM 28: 

• Phytosanitary treatments for 

regulated pests: PT 45: Irradiation 

treatment for Pseudococcus 

jackbeardsleyi. 

IPPC Standard-Setting Initiatives, 

Including Those Under Development 

A number of expert working group 

(EWG) meetings and technical 

consultations took place from October 

2022 through September 2023 on the 

topics listed below. These IPPC projects 

are currently under development and 

intended for future adoption and 

publication. APHIS participated actively 

and fully in most of these drafting 

groups. APHIS developed its position 

on each of the topics prior to the 

working group meeting. The APHIS 

position was based on relevant scientific 

information and technical analyses, 

including information from other U.S. 

Government agencies and from 

interested stakeholders: 

• EWG for revision of ISPMs on Pest 

Risk Analysis. 

• EWG for revision of ISPM 26 

(Establishment of pest-free areas for 

fruit flies). 

• EWG for drafting Annex to ISPM 23 

(Guidelines for inspection): Field 

inspection (including growing season 

inspection). 

• Technical Panel on Commodity 

Standards (TPCS) drafted the first 

commodity standard as an Annex to 

ISPM 46 (Commodity-specific standards 

for phytosanitary measures): 

International movement of mango fresh 

fruit (Mangifera indica). 

• Publishing of ‘‘IPPC Guide to 

support the implementation of ISPM 

15.’’ 

• Technical Panel on Diagnostic 

Protocols. 

• Technical Panel on Phytosanitary 

Treatments. 

• Technical Panel for the Glossary. 

The IPPC electronic certification 

system (ePhyto) solution also progressed 

in 2023. There are currently 98 trading 

partners that are connected and actively 

sharing ePhytos through the system; 

APHIS continues to make important 

contributions to advancing the 

development of an international ePhyto 

system, including: (1) Providing ongoing 

input and support at the IPPC through 

the Bureau, SPG, Commission, and 

other international fora; (2) generating 

regional support for this new electronic 

exchange system at the hemispheric 

level through NAPPO and the InterAmerican Coordinating Group for Plant 

Protection (GICSV); and (3) actively 

working on a long-term funding solution 

that will be necessary to sustain ePhyto 

into the future. For more detailed 

information on the above, contact Dr. 

Marina Zlotina (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above). 

PPQ actively works to achieve broad 

participation by States, industry, and 

other stakeholders in the development 

and use of international and regional 

plant health standards, including 

through the use of APHIS Stakeholder 

Registry notices 2 and the APHIS public 

website. Plant health stakeholders are 

strongly encouraged to submit topics for 

new IPPC standards and comment on 

draft standards, documents, and 

specifications during the consultation 

periods. 

In 2023, 12 draft documents were 

open for consultation, including 

specifications, a Commission on 

Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) 

recommendation, standards, diagnostic 

protocols, and phytosanitary treatments. 

APHIS posts links to draft standards on 

its website as they become available and 

provides information on the due dates 

for comments.3 Additional information 


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103768 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Notices 

4 IPPC list of topics: https://www.ippc.int/en/coreactivities/standards-setting/list-topics-ippcstandards/. 

5 IPPC website: https://www.ippc.int/. 

6NAPPO work program: https://nappo.org/ 

english/governance/work-program. 

on IPPC standards (including the IPPC 

work program (list of topics,4) calls for 

new standards, experts to serve on 

technical panels and other working 

groups, proposed phytosanitary 

treatments, the standard-setting process, 

and adopted standards) is available on 

the IPPC website.5

For the most current information on 

official U.S. participation in IPPC 

activities, including U.S. positions on 

standards being considered, contact Dr. 

Marina Zlotina (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above). Those 

wishing to provide comments on any of 

the areas of work being undertaken by 

the IPPC may do so at any time by 

responding to this notice (see 

ADDRESSES above) or by providing 

comments through Dr. Zlotina. 

NAPPO Standard-Setting Activities 

NAPPO, a regional plant protection 

organization created in 1976 under the 

IPPC, coordinates the efforts among the 

United States, Canada, and Mexico to 

protect their plant resources from the 

entry, establishment, and spread of 

harmful plant pests, while facilitating 

safe intra- and inter-regional trade. As 

the NPPO of the United States, APHIS 

PPQ is the organization officially 

identified to participate in NAPPO. 

Through NAPPO, APHIS works closely 

with its regional counterparts and 

industries to develop harmonized 

regional standards and approaches for 

managing pest threats. 

This critical work facilitates the safe 

movement of plants and plant products 

into and within the region. NAPPO 

conducts its work through prioritydriven projects approved by the NAPPO 

Executive Committee via an annual 

work program. These projects are 

completed by expert groups, including 

subject matter experts from each 

member country and regional industry 

representatives. Project results and 

updates are provided during the NAPPO 

annual meeting as well as NAPPO 

governance meetings. Projects can 

include the development of positions, 

policies, technical documents, or the 

development or revision of regional 

standards for phytosanitary measures 

(RSPMs). Projects can also include 

implementation of standards or other 

capacity development activities such as 

workshops. 

The PPQ Associate Deputy 

Administrator, as the official U.S. 

delegate to NAPPO, intends to 

participate in the adoption of these 

regional plant health standards and 

projects on the work program once they 

are completed and ready for 

consideration. 

The 45th NAPPO annual meeting was 

held virtually from October 18 to 20, 

2022, and hosted by Canada. The 

meeting featured several strategic topics 

related to NAPPO’s work program (e.g., 

seeds, forest pests, lab accreditation, 

plants for planting, biological control, 

and risk-based sampling), as well as 

discussions on sea containers, invasive 

species, the International Year of Plant 

Health (IYPH), the USMCA, and a live 

ePhyto exchange demonstration 

between the United States and Jamaica. 

The meeting also featured a 1-day 

symposium on the decision-making 

procedures used by the three countries 

(Canada, Mexico, and the United States) 

when an exotic plant pest is confirmed 

in a NAPPO member country. The 

NAPPO Executive Committee meetings 

took place on the impacts of climate 

change on plant health. 

NAPPO governance committees, 

including NAPPO’s Executive 

Committee and the Advisory and 

Management Committee, as well as 

expert groups, continue to communicate 

and meet virtually on a regular basis to 

actively make progress on NAPPO 

strategic and work program initiatives. 

The PPQ Associate Deputy 

Administrator or PPQ designee is the 

U.S. member of the NAPPO Executive 

Committee. The NAPPO Executive 

Committee met November 9, 2022; 

March 8, 2023; and June 28, 2023. The 

NAPPO Executive Committee adopted 

one regional standard between October 

1, 2022, and September 30, 2023: 

Revisions to RSPM 35: Guidelines for 

the movement of propagative plant 

material of stone fruit, pome fruit, and 

grapevine into a NAPPO member 

country. 

NAPPO’s Advisory and Management 

Committee (AMC) continues to regularly 

meet virtually and in person. The AMC 

selects and onboards experts to newly 

launched NAPPO expert groups; 

addresses pending work program 

initiatives; makes recommendations to 

the Executive Committee; provides dayto-day oversight of NAPPO; and 

provides expert input and direction on 

financial, programmatic, and 

operational issues at NAPPO. 

The NAPPO expert groups, including 

member countries’ subject matter 

experts, in collaboration with NAPPO’s 

Secretariat, significantly made progress 

on or finalized the following regional 

standards from October 2022 through 

September 2023: 

• Completed the development or 

revision and consultation of the 

following regional standards: Revision 

of RSPM 35: Guidelines for the 

movement of propagative plant material 

of stone fruit, pome fruit, and grapevine 

into a NAPPO member country; Update 

to NAPPO Discussion Document 05: 

Management of Huanglongbing (HLB) 

and its vector, the Asian-Citrus Psyllid, 

Diaphorina citri; Guidance document on 

ISPM 25: Standardization of 

responsibilities and actions for 

safeguarding consignments that have 

transited one NAPPO country to enter 

another NAPPO country. 

• Issued via NAPPO’s Phytosanitary 

Alert System: 22 Official Pest Reports 

from October 1, 2022, to September 30, 

2023. 

New NAPPO Standard-Setting 

Initiatives, Including Those in 

Development 

The 2023 work program 6 includes 

topics being worked on by NAPPO 

expert groups and NAPPO’s Advisory 

and Management Committee. APHIS 

actively and fully participates in the 

development and approval of the 

NAPPO work program. The APHIS 

position on each topic is guided and 

informed by the best technical and 

scientific information available, as well 

as on relevant input from stakeholders. 

For each of the following, where 

applicable, the United States will 

consider its position on any draft 

standard after it reviews a prepared 

draft. Information regarding the 

following NAPPO projects, assignments, 

activities, and updates on meeting times 

and locations may be obtained from the 

NAPPO website or by contacting 

Stephanie Dubon (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above). 

1. Seed Diagnostics: A pilot for the 

harmonization of diagnostic protocols 

for seed pests focused on Tomato brown 

rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). 

2. Development of harmonized 

regional guidance for North America 

based on ISPM 25: Consignments in 

transit and the IPPC Transit Manual. 

The information in this notice 

contains all the information available to 

APHIS PPQ on NAPPO standards or 

projects under development or 

consideration. For updates on meeting 

times and for information on the expert 

groups that may become available 

following publication of this notice, 

visit the NAPPO website or contact 

Stephanie Dubon (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above). 

PPQ actively works to achieve broad 

participation by States, industry, and 

other stakeholders in the development 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Notices 103769 

7To sign up for the Stakeholder Registry, go to: 

https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/ 

USDAAPHIS/subscriber/new. 

8For more information on NAPPO consultation: 

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/internationalstandards/plant-health-standards/draft. 

9NAPPO website: http://nappo.org. 

1 Domestic poultry that can be affected include 

chickens; turkeys; ring-necked pheasants; ducks; 

geese; common, Japanese, or bobwhite quail; Indian 

peafowl; chukar or grey partridge; pigeons; ostrich; 

and guinea fowl. 

2To view the draft EA, draft FONSI, the 

comments we received, the final EA, and the final 

FONSI, go to www.regulations.gov and enter 

APHIS–2022–0031 in the Search field. 

3Current HPAI outbreak data can be accessed at 

APHIS’ website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-diseaseinformation/avian/avian-influenza/2022-hpai (last 

visited November 21, 2024). 

4To view the draft supplemental EA, draft 

FONSI, and the comment we received, go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS–2022–0031 

in the Search field. 

and use of international and regional 

plant health standards, including 

through the use of APHIS Stakeholder 

Registry notices 7 and the APHIS public 

website. Plant health stakeholders are 

strongly encouraged to comment on 

draft standards, documents, and 

specifications during consultation 

periods. APHIS posts links to draft 

standards on the website as they become 

available and provides information on 

the due dates for comments.8 Additional 

information on NAPPO standards 

(including the NAPPO work program, 

calls for projects, expert groups, the 

standard-setting process, and adopted 

standards) is available on the NAPPO 

website.9

For the most current information on 

official U.S. participation in NAPPO 

activities, including U.S. positions on 

standards being considered, contact 

Stephanie Dubon (see FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above). Those 

wishing to provide comments on any of 

the areas of work being undertaken at 

NAPPO may do so at any time by 

responding to this notice (see 

ADDRESSES above) or by providing 

comments through Stephanie Dubon. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 16th day of 

December 2024. 

Michael Watson, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30318 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2022–0031] 

Notice of Availability of a Final 

Supplemental Environmental 

Assessment and Finding of No 

Significant Impact for Emergency 

Response for Highly Pathogenic Avian 

Influenza Outbreaks in the United 

States Migratory Bird Flyways 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that we have prepared a final 

supplemental environmental assessment 

(EA) and finding of no significant 

impact (FONSI) relative to our 

emergency response activities for highly 

pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in 

commercial and backyard poultry 

operations located in the four migratory 

bird flyways in the United States. This 

final supplemental EA supplements the 

initial EA and FONSI we published in 

September 2022, which evaluated the 

environmental impacts associated with 

the first seven States where highly 

pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks 

occurred. Based on our FONSI, we have 

determined that an environmental 

impact statement need not be prepared 

for the proposed action as described in 

this final supplemental EA. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Chelsea Bare, Chief of Staff, Veterinary 

Services, APHIS, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW, Whitten Building Room 318–E, 

Washington, DC 20250; (515) 337–6128; 

chelsea.j.bare@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS), 

Veterinary Services (VS), has been 

delegated the authority under the 

Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 

8301–8322) to protect the health of 

livestock, poultry, and aquaculture 

populations in the United States by 

preventing the introduction and 

interstate spread of serious diseases and 

pests of livestock, poultry, and 

aquaculture, and eradicating such 

diseases within the United States when 

feasible. Highly pathogenic avian 

influenza (HPAI) is an extremely 

infectious disease and often fatal to 

poultry.1 Avian influenza (AI) viruses 

may circulate freely in wild bird 

populations without the birds appearing 

sick. As these birds migrate, they carry 

HPAI and other AI viruses with them 

and may subsequently transmit AI to 

domestic birds. HPAI can rapidly spread 

within and between domestic poultry 

flocks and wild bird (especially 

waterfowl) populations. It is APHIS’ 

objective to stamp out HPAI as rapidly 

as possible at locations where it has 

been found. Preventing the entry of 

diseased birds and eggs into the United 

States, monitoring AI in migratory birds, 

identifying AI strains occurring 

primarily in migratory waterbird 

species, as well as backyard and 

commercial poultry flocks, and 

stamping out HPAI as it arises in 

domestic poultry is important for the 

long-term maintenance of disease-free 

United States poultry stocks. 

In response to outbreaks of the HPAI 

H5N1 (AI strain) virus subtype in 

commercial and backyard poultry flocks 

that began on February 8, 2022, we 

published a draft environmental 

assessment (EA) and draft finding of no 

significant impact (FONSI) in April 

2022 to allow VS to carry out emergency 

response activities in seven States 

(Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, New York, 

Maine, Delaware, and Michigan). A final 

EA titled ‘‘Emergency Response for 

HPAI Outbreaks in Seven States’’ and 

final FONSI were published in 

September 2022.2

Since the preparation and publication 

of the final EA and FONSI for the initial 

seven States, HPAI outbreaks have 

continued to occur across the United 

States. As of November 21, 2024, the 

virus was confirmed in 538 commercial, 

661 backyard, and 32 other types (e.g., 

live bird markets, rehabilitation 

facilities) of flocks, affecting 

approximately 110 million birds in 49 

States.3 As HPAI outbreaks have been 

stamped out, new outbreaks emerge and 

are likely to continue with seasonal (i.e., 

spring and fall) bird migrations. For this 

reason, we prepared a supplemental EA 

titled ‘‘Emergency Response for Highly 

Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreaks 

in the United States Migratory Bird 

Flyways’’ to cover HPAI emergency 

response activities in other impacted 

States in the four North American 

migratory bird flyways (i.e., the 

Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and 

Pacific Flyways). 

On August 24, 2023, we published in 

the Federal Register (88 FR 57923– 

57924, Docket No. APHIS–2022–0031) a 

notice in which we announced the 

availability, for public review and 

comment, of a draft supplemental EA 

and draft FONSI that examined the 

potential environmental impacts 

associated with HPAI response activities 

for additional outbreaks in commercial 

and backyard poultry operations in 

other impacted States in the four North 

American migratory bird flyways.4

We solicited comments on the draft 

supplemental EA and FONSI for 30 days 


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