20384 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 74 / Monday, April 17, 2000 / Proposed Rules

handlers. While assessments impose

some additional costs on handlers, the

costs are minimal and uniform on all

handlers. Some of the additional costs

may be passed on to producers.

However, these costs would be offset by

the benefits derived by the operation of

the marketing order. In addition, the

Committee’s meeting was widely

publicized throughout the Florida

avocado industry and all interested

persons were invited to attend the

meeting and participate in Committee

deliberations on all issues. Like all

Committee meetings, the March 8, 2000,

meeting was a public meeting and all

entities, both large and small, were able

to express views on this issue. Finally,

interested persons are invited to submit

information on the regulatory and

informational impacts of this action on

small businesses.

This proposed rule would impose no

additional reporting or recordkeeping

requirements on either small or large

Florida avocado handlers. As with all

Federal marketing order programs,

reports and forms are periodically

reviewed to reduce information

requirements and duplication by

industry and public sector agencies.

The Department has not identified

any relevant Federal rules that

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with this

rule.

A small business guide on complying

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop

marketing agreements and orders may

be viewed at the following web site:

http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/

moab.html. Any questions about the

compliance guide should be sent to Jay

Guerber at the previously mentioned

address in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section.

A 30-day comment period is provided

to allow interested persons to respond

to this proposed rule. Thirty days is

deemed appropriate because: (1) The

2000–2001 fiscal period began on April

1, 2000, and the marketing order

requires that the rate of assessment for

each fiscal period apply to all assessable

avocados handled during such fiscal

period; (2) the Committee needs to have

sufficient funds to pay its expenses

which are incurred on a continuous

basis; and (3) handlers are aware of this

action which was unanimously

recommended by the Committee at a

public meeting and is similar to other

assessment rate actions issued in past

years.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 915

Avocados, Marketing agreements,

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, 7 CFR part 915 is proposed to

be amended as follows:

PART 915—AVOCADOS GROWN IN

SOUTH FLORIDA

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 915 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674.

2. Section 915.235 is revised to read

as follows:

§ 915.235 Assessment rate.

On and after April 1, 2000, an

assessment rate of $0.19 per 55-pound

bushel container or equivalent is

established for avocados grown in South

Florida.

Dated: April 11, 2000.

James R. Frazier,

Acting Deputy Administrator, Fruit and

Vegetable Programs.

[FR Doc. 00–9451 Filed 4–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Parts 91 and 161

[Docket No. 99–053–1]

Origin Health Certificates for Livestock

Exported From the United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend

the animal export regulations to allow

origin health certificates issued for

animals intended for export from the

United States to be valid for longer than

30 days in some cases, based on the

requirements of the country of

destination. Currently, origin health

certificates for animals intended for

export from the United States must

certify that the animals were inspected

within the 30 days prior to the

movement for export. They must also

contain information about any tests

required to be conducted prior to

export. Generally, the animals are

inspected and tested (or samples are

taken for testing) on the same day.

However, some countries require or

allow testing to be conducted more than

30 days prior to the date of export. This

action would allow animals to be

inspected for the origin health

certificate as early as the required

testing or sampling may be performed,

in accordance with the requirements of

the country of destination. We believe

this can be allowed without increasing

the risk of infected or exposed animals

being exported, since all livestock

leaving the United States by sea or air

are inspected again by a U.S.

Department of Agriculture veterinarian

within 24 hours of export; and animals

exported to Canada or Mexico by land

are inspected by those nations prior to

crossing the land border. This action

would simplify the export process and

reduce costs for exporters.

DATES: We invite you to comment on

this docket. We will consider all

comments that we receive by June 16,

2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment

and three copies to: Docket No. 99–053–

1, Regulatory Analysis and

Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03,

4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale,

MD 20737–1238. Please state that your

comment refers to Docket No. 99–053–

1.

You may read any comments that we

receive on this docket in our reading

room. The reading room 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.

APHIS documents published in the

Federal Register, and related

information, including the names of

organizations and individuals who have

commented on APHIS rules, are

available on the Internet at http://

www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/

webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Najam Q. Faizi, Senior Staff

Veterinarian, Animals Program,

National Center for Import and Export,

VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 734–

5256.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 91,

‘‘Inspection and Handling of Livestock

for Exportation’’ (referred to below as

the regulations), prescribe conditions for

exporting animals from the United

States. Section 91.3 of the regulations

provides, among other things, that all

animals intended for exportation to a

foreign country must be accompanied

from the State of origin of the export

movement to the port of embarkation or

the border of the United States by an

origin health certificate. The origin

health certificate must certify that the

animals were inspected within the 30

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 74 / Monday, April 17, 2000 / Proposed Rules 20385

days prior to the date of the movement

of the animals for export and that they

were found to be healthy and free from

evidence of communicable disease and

exposure to communicable disease. The

origin health certificate must be issued

by an Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service (APHIS)

representative or an accredited

veterinarian and must be endorsed by

an authorized APHIS veterinarian in the

State of origin of the export movement.

The origin health certificate must

individually identify the animals in the

shipment as to species, breed, sex, and

age and, if applicable, must also show

registration name and number, natural

markings, and acquired markings. The

origin health certificate must also

include all test results, certifications, or

other statements required by the country

of destination.

Section 91.3(c) requires that all

samples for tests required by the

regulations be taken by an inspector or

accredited veterinarian in the State of

origin of the export movement. Further,

§ 91.3 requires that the samples be taken

and tests made within the 30 days prior

to the date of the export movement,

with the following exceptions: The

Administrator may permit sampling and

testing more than 30 days prior to the

date of export if required by the

receiving country, and the tuberculin

test may be conducted within the 90

days prior to the date of the movement

of the animals for export.

The provision allowing sampling and

tests more than 30 days prior to the date

of export if required by the receiving

country is intended to cover those cases

where the country of destination either

allows testing earlier than 30 days prior

to the date of export, or requires earlier

testing. For example, sometimes the

country of destination wishes to test the

animals again upon arrival. Since a

certain interval of time must elapse

between tests, the country requires preexport testing to be conducted more

than 30 days prior to the date of export.

When preparing animals for

exportation, exporters normally request

the accredited veterinarian or APHIS

representative who takes samples for

testing to inspect the animals and issue

the origin health certificate at the same

time. Exporters who have their animals

inspected and obtain an origin health

certificate more than 30 days prior to

the date of export arrive at the port of

embarkation or the border with an

invalid origin health certificate. This is

because, as explained earlier, § 91.3(a)

requires the origin health certificate to

certify that the animals were inspected

within the 30 days prior to the date of

export. Exporters must then obtain a

second origin health certificate. The

services of an APHIS representative or

accredited veterinarian are required,

there is a fee for the issuance of the

origin health certificate, and the

exporter is inconvenienced.

We are proposing to amend the

regulations to allow animals to be

inspected for the origin health

certificate as early as the required

sampling or testing may be performed,

in accordance with the requirements of

the country of destination. Although

this change will mean that some

animals will be inspected for export in

the State of origin more than 30 days

prior to export, all animals leaving the

country are inspected an additional

time. In accordance with § 91.15 of the

regulations, all animals leaving the

country by sea or air must be inspected

by an APHIS veterinarian within 24

hours of embarkation at an export

inspection facility at an authorized port.

All animals offered for exportation into

Mexico or Canada through a land border

port are inspected at the border by

Mexican or Canadian officials before

being authorized entry into Mexico or

Canada. Thus, there is another

opportunity to inspect the animals for

evidence of disease or exposure to

disease before they are exported from

the United States.

This action would simplify the export

process and reduce costs for those

exporters who now must secure a new

origin health certificate at the port of

embarkation or border because they

were unaware of the current time

limitations for the export certificates.

In conjunction with this proposed

amendment, we also propose to amend

§ 91.3(c). As explained earlier in this

document, § 91.3(c) now provides that

the Administrator may permit sampling

and testing more than 30 days prior to

the date of export if required by the

receiving country. This wording does

not adequately cover cases where a

receiving country allows (rather than

requires) sampling or testing more than

30 days prior to the date of export.

Therefore, we propose to change this

language to provide that the

Administrator may permit sampling and

testing more than 30 days prior to the

date of export when required or allowed

by the country of destination.

We also propose to amend § 91.3(a)

and (c) to replace the phrase ‘‘the date

of the movement of the animals for

export’’ with ‘‘the date of export.’’ We

currently use both phrases in § 91.3(a)

and (c) in various places. It is not clear

from ‘‘the date of the movement of the

animals for export’’ whether we mean

the date that animals move from their

premises of origin to the port of

embarkation or border, or the date the

animals move from the port of

embarkation or across the border. We

mean the latter, and we believe using

the term ‘‘date of export’’ consistently

will help clarify that.

Further, we propose to amend 9 CFR

part 161, ‘‘Requirements and Standards

for Accredited Veterinarians and

Suspension or Revocation of Such

Accreditation.’’ Currently, § 161.3(b)

states that certificates, forms, records,

and reports issued by an accredited

veterinarian shall be valid for 30 days

following the date of inspection of the

animal identified on the document. We

propose to amend § 161.3(b) to allow an

origin health certificate to be valid for

more than 30 days when the

Administrator allows the animals to be

inspected more than 30 days prior to the

date of export in accordance with § 91.3.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12866. The 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.

The regulations currently require all

animals intended for exportation from

the United States to be accompanied

from the State of origin to the port of

embarkation or the border of the United

States by an origin health certificate.

The origin health certificate must be

issued by an APHIS representative or an

accredited veterinarian. It must certify

that the animals were inspected within

30 days of being exported and were

found to be healthy and free from

evidence of communicable disease and

exposure to communicable disease. The

origin health certificate must also

include all test results, certifications, or

other statements required by the country

of destination. If required by the country

of destination, the Administrator may

permit sampling and testing more than

30 days prior to the date of export.

We are proposing to amend part 91 to

allow animals to be inspected for the

origin health certificate as early as the

sampling or testing may be performed.

We also propose to amend part 161 to

allow an origin health certificate to be

valid for more than 30 days when

animals are allowed to be inspected

more than 30 days prior to the date of

movement for export in accordance with

§ 91.3.

Costs

Currently, exporters who have their

animals inspected and obtain an origin

health certificate more than 30 days

20386 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 74 / Monday, April 17, 2000 / Proposed Rules

prior to the date of export must obtain

a new origin health certificate when the

animals arrive at the port of

embarkation or the border. On average,

it costs $150 to have a veterinarian

inspect animals for export and issue an

origin health certificate. If this proposal

is adopted, the original origin health

certificate will still be valid when the

animals arrive at the port of

embarkation or the border, and the

exporter will not incur the costs of

obtaining an additional origin health

certificate.

Live Animal Exports

United Nations trade data show that

U.S. exports of live animals are worth

more than half a billion dollars a year

(see tables 1 and 2). On average, U.S.

exports of live animals from 1993

through 1998 were distributed as

follows: More than 40 percent went to

Mexico and Canada, approximately 15.3

percent went to Japan, approximately 2

percent went to Brazil, 1.4 percent went

to Turkey, 1.1 percent went to the

Republic of Korea (Korea), and less than

1 percent went to Egypt or Taiwan. Of

these countries, Brazil, Egypt, Japan,

Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey provide for

sampling and testing of live animals

more than 30 days prior to exportation

from the country of origin.

TABLE 1.—U.S. EXPORTS OF LIVE ANIMALS

[In $1,000]

Year Mexico Canada Brazil Egypt Japan Korea Taiwan Turkey Rest of

the world Total

1993 ......................... $108,679 $127,058 $12,339 $1,337 $39,667 $4,777 $3,116 $2,339 $219,615 $518,927

1994 ......................... 149,747 146,578 12,415 2,800 47,516 6,740 3,496 1,136 216,924 587,352

1995 ......................... 31,409 124,974 14,179 2,196 110,646 8,856 2,791 7,689 216,502 519,242

1996 ......................... 81,119 105,130 10,598 6,362 103,228 7,412 3,236 9,307 206,141 532,533

1997 ......................... 207,854 104,699 13,358 2,261 108,049 7,975 2,237 2,042 235,364 683,839

1998 ......................... 140,632 132,178 9,969 5,569 72,156 3,568 1,919 9,616 302,545 678,152

TABLE 2.—U.S. EXPORTS OF LIVE ANIMALS

[As a percent of total U.S. exports]

Year Mexico Canada

Mexico

and CanadaBrazil Egypt Japan Korea Taiwan Turkey

Brazil, Egypt,

Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey

1993 ........... 21 25 45.4 2.4 0.3 7.6 0.9 0.6 0.5 12.3

1994 ........... 26 25 50.5 2.1 0.5 8.1 1.1 0.6 0.2 12.6

1995 ........... 6 24 30.1 2.7 0.4 21.3 1.7 0.5 1.5 28.2

1996 ........... 15.2 19.7 35.0 2.0 1.2 19.4 1.4 0.6 1.7 26.3

1997 ........... 30 15 45.7 2.0 0.3 15.8 1.2 0.3 0.3 19.9

1998 ........... 21 20 40.2 1.5 0.8 10.6 0.5 0.3 1.4 15.2

Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and

Uzbekistan also provide for sampling

and testing of live animals more than 30

days prior to exportation from the

country of origin. These three Central

Asian countries have imported

relatively few live animals in the 6-years

period from 1993 through 1998 and

none from the United States. Table 3

shows the value of live animals

imported into these three countries,

based on United Nations data.

TABLE 3.—IMPORTS OF LIVE ANIMALS

[IN $1,000]

Year Kazakhstan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan All countries

1993 ..................................................................................................................... $600 $551 .................... $8,965,958

1994 ..................................................................................................................... 29 ..................... $400 9,556,484

1995 ..................................................................................................................... 427 ..................... 200 10,020,452

1996 ..................................................................................................................... 137 ..................... 200 9,925,704

1997 ..................................................................................................................... 231 ..................... 200 8,991,483

1998 ..................................................................................................................... 433 ..................... 200 8,991,071

This proposed rule would facilitate

live animal exports from the United

States to Brazil, Egypt, Japan,

Kazakhstan, Korea, Taiwan, Turkey,

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and other

countries that may allow or require

animals to be tested, or samples to be

taken for testing, more than 30 days

prior to export from the United States.

Approximately 19 percent of live animal

exports from the United States went to

these countries over the 6-year period

from 1993 through 1998. We do not

know how many of these shipments

were made by small entities. However,

all U.S. entities, including small

entities, who export live animals to

these countries would benefit from this

proposal, albeit in a relatively small

way, by not having to bear the costs of

an additional origin health certificate,

estimated at approximately $150 per

shipment.

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.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 74 / Monday, April 17, 2000 / Proposed Rules 20387

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 proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is

adopted: (1) All State and local laws and

regulations that are inconsistent with

this rule will be preempted; (2) no

retroactive effect will be given to this

rule; and (3) administrative proceedings

will not be required before parties may

file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This proposed rule contains no

information collection or recordkeeping

requirements under the Paperwork

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

et seq.).

Lists of Subjects

9 CFR Part 91

Animal diseases, Animal welfare,

Exports, Livestock, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements,

Transportation.

9 CFR Part 161

Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Veterinarians.

Accordingly, we propose to amend 9

CFR parts 91 and 161 as follows:

PART 91—INSPECTION AND

HANDLING OF LIVESTOCK FOR

EXPORTATION

1. The authority citation for part 91

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 105, 112, 113, 114a,

120, 121, 134b, 134f, 136, 136a, 612, 613,

614, and 618; 46 U.S.C. 466a and 466b; 49

U.S.C. 1509(d); 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and

371.2(d).

2. In § 91.3, paragraph (a) and the

second sentence in paragraph (c) would

be revised to read as follows:

§ 91.3 General export requirements.

(a) All animals intended for

exportation to a foreign country, except

by land to Mexico or Canada, must be

accompanied from the State of origin of

the export movement to the port of

embarkation by an origin health

certificate. All animals intended for

exportation by land to Mexico or

Canada must be accompanied from the

State of origin of the export movement

to the border of the United States by an

origin health certificate. The origin

health certificate must certify that the

animals were inspected within the 30

days prior to the date of export, except

as follows: When the Administrator

allows sampling or testing to be done

more than 30 days prior to the date of

export, in accordance with paragraph (c)

of this section, then the animals also

may be inspected within that same time

period, and the origin health certificate

will remain valid for that time period.

The origin health certificate must certify

that the animals were found upon

inspection to be healthy and free from

evidence of communicable disease and

exposure to communicable disease. The

origin health certificate must be

endorsed by an authorized APHIS

veterinarian in the State of origin and

must include any test results added by

the authorized APHIS veterinarian

pursuant to § 161.3(k) of this chapter

(any added test results must be initialed

by the authorized veterinarian). The

origin health certificate must

individually identify the animals in the

shipment as to species, breed, sex, and

age and, if applicable, must also show

registration name and number, tattoo

markings, or other natural or acquired

markings. The origin health certificate

must include all test results,

certifications, or other statements

required by the country of destination.

* * * * *

(c) * * * The samples must be taken

and tests must be made within the 30

days prior to the date of export, except

that the Administrator may allow such

sampling or testing to be conducted

more than 30 days prior to the date of

export if required or allowed by the

receiving country, and the tuberculin

test may be conducted within the 90

days prior to the date of export. * * *

* * * * *

PART 161—REQUIREMENTS AND

STANDARDS FOR ACCREDITED

VETERINARIANS AND SUSPENSION

OR REVOCATION OF SUCH

ACCREDITATION

3. The authority citation for part 161

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1828; 21 U.S.C. 105,

111–114, 114a, 114a–1, 115, 116, 120, 121,

125, 134b, 134f, 612, and 613; 7 CFR 2.22,

2.80, and 371.2(d).

4. In § 161.3, paragraph (b) would be

revised to read as follows.

§ 161.3 Standards for accredited

veterinarian duties.

* * * * *

(b) An accredited veterinarian shall

not issue, or allow to be used, any

certificate, form, record or report, until,

and unless, it has been accurately and

fully completed, clearly identifying the

animals to which it applies, and

showing the dates and results of any

inspection, test, vaccination, or

treatment the accredited veterinarian

has conducted, except as provided in

paragraph (c) of this section, and the

dates of issuance and expiration of the

document. Certificates, forms, records,

and reports shall be valid for 30 days

following the date of inspection of the

animal identified on the document,

except that origin health certificates

may be valid for a longer period of time

as provided in § 91.3(a) of this chapter.

The accredited veterinarian must

distribute copies of certificates, forms,

records, and reports according to

instructions issued to him or her by the

Veterinarian-in-Charge.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of

April 2000.

Bobby R. Acord,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 00–9492 Filed 4–14–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 50

Public Workshop on Risk-Informed

Regulation—Option 2

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of workshop.

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC) will host a public

workshop to provide an opportunity for

discussion of the Nuclear Energy

Institute’s (NEI) guidance on special

treatment requirements, advanced

notice of proposed rulemaking, and

possible alternative approaches to

Option 2 in risk-informed regulations.

The workshop is open to the public.

DATES: The workshop will be held on

Thursday, April 27, 2000, from 9 a.m. to

5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Ramada Inn Bethesda,

Room Embassy III, 8400 Wisconsin

Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland. The

hotel’s phone number is (301) 654–

1000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Egan Y. Wang, Office of Nuclear Reactor

Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555,

telephone: (301) 415–1076, email

eyw@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

discussion topics are tentative and