Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 216 / Wednesday, November 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules 67933 

Dated: October 28, 2005. 

Maureen Cooney, 

Acting Chief Privacy Officer, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 05–21952 Filed 11–8–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 93 

[Docket No. 05–041–1] 

Importation of Cattle From Mexico 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend 

the regulations regarding the 

importation of cattle from Mexico by 

adding San Luis, AZ, as a port through 

which cattle that have been infested 

with fever ticks or exposed to fever ticks 

or tick-borne diseases may be imported 

into the United States. A new facility for 

the handling of animals is to be 

constructed on the Mexican side of the 

border at the port of San Luis, AZ, that 

will be equipped with facilities 

necessary for the proper chute 

inspection, dipping, and testing that are 

required for such cattle under the 

regulations. We would also amend the 

regulations to remove provisions that 

limit the admission of cattle that have 

been infested with fever ticks or 

exposed to fever ticks or tick-borne 

diseases to the State of Texas and that 

prohibit the movement of such cattle 

into areas of Texas quarantined because 

of fever ticks. The statutory requirement 

that limited the admission of those 

cattle to the State of Texas has been 

repealed, and we believe that the 

current provisions of our domestic fever 

tick quarantine regulations will 

effectively address any risk of the 

spread of tick-borne diseases associated 

with the subsequent movement of 

imported cattle from the quarantined 

area of Texas. These proposed changes 

would make an additional port of entry 

available and relieve restrictions on the 

movement of imported Mexican cattle 

within the United States. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before January 9, 

2006. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and, in the 

‘‘Search for Open Regulations’’ box, 

select ‘‘Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service’’ from the agency 

drop-down menu, then click on 

‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, 

select APHIS–2005–0101 to submit or 

view public comments and to view 

supporting and related materials 

available electronically. After the close 

of the comment period, the docket can 

be viewed using the ‘‘Advanced Search’’

function in Regulations.gov. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send four copies of your 

comment (an original and three copies) 

to Docket No. 05–041–1, Regulatory 

Analysis and Development, PPD, 

APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road 

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Please state that your comment refers to 

Docket No. 05–041–1. 

Reading Room: 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. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Arnaldo Vaquer, Senior Staff 

Veterinarian, National Center for Import 

and Export, Technical Trade Services 

Team, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 

43, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 

734–8364. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in 9 CFR part 93 

prohibit or restrict the importation of 

certain animals, birds, and poultry into 

the United States to prevent the 

introduction of communicable diseases 

of livestock and poultry. Subpart D of 

part 93 (§§ 93.400 through 93.435, 

referred to below as the regulations) 

governs the importation of ruminants; 

within subpart D, §§ 93.424 through 

94.429 specifically address the 

importation of various ruminants from 

Mexico into the United States. 

In § 93.426, paragraph (a) states that 

all ruminants offered for entry into the 

United States from Mexico must be 

inspected at the port of entry and found 

to be free from communicable diseases 

and fever tick infestation and to not 

have been exposed to communicable 

diseases and fever tick infestation. 

Ruminants found to be affected with or 

to have been exposed to a 

communicable disease, or infested with 

fever ticks, are to be refused entry 

except as provided in § 93.427(b)(2). 

Under § 93.427(b)(2), cattle that have 

been exposed to splenetic, southern, or 

tick fever, or that have been infested 

with or exposed to fever ticks, may be 

imported from Mexico for admission 

into the State of Texas, except that 

portion of the State quarantined because 

of fever ticks, either at one of the land 

border ports in Texas listed in 

§ 93.403(c) of the regulations, or at the 

port of Santa Teresa, NM, provided that 

certain conditions are met. Those 

conditions are spelled out in paragraphs 

(b)(2)(i) through (b)(2)(v) of § 93.427. 

In this document, we are proposing to 

amend § 93.427(b)(2) by: 

• Removing the limitation that allows 

the imported cattle admission only into 

the State of Texas; 

• Removing the limitation that 

prohibits the imported cattle from being 

moved into areas in Texas quarantined 

because of fever ticks; and 

• Adding San Luis, AZ, as an 

additional port through which the cattle 

may be imported into the United States. 

Each of these proposed changes is 

explained in more detail below. 

Admission Only Into the State of Texas 

The limitation that allows the 

imported cattle admission only into the 

State of Texas originated in statutory 

language (21 U.S.C. 104) that, prior to 

1993, authorized the Secretary of 

Agriculture to permit ‘‘the admission 

into the State of Texas of cattle which 

have been infested with or exposed to 

ticks upon being freed therefrom.’’

However, in 1993, as part of the North 

American Free Trade Agreement 

(NAFTA) Implementation Act (Public 

Law 103–182), 21 U.S.C. 104 was 

amended to state more generally that the 

Secretary may permit the importation of 

cattle, sheep, or other ruminants, and 

swine from Canada and Mexico, 

effectively removing the restriction that 

prohibited cattle from moving into 

States other than Texas. The provisions 

of 21 U.S.C. 104 were subsequently 

repealed by the Animal Health 

Protection Act, which constitutes the 

Secretary’s current authority and places 

no restrictions on the destination within 

the United States of cattle imported 

from Mexico. 

Following the passage of the NAFTA 

Implementation Act, our permitting 

procedures were modified to allow 

cattle that had been infested with or 

exposed to fever ticks to be moved into 

States other than Texas under the 

conditions described in § 93.427(b)(2), 

but we did not make a corresponding 

67934 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 216 / Wednesday, November 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

change in the regulations to reflect the 

removal of the statutory restriction. We 

are, therefore, proposing to make that 

change in this document. Given that 

cattle from Mexico that have been 

exposed to splenetic, southern, or tick 

fever or that have been infested with or 

exposed to fever ticks must meet the 

conditions listed in § 93.427(b)(2)(i) 

through (b)(2)(v) before entering the 

United States, the likelihood of these 

cattle introducing splenetic, southern, 

or tick fever into the U.S. cattle 

population is very low. Thus, we do not 

believe it is necessary to maintain the 

restriction in § 93.427(b) that limits the 

admission of those cattle to the State of 

Texas. 

Quarantined Areas in Texas 

Second, § 93.427 currently provides 

that cattle from Mexico may be 

imported into the State of Texas except 

into areas quarantined because of 

disease or tick infestation. These 

quarantined areas are listed in § 72.5. 

Once cattle enter the quarantined area, 

certain requirements must be met in 

order for the cattle to leave the 

quarantined area. If a quarantined area 

is not participating in a tick eradication 

program, the cattle must meet the 

conditions in § 72.6, while if a 

quarantined area is conducting tick 

eradication, the cattle must meet the 

conditions in § 72.7. These regulations 

require either inspection for ticks and 

certification or dipping and 

certification, which ensures that cattle 

moving from quarantined areas do not 

carry ticks that can transmit cattle fever. 

Because any cattle from Mexico that 

entered the quarantined area would 

have to meet the same conditions before 

leaving the quarantined area, we are 

proposing to remove the additional 

movement restriction and to allow cattle 

from Mexico to enter Texas’ tick 

quarantine zone. 

Addition of San Luis, AZ, as an 

Approved Port 

The port of San Luis, AZ, is currently 

listed in § 93.403(c) among the land 

border ports designated as having the 

necessary inspection facilities for the 

entry of ruminants from Mexico. 

However, as noted previously, the 

regulations in § 93.427(b) provide that 

any cattle from Mexico that have been 

infested with fever ticks or exposed to 

fever ticks or tick-borne diseases may be 

imported only through one of the border 

ports in Texas listed in § 93.403(c) or 

through the port of Santa Teresa, NM. 

We are proposing to amend § 93.427(b) 

to add San Luis, AZ, as a port through 

which such cattle may be imported. 

A new commercial port of entry is to 

be constructed in San Luis, AZ, 

approximately 5 miles to the east of the 

current border crossing; the current 

crossing will be improved as well and 

will continue to be used for 

noncommercial crossings (passenger 

vehicles and pedestrians). The purpose 

of the project is to provide more direct 

access to major transportation routes 

between the United States and Mexico 

and to provide higher levels of service 

to users of the port of entry. As part of 

this project, the Mexican Government 

intends to construct facilities to make 

the movement of cattle from Mexico 

into the United States less logistically 

challenging for both exporters and 

importers. 

Based on the information provided to 

us by the Mexican Government, the new 

cattle-handling facilities will be 

equipped with facilities necessary for 

the proper chute inspection, dipping, 

and testing that are required under the 

regulations for cattle that have been 

infested with fever ticks or exposed to 

fever ticks or tick-borne diseases. We 

will coordinate, as necessary, with the 

Mexican Government during the 

construction of the new port facilities 

and will inspect the new cattle-handling 

facilities upon their completion to 

confirm that they are properly equipped 

to allow for the necessary chute 

inspection, dipping, and testing of 

cattle. Any final action on this proposal 

to add San Luis, AZ, to the list in 

§ 93.427(b) of ports through which cattle 

that have been infested with fever ticks 

or exposed to fever ticks or tick-borne 

diseases may be imported from Mexico 

will be contingent upon our 

determination that the necessary 

facilities are in place. 

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. 

This proposed rule would amend the 

regulations regarding the importation of 

cattle from Mexico by adding San Luis, 

AZ, as a port through which cattle that 

have been infested with fever ticks or 

exposed to fever ticks or tick-borne 

diseases may be imported into the 

United States and would remove 

provisions that (1) limit the admission 

of cattle that have been infested with 

fever ticks or exposed to fever ticks or 

tick-borne diseases to the State of Texas 

and (2) prohibit the movement of such 

cattle into areas of Texas quarantined 

because of fever ticks. These proposed 

changes would make an additional port 

of entry available and relieve 

restrictions on the movement of 

imported Mexican cattle within the 

United States. 

The proposed changes in the 

regulations would benefit certain cattle 

operations in the United States by 

facilitating the importation of cattle 

from Mexico that have been infested 

with fever ticks or exposed to fever ticks 

or tick-borne diseases, mainly by 

reducing transport costs from the port of 

entry. At present, such cattle may enter 

the United States only at ports located 

in Texas and New Mexico. The 

proposed port of entry for these cattle at 

San Luis, AZ, would benefit cattle 

operations to the west of the current 

ports of entry; transport costs would be 

lower since the cattle would be moved 

over shorter distances. 

Cattle from Mexico are usually 

purchased by stocker operations that 

graze the animals before they are 

shipped to feedlots. We do not know the 

number or size distribution of stocker 

operations (neither overall, nor for the 

subset of operations that may use the 

port at San Luis, AZ). According to the 

2002 Census of Agriculture, it is 

reasonable to assume that most are 

small entities. This assumption is based 

on aggregate data for all beef producers 

in the United States. In 2002, there were 

664,431 U.S. farms primarily engaged in 

raising beef cattle (North American 

Industrial Classification System 

[NAICS] code 112111, Beef Cattle 

Ranching and Farming). Of the 664,431 

farms, 659,009 (99 percent) had annual 

receipts that year of less than $500,000. 

The Small Business Administration’s 

small entity threshold for farms 

classified within NAICS code 112111 is 

annual receipts of not more than 

$750,000. 

APHIS does not have information on 

the number of entities that may choose 

to import infested or exposed cattle 

using the San Luis, AZ, facilities, nor 

the cost savings that would be realized. 

We welcome information that the public 

may offer that would allow the Agency 

to better determine the number of 

enterprises that would be affected and 

the probable magnitude of their cost 

savings. 

APHIS does not expect the proposed 

changes would result in a net increase 

in the number of cattle imported from 

Mexico. According to the chairman of 

the Greater Yuma Port Authority (San 

Luis, AZ), the average number of cattle 

from Mexico crossing at San Luis, AZ, 

over the past few years has been 

approximately 30,000 annually. With 

the addition of San Luis, AZ, as an 

Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 216 / Wednesday, November 9, 2005 / Proposed Rules 67935 

approved port for the importation of 

cattle from Mexico that have been 

infested with fever ticks or exposed to 

fever ticks or tick-borne diseases, 30,000 

to 50,000 head of such cattle could 

potentially enter the United States 

through San Luis; these animals would 

most likely be animals that otherwise 

would enter through the existing 

approved ports in Texas and New 

Mexico. Any positive impacts of the 

proposed rule for small entities in the 

San Luis, AZ, area, such as an increased 

volume of business for firms that 

transport cattle, would be matched by 

business declines for firms operating 

from the Texas and New Mexico ports. 

There may also be positive effects at the 

Texas and New Mexico ports to the 

extent that the diversion of cattle to San 

Luis, AZ, would reduce operational 

delays when the demand for imports is 

beyond the capacity of the facilities; 

however, APHIS has no information on 

whether such periods of insufficient 

capacity have occurred, and if so, how 

frequently. 

There are no significant alternatives to 

the proposed rule. The Mexican 

Government has requested that a port be 

established on the Mexico-Arizona 

border for the entry into the United 

States of cattle from Mexico that have 

been infested with fever ticks or 

exposed to fever ticks or tick-borne 

diseases. APHIS has determined that 

with the construction of new facilities at 

the port of San Luis, AZ, this request 

can be satisfied. 

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. 

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 in conflict 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.). 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 93 

Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, 

Poultry and poultry products, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Accordingly, we propose to amend 9 

CFR part 93 as follows: 

PART 93—IMPORTATION OF CERTAIN 

ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND POULTRY, 

AND CERTAIN ANIMAL, BIRD, AND 

POULTRY PRODUCTS; 

REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANS OF 

CONVEYANCE AND SHIPPING 

CONTAINERS 

1. The authority citation for part 93 

would continue to read as follows: 

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. 

2. In § 93.427, the introductory text of 

paragraph (b)(2) would be revised to 

read as follows: 

§ 93.427 Cattle from Mexico. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) Cattle that have been exposed to 

splenetic, southern, or tick fever, or that 

have been infested with or exposed to 

fever ticks, may be imported from 

Mexico at one of the land border ports 

in Texas listed in § 93.403(c) or at the 

ports of Santa Teresa, NM, or San Luis, 

AZ, provided that the following 

conditions are strictly observed and 

complied with: 

* * * * * 

Done in Washington, DC, this 3rd day of 

November 2005. 

Elizabeth E. Gaston, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 05–22337 Filed 11–8–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. 2003–NM–271–AD] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Empresa 

Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. 

(EMBRAER) Model EMB–135 Airplanes 

and Model EMB–145, –145ER, –145MR, 

–145LR, –145XR, –145MP, and –145EP 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Supplemental notice of 

proposed rulemaking; reopening of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: This document revises an 

earlier proposed airworthiness directive 

(AD), applicable to certain Empresa 

Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. 

(EMBRAER) Model EMB–135 and EMB–

145 series airplanes, that would have 

required inspecting the pilot’s and copilot’s seat tracks for proper locking of 

the seats, and adjusting or replacing the 

seat tracks, if necessary. This new action 

revises the proposed rule by revising the 

applicability statement, and requiring 

replacement of the seat locking pin on 

certain SICMA-brand seats. The actions 

specified by this new proposed AD are 

intended to prevent uncommanded 

movement of the pilot’s or co-pilot’s 

seat, which could interfere with the 

operation of the airplane and 

consequent temporary loss of airplane 

control. This action is intended to 

address the identified unsafe condition. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

December 5, 2005. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in 

triplicate to the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Transport 

Airplane Directorate, ANM–114, 

Attention: Rules Docket No. 2003–NM–

271–AD, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW., 

Renton, Washington 98055–4056. 

Comments may be inspected at this 

location between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. Comments may be submitted 

via fax to (425) 227–1232. Comments 

may also be sent via the Internet using 

the following address: 9-anmnprmcomment@faa.gov. Comments sent 

via fax or the Internet must contain 

‘‘Docket No. 2003–NM–271–AD’’ in the 

subject line and need not be submitted 

in triplicate. Comments sent via the 

Internet as attached electronic files must 

be formatted in Microsoft Word 97 or 

2000 or ASCII text. 

The service information referenced in 

the proposed rule may be obtained from 

Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. 

(EMBRAER), P.O. Box 343–CEP 12.225, 

Sao Jose dos Campos—SP, Brazil. This 

information may be examined at the 

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate, 

1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, 

Washington. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Todd Thompson, Aerospace Engineer, 

International Branch, ANM–116, FAA, 

Transport Airplane Directorate, 1601 

Lind Avenue, SW., Renton, Washington 

98055–4056; telephone (425) 227–1175; 

fax (425) 227–1149. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Comments Invited 

Interested persons are invited to 

participate in the making of the 

proposed rule by submitting such