32646 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 25, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

Service, Room 5045, AG Box 3201, 14th

& Independence Avenue, S.W.—South

Building, Washington, DC 20250–3201

and Administrator, Rural Utilities

Service, Room 4501, AG Box 1510, 14th

& Independence Avenue, SW.—South

Building, Washington, DC 20250–1510.

The phrase ‘‘FOIA APPEAL’’ should

appear on the front of the envelope in

capital letters.

§§ 18.256—2018.300 [Reserved]

Dated: June 10, 1996.

Jill Long Thompson,

Under Secretary, Rural Development.

[FR Doc. 96–15961 Filed 6–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–07–P

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. 95–093–2]

Pork and Pork Products From Mexico

Transiting the United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule allows fresh,

chilled, and frozen pork and pork

products from the Mexican State of

Yucatan to transit the United States,

under certain conditions, for export to

another country. Previously, we allowed

such pork and pork products only from

the Mexican States of Sonora and

Chihuahua to transit the United States

for export. Otherwise, fresh, chilled, or

frozen pork and pork products are

prohibited movement into the United

States from Mexico because of hog

cholera in Mexico. Yucatan, like Sonora

and Chihuahua, appears to be a low-risk

area for hog cholera, and we believe that

fresh, chilled, and frozen pork and pork

products from Yucatan could transit the

United States with minimal risk of

introducing hog cholera. This action

will facilitate trade.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 25, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Michael David, Senior Staff

Veterinarian, Import/Export Animals,

National Center for Import and Export,

VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39,

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231, (301) 734–

5097.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94

(referred to below as the regulations)

prohibit or restrict the importation of

certain animals and animal products

into the United States to prevent the

introduction of certain animal diseases.

Section 94.9 of the regulations prohibits

the importation of pork and pork

products into the United States from

countries where hog cholera exists,

unless the pork or pork products have

been treated in one of several ways, all

of which involve heating or curing and

drying.

Because hog cholera exists in Mexico,

pork and pork products from Mexico

must meet the requirements of § 94.9 to

be imported into the United States.

However, under § 94.15, pork and pork

products that are from certain Mexican

States and that are not eligible for entry

into the United States in accordance

with the regulations may transit the

United States for immediate export if

certain conditions are met. Prior to the

effective date of this final rule, only

pork and pork products from Sonora

and Chihuahua, Mexico, were eligible to

transit the United States in accordance

with § 94.15.

On February 23, 1996, we published

in the Federal Register (61 FR 6955–

6956, Docket No. 95–093–1) a proposal

to amend the regulations by allowing

pork and pork products from the

Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the

United States for export under the same

conditions as pork and pork products

from Sonora and Chihuahua.

These conditions were set forth as

follows:

1. Any person wishing to transport

pork or pork products from Yucatan

through the United States for export

must first obtain a permit for

importation from the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

2. The pork or pork products must be

sealed in Yucatan in a leakproof

container, with a serially numbered seal

approved by APHIS. The container must

remain sealed at all times while

transiting the United States.

3. The person moving the pork or

pork products through the United States

must inform the APHIS officer at the

U.S. port of arrival, in writing, of the

following information before the pork or

pork products arrive in the United

States: The times and dates that the pork

or pork products are expected at the

port of arrival in the United States, the

time schedule and route of the

shipments through the United States,

and the permit number and serial

numbers of the seals on the containers.

4. The pork or pork products must

transit the United States under Customs

bond.

5. The pork or pork products must be

exported from the United States within

the time period specified on the permit.

Any pork or pork products exceeding

the time limit specified on the permit or

transiting in violation of any of the

requirements of the permit or the

regulations may be destroyed or

otherwise disposed of at the discretion

of the Administrator, APHIS, pursuant

to section 2 of the Act of February 2,

1903, as amended (21 U.S.C. 111).

We solicited comments concerning

our proposal for 60 days ending April

23, 1996. We received one comment by

that date. The comment was from a

domestic pork industry group. The

commenter commended the efforts of

Mexican pork producers and the

Mexican Government in their hog

cholera eradication efforts, stated

support for the principles of

regionalization outlined in the proposed

rule, reemphasized the importance of

surveillance and control measures to

minimize the risk of transmitting hog

cholera to the U.S. swine population,

and discussed a related trade issue. The

commenter did not recommend any

clarification or changes to the proposed

rule.

Therefore, based on the rationale set

forth in the proposed rule, we are

adopting the provisions of the proposal

as a final rule without change.

Effective Date

This is a substantive rule that relieves

restrictions and, pursuant to the

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553, may be made

effective less than 30 days after

publication in the Federal Register.

Immediate implementation of this rule

is necessary to provide relief to those

persons who are adversely affected by

restrictions no longer found to be

warranted. Therefore, the Administrator

of the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service has determined that

this rule should be effective upon

publication in the Federal Register.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory

Flexibility Act

This 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 rule allows fresh, chilled, and

frozen pork and pork products from the

Mexican State of Yucatan to transit the

United States, under certain conditions,

for export to another country. It has

been determined that Yucatan is a lowrisk area for hog cholera and has the

veterinary infrastructure necessary to

monitor for the presence of the disease.

There appears to be little risk of hog

cholera exposure from shipments of

pork and pork products from Yucatan
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 25, 1996 / Rules and Regulations 32647

transiting the United States. Assuming

that proper risk management techniques

continue to be applied in Mexico and

that accident and exposure risk are

minimized by proper handling during

transport, the risk of exposure to hog

cholera from pork in transit from

Mexico through the United States is

minimal.

Shipments of pork and pork products

from Yucatan transiting the United

States will most likely be ocean

shipments to Miami with final

destinations in the Caribbean and South

America. Because no overland transit of

pork and pork products through the

United States is expected as a result of

this rulemaking, no increase in U.S.

trucking or other U.S.-based economic

activity is expected.

Both the United States and Mexico are

net pork importers. U.S. pork imports

represent approximately 2 to 3 percent

of production, and Mexican imports

represent 7 to 8 percent of production.

With favorable income growth expected

in Mexico due to trade liberalization,

meat imports, including pork products,

are expected to grow and limit Mexican

pork exports. However, facilitating

export opportunities for the Mexican

pork industry may provide incentives

for continued efforts to eradicate hog

cholera from infected Mexican States.

Under these circumstances, the

Administrator of the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service has

determined that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

Executive Order 12778

This rule has been reviewed under

Executive Order 12778, Civil Justice

Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State

and local laws and regulations that are

inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) does not

require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court

challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule contains no new

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 94

Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock,

Meat and meat products, Milk, Poultry

and poultry products, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

Accordingly, 9 CFR part 94 is

amended as follows:

PART 94—RINDERPEST, FOOT-ANDMOUTH DISEASE, FOWL PEST (FOWL

PLAGUE), VELOGENIC

VISCEROTROPIC NEWCASTLE

DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE FEVER,

HOG CHOLERA, AND BOVINE

SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY:

PROHIBITED AND RESTRICTED

IMPORTATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 94

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 147a, 150ee, 161, 162,

and 450; 19 U.S.C. 1306; 21 U.S.C. 111, 114a,

134a, 134b, 134c, 134f, 136, and 136a; 31

U.S.C. 9701; 42 U.S.C. 4331 and 4332; 7 CFR

2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(d).

§ 94.15 [Amended]

2. In § 94.15, paragraph (b), the

introductory text and paragraph (b)(2)

are amended by removing the words

‘‘Chihuahua or Sonora’’ and adding the

words ‘‘Chihuahua, Sonora, or Yucatan’’

in their place.

Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of

June 1996.

Lonnie J. King,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 96–16159 Filed 6–24–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

10 CFR Part 436

[Docket No. EE–RM–95–501]

Federal Energy Management and

Planning Programs; Methodology and

Procedures for Life Cycle Cost

Analyses

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy, DOE.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy

(DOE) is publishing a final rule to

implement its Federal Energy

Management Program to include

application of the life cycle costing

methodology when evaluating and

comparing the cost effectiveness of

water conservation measures in Federal

buildings. The amendments are directed

principally toward updating the life

cycle cost methodology and procedures

in subpart A in light of changes in law

requiring the use of life cycle costing

methodology when installing water

conservation measures.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This regulation is

effective July 25, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Theodore C. Collins, Federal Energy

Management Program, Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Mail

Station EE–92, U.S. Department of

Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–

8017.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

On August 25, 1995, DOE published

a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to

amend some of the provisions in 10 CFR

part 436 which are applicable to

programs for the management of energy

consumption by Federal agencies (60 FR

44286). The amendments are directed

principally toward updating the life

cycle cost methodology and procedures

in subpart A in light of changes in law

requiring the use of life cycle costing

methodology when installing water

conservation measures.

Section 152 of the Energy Policy Act

of 1992 (Pub.L. 102–486) amended the

legislatively mandated policies with

regard to federal energy management

originally set forth in section 542 of the

National Energy Conservation Policy

Act (Act or NECPA). 42 U.S.C. 8252.

This amendment to section 542 expands

the purpose of the Federal Energy

Management Program to include the

conservation and the efficient use of

water, in addition to non-renewable

energy, by the Federal government.

Section 543 of the Act (42 U.S.C.

8253(a)) ‘‘Energy Management Goals’’

was also amended by section 152 of the

Energy Policy Act by adding an energy

management requirement for Federal

agencies that ‘‘Not later than January 1,

2005, each agency shall, to the

maximum extent practicable, install in

Federal buildings owned by the United

States all energy and water conservation

measures with payback periods of less

than 10 years, as determined by using

the methods and procedures developed

pursuant to section 544.’’ To implement

this statutory provision, it is necessary

to amend the life cycle cost regulations

as set forth in part 436 of the Code of

Federal Regulations, pursuant to section

544 of the Act, so that the life cycle cost

methodology and procedures can be

applied to the installation of water

conservation measures which are

implemented by Federal agencies to

meet the requirements of the Act.

In response to the Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, DOE received no written

comments and there were no

commenters at a public hearing held on

October 12, 1995 in Washington, DC. In

view of the above, no changes have been