This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

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REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

6007 

Vol. 73, No. 22 

Friday, February 1, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 78 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0003] 

Brucellosis in Cattle; State and Area 

Classifications; Texas 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

brucellosis regulations concerning the 

interstate movement of cattle by 

changing the classification of Texas 

from Class A to Class Free. We have 

determined that Texas meets the 

standards for Class Free status. This 

action relieves certain restrictions on 

the interstate movement of cattle from 

Texas. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective 

February 1, 2008. We will consider all 

comments that we receive on or before 

April 1, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2008-0003 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0003, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2008–0003. 

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. 

Debbi A. Donch, National Brucellosis 

Epidemiologist, Ruminant Health 

Programs Staff, National Center for 

Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1231; (301) 734–5952. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Brucellosis is a contagious disease 

affecting animals and humans, caused 

by bacteria of the genus Brucella. 

The brucellosis regulations, contained 

in 9 CFR part 78 (referred to below as 

the regulations), provide a system for 

classifying States or portions of States 

according to the rate of Brucella 

infection present and the general 

effectiveness of a brucellosis control and 

eradication program. The classifications 

are Class Free, Class A, Class B, and 

Class C. States or areas that do not meet 

the minimum standards for Class C are 

required to be placed under Federal 

quarantine. 

The brucellosis Class Free 

classification is based on a finding of no 

known brucellosis in cattle for the 12 

months preceding classification as Class 

Free. The Class C classification is for 

States or areas with the highest rate of 

brucellosis. Class A and Class B fall 

between these two extremes. 

Restrictions on moving cattle interstate 

become less stringent as a State 

approaches or achieves Class Free 

status. 

The standards for the different 

classifications of States or areas entail 

(1) maintaining a cattle herd infection 

rate not to exceed a stated level during 

12 consecutive months; (2) tracing back 

to the farm of origin and successfully 

closing a stated percentage of all 

brucellosis reactor cases found in the 

course of Market Cattle Identification 

(MCI) testing; (3) maintaining a 

surveillance system that includes testing 

of dairy herds, participation of all 

recognized slaughtering establishments 

in the MCI program, identification and 

monitoring of herds at high risk of 

infection (including herds adjacent to 

infected herds and herds from which 

infected animals have been sold or 

received), and having an individual 

herd plan in effect within a stated 

number of days after the herd owner is 

notified of the finding of brucellosis in 

a herd he or she owns; and (4) 

maintaining minimum procedural 

standards for administering the 

program. 

Before the effective date of this 

interim rule, Texas was classified as a 

Class A State. 

To attain and maintain Class Free 

status, a State or area must (1) remain 

free from field strain Brucella abortus 

infection for 12 consecutive months or 

longer; (2) trace back at least 90 percent 

of all brucellosis reactors found in the 

course of MCI testing to the farm of 

origin; (3) successfully close at least 95 

percent of the MCI reactor cases traced 

to the farm of origin during the 

consecutive 12-month period 

immediately prior to the most recent 

anniversary of the date the State or area 

was classified Class Free; and (4) have 

a specified surveillance system, as 

described above, including an approved 

individual herd plan in effect within 15 

days of locating the source herd or 

recipient herd. 

The last brucellosis-infected cattle 

herd in Texas was detected in August 

2005. The brucellosis reactors in the 

herd were depopulated. The remaining 

cattle in the herd were tested and found 

to be free of brucellosis; they were 

released from quarantine in September 

2006. Since then, no brucellosis-affected 

herds have been detected. 

After reviewing the brucellosis 

program records for Texas, we have 

concluded that this State meets the 

standards for Class Free status. 

Therefore, we are removing Texas from 

the list of Class A States in § 78.41(b) 

and adding it to the list of Class Free 

States in § 78.41(a). This action relieves 

certain restrictions on moving cattle 

interstate from Texas. 

Immediate Action 

Immediate action is warranted to 

remove unnecessary restrictions on the 

interstate movement of cattle from 

Texas. Under these circumstances, the 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
6008 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

1 Dennis A. Shields and Kenneth H. Mathews, Jr., 

Interstate Livestock Movements, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA)/Economic Research Service, 

June 2003. 

2USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Service 

(NASS), Meat Animals Production, Disposition, and 

Income 2006 Summary, April 2007. 

3SBA, Table of Small Business Size Standards, 

effective October 1, 2007. 

4USDA/NASS, 2002 Census of Agriculture. 

Administrator has determined that prior 

notice and opportunity for public 

comment are contrary to the public 

interest and that there is good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553 for making this 

action effective less than 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register. 

We will consider comments we 

receive during the comment period for 

this interim rule (see DATES above). 

After the comment period closes, we 

will publish another document in the 

Federal Register. The document will 

include a discussion of any comments 

we receive and any amendments we are 

making to the rule. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12866. For this action, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

has waived its review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

Brucellosis is a contagious, costly 

disease of ruminants and other animals 

that can also affect humans. It is mainly 

a threat to cattle, bison, and swine. The 

disease causes decreased milk 

production, weight loss in animals, loss 

of young, infertility, and lameness. 

There is no known effective treatment. 

The State of Texas has met all the 

requirements for obtaining Class Free 

status as outlined in the definition of 

‘‘Class Free State or area’’ in § 78.1 of 

the regulations. The interim rule 

upgrades the brucellosis status of Texas 

from Class A to Class Free. Cattle and 

bison that are to be moved interstate 

from Class A States, except those 

moving directly to slaughter or to 

quarantined feedlots, must be tested 

before they are eligible for movement. 

Attaining Class Free status allows 

producers in Texas to forgo the cost of 

this test. 

Brucellosis testing, including 

veterinary fees and handling expenses, 

costs about $7.50 to $15 per test. The 

expenses forgone as a result of this 

reclassification in status will be 

insignificant to cattle owners in Texas. 

There were 14 million cattle and calves 

in Texas in 2002. Of this total, 50.7 

percent were breeding animals; the rest 

were composed of non-breeding animals 

in and outside feedlots. About 9.2 

percent of cattle and calves in Texas are 

moved interstate.1 The average per head 

value of cattle in Texas was $790 in 

2006.2 Thus, the cost of testing 

represents between 0.9 and 1.8 percent 

of the average value of the animals sold. 

The upgrading of the State to brucellosis 

Class Free status will result in a small 

savings for those entities moving cattle 

interstate other than directly to 

slaughter or to quarantined feeding. 

We expect that the majority of cattle 

and calves operations that will be 

affected by the interim rule are small 

entities. Under guidelines established 

by the Small Business Administration 

(SBA), an enterprise producing cattle 

and calves is considered small if it has 

annual receipts of $750,000 or less.3

There were 125,518 farms with sales of 

cattle and calves in Texas in 2002.4

Over 99 percent of these farms had 

annual receipts not exceeding $750,000. 

These small farms had average sales of 

$17,700. 

The interim rule will benefit 

producers that sell cattle and calves out 

of State for breeding and feeding 

purposes. However, the savings from the 

forgone testing will be very small, 

estimated to be between approximately 

1 and 2 percent of the value of the 

animals sold. 

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 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 interim rule has been reviewed 

under Executive Order 12988, Civil 

Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts 

all State and local laws and regulations 

that are in conflict 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 interim 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 78 

Animal diseases, Bison, Cattle, Hogs, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation. 

■ Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR 

part 78 as follows: 

PART 78—BRUCELLOSIS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 78 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8301–8317; 7 CFR 2.22, 

2.80, and 371.4. 

§ 78.41 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 78.41 is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (a), by adding the 

word ‘‘Texas,’’ after the word 

‘‘Tennessee,’’. 

■ b. In paragraph (b), by removing the 

word ‘‘Texas’’ and adding the word 

‘‘None’’ in its place. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of 

January 2008. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–1853 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2008–0101; Directorate 

Identifier 2007–SW–76–AD; Amendment 39–

15357; AD 2007–26–51] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Eurocopter 

Deutschland GmbH Model EC135 

Helicopters 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration, DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This document publishes in 

the Federal Register an amendment 

adopting Airworthiness Directive (AD) 

2007–26–51, which was sent previously 

to all known U.S. owners and operators 

of Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH 

(Eurocopter) Model EC135 helicopters 

by individual letters. This AD requires, 

within 5 hours time-in-service (TIS), 

inspecting the tail rotor control rod 

(control rod) and adjoining ball pivot 

and replacing any unairworthy parts 

before further flight. This amendment is 

prompted by a report of a fatal accident 

involving the failure of a control rod. 

The actions specified by this AD are 

intended to prevent failure of a control 

rod and subsequent loss of control of the 

helicopter. 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS