Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 182 / Thursday, September 18, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 54063 

identification number (AIN) and by 

adding a definition of United States to 

read as follows: 

* * * * * 

§ 80.1 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Animal identification number (AIN). 

A numbering system for the official 

identification of individual animals in 

the United States providing a nationally 

unique identification number for each 

animal. The AIN contains 15 digits, 

with the first 3 being the country code 

(840 for the United States), the alpha 

characters USA, or the numeric code 

assigned to the manufacturer of the 

identification device by the 

International Committee on Animal 

Recording. The AIN beginning with the 

840 prefix may be used only on animals 

born in the United States. 

* * * * * 

United States. All of the States. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of 

September 2008. 

Cindy J. Smith, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–21787 Filed 9–17–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

9 CFR Part 77 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0067] 

Tuberculosis; Amend the Status of 

California From Accredited Free to 

Modified Accredited Advanced 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the 

regulations to remove California from 

the list of accredited-free States for 

bovine tuberculosis and reclassify the 

State as modified accredited advanced. 

Because two affected cattle herds have 

been detected in California since 

November 2007, the State no longer 

meets our requirements for accreditedfree status. This action is necessary to 

reduce the likelihood of the spread of 

bovine tuberculosis within the United 

States. 

DATES: This interim rule is effective 

September 18, 2008. We will consider 

all comments that we receive on or 

before November 17, 2008. 

Compliance Date: The date for 

complying with certain requirements of 

9 CFR 77.10 for sexually intact heifers, 

steers, and spayed heifers moving 

interstate from California is delayed 

until further notice (see ‘‘Delay in 

Compliance’’ under SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION). The compliance date for 

all other provisions in 9 CFR part 77 

applicable to the interstate movement of 

cattle and bison from the State of 

California is September 18, 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=APHIS2008-0067 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–2008–0067, 

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– 

2008–0067. 

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. 

C. William Hench, Senior Staff 

Veterinarian, National Tuberculosis 

Eradication Program, Veterinary 

Services, APHIS, 2150 Centre Ave., 

Bldg. B, MSC 3E20, Ft. Collins, CO 

80526; (970) 494–7378. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Bovine tuberculosis is a contagious 

and infectious granulomatous disease 

caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium 

bovis. Although commonly defined as a 

chronic debilitating disease, bovine 

tuberculosis can occasionally assume an 

acute, rapidly progressive course. While 

any body tissue can be affected, lesions 

are most frequently observed in the 

lymph nodes, lungs, intestines, liver, 

spleen, pleura, and peritoneum. 

Although cattle are considered to be the 

true hosts of M. bovis, the disease has 

been reported in several other species of 

both domestic and nondomestic 

animals, as well as in humans. 

At the beginning of the past century, 

tuberculosis caused more losses of 

livestock than all other livestock 

diseases combined. This prompted the 

establishment in the United States of the 

National Cooperative State/Federal 

Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication 

Program for tuberculosis in livestock. 

In carrying out the national 

eradication program, the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service issues 

and enforces regulations. The 

regulations require the testing of cattle 

and bison for tuberculosis, define the 

Federal tuberculosis status levels for 

States or zones (accredited-free, 

modified accredited advanced, modified 

accredited, accreditation preparatory, 

and nonaccredited), provide the criteria 

for attaining and maintaining those 

status levels, and contain testing and 

movement requirements for cattle and 

bison leaving States or zones of a 

particular status level. These regulations 

are contained in 9 CFR part 77 and in 

the Bovine Tuberculosis Eradication 

Uniform Methods and Rules, 1999, 

which is incorporated by reference into 

the regulations. 

Section 77.7 of the regulations lists 

accredited-free States and zones and 

also contains requirements for retention 

of accredited-free status. Under 

§ 77.7(c), if two or more affected herds 

are detected in an accredited-free State 

or zone within a 48-month period, that 

State or zone will be removed from the 

list of accredited-free States or zones 

and will be reclassified as modified 

accredited advanced. 

The State of California has been listed 

in § 77.7(a) as an accredited-free State 

for bovine tuberculosis. An 

epidemiological investigation of a 

tuberculosis-positive cow found through 

slaughter surveillance in December 2007 

resulted in the confirmation of an 

affected dairy herd in California. The 

State continued to conduct 

epidemiological investigations to detect 

bovine tuberculosis in domestic cattle 

herds, and a second affected dairy herd 

was recently identified in California. 

The finding of the second affected herd 

within a 48-month period means that 

California no longer meets the 

requirements for accredited-free status. 

Therefore, we are reclassifying the State 

as modified accredited advanced. This 

action is necessary to reduce the 

likelihood of the spread of tuberculosis 

within the United States. 

As a result of this action, cattle or 

bison being moved interstate from 

anywhere in California will now have to 


dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with RULES
54064 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 182 / Thursday, September 18, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

1California’s previous accredited-free status was 

then restored in a subsequent interim rule effective 

and published in the Federal Register on April 15, 

2005 (70 FR 19877–19878, Docket No. 05–010–1). 

meet the testing requirements that apply 

to animals from modified accredited 

advanced States or zones. Under the 

regulations in § 77.10, cattle or bison 

that originate in a modified accredited 

advanced State or zone, and are not 

known to be infected with or exposed to 

tuberculosis, may be moved interstate 

only under one of the following 

conditions: 

• The cattle or bison are moved 

directly to slaughter at an approved 

slaughtering establishment (§ 77.10(a)); 

• The cattle or bison are sexually 

intact heifers moved to an approved 

feedlot, or are steers or spayed heifers; 

and are either officially identified or 

identified by premises of origin 

identification (§ 77.10(b)); 

• The cattle or bison are from an 

accredited herd and are accompanied by 

a certificate stating that the accredited 

herd completed the testing necessary for 

accredited status with negative results 

within 1 year prior to the date of 

movement (§ 77.10(c)); or 

• The cattle or bison are sexually 

intact animals, are not from an 

accredited herd, are officially identified, 

and are accompanied by a certificate 

stating that they were negative to an 

official tuberculin test conducted within 

60 days prior to the date of movement 

(§ 77.10(d)). 

Delay in Compliance 

Previous rulemaking changing the 

tuberculosis classifications of the States 

of Texas, California, New Mexico, and 

Minnesota from accredited free to 

modified accredited advanced allowed 

for delayed compliance with certain 

provisions of § 77.10. The interim rule 

that amended the classification of Texas 

was effective June 3, 2002, and 

published in the Federal Register on 

June 6, 2002 (67 FR 38841–38844, 

Docket No. 02–021–1); in a document 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 31, 2002, the date for Texas 

to comply with certain provisions of 

§ 77.10 was extended from January 1, 

2003, to September 30, 2003 (67 FR 

79836–79837, Docket No. 02–021–3). 

The interim rule that amended the 

classification of California was effective 

and published in the Federal Register 

on April 25, 2003 (68 FR 20333–20336, 

Docket No. 03–005–1).1 The interim rule 

that amended the classification of New 

Mexico was effective and published in 

the Federal Register on July 24, 2003 

(68 FR 43618–43621, Docket No. 03– 

044–1). The 2003 interim rules changing 

the statuses of California and New 

Mexico from accredited-free to modified 

accredited advanced also allowed for a 

delay in the compliance date for certain 

provisions of § 77.10 until September 

30, 2003. 

The specific provisions of § 77.10 for 

which we delayed the compliance date 

were as follows: 

• The identification of sexually intact 

heifers moving to approved feedlots and 

steers and spayed heifers moving to any 

destination (§ 77.10(b)); 

• The identification requirements for 

sexually intact heifers moving to 

feedlots that are not approved feedlots 

(§ 77.10(d)); and 

• Because identification is required 

for certification, the certification 

requirements for sexually intact heifers 

moving to unapproved feedlots 

(§ 77.10(d)). 

Initially, we had delayed the date of 

compliance with these requirements for 

the State of Texas until September 30, 

2003, for two reasons. First, the size of 

the cattle industry in Texas necessitated 

additional time to implement the 

identification requirements of the 

regulations. Second, some cattle that 

had begun moving through channels 

prior to the change in Texas’ 

tuberculosis status would not have been 

identified at their premises of origin. 

The compliance date was delayed for 

California and New Mexico to provide 

equitable treatment for producers in 

those States. 

Based on the comments that we 

received on the interim rule for Texas, 

we concluded that the tuberculosis risk 

associated with the movement of 

nonbreeding cattle from modified 

accredited advanced States or zones 

through feeder channels to slaughter is 

low and that identification requirements 

for certain cattle destined for slaughter 

may be unnecessary. Therefore, on 

March 22, 2004, we published in the 

Federal Register (69 FR 13218–13219, 

Docket No. 03–072–2) an interim rule 

further delaying the date for compliance 

with the identification and certification 

requirements of § 77.10(b) and (d) for 

nonbreeding cattle from the States of 

Texas, California, and New Mexico, 

until further notice. The interim rule 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 30, 2006 (71 FR 4808–4810, 

Docket No. APHIS–2006–0004) 

changing the status of Minnesota from 

accredited-free to modified accredited 

advanced also allowed for a delay in the 

compliance date for certain provisions 

of § 77.10 until further notice. This 

delay of the date for compliance with 

the provisions of § 77.10 listed above 

also applies to the current rulemaking 

changing the tuberculosis status of 

California from accredited-free to 

modified accredited advanced. 

Emergency Action 

This rulemaking is necessary on an 

emergency basis to prevent the spread of 

bovine tuberculosis within the United 

States. Under these circumstances, the 

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 rule 

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. 

This emergency situation makes 

timely compliance with section 603 of 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 

601 et seq.) impracticable. We are 

currently assessing the potential 

economic effects of this action on small 

entities. Based on that assessment, we 

will either certify that the rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities or 

publish a regulatory flexibility analysis. 

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 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 rule contains no new 

information collection or recordkeeping 

requirements under the Paperwork 


dwashington3 on PRODPC61 with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 182 / Thursday, September 18, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 54065 

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

et seq.). 

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 77 

Animal diseases, Bison, Cattle, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Transportation, 

Tuberculosis. 

■ Accordingly, we are amending 9 CFR 

part 77 as follows: 

PART 77—TUBERCULOSIS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 77 

continues to read as follows: 

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

2.80, and 371.4. 

§ 77.7 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 77.7, paragraph (a) is amended 

by removing the word ‘‘California,’’. 

§ 77.9 [Amended] 

■ 3. In § 77.9, paragraph (a) is amended 

by adding the words ‘‘California and’’ 

before the words ‘‘New Mexico’’. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 12th day of 

September 2008. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–21814 Filed 9–17–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2008–0748 Directorate 

Identifier 2008–CE–041–AD; Amendment 

39–15677; AD 2008–19–10] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; EADS 

SOCATA Model TBM 700 Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for the 

products listed above. This AD results 

from mandatory continuing 

airworthiness information (MCAI) 

issued by an aviation authority of 

another country to identify and correct 

an unsafe condition on an aviation 

product. The MCAI describes the unsafe 

condition as: 

It has been discovered that a risk of 

mechanical interference exists in the 

movement of the emergency landing gear bypass selector, due to an insufficient 

functional gap between a floor panel 

attachment lug and the landing gear control 

button. 

This condition, if not corrected, causes 

mechanical interference which could result 

in a situation where, during emergency 

procedures, the landing gear cannot be 

extended. 

We are issuing this AD to require 

actions to correct the unsafe condition 

on these products. 

DATES: This AD becomes effective 

October 23, 2008. 

On October 23, 2008, the Director of 

the Federal Register approved the 

incorporation by reference of certain 

publications listed in this AD. 

ADDRESSES: You may examine the AD 

docket on the Internet at http:// 

www.regulations.gov or in person at 

Document Management Facility, U.S. 

Department of Transportation, Docket 

Operations, M–30, West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC 20590. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Albert Mercado, Aerospace Engineer, 

FAA, Small Airplane Directorate, 901 

Locust, Room 301, Kansas City, 

Missouri 64106; telephone: (816) 329– 

4119; fax: (816) 329–4090. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Discussion 

We issued a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to amend 14 CFR 

part 39 to include an AD that would 

apply to the specified products. That 

NPRM was published in the Federal 

Register on July 8, 2008 (73 FR 38935). 

That NPRM proposed to correct an 

unsafe condition for the specified 

products. The MCAI states: 

It has been discovered that a risk of 

mechanical interference exists in the 

movement of the emergency landing gear bypass selector, due to an insufficient 

functional gap between a floor panel 

attachment lug and the landing gear control 

button. 

This condition, if not corrected, causes 

mechanical interference which could result 

in a situation where, during emergency 

procedures, the landing gear cannot be 

extended. 

For the reasons described above, this EASA 

Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD) 

requires a check of the gap between the 

landing gear control button and the floor 

panel and, if the gap is found to be 

insufficient, modification of the floor panel. 

Comments 

We gave the public the opportunity to 

participate in developing this AD. We 

received no comments on the NPRM or 

on the determination of the cost to the 

public. 

Conclusion 

We reviewed the available data and 

determined that air safety and the 

public interest require adopting the AD 

as proposed. 

Differences Between This AD and the 

MCAI or Service Information 

We have reviewed the MCAI and 

related service information and, in 

general, agree with their substance. But 

we might have found it necessary to use 

different words from those in the MCAI 

to ensure the AD is clear for U.S. 

operators and is enforceable. In making 

these changes, we do not intend to differ 

substantively from the information 

provided in the MCAI and related 

service information. 

We might also have required different 

actions in this AD from those in the 

MCAI in order to follow FAA policies. 

Any such differences are highlighted in 

a NOTE within the AD. 

Costs of Compliance 

We estimate that this AD will affect 

72 products of U.S. registry. We also 

estimate that it will take about 1 workhour per product to comply with basic 

requirements of this AD. The average 

labor rate is $80 per work-hour (no labor 

cost; work-hour warranty given by 

manufacturer until May 31, 2009). 

Based on these figures, we estimate 

the cost of this AD to the U.S. operators 

to be $5,760 or $80 per product. 

Authority for This Rulemaking 

Title 49 of the United States Code 

specifies the FAA’s authority to issue 

rules on aviation safety. Subtitle I, 

section 106, describes the authority of 

the FAA Administrator. ‘‘Subtitle VII: 

Aviation Programs,’’ describes in more 

detail the scope of the Agency’s 

authority. 

We are issuing this rulemaking under 

the authority described in ‘‘Subtitle VII, 

Part A, Subpart III, Section 44701: 

General requirements.’’ Under that 

section, Congress charges the FAA with 

promoting safe flight of civil aircraft in 

air commerce by prescribing regulations 

for practices, methods, and procedures 

the Administrator finds necessary for 

safety in air commerce. This regulation 

is within the scope of that authority 

because it addresses an unsafe condition 

that is likely to exist or develop on 

products identified in this rulemaking 

action. 

Regulatory Findings 

We determined that this AD will not 

have federalism implications under 

Executive Order 13132. This AD will 

not have a substantial direct effect on 

the States, on the relationship between 


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