Source: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/archive/June22017/Emergency%20Rules/31.NATURAL%20RESOURCES%20AND%20CONSERVATION%20.html
Timestamp: 2018-01-22 20:06:40
Document Index: 278094828

Matched Legal Cases: ['§12', '§2001', '§65', '§65', '§2001', '§65', '§65']

Emergency Rules Title31. TITLE 31. NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION
Pursuant to Parks and Wildlife Code, §12.027, and Government Code, §2001.034, the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (the department) adopts, on an emergency basis, a 60-day extension of the effectiveness of amendments to §65.81 and §65.82, concerning Disease Detection and Response, adopted on an emergency basis on January 26, 2017, and published in the February 10, 2017, issue of the Texas Register (42 TexReg 531).
Pursuant to Government Code, §2001.034 (the Texas Administrative Procedure Act), the initial effectiveness of an emergency rule can be no more than 120 days, but may be extended for an additional 60 days. In the notice of adoption of the emergency rules, the department stated its intent to also publish proposed rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act's notice and comment rulemaking process. Those rules were published in the April 21, 2017, issue of the Texas Register (42 TexReg 2135) and will be deliberated for adoption by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission) on May 24 - 25, 2017. The extension of the emergency rules is necessary to enable their effectiveness to continue until the proposed rules can be deliberated by the Commission, which will take place prior to the expiration of the 60-day extension. The proposed rules, if adopted, will replace the emergency rules and the emergency rules will be withdrawn simultaneously upon the effectiveness of the proposed rules, if adopted. Therefore, the entirety of the 60-day extension may not be necessary.
The department notes that the proposed rules are not identical to the emergency rules. The proposed rules differ from the emergency rules by refining the boundary of Containment Zone 3 (CZ 3) in portions of Bandera, Medina, and Uvalde counties, by establishing Surveillance Zone 3 (SZ 3) in portions of Bandera, Medina, and Uvalde counties, and by liberalizing restrictions on the movement of breeder deer within CZs and SZs generally; however, the extension of the emergency adoption will continue the boundaries and associated rules of CZ 3 as defined in the emergency rulemaking.
The department's executive director has determined that the nature of CWD and its recent detection in a free-range white-tailed deer in Medina County pose an immediate danger to white-tailed deer, which is a species authorized to be regulated by the department, and that the adoption of the amendment on an emergency basis with fewer than 30 days' notice is necessary to address this immediate danger. The emergency action is necessary to protect the state's white-tailed deer populations, as well as associated industries.
Justification for the Rules.
Although CWD remains under study, it is known that CWD is invariably fatal to certain species of cervids, and it is transmitted both directly (through animal-to-animal contact) and indirectly (through environmental contamination). Moreover, a high prevalence of the disease in wild populations correlates with deer population declines, and human dimensions research indicates that hunters will avoid areas of high CWD prevalence. If CWD is not contained and controlled, the implications of the disease for Texas and its multi-billion dollar ranching, hunting, wildlife management, and real estate economies could be significant. There is no scientific evidence to indicate that CWD is transmissible to humans.
On July 10, 2012, the department confirmed that two mule deer sampled in the Texas portion of the Hueco Mountains tested positive for CWD. In response, the department adopted new rules in 2012 (37 TexReg 10231) to implement a CWD containment strategy in far West Texas. The rules established a system of concentric zones within which the movement of live deer under department permits (Deer Breeder Permits, Triple T Permits, and Deer Management Permits) is restricted, and required deer harvested in specific geographical areas to be presented at check stations to be tested for CWD. In 2016, those rules were modified (41 TexReg 7501) in response to additional CWD discoveries in the Texas Panhandle and Medina County, creating additional SZs and CZs.
In June of 2015 the department received confirmation that a two-year-old white-tailed deer held in a deer breeding facility in Medina County ("index facility") had tested positive for CWD, which was followed by positive test results for white-tailed deer in four additional deer breeding facilities. Subsequent testing confirmed the presence of CWD in additional white-tailed deer at the index facility. The source of the CWD at the index facility has not been determined. In response, the department first adopted emergency rules (40 TexReg 5566) to respond immediately to the threat, then developed interim rules (41 TexReg 815) intended to function through the 2015-2016 hunting season until permanent rules could be implemented. Working closely with the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the regulated community, and key stakeholders, and with the assistance of the Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution of the University of Texas School of Law, the department developed comprehensive CWD management rules (Subchapter B, Division 2), adopted in 2016 (41 TexReg 5726). The comprehensive CWD management rules address the movement and consequences of movement of live deer under various department-issued permits (Deer Breeder Permits, Triple T Permits, and Deer Management Permits). Concurrently, the department engaged in rulemaking affecting Subchapter B, Division 1 (41 TexReg 7501) to create additional SZs and CZs, including SZ 3, which affects portions of Bandera, Medina, and Uvalde counties. The rules imposed restrictions on the movement to, from, and within SZs and CZs of live deer under various permits issued by the department, but exempted SZ 3 from the applicability of §65.85, concerning Mandatory Check Stations, and §65.88, concerning Deer Carcass Movement Restrictions, which imposes certain restrictions on the movement of dead deer and parts of dead deer from SZs. The department was approached by concerned county officials and landowners in Medina County who committed to organizing a volunteer hunter and landowner effort to provide the department with a sufficient number of valid "not detected" CWD test results, which would allow the department to make an epidemiologically sound determination about the prevalence (if any) of CWD within SZ 3.
On January 24, 2017, the department received confirmation that a 1.5-year-old male white-tailed deer harvested by a hunter within SZ 3 in Medina County during the 2016-2017 hunting season had tested positive for CWD. The deer was free-ranging and was harvested on a low-fenced property.
Prior to the recent detection in a free-ranging white-tailed deer, the CWD discovery in this part of the state occurred in deer breeding facilities and associated release sites, which are required by law to be designed and built to both prevent the free movement of deer and contact with free-ranging deer, which facilitate the control and management of CWD. In addition, the breeding facilities and release sites where CWD was previously discovered have been issued quarantines and/or hold orders by TAHC, which restrict deer movement and require CWD testing at a level equal to or greater than that required in a CZ. The discovery of CWD in free-ranging populations in this part of the state alters risk-management assessments and requires increased restrictions on the movement of live deer and deer carcasses.
The department has undertaken an extensive outreach effort to inform the public with respect to the emergency rules and the proposed rules.
(A) Containment Zone 1: That portion of the state within the boundaries of a line beginning in Culberson County where U.S. Highway (U.S.) 62-180 enters from the State of New Mexico; thence southwest along U.S. 62-180 to F.M. 1111 in Hudspeth County; thence south on F.M. 1111 to I.H. 10; thence west along I.H. 10 to S.H. 20; thence northwest along S.H. 20 to Farm-to Market Road (F.M.) 1088; thence south along F.M. 1088 to the Rio Grande; thence northwest along the Rio Grande to the Texas-New Mexico border.
(A) Surveillance Zone 1: That portion of the state lying within a line beginning where U.S. 285 enters from the State of New Mexico in Reeves County; thence southeast along U.S. 285 to R.M. 652; thence west along R.M. 652 to Rustler Springs Rd./FM 3541 in Culberson County; thence south along Rustler Springs Rd./F.M. 3541 to F.M. 2185; thence south along F.M. 2185 to Nevel Road; thence west along Nevel Road to County Road 501; thence south along County Road 501 to Weatherby Road; thence south along Weatherby Road to F.M. 2185; thence southwest along to F.M. 2185 to S.H. 54; thence south on S.H. 54 to U.S. 90; thence south along U.S. 90 to the Culberson County line; thence southwest along the Culberson County line to the Rio Grande River in Hudspeth County; thence north along the Rio Grande to F.M. 1088; thence northeast along F.M. 1088 to S.H. 20; thence southeast along S.H. 20 to I.H. 10; thence southeast along I.H. 10 to F.M. 1111; thence north on F.M. 1111 to U.S. 62/180; thence east and north along U.S. 62/180 to the New Mexico state line in Culberson County.
TRD-201702044