[Federal Register: December 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 251)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 79836-79837]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31de02-2]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
9 CFR Part 77
[Docket No. 02-021-3]
Tuberculosis in Cattle and Bison; State and Zone Designations;
Texas: Delay of Compliance Date
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Interim Rule; delay of compliance date.
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SUMMARY: In an interim rule amending the bovine tuberculosis
regulations to classify the State of Texas as modified accredited
advanced, we delayed the date for compliance with certain
identification and certification requirements in those regulations
until January 1, 2003. In this action, we are further delaying the date
for compliance until September 30, 2003. This action will allow
affected parties additional time to make necessary preparations to
comply with certain requirements.
DATES: The date for complying with certain requirements of 9 CFR 77.10
for sexually intact heifers, steers, and spayed heifers moving
interstate from the State of Texas (see ``Tuberculosis in Cattle and
Bison; State and Zone Designations; Texas,'' published in the Federal
Register on June 6, 2002 [67 FR 38841-38844, Docket No. 02-021-1]) is
September 30, 2003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Joseph Van Tiem, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, National Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River
Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-7716.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 6, 2002, we published an interim rule in the Federal
Register (67 FR 38841-38844, Docket No. 02-021-1) amending the bovine
tuberculosis regulations in 9 CFR part 77 regarding State and zone
classifications by removing the split-State status of Texas and
classifying the entire State as modified accredited advanced. Under
[[Page 79837]]
the regulations in Sec. 77.10 for certain cattle or bison originating
in a modified accredited advanced State or zone, cattle or bison that
are not known to be infected with or exposed to tuberculosis must meet
certain identification, certification, and testing requirements prior
to being moved interstate.
In the interim rule, we delayed, until January 1, 2003, the date
for compliance with the following interstate movement requirements for
the State of Texas, except for the former modified accredited advanced
zone in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties, TX:
[sbull] The identification of sexually intact heifers moving to
approved feedlots and steers and spayed heifers (Sec. 77.10(b));
[sbull] The identification requirements for sexually intact heifers
moving to feedlots that are not approved feedlots (Sec. 77.10(d)); and
[sbull] Because identification is required for certification, the
certification requirements for sexually intact heifers moving to
unapproved feedlots (Sec. 77.10(d)).
We delayed compliance of these requirements for two reasons. First,
the size of the cattle industry in Texas necessitated additional time
to implement the identification requirements of the regulations. These
additional identification requirements would require obtaining
identification devices, developing procedures and processes for
numbering the identification devices, and possibly developing a new
State-Federal system to record the identification, if the existing
State-Federal system is not adequate. 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. We agreed with the State of Texas to allow those cattle to
complete their movement through normal industry channels. We would then
begin enforcing certain provisions of the regulations on cattle that
would be identified at their premises of origin.
The State of Texas has requested that we extend the compliance date
to allow State animal health officials and other affected parties
additional time to make preparations for complying with the
identification and certification requirements outlined above. As noted
in the interim rule, the two affected herds were depopulated, and a
complete epidemiological investigation into the potential sources of
the disease was conducted. We heightened our surveillance activities at
slaughtering plants in Texas and in surrounding States. Also, since the
fall of 2001, no affected herds have been detected in the State of
Texas. Based on comments that we received on the interim rule, it
appears that the tuberculosis risk associated with the movement of
nonbreeding cattle through channels to slaughter is low and that
identification requirements for certain cattle destined for slaughter
may be unnecessary. We are currently considering proposing changes to
the regulations as a result of those comments. Therefore, we are
further delaying the date for compliance with the identification and
certification requirements of Sec. 77.10(b) and (d) until September
30, 2003. As stated in the interim rule, this delay in compliance does
not apply to the movement of cattle from the former modified accredited
advanced zone in El Paso and Hudspeth Counties, TX.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 8301-8317; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of December 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-33001 Filed 12-30-02; 8:45 am]
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