[Federal Register: November 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 221)]
[Notices]
[Page 64851-64852]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17no03-26]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 03-075-2]
Public Meeting; Plant Protection and Quarantine Stakeholders
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
[[Page 64852]]
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service will hold a public meeting for the purpose of
exchanging information on our Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)
programs with stakeholders that are affected by our programs. This
notice provides additional information about the agenda for the
meeting, which is now being finalized.
DATES: The meeting will be held December 9 and 10, 2003.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Melrose Hotel, 2430
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Paula Henstridge, Special
Assistant to the Deputy Administrator, Plant Protection and Quarantine,
Room 302-E Whitten Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20250; (202) 720-1737; e-mail paula.henstridge@aphis.usda.gov; or Mr. Michael Lidsky, Assistant
Director for Regulatory Coordination, Plant Health Programs, 4700 River
Road Unit 141, Riverdale, MD 20737 (301) 734-5762; e-mail michael.a.lidsky@aphis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service's Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) unit protects and
safeguards the Nation's plant resources through programs and activities
to prevent the introduction and spread of plant pests and noxious
weeds. On September 5, 2003, APHIS published a notice in the Federal
Register (68 FR 52736, Docket No. 03-075-1) announcing that PPQ plans
to hold a public meeting on December 9 and 10, 2003, to exchange
information with stakeholders. We believe that such an information
exchange is particularly timely as PPQ moves forward from the operation
of certain agricultural quarantine and inspection activities, which
have been transferred to the newly established Customs and Border
Protection function of the Department of Homeland Security.
We solicited comments for 30 days regarding suggestions for topics
for discussion at the meeting. A total of five comments were received.
Commenters raised issues concerning whether APHIS needs to establish a
process for seeking comment from stakeholders prior to discussions with
the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) or the
International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and whether permit
requirements for exotic and domestic microbial plant pathogens affect
the cost and quality of research on important pathogens. Other
commenters raised issues about the accessibility of operational work
plans pertaining to imports; making details available about risk
mitigation early on in the risk assessment process; expanding, via the
stakeholder registry, notifications on proposed actions of
international standard-setting bodies such as NAPPO and the IPPC; and
the agency's plans with regard to the revision of the regulations for
importing nursery stock. The agency believes that these topics are
appropriate for discussion at one of the following five workshop
sessions that are planned for December 10:
[sbull] Pest Risk Assessments--Models, Process, and Participation
[sbull] Import Permits and Export Certification--Service,
Standardization, Security, and Automation
[sbull] Developing Strategic Approaches to Exports
[sbull] The Stakeholder Role in the Department of Homeland Security
[sbull] Integrating Federal, State, Tribal, and Industry Players/
Partners in the Incident Command System
The agency is also planning a separate presentation with regard to
strategies for revising the nursery stock regulations.
In addition to the workshops and presentation referenced above, the
following topics are on the agenda for the meeting: An overview of the
PPQ mission and structure as well as the year in review; governmental
perspectives on the relationships between PPQ, State cooperators and
Tribal governments; future priorities in plant quarantine programs; an
industry perspective on needs and emerging pest threats; the view from
Congress; the partnership with Department of Homeland Security and how
the shared mission is being accomplished; how the harnessing of
information, collection of data, and use of improved response models is
transforming plant health; a budget update and outlook; the
harmonization of regulatory approaches for the regulations for
importing nursery stock and the regulations for importing fruits and
vegetables; and an update on import and export issues.
We request that all persons wishing to attend the meeting
preregister on the PPQ Web site, http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/stakeholders/meeting/index.html.
There is no registration fee.
Attendance will be guaranteed to the first 100 persons who preregister
by November 30, 2003. Persons who preregister should indicate which one
of the five concurrent workshops they would like to attend. Those
without access to the Internet may preregister by contacting Ms. Linda
Toran at (301) 734-5307. A tentative final agenda has now been posted
on the Web site referenced above.
The Melrose Hotel is setting aside a number of rooms at the
conference rate. When reserving a room, please specify that you would
like the USDA/APHIS rate. The telephone number for the hotel is (202)
955-6400 or toll free (800) 635-7673. The hotel's Web site is http://www.melrosehotelwashingtondc.com
.
Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of November 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-28624 Filed 11-14-03; 8:45 am]
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