[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61319-61321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-28142]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0087]
Availability of a Draft Environmental Assessment for Oral Rabies
Vaccine Program
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a proposed
environmental assessment relative to oral rabies vaccination programs
in several States. Since the publication of our original environmental
assessment and decision/finding of no significant impact in 2001, we
have prepared, and made available to the public for comment, several
supplemental environmental assessments and decisions/findings of no
significant impact in order to reflect changes in the program. The new
environmental assessment made available by this notice analyzes the
further expansion the oral rabies vaccination program to include the
States of New Mexico and Arizona, which is necessary to effectively
combat the gray fox variant of the rabies virus. The new environmental
assessment is intended to facilitate planning and interagency
coordination in the event of rabies outbreaks, help streamline program
management, and clearly communicate to the public the actions involved
in the oral rabies vaccination program.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
December 24, 2009.
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=APHIS-2009-0087) 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-2009-0087, 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-2009-0087.
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. Dennis Slate, Rabies Program
Coordinator, Wildlife Services, APHIS, 59 Chenell Drive, Suite 7,
Concord, NH 03301; (603) 223-9623. To obtain copies of the documents
discussed in this notice, contact Mr. Kevin Williams, Operational
Support Staff, WS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 87, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1234; phone (301) 734-4937, fax (301) 734-5157, or email:
([email protected]). This notice and the proposed
environmental assessment are also posted on the APHIS Web site at
(http://www.aphis.usda.gov/regulations/ws/ws_nepa_environmental_documents.shtml).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Wildlife Services (WS) program in the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) cooperates with
Federal agencies, State and local governments, and private individuals
to research and implement the best methods of managing conflicts
between wildlife and human health and safety, agriculture, property,
and natural resources. Wildlife-borne diseases that can affect domestic
animals and humans are among the types of conflicts that APHIS-WS
addresses. Wildlife is the dominant reservoir of rabies in the United
States.
On December 7, 2000, a notice was published in the Federal Register
(65 FR 76606-76607, Docket No. 00-045-1)
[[Page 61320]]
in which the Secretary of Agriculture declared an emergency and
transferred funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to APHIS-WS for
the continuation and expansion of oral rabies vaccination (ORV)
programs to address rabies in the States of Ohio, New York, Vermont,
Texas, and West Virginia.
On March 7, 2001, we published a notice in the Federal Register (66
FR 13697-13700, Docket No. 01-009-1) to solicit public involvement in
the planning of a proposed cooperative program to stop the spread of
rabies in the States of New York, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and West
Virginia. The notice also stated that a small portion of northeastern
New Hampshire and the western counties in Pennsylvania that border Ohio
could also be included in these control efforts, and discussed the
possibility of APHIS-WS cooperating in smaller-scale ORV projects in
the States of Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia,
and Alabama. The March 2001 notice contained detailed information about
the history of the problems with raccoon rabies in eastern States and
with gray fox and coyote rabies in Texas, along with information about
previous and ongoing efforts using ORV baits in programs to prevent the
spread of the rabies variants or ``strains'' of concern.
Subsequently, on May 17, 2001, we published in the Federal Register
(66 FR 27489, Docket No. 01-009-2) a notice in which we announced the
availability, for public review and comment, of an environmental
assessment (EA) that examined the potential environmental effects of
the ORV programs described in our March 2001 notice. We solicited
comments on the EA for 30 days ending on June 18, 2001. We received one
comment by that date. The comment was from an animal protection
organization and supported APHIS' efforts toward limiting or
eradicating rabies in wildlife populations. The commenter did not,
however, support the use of lethal monitoring methods or local
depopulation as part of an ORV program.
On August 30, 2001, we published a notice in the Federal Register
(66 FR 45835-45836, Docket No. 01-009-3) in which we advised the public
of APHIS' decision and finding of no significant impact (FONSI)
regarding the use of oral vaccination to control specific rabies virus
strains in raccoons, gray foxes, and coyotes in the United States. That
decision allows APHIS-WS to purchase and distribute ORV baits, monitor
the effectiveness of the ORV programs, and participate in implementing
contingency plans that may involve the reduction of a limited number of
local target species populations through lethal means (i.e., the
preferred alternative identified in the EA). The decision was based
upon the final EA, which reflected our review and consideration of the
comments received from the public in response to our March 2001 and May
2001 notices and information gathered during planning/scoping meetings
with State health departments, other State and local agencies, the
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Following the August 2001 publication of our original decision/
FONSI, we determined there was a need to expand the ORV programs to
include the States of Kentucky and Tennessee to effectively stop the
westward spread of raccoon rabies. Accordingly, we prepared a
supplemental decision/FONSI to document the potential effects of
expanding the programs. We published a notice announcing the
availability of the supplemental decision/FONSI in the Federal Register
on July 5, 2002 (67 FR 44797-44798, Docket No. 01-009-4).
Following the publication of the supplemental decision/FONSI in
July 2002, we determined the need to further expand the ORV program to
include the States of Georgia and Maine to effectively prevent the
westward and northward spread of the rabies virus across the United
States and into Canada. To facilitate planning, interagency
coordination, and program management and to provide the public with our
analysis of potential individual and cumulative impacts of the expanded
ORV programs, we prepared a supplemental EA that addresses the
inclusion of Georgia and Maine, as well as the 2002 inclusion of
Kentucky and Tennessee, in the ORV program. In addition, we prepared a
new decision/FONSI based on the supplemental EA that was published in
the Federal Register on June 30, 2003 (68 FR 38669-38670, Docket No.
01-009-5).
Following publication of the 2003 supplemental EA and decision/
FONSI, we determined the need to further expand the ORV program to
include portions of National Forest System lands, excluding Wilderness
Areas, within several eastern States. The National Forest System lands
where APHIS-WS involvement could be expanded included the States of
Maine, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia,
West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Jersey.
Cooperative rabies surveillance activities and/or baiting programs were
already being conducted on various land classes, with the exception of
National Forest System lands, in many of the aforementioned States. The
programs' primary goals were to stop the spread of a specific raccoon
rabies variant or ``strain'' of the rabies virus. If not stopped, this
strain could potentially spread to much broader areas of the United
States and Canada and cause substantial increases in public and
domestic animal health costs because of increased rabies exposures. As
numerous National Forest System lands are located within current and
potential ORV barrier zones, it became increasingly important to bait
these large land masses to effectively combat this strain of the rabies
virus. In addition, we prepared a new decision/FONSI based on the
supplemental EA that was published in the Federal Register on February
20, 2004 (69 FR 7904-7905, Docket No. 01-009-6).
Following the 2004 supplemental EA and decision/FONSI for expansion
of the ORV program to include portions of National Forest System lands,
we determined the need to further expand the ORV program to include 25
eastern States (Maine, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia,
Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Maryland,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi,
Louisiana and New Jersey), the District of Columbia, and Texas to
effectively prevent the westward and northward spread of the rabies
virus across the United States and into Canada. In addition, we
prepared a new decision/FONSI based on the supplemental EA that was
published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2004 (69 FR 56992-
56993, Docket No. 01-009-7).
Following the 2004 supplemental EA and decision/FONSI, we
determined the need to expand the ORV program to include portions of
National Forest System lands, excluding Wilderness Areas, within the
same 25 eastern States and the District of Columbia. As numerous
National Forest System lands are located within current and potential
ORV barrier zones, it had become increasingly important to bait these
large land masses to effectively combat this strain of the rabies
virus. Accordingly, we prepared a supplemental EA and decision/FONSI
that served to update program needs and evaluate current data. Those
documents were made available through
[[Page 61321]]
a notice published in the Federal Register on December 8, 2005 (70 FR
72977-72978, Docket No. 01-009-8).
In 2007, we prepared a new decision/FONSI to update and replace the
previous decision/FONSI of September 9, 2004, for the 2004 supplemental
EA. The purpose of the new 2007 decision/FONSI was to clarify the term
``contingency actions,'' which is used in the 2004 supplemental EA, and
to analyze a type of contingency action called trap-vaccinate-release
(TVR) that was not analyzed as part of the proposed action in the 2004
supplemental EA. The 2007 decision/FONSI was made available through a
notice published in the Federal Register on April 27, 2007 (72 FR
20984-20986, Docket No. 01-009-9).
As a result of a recent outbreak of gray fox variant rabies in
coyotes west of the original gray fox ORV zone in Texas toward the New
Mexico border, and an ongoing outbreak of gray fox variant rabies in
western New Mexico and eastern Arizona, APHIS-WS has determined there
is a need to further expand the ORV program to include the States of
New Mexico and Arizona to effectively combat the gray fox variant of
the rabies virus. In addition, the State of Arizona recently released a
draft management plan for invasive species that included the rabies
virus on its list of invasive species that should be controlled and
managed. The purpose of the new 2009 EA that we are making available
through this notice is to facilitate planning and interagency
coordination, help streamline program management, and to clearly
communicate with the public the analysis of individual and cumulative
impacts of an expanded APHIS-WS ORV program. The States where APHIS-WS
involvement would be continued or expanded include the 26 States noted
previously plus New Mexico and Arizona. The program's primary goals are
to stop the spread of specific raccoon (eastern States), coyote
(Texas), and gray fox (Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) rabies variants
to new areas. The EA analyzes the proposed action and several
alternatives with respect to a number of environmental and other issues
raised by involved operating agencies and the public. Analysis of those
areas and information not included in the EA, the 2004 supplemental EA,
and the associated decisions/FONSIs are being presented in the new 2009
EA and have been incorporated into the decisionmaking process.
The proposed EA that is the subject of this notice, as well as the
documents cited above that preceded it, have been prepared in
accordance with: (1) The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the
Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the procedural
provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), (3) USDA regulations
implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA Implementing
Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
The EA may be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site or in our
reading room. (Instructions for accessing Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of the reading room are provided
under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice.) In
addition, copies may be obtained by calling or writing to the
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of November 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-28142 Filed 11-23-09: 11:41 am]
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