Federal Register, Volume 75 Issue 73 (Friday, April 16, 2010)

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 73 (Friday, April 16, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19915-19920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-8765]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0034]
RIN 0579-AD12

Changes in Disease Status of the Brazilian State of Santa
Catarina with Regard to Certain Ruminant and Swine Diseases

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing to amend the regulations governing the
importation of certain animals and animal products by adding the
Brazilian State of Santa Catarina to the list of regions we recognize
as free of foot-and-mouth disease, rinderpest, swine vesicular disease,
classical swine fever, and African swine fever. We are proposing this
action at the request of the Government of Brazil and after conducting
a risk evaluation that concludes that the Brazilian State of Santa
Catarina is free of these diseases. This proposed action would relieve
certain restrictions on the importation into the United States of live
swine, swine semen, pork meat, pork products, live ruminants, ruminant
semen, ruminant meat, and ruminant products from Santa Catarina while
continuing to protect against the introduction of these diseases into
the United States.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June
15, 2010.

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-2009-0034) 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-2009-0034,

[[Page 19916]]

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-2009-0034.
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. Silvia Kreindel, Senior Staff
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation Services Staff, National
Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 38,
Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-4356 or (301) 734-8419.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the
regulations) govern the importation into the United States of specified
animals and animal products in order to prevent the introduction of
various animal diseases, including rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease
(FMD), African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), and
swine vesicular disease (SVD). These are dangerous and destructive
communicable diseases of swine and ruminants.
Section 94.1 of the regulations prohibits, with certain exceptions,
the importation into the United States of live swine, live ruminants,
and products from these species from regions where FMD or rinderpest is
known to exist. Rinderpest or FMD exists in all regions of the world
except for certain regions that are listed as free of rinderpest or
free of both rinderpest and FMD in Sec. 94.1. Section 94.11 of the
regulations lists regions of the world that have been determined to be
free of rinderpest and FMD, but that are subject to certain
restrictions because of their proximity to or trading relationships
with rinderpest- or FMD-affected regions. Section 94.8 of the
regulations restricts the importation into the United States of pork
and pork products from regions where ASF is known to or reasonably
believed to exist. ASF is known to or reasonably believed to exist in
those regions of the world listed in Sec. 94.8. Section 94.9 of the
regulations restricts the importation into the United States of pork
and pork products from regions where CSF is known to exist, and Sec.
94.10 prohibits, with certain exceptions, the importation of live swine
from regions where CSF is known to exist. Sections 94.9 and 94.10
provide that CSF exists in all regions of the world except the regions
listed in those sections. Section 94.12 of the regulations restricts
the importation into the United States of pork and pork products from
regions where SVD is known to exist. SVD exists in all regions of the
world except for certain regions that are listed as free of SVD in this
section.
The Government of Brazil has requested that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) consider Santa Catarina to be free of rinderpest,
FMD, ASF, CSF, and SVD in order to initiate trade in fresh pork.
Declaring Santa Catarina to be free of these diseases would relieve
restrictions on the importation of not just fresh pork but also
additional commodities that could potentially carry these diseases,
such as live swine, swine semen, pork meat, pork products, live
ruminants, ruminant semen, ruminant meat, and ruminant products. In
response to the Government of Brazil's request, the USDA's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has conducted an evaluation of
the disease status of Santa Catarina with regard to FMD, CSF, SVD, and
ASF, which included one site visit to Santa Catarina and three site
visits to other Brazilian States. The risk evaluation, ``APHIS
Evaluation of the Status of the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina
Regarding Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Classical Swine Fever, Swine
Vesicular Disease, and African Swine Fever,'' may be obtained by
contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The
document may also be viewed on the Regulations.gov Web site (see
ADDRESSES above for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov).
In the risk evaluation, we concluded that Santa Catarina is free of
FMD, ASF, CSF, and SVD and has adequate veterinary infrastructures in
place to prevent, control, and manage outbreaks of these diseases if
they were to occur. Rinderpest was not considered within the scope of
the risk evaluation as it is not endemic to the Americas and has never
been established within Brazil. We are therefore proposing to amend the
regulations by adding Santa Catarina to the list in Sec. 94.1 of
regions that are free of rinderpest and FMD, the list in Sec. 94.11 of
regions that are declared to be free of rinderpest and FMD but that are
subject to certain restrictions because of their proximity to or
trading relationships with rinderpest or FMD-affected regions, the
lists in Sec. Sec. 94.9 and 94.10 of regions that are free of CSF, and
the list in Sec. 94.12 of regions that are free of SVD. We are also
proposing to exclude Santa Catarina from the list in Sec. 94.8 of
regions where ASF is known to or reasonably believed to exist.

Risk Evaluation

Drawing on data submitted by the Government of Brazil and
observations from our site visit to the region under consideration, we
have evaluated the animal health status of Santa Catarina relative to
FMD, ASF, CSF, and SVD. Our evaluation was conducted according to the
11 factors identified in Sec. 92.2, ``Application for recognition of
the animal health status of a region,'' which are used to determine the
level of risk associated with importing animals or animal products into
the United States from a given region. A summary evaluation of each
factor is discussed below.

Veterinary Authority and Infrastructure

Federal and State authorities provide the two main structures for
Brazil's veterinary services. Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock, and Food Supply (MAPA), through the Department of Animal
Health, has the primary Federal authority governing all animal health
programs. MAPA coordinates all aspects of the national animal health
system, including developing animal disease control strategies,
conducting laboratory diagnosis, and auditing State veterinary
services. State personnel are responsible for executing Federal
programs, laws, and policies at the State level. The responsibilities
of state officials for carrying out Federal programs are outlined in
standard operating procedures developed with Federal officials.
Additionally, MAPA has a system of official veterinarians and support
staff in place for carrying out field programs and for import controls
and animal quarantine. The Brazilian State of Santa Catarina's
veterinary services implements Federal animal health programs at the
field level in coordination with the Companhia Integrada de
Desenvolvimento Agricola de Santa Catarina (CIDASC), an integrated
public company. Regional and local officers of the official state
veterinary services are part of the CIDASC. The work of CIDASC is
subject to inspection and auditing by MAPA. APHIS considers that MAPA
and the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina have

[[Page 19917]]

sufficient legal authority to carry out official disease control,
eradication, and quarantine activities.
Review of veterinary infrastructure with MAPA and CIDASC officials
demonstrated an infrastructure adequate for carrying out surveillance
programs in Santa Catarina and for rapidly detecting FMD, CSF, ASF, and
SVD. The technical infrastructure is adequate, and officials use
advanced technologies to conduct animal health programs. Santa
Catarina's local veterinary unit offices are adequately staffed, with
strong local contacts, coverage, and control mechanisms. Personnel
appeared to be adequately trained in identifying the clinical signs of
FMD, SVD, ASF, and CSF. Local veterinary units also regularly provide
information on disease signs and reporting requirements to producers
within their coverage area. The private sector is strongly committed to
general animal health activities as well as disease eradication and
traceability (identification) systems, and shows its support by
substantial financial contributions. With regard to indemnity
procedures, we concluded that sufficient funds are available to
compensate owners for depopulated, exposed, and affected animals. The
Federal authorities provide money for payments from the national
treasury, and money also comes from private indemnity funds created and
administered by producers.

Disease Status in the Region

There is no evidence of any FMD, CSF, SVD, or ASF infections or
outbreaks in Santa Catarina. No outbreaks of FMD have occurred in Santa
Catarina since 1993, and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
recognized Santa Catarina as free of FMD without vaccination in 2007.
No outbreaks of ASF have occurred in Santa Catarina since 1981, and no
outbreaks of CSF have occurred in Santa Catarina since 1990. SVD has
never occurred in Brazil.

Disease Status of Adjacent Regions and Separation Measures

Adjacent regions that were considered in our risk analysis were the
Brazilian States of Rio Grande Do Sul and Paran[aacute] and the
neighboring country of Argentina. Santa Catarina is surrounded by the
Brazilian States of Rio Grande Do Sul and Paran[aacute], both
recognized by the OIE as free of FMD with vaccination. The last FMD
outbreak in Rio Grande Do Sul occurred in 2001, and the last FMD
outbreak in Paran[aacute] occurred in 2005. FMD outbreaks in Rio Grande
Do Sul in 2000 and 2001 were linked to outbreaks in Uruguay and
Argentina. Argentina borders Santa Catarina, Rio Grande Do Sul, and
Paran[aacute]. Numerous FMD outbreaks occurred throughout Argentina
from July 2000 through December 2000 and March 2001 through January
2002. The most recent FMD outbreak in Argentina was reported in 2006.
Brazil appears to have successfully prevented the introduction of FMD
from Argentina during some but not all outbreaks in that country.
Santa Catarina is located within a CSF-free zone in southern
Brazil, as are both States adjoining Santa Catarina. No cases of CSF
have been detected in the CSF-free zone since it was created in 2001.
Although CSF has been detected in recent years in the CSF-infected zone
in northern Brazil, movement controls in place between the CSF-infected
and CSF-free zones have prevented introduction of the disease into the
CSF-free area. The last reported case of CSF in Argentina occurred in
1999, and CSF does not appear to be circulating within Argentina at
this time; therefore, it is not likely that transmission of disease
would occur from this source.
Brazil has had no outbreaks of ASF since 1981 and has been declared
officially free of ASF since 1984. ASF has never been reported in
Argentina. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the virus exists in
areas neighboring Santa Catarina or that these areas pose a risk for
disease transmission. SVD has never been reported anywhere within
Brazil or Argentina.

Disease Control Programs

Brazil's animal health service has a surveillance system that
covers the entire country and has activities designed to detect and
prevent the introduction of FMD, CSF, ASF, and SVD and quickly
eradicate them. APHIS considers that Santa Catarina has a control
program and a national plan sufficient to respond quickly to any
emergencies related to FMD, CSF, ASF, and SVD. All official service
field staff, community participants, and private sector veterinarians
are trained and required to look for signs of notifiable diseases,
including FMD, CSF, ASF, and SVD. Santa Catarina maintains a
surveillance program at the field level on farms, in slaughterhouses,
and at animal gathering locations. Local veterinary unit personnel
carry out special visits to certain herds that are classified as
``risky'' by the official service. Animals are individually inspected
by personnel from the official service for signs of vesicular disease
before slaughtering. Other body parts, including the tongue and feet,
are examined during postmortem inspection. All animals coming into
fairs, auctions, or exhibitions are clinically inspected by the
official veterinarians.
When a notifiable disease is suspected, Santa Catarina has a
structured system of notification and official involvement to
investigate. Suspected disease outbreaks must be immediately reported
to the local unit or to an authority that would notify the local unit.
The suspect premises is immediately quarantined, movement of animals is
prohibited, and samples are collected and sent to a laboratory to
confirm the diagnosis. All actions are carried out as if the herd is
infected until proven otherwise.

Vaccination Status of the Region

Santa Catarina does not vaccinate for FMD, CSF, ASF, or SVD. In the
absence of vaccination, it is likely that clinical signs resulting from
an incursion of disease would be quickly identified. The Brazilian
Ministry of Agriculture may approve emergency CSF or FMD vaccinations
if necessary as part of outbreak control measures.

Degree of Separation from Adjacent Regions

A combination of geographical and administrative barriers has
prevented the introduction of FMD, CSF, ASF, and SVD into Santa
Catarina. The lack of disease history since 2006 for any of the
diseases under evaluation in the areas adjacent to Santa Catarina
further reduces the likelihood of their introduction.
Geographic barriers limit introduction of diseases into Santa
Catarina by impeding the natural and human-mediated movements of
animals and animal products. Santa Catarina is bounded on the east by
the Atlantic Ocean. The northern border of Santa Catarina, with
Paran[aacute], is composed of rivers and the Serra do Mar mountain
ridge. The southern border, with Rio Grande do Sul, is defined in large
part by rivers. The western border, with the Province of Misiones,
Argentina, is defined primarily by a river, the Rio Peperi-
Gua[ccedil][uacute]. In Misiones, the border area is formed mainly by
protected natural areas, including the Yaboti Biosphere Reserve.
Administrative barriers provide most of the controls for movements
of animals and their products into Santa Catarina. Importation of
products is controlled through 67 fixed inspection posts, and movement
controls are in place between Santa Catarina and other areas of Brazil
to prevent the introduction of FMD and CSF.

[[Page 19918]]

Movement controls are discussed in greater detail in the next section.

Animal Movement Controls and Biosecurity

Domestic movement controls within Brazil are stringent. The
Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture requires that all cattle owners
identify their animals with a unique brand. Sheep and swine are
identified by a brand or notch in the ear. A system of permits is used
by the official veterinary service to control animal movements.
Movement restrictions are in place between Santa Catarina and other
areas of Brazil affected with FMD or where FMD vaccination is
practiced. All animals at risk for FMD must undergo clinical inspection
and quarantine at both their points of origin and their destination.
Movement restrictions are also in place between the CSF-free zone in
southern Brazil, which encompasses Santa Catarina, and the CSF-infected
zone in northern Brazil.
Santa Catarina has adequate controls at ports of entry for legal
importation of animals and animal products that could carry FMD, CSF,
SVD, or ASF. All animals and products must enter and leave Santa
Catarina via one of the 67 fixed inspection stations. All imported
animals must be accompanied by a zoosanitary certificate. Dairy and
breeding animals require individual identification. Imported animals
intended for slaughter must be transported in a sealed vehicle and must
go to a federally inspected plant. If an animal arrives at the border
with clinical signs of disease, it is sent back to the place of origin;
however, animals that show signs of FMD are quarantined and tested. All
animal products imported into Brazil must have an import permit, comply
with all sanitary health requirements, and originate from an
establishment approved to export to Brazil. All imported animal
products are inspected and must receive authorization from the official
veterinarian at the point of entry to be released into Santa Catarina.
Santa Catarina restricts the importation of animals and products at
risk of FMD from countries where FMD has occurred. Swine destined for
import must originate from a country or region considered free from
ASF, SVD, and CSF. Movement controls and biosecurity measures are in
place for imports from higher risk areas for CSF.
Brazilian law prohibits all transport of animal products from
anywhere in the world without proper permits, and Santa Catarina has a
legal framework and authority to deal with the entry of illegal animals
or animal products into the State. Airline passengers and luggage are
checked for animal and plant products. Shipments arriving by sea are
also checked for animals and animal products, while ship passengers
receive random checks for the presence of animals and animal products.
All prohibited animals and animal products are confiscated and
slaughtered or destroyed.

Livestock Demographics and Marketing Practices

Santa Catarina is primarily known for its swine production. The
domestic livestock population within Santa Catarina consists of
5,250,000 domestic swine, 2,750,000 cattle, 196,000 sheep, 37,000
goats, and 16,000 farmed wild boar. Most of Santa Catarina's cattle are
dairy cattle.
The majority of Santa Catarina's swine industry consists of a
vertically integrated production system that covers all stages of
production from breeding stock to processing. The production system is
governed by contract requirements that include biosecurity standards,
traceability requirements, required reporting of disease or production
problems to the company veterinary representative, and periodic
training in disease and production measures. Integrated swine farms
receive frequent official veterinarian visits. APHIS finds that
controls and biosecurity measures at commercial swine farms effectively
mitigate introduction and spread of disease.
During the 2008 site visit, APHIS visited several individual
facilities operating within an integrated system, including dairy
operations. All the farms visited followed required biosecurity
measures, with certified breeding farms following more restrictive
biosecurity measures. APHIS finds that Santa Catarina has adequate
control of inspection activities within integrated production systems.
Santa Catarina's animal identification system was fully implemented
at the end of 2008. The system is comprehensive and allows officials to
trace, from birth to death, the movement of cattle and swine within the
State.
Santa Catarina has adequate controls and inspection measures at
slaughter facilities and animal concentration points. There are 58
slaughterhouses for swine in Santa Catarina, including 18 federally
inspected slaughterhouses and 40 State-inspected slaughterhouses. Santa
Catarina contains 97 federally inspected and 60 State-inspected dairy
facilities. CIDASC inspects fairs, exhibitions, and events where
animals are gathered.

Disease Surveillance Capability

Brazil has a two-phase surveillance system that effectively uses
active and passive surveillance. Phase I relies on active surveillance
and focuses primarily on serological testing to document freedom from
disease. Santa Catarina is currently in Phase II. Phase II, which
consists of monitoring, begins once freedom from infection has been
established. The main goals in this phase are to prevent the
reintroduction of the disease, maintain good sanitary conditions, and
provide technical grounds to demonstrate the continual absence of
disease and viral activity in the zone. Passive surveillance is the
primary type employed in Phase II, although active surveillance is also
used. Passive surveillance activities include observations made during:
(1) Animal movement control activities and trade of animal products,
(2) farm inspections, (3) slaughterhouse inspections, and (4)
inspections during livestock fairs. Passive surveillance takes
advantage of the community structure in Brazil and relies heavily on
the participation of the community. Serological testing complements
passive surveillance in specific ``high-risk'' farms and is also
conducted whenever there is a suspicion of disease. The surveillance
and monitoring follow OIE guidelines, therefore, APHIS concluded that
the serologic sampling is valid and the sampling coverage is adequate.

Diagnostic Laboratory Capability

Brazil has three laboratories, supervised by the Brazilian Ministry
of Agriculture, for diagnosing FMD. These are located in Recife
(Pernambuco State), Para (Belen State), and Pedro Leopoldo (Minas
Gerais State). The Pan-American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Center
laboratory in Rio de Janeiro is the reference laboratory. The Recife
laboratory also performs routine serology for CSF, and for SVD and ASF
if necessary.
Based on our site visits, we concluded that Brazil has the
diagnostic capability to adequately test samples for the presence of
the FMD, CSF, SVD, and ASF viruses. The laboratories in Recife, Para,
and Pedro Leopoldo have adequate quality control activities; adequate
laboratory equipment, which is routinely monitored and calibrated;
sufficient staff; and an effective and efficient recordkeeping system
for storage and retrieval of data. The tests used to investigate
evidence of viral activity are consistent with OIE guidelines. The
staff members at the facilities visited in 2002 and 2008 were

[[Page 19919]]

well-trained and motivated. Samples are turned around quickly.

Emergency Response Capability

Brazil has effective disease control and response programs for FMD
and other notifiable swine and ruminant diseases. FMD, SVD, CSF, and
ASF are notifiable diseases. The Brazilian State of Santa Catarina has
a specific contingency plan for immediate, effective action in an
animal emergency, and each municipality has a local emergency
operational plan. Local emergency plans are detailed, and emergency
response kits are extremely well-stocked. If a sanitary emergency or
documented disease event occurs, the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina
has a legal framework to authorize needed actions and handle animal
health emergencies. A notification system ensures a timely emergency
response. Once notification of an emergency occurs, the State
establishes coordinating committees and emergency animal health
technical groups, defines strategies and plans of action, and, when
necessary, carries out the appropriate control measures within a
timeframe compatible with a state of emergency. Quarantine and movement
restriction decisions are made by State officials with input from
Federal authorities. Based on observations made during the 2008 site
visit, APHIS concludes the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina has the
capabilities to respond rapidly and effectively to an animal disease
outbreak and limit the spread of the disease should an outbreak occur.
Therefore, we are proposing to amend Sec. Sec. 94.1, 94.8, 94.9,
94.10, and 94.12 to declare the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina to be
free of FMD, rinderpest, SVD, CSF, and ASF. This action would relieve
restrictions on the importation of live swine, live ruminants, and
products from these species under certain conditions from Santa
Catarina.
However, because the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina has a common
land border with Argentina, a region where FMD exists, the importation
of meat and other products from ruminants or swine into the United
States from Santa Catarina would continue to be subject to certain
restrictions. For this reason, we are proposing to add Santa Catarina
to the list in Sec. 94.11(a) of regions declared free of rinderpest
and FMD but that are subject to special restrictions on the importation
of their meat and other animal products into the United States. The
regions listed in Sec. 94.11(a) are subject to these special
restrictions because they: (1) Supplement their national meat supply by
importing fresh (chilled or frozen) meat of ruminants or swine from
regions that are designated in Sec. 94.1(a) as regions where
rinderpest or FMD exists, (2) have a common land border with regions
where rinderpest or FMD exists, or (3) import ruminants or swine from
regions where rinderpest or FMD exists under conditions less
restrictive than would be acceptable for importation into the United
States.
Under Sec. 94.11, meat and other animal products of ruminants and
swine, including ship stores, airplane meals, and baggage containing
these meat or animal products, may not be imported into the United
States except in accordance with Sec. 94.11 and the applicable
requirements of the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service at 9 CFR
chapter III.
Section 94.11 generally requires that the meat and other animal
products of ruminants and swine be: (1) Prepared in an inspected
establishment that is eligible to have its products imported into the
United States under the Federal Meat Inspection Act; and (2)
accompanied by an additional certificate, issued by a full-time
salaried veterinary official of the national government of the
exporting region, assuring that the meat or other animal products have
not been commingled with or exposed to meat or other animal products
originating in, imported from, transported through, or that have
otherwise been in a region where rinderpest or FMD exists.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
the purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been
reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
We have prepared an economic analysis for this proposed rule. The
economic analysis examines the potential economic effects of this
action on small entities, as required by the Regulatory Flexibility
Act. The proposed action is not expected to result in beef or other
ruminant meat exports to the United States of any appreciable quantity
and trade effects for pork products are likely to be insignificant. The
analysis, however, identifies swine producers and slaughter facilities
as the small entities most likely to be affected by this action and
considers the effects of increased imports of pork. Based on the
information presented in the analysis, we expect that swine producers
and slaughter facilities would experience minimal economic effects from
the small increase of pork imports (a net increase of less than 3
percent) as a result of this action. Based on the information presented
in the analysis, APHIS certifies that the proposed rule, if
promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. We invite comment on our economic
analysis, which is posted with this proposed rule on the
Regulations.gov Web site (see ADDRESSES above for instructions for
accessing Regulations.gov) and may be obtained from the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Executive Order 12988

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12988,
Civil Justice Reform. If this proposed rule is adopted: (1) All State
and local laws and regulations that are inconsistent with this rule
will be preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will be given to this
rule; and (3) administrative proceedings will not be required before
parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

National Environmental Policy Act

To provide the public with documentation of APHIS' review and
analysis of any potential environmental impacts associated with the
proposed rule for updating the disease status of Santa Catarina, we
have prepared an environmental assessment. The environmental assessment
was 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 environmental assessment may be viewed on the Regulations.gov
Web site or in our reading room. (A link to Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of the reading room are provided
under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this proposed rule.) In
addition, copies may be obtained by calling or writing to the
individual listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This proposed rule contains no information collection or
recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94

Animal diseases, Imports, Livestock, Meat and meat products, Milk,
Poultry and poultry products, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

[[Page 19920]]

Accordingly, we propose to amend 9 CFR part 94 as follows:

PART 94--RINDERPEST, FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, EXOTIC NEWCASTLE
DISEASE, AFRICAN SWINE FEVER, CLASSICAL SWINE FEVER, SWINE
VESICULAR DISEASE, AND BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY: PROHIBITED
AND RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 94 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 21
U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

Sec. 94.1 [Amended]

2. In Sec. 94.1, paragraph (a)(2) is amended by adding the words
``the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina,'' after the word ``Bermuda,''.

Sec. 94.8 [Amended]

3. In Sec. 94.8, the introductory text is amended by adding the
words ``(except the State of Santa Catarina)'' after the word
``Brazil''.

Sec. 94.9 [Amended]

4. In Sec. 94.9, paragraph (a) is amended by adding the words
``the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina;'' after the word
``Australia;''.

Sec. 94.10 [Amended]

5. In Sec. 94.10, paragraph (a) is amended by adding the words
``the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina;'' after the word
``Australia;''.

Sec. 94.11 [Amended]

6. In Sec. 94.11, paragraph (a) is amended by adding the words
``the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina,'' after the word ``Belgium,''.

Sec. 94.12 [Amended]

7. In Sec. 94.12, paragraph (a) is amended by adding the words
``the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina;'' after the word ``Belgium,''.
Done in Washington, DC, this 12\th\ day of April 2010.

Cindy Smith
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-8765 Filed 4-15-10: 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-S