92.2—Application for recognition of the animal health status of a region.
(a)
The representative of the national government(s) of any country or countries who has the authority to request such a change may request at any time that all or part of the country or countries be recognized as a region, be included within an adjacent previously recognized region, or be made part of a region larger than an individual country. Requests for recognition of a region must be sent to the Administrator, in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section.
(b)
Each request for approval to export a particular type of animal or animal product to the United States from a foreign region must be made to the Administrator, in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, and must include, in English, the following information about the region:
(1)
The authority, organization, and infrastructure of the veterinary services organization in the region.
(2)
Disease status—i.e., is the restricted disease agent known to exist in the region? If “yes,” at what prevalence? If “no,” when was the most recent diagnosis?
(4)
The extent of an active disease control program, if any, if the agent is known to exist in the region.
(5)
The vaccination status of the region. When was the last vaccination? What is the extent of vaccination if it is currently used, and what vaccine is being used?
(6)
The degree to which the region is separated from adjacent regions of higher risk through physical or other barriers.
(7)
The extent to which movement of animals and animal products is controlled from regions of higher risk, and the level of biosecurity regarding such movements.
(9)
The type and extent of disease surveillance in the region—e.g., is it passive and/or active; what is the quantity and quality of sampling and testing?
(11)
Policies and infrastructure for animal disease control in the region—i.e., emergency response capacity.
(c)
Requests for recognition of a region or for approval to export animals or animal products to the United States from a region, including the information required by this section, must be sent to the Administrator, c/o National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231. (Where possible, include a copy of the request and accompanying information on a 3.5-inch floppy disk in ASCII or a word processing format.)
(d)
The information submitted in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section will be made available to the public prior to initiation by APHIS of any rulemaking action on the request.
(e)
If, after review of the information submitted, APHIS believes the requested importation can be safely allowed, APHIS will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register to allow the importation, and the conditions under which the importation would be allowed, along with a discussion of the basis for the proposal.
(f)
APHIS will provide a period of time during which the public may comment on the proposal. During the comment period, the public will have access to the information upon which APHIS based its analysis of the risk of such importation, as well as to its methodology in conducting the analysis. Once APHIS has reviewed all comments received, it will make a final decision on what conditions will be necessary to allow the importation in question, and will publish the conditions for import in the Federal Register.
(g)
If a region is granted animal health status under the provisions of this section, that region may be required to submit additional information pertaining to animal health status or allow APHIS to conduct additional information collection activities in order for that region to maintain its animal health status.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0219)