APS REGULATORY ALERT

USDA issued interim rule on APHIS Karnal Bunt regulations
Date: December 28, 2005

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued an Interim Rule that took effect December 7, upon which public comments will be accepted through February 13, 2006 which amends the APHIS Karnal bunt regulations by either adding certain areas in Maricopa and Pinal Counties, AZ, to the list of regulated areas either because they were found during surveys to contain a bunted wheat kernel, or because they are within the 3-mile-wide buffer zone around fields or areas affected with Karnal bunt, or removing certain areas or fields in Maricopa County, AZ, from the list of regulated areas based on our determination that those fields or areas meet our criteria for release from regulation. Complete information can be found in the December 13 Federal Register: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-23995.htm.