The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is reopening the comment period for its notice advising the public that it has prepared a draft programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) relative to the agency’s response activities to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry operations throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories.

The draft EIS analyzes and compares the potential environmental effects of using three action alternatives during an HPAI outbreak. This action will provide interested parties additional time to prepare and submit comments.

APHIS published the draft EIS notice in the Aug. 16, 2024, Federal Register (89 FR 66668-66669, Docket No. APHIS-2022-0055), and comments were originally required to be received by Sept. 30, 2024. The agency is now reopening the comment period an additional 14 days.

APHIS said it will consider all comments received by Jan. 17, 2025. Comments may be submitted by either of the following methods:

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APHIS will also consider all comments received between Oct. 1, 2024 (the day after the original comment period closed) and the date of this notice. Supporting documents and any comments received on this docket may be viewed at Regulations.gov.

Background

The first outbreak of HPAI in the U.S. in 20 years occurred in Texas in February 2004, and since then, HPAI outbreaks have continued to occur across the country and impact commercial poultry facilities and backyard flocks.

APHIS Veterinary Services (VS) works closely with states, tribes and the poultry industry to prevent HPAI from becoming established in the U.S. poultry population. Once established, HPAI rapidly spreads within and between flocks and can cause severe, painful conditions, including hemorrhaging and neurologic conditions, widespread organ failure and high mortality.

The programmatic EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts associated with action alternatives taken during an HPAI outbreak in poultry. The chosen alternative must: (1) detect, control and contain HPAI in poultry as quickly as possible; (2) eradicate the HPAI virus using strategies that protect public health and the environment and stabilize animal agriculture, the food supply and the economy, and (3) provide science- and risk-based approaches and systems to facilitate continuity of business for non-infected animals and non-contaminated animal products.

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The findings of the programmatic EIS will be used to support HPAI planning and decision-making and enhance the decisionmakers' ability to protect the environment and human health. APHIS said it may use information presented in this EIS to promptly fulfill its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) obligations. The EIS also informs the public about the potential environmental effects of HPAI outbreak response activities.

The draft programmatic EIS presents the purpose and need for the action, a description of the affected environment and an analysis of potential environmental impacts of three alternative actions:

The three alternatives considered in the programmatic EIS have been determined reasonable for APHIS VS to carry out its mission to eradicate HPAI.

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Under Option 1 (No Federal Operational Assistance Alternative), state and local authorities, tribes and poultry owners and producers would be responsible for depopulating HPAI-infected flocks, disposing of carcasses and other potentially HPAI-contaminated materials and managing any necessary transportation, cleanup and disinfection. APHIS VS would not be involved in managing, overseeing and/or actively implementing any of these operational activities but would provide technical guidance (e.g., recommendations, issuance of guidance documents) about surveillance testing upon request to owners and producers of commercial and backyard flocks that are not experiencing signs of clinical illness to determine if infections of the virus have occurred. Indemnity and/or financial compensation may be provided.

Under Option 2 (Federal Operational Assistance Alternative), APHIS VS would conduct all activities as described under Option 1 and would, upon request from state, local or tribal authorities, provide operational assistance through managing, overseeing and/or actively participating in depopulation, carcass disposal and transportation as well as tools such as machinery and contracted operators, for depopulation and disposal activities. Cleaning and disinfection would be the responsibility of states, tribes and poultry owners and producers, as USDA APHIS VS does not perform these activities. The level of assistance will depend on the needs of the affected state.

Under Option 3 (Federal Operational Assistance with Biosecurity Incentive Alternative / Preferred Alternative), APHIS VS would provide all the same support and assistance described under Option 2 and additionally may choose to incentivize poultry owners and producers, via qualifying their eligibility for indemnity or compensation, to implement biosecurity measures that may mitigate the risk of HPAI infection and reinfection on poultry premises within an outbreak control area. This alternative would incentivize compliance with the written biosecurity plan for all commercial poultry producers and may require various types of in-person or virtual audits to verify that appropriate biosecurity plans are in place as conditions for HPAI indemnity and/or compensation.

The draft EIS considers the potential environmental impacts on the following resources: soil, air and water quality; vegetation health; humans (including effects on health and safety, the economy, equity and environmental justice, cultural and historic resources, children's health and tribes); wildlife health, including birds of conservation concern, eagles and threatened and endangered species. The draft programmatic EIS also considers the impacts of HPAI outbreak response activities on climate change, the impacts of climate change on HPAI outbreak response activities and the cumulative impacts from other past, present and reasonably foreseeable future related actions. The primary HPAI outbreak response activities that will be the focus of the impacts section under each alternative are depopulation and disposal, as well as some discussion concerning transportation and cleaning and disinfection.

After the public comment period ends, APHIS will consider all comments received, revise the draft programmatic EIS to address these comments as appropriate and publish a notice of availability of the final programmatic EIS in the Federal Register.