DATCP has plant inspection and pest control authority under s.
94.01, Stats., to adopt rules establishing quarantines or other restrictions on the importation into or movement of plants or other materials within this state, if these measures are necessary to prevent or control the spread of injurious plant pests. A quarantine order may prohibit the movement of any pest, or any plant, pest host or pest-harboring material, which may transmit or harbor a pest.
Emergency Rule Content
The emergency rule will do the following:
•
Create a quarantine of emerald ash borer for Trempealeau County that prohibits the movement of all hardwood species of firewood, and nursery stock, green lumber, and other material living, dead, cut or fallen, including logs, stumps, roots, branches and composted and uncomposted chips of the genus Fraxinus (Ash wood), out of the contiguous quarantined area.
•
Provide an exemption for items that have been inspected and certified by a pest control official and are accompanied by a written certificate issued by the pest control official (some products, such as nursery stock, cannot be given an exemption).
•
Provide an exemption for businesses that enter into a state or federal compliance agreement. The compliance agreement describes in detail what a company can and cannot do with regulated articles.
Federal and surrounding state programs
Federal Programs
Under the federal Plant Protection Act, APHIS has responsibility for excluding, eradicating and controlling serious plant pests, including emerald ash borer. APHIS has instituted statewide quarantines on the movement of all ash wood for Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, in addition to portions of Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and New York. APHIS has also instituted quarantines for Brown, Rock, Walworth, Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, La Crosse, Vernon and Crawford Counties in Wisconsin. The quarantines include restrictions on the movement of any hardwood (non-coniferous) firewood.
Surrounding State Programs
Surrounding states where emerald ash borer has been identified (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan) have state and federal quarantines that prohibit the movement of regulated articles out of quarantined areas. A regulated article can only move out of quarantined areas after it is certified by USDA or state officials.
Fiscal Impact
DATCP will have additional workload related to enforcing the quarantines but it will be able to absorb the projected workload and costs within DATCP's current budget and with current staff. The presence of emerald ash borer may produce additional workload for local governments in Trempealeau County, but the quarantines will not themselves produce any local fiscal impact.
Business Impact
This emergency rule may have an impact on persons or companies that deal in any hardwood firewood or ash materials in Trempealeau County. The affected businesses are all small businesses. This emergency rule restricts the sale or distribution of ash products plus any hardwood firewood from Trempealeau County to locations outside of the contiguously quarantined counties of La Crosse, Vernon and Crawford.
The business impact of this emergency rule depends on the number of nurseries that sell/distribute ash nursery stock outside the county, firewood producers/dealers that sell/distribute outside the county, saw mills that move untreated ash stock outside the county, and green wood waste that is moved outside the county.
Trempealeau County has a total of eight licensed nursery growers that could possibly be growing ash nursery stock. Those growers will not be able to sell ash nursery stock outside of the contiguous quarantine area of western Wisconsin, though discussions with the Wisconsin Nursery Association indicate that few, if any, nurseries continue to sell ash trees. There are no known firewood dealers in Trempealeau County. Firewood dealers would need to be certified under s.
ATCP 21.20 to sell firewood outside of the contiguous quarantine area. To obtain certification a firewood dealer pays a $50 annual certification fee to DATCP and treats the firewood in a manner that ensures it is free of EAB. There are three sawmills (non-veneer) in Trempealeau County and an unknown number of wood processing facilities that deal with ash. To sell ash wood products outside of the contiguous quarantine area they will need to enter into a compliance agreement with DATCP or APHIS that authorizes movement of ash products outside of the quarantine only when there is assurance that the movement will not spread EAB to other locations.
Environmental Impact
This emergency rule will not have a significant impact on the environment.
DATCP Contact
Questions and comments (including hearing comments) related to this rule may be directed to:
Brian Kuhn or Christopher Deegan
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
Telephone (608) 224-4590 or (608) 224-4573
Notice of Hearing
Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection
(DATCP Docket # 11-R-11)
Rule Relating to Meat and Meat Products
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) announces that it will hold public hearings on both an emergency rule and a proposed rule
relating to revising Chapter
ATCP 55, Meat and Meat Products. The proposed rule will modify Chapter
ATCP 55, relating to meat and meat products, to meet USDA requirements for participation in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program.
Hearing Information
DATCP will hold three public hearings at the times and places shown below.
Date: Monday, October 15, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Location: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture,
Trade, and Consumer Protection
Room 106, Board Room (1st Floor)
2811 Agriculture Drive
Madison, WI 53718
Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Location: Eau Claire State Office Building
Room 129
718 W. Clairemont Ave.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Date: Friday, October 19, 2012
Time: 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Location: Green Bay State Office Building
Room 152B
200 N. Jefferson Street
Green Bay, WI 54301
Accessibility
Hearing impaired persons may request an interpreter for this hearing. Please make reservations for a hearing interpreter by
September 21, 2012, by writing to Division of Food Safety, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911; by emailing
Cindy.Klug@Wisconsin.gov; or by telephone at (608) 224-4682.
Alternatively, you may contact the DATCP TDD at (608) 224-5058. The hearing facility is handicap accessible.
Appearances at the Hearing and Submittal of Comments
DATCP invites the public to attend the hearings and comment on the emergency rule and proposed rule. Following the public hearings, the hearing record will remain open until
October 29, 2012 for additional written comments. Comments may be sent to the Division of Food Safety at the address below, or to
Cindy.Klug@Wisconsin.gov or to
http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov.
Comments or concerns relating to small business may also be addressed to DATCP's small business regulatory coordinator Keeley Moll at the address above, or by email to
keeley.moll@wisconsin.gov, or by telephone at (608) 224-5039.
Copies of the Rule
You can obtain a free copy of the emergency rule and proposed rule and related documents, including the economic impact analysis, by contacting the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Division of Food Safety, 2811 Agriculture Drive, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708. You can also obtain a copy by calling (608)
224-4682 or by emailing
Cindy.Klug@Wisconsin.gov. Copies will also be available at the hearing. To view the hearing draft rule online, go to:
http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
This proposed rule would implement federal regulations required for Wisconsin's state meat and poultry inspection program to meet USDA requirements for participation in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program. The CIS program will allow certain selected Wisconsin state-inspected meat and poultry establishments, which volunteer to participate in the program, to sell meat, poultry, and meat and poultry products in other states.
Statutes interpreted
Statutory authority
Explanation of statutory authority
DATCP has broad general authority, under s.
93.07 (1), Stats., to adopt rules to implement programs under its jurisdiction. DATCP also has general authority under s.
97.09 (4), Stats., to adopt rules specifying standards to protect the public from the sale of adulterated or misbranded foods and specific authority under s.
97.42 (4) (j), Stats., to establish rules to regulate the slaughter and processing of animals and poultry for human consumption.
Related statutes and rules
Wisconsin's state meat and poultry inspection program is governed by ch.
97, Stats. (Food Regulation), including s.
97.42, Stats. (Compulsory inspection of animals, poultry and carcasses). Chapter
ATCP 55 interprets and implements ch.
97, Stats., as it relates to Meat and Meat Food Products.
State meat and poultry inspection programs operate under a cooperative agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to provide inspection services to small and very small meat establishments. State meat and poultry inspection programs were established by the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 and the Wholesome Poultry Products Act of 1968, which amended the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) to create
21 USC 661 and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) to create
21 USC. 454. Section
11015 of Title XI of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 “Farm Bill"), enacted on June 18, 2008, amended FMIA and PPIA to establish a new voluntary program that will allow certain selected state-inspected meat establishments to sell their products in interstate commerce.
Title 9, Animal and Animal Products, of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) interprets and implements the federal FMIA and PPIA. Section
97.42 (4m), Stats., and ss.
ATCP 55.06 (2),
(3),
(4), and
(5) (d), and
55.07 (1),
(2), and
(3), adopt certain relevant sections of
9 CFR 309,
311,
313 to
315,
318, and
319, which relate specifically to inspection of meat and meat food products,
9 CFR 307,
308,
310,
317,
416, and
417 which relate to meat and poultry and food products and
9 CFR 381, Subparts G, I, J, K, L, O, and P which relate specifically to poultry and poultry products inspection.
Plain language analysis
Background
Wisconsin operates the nation's largest state meat and poultry inspection program, with more than 270 official licensed establishments. Twenty-seven states currently operate state meat and poultry inspection programs. All state-inspected Wisconsin meat and poultry establishments are very small (as defined by USDA) and fill an important niche in the state's economy. According to USDA, state meat and poultry inspection programs provide unique services to these small plants by “providing more personalized guidance to establishments in developing their food safety oriented operations." USDA provides half of the funding for state meat and poultry inspection programs.
State meat and poultry inspection programs operate under a cooperative agreement with USDA FSIS. Under this agreement, states must provide inspection services “at least equal to" federal meat inspection. Each program conducts a self-assessment annually and USDA FSIS conducts an on-site audit every three years to determine whether the program meets federal “at least equal to" requirements. Wisconsin's program currently meets these “at least equal to" standards and has met them since the program's inception.
State-inspected meat and poultry establishments may currently sell their products only within the state where the plant is located. However, in May, 2011, USDA finalized rules that allow some selected state-inspected meat and poultry establishments to sell their meat and poultry products in other states. To qualify for this program, known as the Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) program, states must provide inspection that is the “same as" (identical to) federal inspection. USDA will fund 60 percent of the state's costs for inspecting meat and poultry plants selected to participate in the CIS program.
This proposed rule will revise ch.
ATCP 55, Meat and Meat Food Products, to incorporate by reference federal regulations creating the CIS program and specify practices that ensure the state program operates the “same as" the federal program for plants selected for the CIS program. DATCP also has adopted an emergency rule to revise Ch.
ATCP 55 and allow Wisconsin to participate in the CIS program immediately.
Federal and surrounding state programs
Federal Programs
The Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act gave USDA FSIS the responsibility for ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of meat and poultry distributed in commerce for use as human food. FSIS inspects more than 6,200 establishments, conducting ante and post mortem slaughter inspection, inspection of meat and poultry food products and inspection of basic sanitation practices. FSIS also ensures that meat and poultry businesses follow labeling requirements and humane handling procedures during slaughter, as required by federal law. The agency also reviews Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems. HACCP is a system employed by each establishment for preventing contamination and ensuring the safety of meat and poultry products.
Wisconsin's state meat and poultry inspection program operates under a cooperative agreement with FSIS. The Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 and the Wholesome Poultry Products Act of 1968 created state meat inspection programs under the authority of FSIS. FSIS ensures that state programs meet inspection standards that are “at least equal to" federal meat inspection standards. FSIS provides 50 percent of Wisconsin's program funding.
Until 2008, only meat and poultry establishments inspected by FSIS were allowed to sell products in interstate commerce. The 2008 Farm Bill authorized FSIS to create the CIS program, allowing selected state-inspected meat and poultry establishments to sell their products in interstate commerce. FSIS published final rules for the voluntary program in May 2011 and will provide oversight for the program to ensure that state meat inspection programs deliver inspection services that are the “same as" federal meat inspection. FSIS will provide states with 60 percent of the cost for inspecting those plants that participate in the program.
Surrounding State Programs
Michigan currently does not operate a state meat and poultry inspection program and is not eligible to participate in the CIS program. Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois do operate state meat inspection programs, but these states do not plan to participate in the CIS program at this time. Illinois' state meat inspection program includes USDA's Federal-State Cooperative program (formerly known as the “Talmadge-Aiken" program). Under this program, state inspectors conduct federal inspections, and the inspected plants are thereby allowed to sell their products in interstate commerce. Unlike the CIS program where meat establishments will continue to be operated under the state meat inspection program, meat establishments in the Federal-State Cooperative program are considered to be federally-inspected.
Data and analytical methodologies
The Bureau of Meat Safety and Inspection surveyed Wisconsin state-inspected meat and poultry establishments that previously expressed interest in participating in the CIS program, to gauge their level of interest and the range of products the plants hope to produce in the CIS program. The Bureau reviewed information about state meat inspection programs and contacted surrounding states to determine the extent to which each state plans to participate in the CIS program.
Fiscal Impact
This rule is not anticipated to have a significant fiscal impact on state operations and will have no fiscal impact on local governments. The Bureau of Meat Safety and Inspection expects that it will incur minimal costs to implement the CIS program since the Bureau already inspects meat and poultry establishments selected into the program using procedures deemed “at least equal to" the federal standards. In its analysis of the final federal rule, USDA noted that states may incur some costs associated with processing and evaluating applications submitted by establishments requesting selection into the CIS program. Wisconsin may make some changes in procedures to meet “same as" federal inspection requirements, but the costs associated with these changes are minimal.
Business Impact
This rule will have a positive impact on very small state-inspected meat and poultry establishments that choose to participate and are selected for the program. The department estimates 17 plants will participate in the program in the first year of its operation. Participation in the CIS program will allow these state-inspected meat and poultry plants to expand their markets from selling only in Wisconsin to all fifty states. USDA expects establishments to incur a one-time start-up cost associated with filing an application, training employees, meeting regulatory performance standards, obtaining label approval, and implementing a food safety program and some state-inspected establishments may need to make structural modifications to their facilities to comply with all federal requirements. The department anticipates costs associated with these activities to be minimal and will be offset by increased sales in a larger market area.
Wisconsin will not be able to provide flexibility to small businesses in complying with federal regulations. By complying with state regulations under a program deemed to be “at least equal to" the federal program, these businesses are essentially meeting most of the federal regulations the state program will adopt in administering a program deemed to be the “same as" the federal program. Small and very small meat and poultry plants (as defined by USDA) in Wisconsin that choose to operate under federal inspection are already complying with the federal regulations. In addition, the CIS program is voluntary and no state-inspected meat or poultry business will be required to participate.
DATCP Contact
Questions and comments related to this rule may be directed to:
Cindy Klug, Director
Bureau of Meat Safety and Inspection
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 8911
