WASHINGTON — The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced on March 13 that it would reopen the comment period for its interim final rule regarding the conditions for a poultry facility to receive indemnity and compensation after receiving a positive test for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Comments on the issue will will be accepted through April 14.

The agency said strong biosecurity measures remain the most effective strategy for combating the virus. According to the rule, farmers would be required to pass a biosecurity audit before restocking poultry after an HPAI detection and before receiving indemnity payments.

As part of a biosecurity audit, all commercial poultry premises require a “buffer zone,” of at least a 7-kilometer radius around the infected zone.

APHIS added that it would not pay indemnity for flocks moved onto the active infected zones if the flocks became infected with HPAI within 14 days after the dissolution of the control area around an active infected premises.

“A producer who does not make corrections recommended in APHIS’s biosecurity audit will not be eligible for indemnity payments if the premises experiences future infections within the same outbreak,” the agency said.

The publication of the rule went into the Federal Register at the end of 2024, but after this new comment period closes, APHIS plans to publish another document with all comments received and any amendments made to the rule.

A bipartisan bill was introduced in February looking to broaden the compensation of growers within a control area when it comes to HPAI outbreaks.

Since the first HPAI outbreak in 2022, more than 162 million birds have been affected in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.