The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to examine the potential environmental effects of the Agency’s response activities to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry operations in the United States, according to a government-issued press release.

APHIS is requesting public comment to further define the scope of the EIS, identify reasonable alternatives and potential issues, as well as relevant information, studies, and/or analyses that APHIS should consider in the EIS.

HPAI is an extremely infectious disease, mostly fatal to poultry, and can rapidly spread within and between domestic poultry flocks and wild bird (especially waterfowl) populations.