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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 231 / Monday, December 6, 2021 / Proposed Rules characteristics, environmental conditions, and other relevant factors to identify any conditions that would be reasonably likely to introduce known or reasonably foreseeable hazards into or onto covered produce or food contact surfaces. Certain covered farms also may opt to conduct testing to help inform their assessments.
Covered farms would use the results of their agricultural water assessments in determining whether corrective or mitigation measures for their preharvest agricultural water for non-sprout covered produce would be reasonably necessary to reduce the potential for contamination, or whether routine inspections and maintenance of their agricultural water systems would be adequate to ensure that their pre-harvest agricultural water is safe and of adequate sanitary quality for its intended use under 112.41.
To assist readers, Table 3 outlines the discussion of proposed 112.43.

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TABLE 3DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED
112.43
1. Proposed 112.43aElements of an Agricultural Water Assessment 2. Factors 3. Agricultural Water System 4. Location and nature of each water source 5. Type of water distribution system 6. Degree of protection of each agricultural water system 7. Degree of protection from contamination by other users a. Animal impacts b. Adjacent and nearby land uses c. Animal activities as possible contributing factors in outbreaks d. Endangered Species Act e. BSAAOs f. Untreated or improperly treated waste 8. Agricultural water practices a. Time to harvest b. Method of application 9. Crop characteristics 10. Environmental conditions 11. Other relevant factors 12. Written annual assessments 13. Proposed 112.43bExemptions 14. Proposed 112.43cOutcomes 15. Proposed 112.43dTesting for Assessment Purposes a. Generic E. coli b. Frequency of testing c. Microbial water quality criteria d. Records relating to analytes, sampling frequencies, and pre-harvest water quality criteria 16. Proposed 112.43eReassessment
1. Proposed 112.43aElements of an Agricultural Water Assessment Unless exempt under proposed 112.43b, covered farms using preharvest agricultural water for non-sprout covered produce would prepare a written assessment of their pre-harvest agricultural water, at least once each
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year, to identify any conditions that would be reasonably likely to introduce known or reasonably foreseeable hazards into or onto non-sprout covered produce or food contact surfaces.
2. Factors In light of the diversity of operations, practices, and conditions that may impact the pre-harvest agricultural water used by foreign and domestic covered farms for non-sprout covered produce, we propose to require a covered farm to assess the following factors further described in paragraphs 311, below for hazard identification purposes, under proposed 112.43a:
Each agricultural water system defined as proposed in 112.3 used for pre-harvest agricultural water for nonsprout covered produce, including:
The location and nature of the water source that is, whether the source meets the definition of ground water or surface water;
the type of water distribution system, such as whether the conveyance is open to the environment for example, an open irrigation canal or is closed to the environment for example, a closed piping system;
the degree to which the agricultural water systems are protected from possible sources of contamination, including possible contamination by other users of the same agricultural water system and animal impacts including by grazing animals, working animals, and animal intrusion on the covered farm; and the degree to which the agricultural water systems are protected from possible sources of contamination, including by adjacent and nearby land usesparticularly any animal activity for example grazing, or commercial animal feeding operations of any size, the application of BSAAOs, or the presence of untreated or improperly treated human waste;
Agricultural water practices associated with each agricultural water system used for pre-harvest water for non-sprout covered produce, including:
The type of direct application method used such as foliar spray or drip irrigation of covered produce growing underground; and the time interval between the last direct application of agricultural water and harvest of the non-sprout covered produce;
Crop characteristics, including the susceptibility of the covered produce to surface adhesion or internalization of hazards;
Environmental conditions, such as:
The frequency of heavy rain or extreme weather events that may impact
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the agricultural water systems such as by stirring sediments or that may impact covered produce such as damage to edible leaves during growing activities;
air temperatures; and sun ultraviolet UV exposure; and Other relevant factors, including, if applicable, the results of any testing conducted to inform the assessment.
3. Agricultural Water Systems Proposed 112.43 is intended to supplement the requirements of proposed 112.42,5 which would require a covered farm to regularly inspect and routinely maintain the components of its agricultural water systemsto the extent that such components or systems are under its control. While proposed 112.42 is focused on agricultural water system components under the covered farms control, proposed 112.43a would require covered farms to conduct a more comprehensive assessment of possible sources and routes by which known or reasonably foreseeable hazards are reasonably likely to be introduced into its preharvest agricultural water for nonsprout covered produce. While the covered farm may not have control over the factors assessed under proposed 112.43a, they are no less important for the farm to consider when determining the safe use of agricultural water on covered produce.
When conducting pre-harvest agricultural water assessments, covered farms would use the results of inspections and maintenance they performed under proposed 112.42 for agricultural water systems under their control. For example, a covered farm using an on-farm pond as a pre-harvest agricultural water source would consider the results of any inspections and maintenance performed including inspection findings documented in records under proposed 112.50b2
as part of its pre-harvest agricultural water assessment proposed 112.43.
For hazard identification purposes, under proposed 112.43, a covered farm would assess each pre-harvest agricultural water system it uses for non-sprout covered produce from water source to point of application. A
covered farm could not satisfy the agricultural water assessment requirements in proposed 112.43
solely based on inspection activities conducted under proposed 112.42, for example, because the agricultural water 5 As described in section VI.I., we are proposing to minor revisions to 112.42, which applies to agricultural water for pre-harvest, harvest, and postharvest application to covered produce.

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