(a) When poultry or eggs have been destroyed pursuant to this part, the Administrator may pay claims to any party with whom the owner of the poultry or eggs has entered into a contract for the growing or care of the poultry or eggs. The indemnity the Administrator may pay to such a party or parties shall be determined as by the following method:

(1) Divide the value in dollars of the contract the owner entered into with the contractor by the duration in days of the contract as it was signed prior to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak;

(2) Multiply this figure by the time in days between the date the contractor began to provide services relating to the destroyed poultry or eggs under the contract and the date the poultry or eggs were destroyed due to highly pathogenic avian influenza.

(b) If a contractor receiving indemnity under this section has received any payment under his or her contract from the owner of the poultry or eggs at the time the poultry or eggs are destroyed, the amount of indemnity for which the contractor is eligible will be reduced by the amount of the payment the contractor has already received.

(c) If indemnity is paid to a contractor under this section, the owner of the poultry or eggs will be eligible to receive the difference between the indemnity paid to the contractors and the total amount of indemnity that may be paid for the poultry or eggs.

(d) In the event that determination of indemnity due a contractor using the method described in paragraph (a) of this section is determined to be impractical or inappropriate, APHIS may use any other method that the Administrator deems appropriate to make that determination.

(e)(1) The owner and, if applicable, the contractor, unless exempted under § 53.10(g)(2), must have a poultry biosecurity plan that is approved by the Administrator. Approved biosecurity principles are listed in the NPIP Program Standards, as defined in § 147.51 of this chapter. Alternative biosecurity principles may also be approved by the Administrator in accordance with § 147.53(d)(2) of this chapter.

(2)(i) The biosecurity plan shall be audited at least once every 2 years or a sufficient number of times during that period to satisfy the owner and/or contractor's Official State Agency that the plan is in compliance with the biosecurity principles contained in the NPIP Program Standards. The audit will include, but may not be limited to, a review of the biosecurity plan, as well as documentation that it is being implemented.

(ii) To be recognized as being in compliance with the biosecurity principles and eligible for indemnity, owners and contractors who fail the initial audit conducted by the NPIP Official State Agency must have a check audit performed by a team appointed by National NPIP Office and must demonstrate that they have implemented applicable biosecurity measures. The team will consist of an APHIS poultry subject matter expert, the Official State Agency, and a licensed, accredited, industry poultry veterinarian.

(f)(1) The Department requires that a biosecurity audit be conducted by an auditing team comprised of an auditor and a reviewer using the biosecurity audit tool available at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/biosecurityaudit.pdf. The auditor makes the initial determination of whether a premises passes a biosecurity audit and will be a State employee. If the State lacks the human resources to fill the position, an APHIS employee can fill the position. The reviewer makes the final determination of whether a premises passes a biosecurity audit and will be an APHIS employee. The audit will be conducted as follows:

(i) Biosecurity audits for premises in a buffer zone as described in § 53.10(g)(1)(ii), shall be conducted virtually by an auditor unless the State Animal Health Official, in the State where the premises is located, requests an in-person audit.

(ii) Biosecurity audits for previously infected premises as described in § 53.10(g)(1)(iii), shall be conducted in-person by an auditor unless the State Animal Health Official determines that extenuating circumstances warrant a virtual audit instead. Extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to, severe adverse weather conditions, employee safety considerations, and lack of necessary equipment on the premises to conduct a virtual audit.

(2) To assist auditors in conducting the biosecurity audit, producers must allow auditors access to their premises and access to documentation to review and verify whether the premises meets the minimum requirements of the biosecurity audit criteria described in the biosecurity audit tool. A premises will initially pass a biosecurity audit if the auditor determines that the minimum requirements are met for all biosecurity audit criteria in the biosecurity audit tool. Auditors will communicate all identified deficiencies to producers and collaborate, where appropriate, to identify solutions to resolve the identified deficiencies. Producers must provide timelines to auditors for remediation of all identified deficiencies. Auditors will submit the audit package to a reviewer based in the State where the premises is located.

(3) The reviewer will review the audit package for completeness, accuracy, and consistency with other audits and render a final audit determination of pass or fail. The reviewer must be afforded the same access to the premises previously afforded to the auditor, if requested.

(4) If the producer disagrees with the final audit determination, the producer may send a request for reconsideration to [email protected] or by postal mail to: Biosecurity Audit Reconsideration, 920 Main Campus Drive, Raleigh, NC 27606. The request for reconsideration must be in writing, state all the facts and reasons upon which the producer relies to show that the producer wrongfully failed the biosecurity audit, and be received by the Biosecurity Compliance Audit Program Manager within 14 calendar days of communication of the reviewer's final audit determination. After receipt of the reconsideration request, the process proceeds as follows:

(i) The Biosecurity Compliance Audit Program Manager will review the reconsideration request, the audit package prepared by the auditor, and the reviewer's final audit determination. If the Biosecurity Compliance Audit Program Manager determines that the producer wrongfully failed the biosecurity audit, he or she will change the final audit determination from fail to pass. The auditor will notify the producer of the change in writing, and the Biosecurity Compliance Audit Program Manager will close the reconsideration request. If the Biosecurity Compliance Audit Program Manager agrees that the producer failed the biosecurity audit, the reconsideration process will continue to a panel review.

(ii) A panel consisting of the State Animal Health Official of the State where the premises is located, the APHIS Area Veterinarian in Charge, and the Biosecurity Compliance Audit Program Manager will review the reconsideration request, the audit package prepared by the auditor, and the reviewer's final audit determination. The panel's decision is final and will be communicated to the producer as promptly as circumstances allow and will state, in writing, the reasons for the decision.

(5) A final audit determination of pass for a premises that had a biosecurity audit conducted in accordance with paragraph (f)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section will be valid for six (6) months, unless the premises changes its poultry biosecurity plan, biosecurity coordinator, ownership, or infrastructure. If such premises makes any of the aforementioned changes, the premises must pass a new biosecurity audit conducted in accordance with paragraph (f)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section, as applicable, prior to the movement of poultry onto the premises.

(6) The biosecurity audit tool referenced in paragraph (f)(1) of this section will be reviewed by APHIS on an annual basis and revised as follows:

(i) Standard process for revising the biosecurity audit tool. If the Administrator determines that revisions to the biosecurity audit tool are necessary, APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register advising the public of the Administrator' determination. The notice will describe the proposed revisions and the reasons for the proposed revisions and will invite public comment on the proposed revisions.

(ii) Immediate process for revising the biosecurity audit tool. If the Administrator determines that the biosecurity audit tool is no longer sufficient for auditors to use to conduct biosecurity audits pursuant to paragraph (f)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section, APHIS will immediately update the biosecurity audit tool. APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register advising the public of the Administrator's determination. The notice will specify the revisions and the reasons for the revisions, provide an effective date for the revisions, and will invite public comment on the revisions.

(g) Proposed updates to the NPIP Program Standards will be announced to the public through a Federal Register notice, as described in § 147.53(e) of this chapter.