[Federal Register: November 19, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 223)]
[Notices]
[Page 69711-69712]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19no02-25]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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[[Page 69711]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 02-074-1]
Notice of Request for Approval of an Information Collection
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: New information collection; comment request.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's
intention to initiate a new information collection activity in support
of regulations requiring the certification of facilities for the
treatment of fruits, vegetables, and other articles. The certification
of treatment facilities is necessary to ensure that the facilities are
capable of performing treatments required under our regulations to
prevent the introduction or dissemination of plant pests and noxious
weeds into or within the United States.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
January 21, 2003.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket
No. 02-074-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state
that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-074-1. If you use e-mail,
address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files.
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No.
02-074-1'' on the subject line.
You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our
reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 of the USDA
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington,
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 690-2817 before coming.
APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the certification
of treatment facilities, contact Mr. Jim Smith, Director, Port
Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 60, MD 20737-1236; (301)
734-8295. For copies of more detailed information on the information
collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection
Coordinator, at (301) 734-7477.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Certification of Treatment Facilities.
OMB Number: 0579-XXXX.
Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection.
Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is
responsible for, among other things, preventing plant pests and noxious
weeds from entering the United States and controlling and eradicating
plant pests and noxious weeds in the United States. The Plant
Protection Act authorizes the Department to carry out this mission. The
Plant Protection and Quarantine program of USDA's Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for implementing the
regulations promulgated under the Act.
To carry out this mission, APHIS administers regulations intended,
among other things, to prevent the introduction or dissemination of
plant pests and noxious weeds into or within the United States. These
regulations are contained in title 7, chapter III, of the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR).
Under the regulations, certain articles such as fruits, vegetables,
and seeds must be treated to be eligible for entry into the United
States or interstate movement within the United States. In some cases,
treatments are performed in facilities in foreign countries; in other
cases, treatments are performed aboard ship while the articles are in
transit; and in still other cases, treatments are performed in
facilities in the United States. All facilities that provide treatments
required under our regulations, including refrigeration compartments on
ships, must be certified by APHIS before they can provide those
treatments.
Facilities wishing to be certified must supply APHIS with
specifications, which may include plans, blueprints, drawings, or other
information. Specific requirements for the certification of facilities
are contained in the Plant Protection and Quarantine Treatment Manual,
which is incorporated by reference at 7 CFR 300.1. We need this
information to determine whether a facility can provide the treatments
required for quarantine security.
We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve
our use of these information collection activities for certification of
facilities for the treatment of fruits, vegetables, and other articles.
The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public
(as well as affected agencies) concerning our information collection.
These comments will help us:
(1) Evaluate whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the
information collection, including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
(4) Minimize the burden of the information collection on those who
are to respond, through use, as appropriate, of automated, electronic,
mechanical, and other collection technologies, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection
of information is estimated to average 1.25 hours per response.
Respondents: U.S. shippers, importers, State and Plant Health
[[Page 69712]]
Protection authorities, owners and operators of facilities that perform
quarantine treatments.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 250.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.
Estimated annual number of responses: 250.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 312.5 hours. (Due to
averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of
the annual number of responses multiplied by the reporting burden per
response.)
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of
public record.
Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of November, 2002.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-29303 Filed 11-18-02; 8:45 am]
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