[Federal Register: September 23, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 184)]
[Notices]
[Page 56991-56992]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23se04-24]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 04-087-1]
Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information
Collection
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Extension of approval of an 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 request an extension of approval of an information
collection associated with the swine health protection program.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
November 22, 2004.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
EDOCKET: Go to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or view
public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the
official public docket, and to access those documents in the public
docket that are available electronically. Once you have entered
EDOCKET, click on the ``View Open APHIS Dockets'' link to locate this
document.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your
comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-087-1,
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. 04-087-1.
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. 04-087-1'' on the subject line.
Agency Web site: Go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/cominst.html
for a form you can use to submit an e-mail comment through
the APHIS Web site.
Reading Room: 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.
Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the
Federal Register and related information, including the names of groups
and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the swine health
protection program, contact Dr. John Korslund, Staff Veterinarian
(Swine Health), Eradication and Surveillance Team, National Center for
Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale
MD 20737; (301) 734-5914. 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: Swine Health Protection.
OMB Number: 0579-0065.
Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information
collection.
Abstract: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for preventing the
spread of contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases of livestock
or poultry from one State to another and for eradicating such diseases
from the United States when feasible.
The Swine Health Protection Act prohibits the feeding of garbage to
swine unless the garbage has been treated to kill disease organisms.
Untreated garbage is one of the primary media through which numerous
infectious and communicable diseases can be transmitted to swine.
Therefore, APHIS' regulations promulgated under the Swine Health
Protection Act, which are located at 9 CFR part 166, require that
before garbage may be fed to swine, it must be treated at a facility
holding a valid permit to treat the garbage and must be treated
according to the regulations.
APHIS requires certain information in order to license (issue a
permit to) a facility to operate and in order to monitor the facility
for compliance with the regulations. This information is collected from
applications for a license to operate a garbage treatment facility,
records of the destination and date of removal of all food waste or
garbage from the treatment facility, and food waste reports. With this
information, we are able to carefully monitor garbage treatment
facilities to ensure that they are meeting our requirements. The
information provided by these information collection activities is
critical in preventing the interstate spread of various swine diseases
and, therefore, plays a vital role in our swine health protection
program.
We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve
our use of these information collection activities for an additional 3
years.
The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public
(as well as affected agencies) concerning this 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
[[Page 56992]]
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 1.2359271 hours per response.
Respondents: Owners/operators (licensees) of garbage treatment
facilities, State animal health authorities, and herd owners.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 347.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 3.481268.
Estimated annual number of responses: 1,208.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,493 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 16th day of September 2004.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E4-2345 Filed 9-22-04; 8:45 am]
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