[Federal Register: March 10, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 45)]
[Notices]
[Page 10222-10223]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10mr09-30]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0137]
Notice of Request for Approval of an Information Collection;
Plant Protection and Quarantine; Official Control Program
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: 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 approval of an information collection associated
with Federal recognition of a State's plant pest control or eradication
program as an official control program.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May
11, 2009.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/
main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0137 to submit or view comments and
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0137, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0137.
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: Additional information about APHIS and its
[[Page 10223]]
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Official
Control Program, contact Ms. Diane L. Schuble, National Coordinator for
Official Control Programs, Emergency and Domestic Programs, PPQ, APHIS,
4700 River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-8723. For
copies of more detailed information on the information collection,
contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection
Coordinator, at (301) 851-2908.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Plant Protection and Quarantine; Official Control Program.
OMB Number: 0579-XXXX.
Type of Request: Approval of an information collection.
Abstract: As authorized by the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701
et seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict the
importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of
any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed,
means of conveyance, or other article if the Secretary determines that
the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent a plant pest or
noxious weed from being introduced into or disseminated within the
United States. This authority has been delegated to the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
As part of this mission, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine
(PPQ) program responds to introductions of plant pests to eradicate,
suppress, or contain them through various programs to prevent the
interstate spread of plant pests. APHIS' plant pest control and
eradication programs qualify as ``official control programs,'' as
defined by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC),
recognized by the World Trade Organization as the standard-setting body
for international plant quarantine issues. ``Official control'' is
defined as ``the active enforcement of mandatory phytosanitary
regulations and the application of mandatory phytosanitary procedures
with the objective of eradication or containment of quarantine pests or
for the management of regulated non-quarantine pests.'' As a
contracting party to the IPPC, the United States has agreed to observe
IPPC principles as they relate to international trade.
APHIS is aware that individual States enforce phytosanitary
regulations and procedures within their borders to address pests of
concern, and that those pests are not always also the subject of an
APHIS response program or activity. To strengthen APHIS' safeguarding
system to protect agriculture and to facilitate agriculture trade
through effective management of phytosanitary measures, APHIS plans to
begin a process to allow a State to request Federal recognition of that
State's phytosanitary measures or activities as an ``official control
program'' to restrict the spread of plant pests. Federal recognition of
a State's pest control activities will justify actions by Federal
inspectors at ports of entry to help exclude pests under an official
control program in a destination State. This process involves the use
of information collection activities, including the submission by
States of a protocol for quarantine pests of concern and a protocol for
regulated non-quarantine pests.
We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve
our use of these information collection activities for 3 years.
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
collection of information, 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 collection of information 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 80 hours per response.
Respondents: State plant health regulatory officials.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 53.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 25.
Estimated annual number of responses: 1,325.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 106,000 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 4th day of March 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-5034 Filed 3-9-09; 8:45 am]
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