[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 164 (Thursday, August 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50982-50983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20738]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0062]
Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information
Collection; Foreign Quarantine Notices
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 regulations to prevent the introduction or
spread of foreign plant pests into or within the United States.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
October 22, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0062-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0062, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-
0062 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on foreign quarantine
regulations, contact Mr. Matthew Rhoads, Director, Regulation, Permit,
and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 156, Riverdale, MD 20737;
(301) 851-2018. 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: Foreign Quarantine Notices.
OMB Number: 0579-0049.
Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information
collection.
Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.)
authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to restrict or prohibit the
importation, entry, or interstate movement of plants, plant products,
and other articles to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the
United States or their dissemination within the United States. This
authority has been delegated to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS), which administers regulations to implement the PPA.
Regulations governing the importation of plants, fruits, vegetables,
roots, bulbs, seeds, unmanufactured wood articles, and other plant
products are contained in 7 CFR part 319, ``Foreign Quarantine
Notices.''
In administering the regulations, APHIS collects information from
persons both within and outside the United States who are involved in
growing, packing, handling, transporting, and importing articles
regulated under part 319.
For example, many plants or plant products may not be imported
until the person wishing to import them receives a permit from APHIS.
The person wishing to import these items must first fill out a permit
application. We consider the permit application process extremely
important, since the information on the application enables us to
determine whether the items for import represent a potential pest
threat to U.S. agriculture.
Under certain circumstances, we also require importers to supply us
with other types of information. We require, for example, that
containers used to import various plants or plant products be marked in
a certain way so that our inspectors can accurately identify them and
match them to their accompanying documentation.
We require that certain shipments be accompanied by a phytosanitary
inspection certificate, which is a document completed by plant health
officials in the originating country that attests to the condition of
the shipment with respect to plant pests at the time it was inspected
prior to its export to the United States. We use this important
information as a guide in determining the intensity of the inspection
we must conduct when the shipment arrives in the United States.
This and other information we collect is vital to helping us ensure
that imported plants and plant products do not harbor plant pests or
noxious weeds that, if introduced into the United States, could cause
millions of dollars in damage to U.S. agriculture.
We are asking 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 0.2993 hours per response.
[[Page 50983]]
Respondents: U.S. importers of fruits and vegetables; foreign plant
protection authorities; individuals involved in growing, packing,
handling, transporting, and importing plants and plant products; and
beekeepers.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 93,066.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 3.4404.
Estimated annual number of responses: 320,182.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 95,818 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 17th day of August 2012.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-20738 Filed 8-22-12; 8:45 am]
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