[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 231 (Monday, December 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57197-57199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26057]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2017-0095]
Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an
Information Collection; Importation of Poultry Meat and Other Poultry
Products From Sinaloa and Sonora; Poultry and Pork Transiting the
United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Revision to and 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 a revision to and extension of
[[Page 57198]]
approval of an information collection associated with the regulations
for the importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from
Sinaloa and Sonora and for pork and poultry products transiting the
United States.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
February 2, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0095.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2017-0095, 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-2017-
0095 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 the importation of
poultry meat and other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora,
Mexico, and poultry and pork transiting the United States, contact Dr.
Magde Elshafie, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 39, Riverdale, MD
20737; (301) 851-3300. For copies of more detailed information on the
information collection, contact Ms. Kimberly Hardy, APHIS' Information
Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2483.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Importation of Poultry Meat and Other Poultry Products From
Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico; Poultry and Pork Transiting the United
States.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0144.
Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an
information collection.
Abstract: The Animal Health Protection Act is the primary Federal
law governing the protection of animal health. The law gives the
Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to detect, control, or
eradicate pests or diseases of livestock or poultry. The Secretary may
also prohibit or restrict the import or export of any animal or related
material if necessary to prevent the spread of any livestock or poultry
pest or disease.
Disease prevention is the most effective method for maintaining a
healthy animal population and for enhancing the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),
Veterinary Services' ability to allow U.S. animal producers to compete
in the world market of animal and animal product trade. APHIS is the
agency charged with carrying out disease prevention by regulating the
importation of animals and animal products into the United States. The
regulations under which APHIS conducts these disease prevention
activities are contained in title 9, chapter 1, subchapter D, parts 91
through 99, of the Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations
govern the importation of animals and animal products.
APHIS currently places certain restrictions on the importation and
in-transit movement of fresh (chilled or frozen) pork and pork products
from Mexico because of the presence of classical swine fever (CSF) in
some areas of Mexico.\1\ However, the regulations in Sec. 94.15 allow
pork and pork products from certain Mexican States to transit the
United States, under seal, for export to another country.
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\1\ On August 8, 2017, APHIS published a notice of availability
of an evaluation of the CSF status of Mexico. The notice, supporting
documents, and the comment we received may be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=APHIS-2016-0038.
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In addition, the regulations in Sec. 94.6 provide the requirements
for, among other things, the importation of poultry carcasses, parts,
products, and eggs (other than hatching eggs) from regions where
Newcastle disease (ND) is considered to exist. However, Sec. 94.33
allows poultry carcasses, parts, products, and eggs (other than
hatching eggs) that do not qualify for entry into the United States to
transit the United States via land ports, for immediate export, from
Mexican States that Mexico considers to be free of ND. APHIS believes
that allowing such in-transit movements presents a negligible risk of
introducing ND or CSF into the United States while simultaneously
avoiding unnecessary restrictions on trade.
APHIS also currently has regulations in place that restrict the
importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Mexico due
to the presence of ND in that country. However, under the regulations
in Sec. 94.30, APHIS allows the importation of poultry meat and
poultry products from the Mexican States of Sinaloa and Sonora, if
imported according to APHIS' requirements, because APHIS has determined
that poultry meat and products from these two Mexican States pose a
negligible risk of introducing ND into the United States.
To ensure these items are safe for importation, APHIS requires that
information collection activities take place such as foreign meat
inspection certificates, serially numbered seals, applications for
import permits, emergency action notification, and pre-arrival
notifications.
The information collection requirements above are currently
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under OMB control
numbers 0579-0144 (Importation of Poultry Meat and other Poultry
Products from Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico) and 0579-0145 (Poultry and
Pork Products Transiting the United States). After OMB approves this
combined information collection package (0579-0144), APHIS will retire
OMB control number 0579-0145.
In addition, as a result of merging these information collection
activities, APHIS has revised the title of this information collection
from ``Importation of Poultry Meat and other Poultry Products from
Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico'', to ``Importation of Poultry Meat and
Other Poultry Products From Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico; Poultry and
Pork Transiting the United States.''
We are asking OMB to approve our use of these information
collection activities, as described, for an additional 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 burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 0.9 hours per response.
Respondents: Federal animal health authorities in Mexico and U.S.
importers and exporters of poultry meat,
[[Page 57199]]
other poultry products, pork, and pork products from Mexico.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 400.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.40.
Estimated annual number of responses: 562.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 558 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 29th day of November 2017.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-26057 Filed 12-1-17; 8:45 am]
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