[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 199 (Friday, October 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55895-55896]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26982]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 99-005-2]
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; correction;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are making corrections to information published in a notice
that requested an extension of approval of an information collection in
support of the Veterinary Accreditation Program. The notice was
published in the Federal Register on February 26, 1999 (64 FR 9468,
Docket No. 99-005-1). We are republishing the description of the
information collection with corrected estimates in this document.
DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all
comments that we receive by November 15, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 99-
005-2, Regulatory Analysis and Development PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700
River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 99-005-2.
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 rules, are available on the Internet at http://
www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the
Veterinary Accreditation Program, contact Dr. Quita Bowman, Program
Manager, National Veterinary Accreditation Program, Operational
Support, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 33, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231;
(301) 734-8093. For copies of more detailed information on the
information collection, contact Ms. Cheryl Groves, APHIS' Information
Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-5086.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 26, 1999, we published in the
Federal Register a notice that requested an extension of approval of an
information collection in support of the Veterinary Accreditation
Program.
In the notice, we provided a description of the information
collection, which included an estimate of the burden on respondents,
including estimated annual numbers of respondents, estimated annual
numbers of responses per respondent, estimated annual number of
responses, and estimated total annual burden on respondents.
In making the above estimates, we made an error in our
calculations. In this document, we are republishing the description of
the information collection with corrected estimates, and we are
providing an additional 30 days for comment.
Title: Veterinary Accreditation Program.
OMB Number: 0579-0032.
Expiration Date of Approval: October 31, 1999.
Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information
collection.
Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture is
responsible for preventing the spread of serious communicable animal
diseases from one State to another and for eradicating such diseases
from the United States when feasible.
However, because APHIS does not have sufficient personnel to
perform all necessary animal disease prevention work, we rely heavily
on assistance from veterinarians in the private sector.
Our Veterinary Accreditation Program authorizes private veterinary
practitioners to work cooperatively with
[[Page 55896]]
us, as well as with State animal health officials, to carry out
regulatory programs that ensure the health of the Nation's livestock
and poultry.
Operating this important program requires us to engage in a number
of information gathering activities including:
Conducting veterinary accreditation orientation and
training.
Completing animal health certificates.
Applying and removing official seals.
Completing test reports.
Reviewing applications for veterinary accreditation and
re-accreditation.
Recordkeeping.
Updating information on accredited veterinarians.
We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve
the continued use of this information collection activity.
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 proposed 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
proposed 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 0.30516 hours per response.
Respondents: Accredited veterinarians, candidates for the
Veterinary Accreditation Program, and State animal health officials who
review applications for veterinary accreditation and re-accreditation.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 56,024.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 3.0527.
Estimated annual number of responses: 171,024.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 52,190 hours. (Due to
rounding, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of
the annual number of responses multiplied by the average 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 8th day of October 1999.
Craig A. Reed,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 99-26982 Filed 10-14-99; 8:45 am]
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