[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 1, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15840-15841]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8209]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-00528; FRL-5778-1]


Renewal of Pesticide Information Collection Activities

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a proposed revision in the burden 
estimates for the Information Collection Request (ICR) entitled 
``Certification of Pesticide Applicators,'' (EPA ICR No. 0155.06, OMB 
No. 2070-0029). In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the 
Office of Management and Budget renewed the approval for the ICR on 
September 30, 1997, with specific ``terms of clearance.'' The ``terms 
of clearance'' specify that EPA should solicit public comments on the 
revised burden estimates for the collection as described below, in 
particular the Agency's proposal to consider the information required 
to be maintained by the pesticide applicator, as information that would 
be maintained as part of customary business practices even without the 
requirement. If this information is maintained as part of customary and 
usual practices, the Agency can deduct the burden from the ICR. The 
Agency will evaluate comments recieved on these assumptions regarding 
this information and will submit changes, if any, to OMB in order to 
justify revising the ICR.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 1, 1998.
ADDRESSES: By mail, submit written comments to: Public Information and 
Records Integrity Branch, Information Resources and Services Division 
(7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. In person, deliver comments to: 
Rm. 119, CM #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
    Comments and data may also be submitted electronically to: opp-
[email protected]. Follow the instructions under Unit III. of this 
document. No Confidential Business Information (CBI) should be 
submitted through e-mail.
    Information submitted as a comment concerning this document may be 
claimed confidential by marking any part or all of that information as 
CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance 
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. A copy of the comment that 
does not contain CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public 
record. Information not marked confidential will be included in the 
public docket by EPA without prior notice. The public docket is 
available for public inspection in Rm. 119 at the Virginia address 
given above, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
legal holidays.
    Copies of the complete ICR and accompanying appendices may be 
obtained from the OPP docket at the above address or by contacting the 
person whose name appears under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Kramer, Policy and Special 
Projects Staff, Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Mail Code (7501C), 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460, 
Telephone: (703) 305-6475, e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Availability:
Internet
    Electronic copies of this document and the ICR are available from 
the EPA Home Page at the Federal Register - Environmental Documents 
entry for this document under ``Laws and Regulations'' (http://
www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/).
Fax-on-Demand
    Using a faxphone call 202-401-0527 and select item 6053 for a copy 
of the ICR.

I. Information Collection Requests

    Request: EPA is seeking specific comments on the revised burden 
estimates for the following Information Collection Request (ICR).
    Title: Certification of Pesticide Applicators (40 CFR part 171).
    ICR numbers: OMB No. 2070-0029, EPA ICR No. 0155.06.
    Expiration date: This ICR is scheduled to expire on September 30, 
2000. Should EPA amend the burden estimates, this date will not change.
    Affected entities: Parties affected by this information collection 
are certified pesticide applicators who require certification to apply 
restricted use pesticides, and States, Indian tribes, and Federal 
agencies with EPA-approved certification plans.
    Abstract: The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 
allows a pesticide to be classified as ``restricted use'' if the 
pesticide meets certain criteria, one of which is toxicity. Restricted 
use pesticides, because of their potential to harm people or the 
environment, may be applied only by a certified applicator or someone 
under the direct supervision of a certified applicator. In order to 
become a certified applicator, a person must meet certain standards of 
competency. The primary mechanism for certifying pesticide applicators 
is through State certification plans that are approved by EPA. 40 CFR 
part 171 establishes the criteria for State and EPA-administered 
certification plans. In addition, these regulations establish criteria 
for certification plans from Federal agencies or Indian tribes who wish 
to develop their own program in lieu of using State certification 
programs.
    The recordkeeping and reporting requirements in these regulations 
allow the Agency to ensure that restricted use pesticides are used only 
by or under the direct supervision of properly trained and certified 
applicators, and to monitor the application of restricted use 
pesticides.
    Proposed change: EPA's requirements for commercial applicators 
consist mostly of information that is already maintained by these 
businesses as a part of their ordinary and customary business 
practices. Specifically, EPA requires commercial applicators to 
maintain the following information specified in Sec. 171.11(c)(7)(i)(A) 
through (c)(7)(i)(H): the name and address of the person for whom the 
pesticide was applied; the location of the application, the target 
pest(s); the specific crop or commodity, as appropriate, and the site 
to which the pesticide was applied; the year, month, day, and time of 
the application; the name and EPA registration number of the pesticide 
applied; the amount applied and percentage active ingredient per unit 
of pesticide used; and the type and amount of the left over pesticide 
disposed of, the method and location of the disposal. The information 
is to be retained for at least 2 years and is only made available upon 
request by state or EPA authorized officials.
    EPA believes that this information is basic information about the 
customer and the service provided, which would normally be maintained 
by a commercial applicator even if there was not a requirement to do 
so. This information essentially documents the business transaction for 
the commercial applicator, providing a record that the commercial 
applicator may use for regular billing and referencing purposes, as 
well as to respond to basic questions from the customer. Although 
previous ICRs have included a burden estimate for this recordkeeping 
requirement and the Agency has always asserted that this information 
would be maintained anyway, the revised Paperwork Reduction Act 
regulations at 5 CFR 1320.3(b)(2) allows for this requirement

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to be excluded from the ``burden'' estimates if the Agency can 
demonstrate that the respondents would maintain this information even 
if not required to do so. Please note that removing the burden from the 
ICR does not affect the requirement itself. Certified applicators are 
still required to maintain this information.
    Burden statement: The annual respondent burden for this program for 
certified applicators was originally estimated to average 3.5 hours for 
recordkeeping and 10 minutes for completing applicator certification 
forms. The Agency is proposing to eliminate the average annual burden 
estimate of 3.0 hours and the associated cost of $36 per certified 
applicator, which was previously included in this ICR for the estimated 
330,000 commercial applicators and firms that are required to maintain 
these records. Therefore, the revised burden estimate for certified 
applicators would be 30 minutes for recordkeeping and 10 minutes for 
certification forms. For a total revised burden of 40 minutes which 
represents a reduction of 3 hours related to the recordkeeping.
    According to the Paperwork Reduction Act, ``burden'' means the 
total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to 
generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or 
for a Federal agency. For this collection it includes the time needed 
to review instructions; processing and maintaining information, and 
disclosing and providing information; complete and review the 
collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the 
information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's 
regulations, after initial display in the final rule, are listed in 40 
CFR part 9.

II. Request for Comments

    EPA solicits comments to:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information 
described above is ``usual and customary'' information that certified 
applicators maintain for their business. If not, identify the item(s) 
that are not part of ``usual and customary'' information.
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's revised estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information for certified 
applicators, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions.
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected.
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or permitting electronic submission of 
responses.
    Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of 
this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the 
burden, to Director, OPPE Regulatory Information Division, Mail Code 
2137, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, 
DC 20460. Include the OMB control number in any correspondence, but do 
not submit the form or report to this address. The actual information 
or form should be submitted in accordance with the instructions 
accompanying the information or form, specified in the corresponding 
regulation.
    Send comments regarding these matters, or any other aspect of this 
information collection, including suggestions for reducing the burdens, 
to the docket under ADDRESSES listed above.

III. Public Record and Electronic Submissions

    The official record for this document, as well as the public 
version, has been established for this document under docket control 
number ``OPP-00528'' (including comments and data submitted 
electronically as described below). A public version of this record, 
including printed, paper versions of electronic comments, which does 
not include any information claimed as CBI, is available for inspection 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal 
holidays. The official rulemaking record is located at the Virginia 
address in ``ADDRESSES'' at the beginning of this document.
    Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
    [email protected]


    Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the 
use of special characters and any form of encryption. Comment and data 
will also be accepted on disks in Wordperfect 5.1/6.1 or ASCII file 
format. All comments and data in electronic form must be identified by 
the docket control number ``OPP-00528.'' Electronic comments on this 
document may be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection and Information collection requests.

    Dated: March 23, 1998.

Susan H. Wayland,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.

[FR Doc. 98-8209 Filed 3-31-98; 8:45 am]
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