[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 228 (Monday, November 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66604-66605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30948]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 228 / Monday, November 29, 1999 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service
[Docket Number LS-99-16]


Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently 
Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing 
Service's (AMS) request for comments on an extension for and revision 
to a currently approved information collection related to the 
assessment of State and private organic certifying agencies by the Meat 
Grading and Certification (MGC) Branch. The assessment program was 
established to verify that State and private organic certifying 
agencies comply with the requirements prescribed under the 
International Organization for Standardization International 
Electrotechnical Commission Guide 65 ``General Requirements for 
Agencies Operating Product Certification Systems'' (ISO Guide 65). This 
enables organic certifying agencies to comply with European Union (EU) 
requirements in a consistent and reliable manner thereby, facilitating 
uninterrupted exports of U.S. organic agricultural commodities to the 
EU.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before January 
28, 2000 to be assured of consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Mark Bradley, Quality Systems 
Manager, Meat Grading and Certification Branch, Livestock and Seed 
Program, AMS, USDA, STOP 0248, Room 2628-S, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250-0248, Telephone (202) 720-1246, or Fax (202) 
690-4119.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The voluntary assessment program at 7 CFR 
Part 37 was established under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 
U.S.C. 1621-1627) to verify that State and private organic certifying 
agencies comply with the requirements prescribed under ISO Guide 65. To 
be assessed under this program, an organic certifying agency must 
submit an application to AMS requesting an assessment. Also a manual 
documenting the organic certifying agency's quality system and 
associated quality certification procedures used to certify organic 
producers and handlers of organically produced agricultural commodities 
(including those involved with wild crop harvesting) in accordance with 
applicable industry standards must be submitted to AMS.
    According to the most complete data available to AMS, there are 11 
State and 33 private organic certifying agencies currently providing 
organic certification for agricultural commodities in the United 
States. These certifying agencies provide service to approximately 
4,000 organic producers and 600 handlers of agricultural commodities in 
the United States. ISO Guide 65 assessment will ensure that State and 
private organic certifying agencies operating third-party certification 
systems are doing so in a consistent and reliable manner; thereby, 
facilitating their acceptance on an international basis. Assessing 
organic certifying agencies under ISO Guide 65 enables U.S. organic 
producers and handlers of U.S. organically produced agriculture 
commodities to continue to export to the EU.
    Title: Program to Accredit Organic Certifying Agencies.
    OMB Number: 0581-0183.
    Expiration Date of Approval: 11/30/99 (extension sought).
    Type of Request: Extension and revision of a currently approved 
collection.
    Abstract: The information collection and recordkeeping requirements 
in this notice are essential to the voluntary assessment program which 
verifies State and private organic certifying agencies compliance with 
the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization 
(ISO) Guide 65.
    Based on information available, the Agency has determined that 
there are currently 11 State and 33 private organic certifying 
agencies. These certifying agencies conduct their certification of 
organic farms and handling operations in a similar manner and have 
similar recordkeeping systems and business operation practices. The 
agency also determined that most of the information required to conduct 
the assessment process could be collected from certifying agencies' 
existing materials without creating new forms, and that the information 
currently used by certifying agencies to certify organic producers and 
handlers could be adapted to comply with this program. The Paperwork 
Reduction Act also requires the agency to measure the recordkeeping 
burden. These organic certifying agencies have documented review and 
auditing procedures and maintain appropriate records and documents for 
up to 5 years on each certified organic farm or handler of organic 
products. The recordkeeping burden is the amount of time needed to 
store and maintain records.
    The information collection requirements include: (1) Submission of 
an application requesting to be assessed to ISO Guide 65, (2) the 
preparation and submission of a quality manual documenting the 
procedures that certifying agencies use to provide certification 
services, and (3) an on-site audit of certifying agencies certification 
operation programs to determine whether the certifying agencies have 
implemented the provisions of the quality manual and are in compliance 
with the requirements of ISO Guide 65. These information collection 
requirements have been designed to minimize disruption to the normal 
business practices of organic certifying agencies.
    The application form requires the minimal amount of information 
necessary including: (1) Firm name, address, telephone number, and 
other information necessary to identify the certifying agency and its 
location, and (2) other pertinent information to determine that a firm 
is eligible to apply and receive services available through the program 
to assess organic certifying agencies. Such information can be supplied 
without data processing equipment or outside technical expertise.
    The on-site audit consists of a review and evaluation of a 
certifying agency's

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process for certifying organic farms and handlers. Verifying 
implementation of the provisions of a certifying agency's quality 
manual and compliance with the requirements of ISO Guide 65, includes a 
review and evaluation of existing records and documents described in 
the quality manual, interviews of certifiers' employees and customers, 
and observation of certification activities.
    On June 9, 1999, an interim final rule with request for comments 
was published in the Federal Register. That rule established the 
assessment program under the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. Since 
the interim final rule contained recordkeeping and submission 
requirements that were subject to public comment and to review by the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, AMS included in the rulemaking the description of the 
reporting and recordkeeping requirements and an estimate of the annual 
burden on organic certifying agencies. Further, because there was 
insufficient time for normal clearance procedures, AMS received 
temporary approval from OMB for use of the information collection and 
recordkeeping requirements in order to implement the assessment program 
for organic certifying agencies on an expedited basis. AMS is seeking 
an extension of the approval that expires on November 30, 1999. AMS is 
also publishing for comment this notice of a request for extension and 
revision of a currently approved information collection. One comment 
was received that addressed the information collection and 
recordkeeping requirements as a result of the June 9, 1999, rulemaking. 
This comment was made concerning a paragraph in the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act section of the rule stating that ``We estimate the cost 
of providing and obtaining the information required in this rule to 
assess State and private organic certifying agencies is $590 per 
certifying agency.'' The commentor stated that ``The above statement 
combined with the financial contained in the Paperwork Reduction Act 
section, shows that the AMS is seriously underestimating the time 
needed for certifying agents to prepare for and complete an ISO Guide 
65 audit. Certifiers who have completed such audits were consulted 
prior to the publishing of the Federal Register notice. They estimated 
that approximately 10 times the figure $590 would be needed to prepare, 
conduct and come into compliance with an ISO 65 audit.'' However, the 
commentor did not specify separately the number of hours required to 
apply for service, complete a quality manual, and maintain records for 
on-site audits. Based on this comment AMS has reviewed the estimated 
burden contained in the interim final rule.
    The estimated annual reporting and recordkeeping burden hours in 
the interim final rule were the agency's best estimates, based on 
information available at the time, of the costs associated with 
completing the request for application, preparing and submitting a 
quality manual, and maintaining records. The revised figures in this 
notice are based on costs obtained from organic certifying agencies who 
have been using the service for approximately the last 6 months, 
thereby giving AMS more information about the time to apply for 
service, completing and submitting a quality manual, and maintaining 
records for on-site audits. Three organic certifying agencies provided 
information. This information indicated that the time required to 
complete an application ranged from 5 minutes to 30 minutes; time 
required to complete and submit a quality manual ranged from 5 hours to 
40 hours; and time required for maintenance of records ranged from 0 to 
40 hours. Therefore, taking into account this information the agency 
has decided to revise the estimated annual reporting and recordkeeping 
burden based on the maximum hours provided by the organic certifying 
agencies. Accordingly, the annual reporting and recordkeeping burden 
hours have been increased from 1024 to 1760 for the quality manual and 
from 264 to 1760 for the maintenance of records. The total average cost 
increased from approximately $590 per certifying agency to 
approximately $1,605 per certifying agency.
    1. Application for Service--Form LS-314.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average .25 hours per response.
    Respondents: State and private organic certifying agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 44.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 11 hours.
    Total Cost: $220.
    2. Quality Manual.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 40 hours per response.
    Respondents: State and private organic certifying agencies.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 44.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1760 hours.
    Total Cost: $35,200.
    3. Maintenance of records for an on-site audit.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 40 hours per response.
    Recordkeepers: State and private organic certifying agencies.
    Estimated Number of Recordkeepers: 44.
    Estimated Total Recordkeeping Hours: 1760 hours.
    Total Cost: $35,200.
    The total average cost of the estimated annual reporting burden per 
certifying agency would be approximately $1,605.
    Comments are invited on: (1) 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) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology. Comments may be sent to Mark Bradley, 
Quality Systems Manager, Meat Grading and Certification Branch, 
Livestock and Seed Program, AMS, USDA, STOP 0248, Room 2628-S, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0248 or by E-mail to 
Mark.B[email protected]. Comments should reference docket number LS-99-
16. All comments received will be available for public inspection 
during regular business hours at the same address.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: November 22, 1999.
Barry Carpenter,
Deputy Administrator, Livestock and Seed Program.
[FR Doc. 99-30948 Filed 11-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P