[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 1, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65289-65290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28006]


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 Notices
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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. 65, No. 212 / Wednesday, November 1, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 65289]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00-100-1]


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; 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 in support of our seed analysis program with Canada.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments that we receive by January 2, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 00-
100-1, 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. 00-100-1.
    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 dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the 
importation and interstate movement of foreign agricultural and 
vegetable seeds, contact Ms. Polly Lehtonen, Botanist, Permits and Risk 
Assessments, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1236; (301) 734-4394. For copies of more detailed information on the 
information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' 
Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-7477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Imported Seed and Screenings.
    OMB Number: 0579-0124.
    Expiration Date of Approval: November 30, 2000.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 
responsible for preventing foreign plant pests from entering the United 
States, preventing the spread of pests not widely distributed within 
the United States, and eradicating those pests when eradication is 
feasible. The Plant Protection Act (PPA) authorizes the Department to 
carry out this mission.
    The Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) division of USDA's Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for 
implementing the regulations that carry out the PPA.
    Under the authority of the Federal Seed Act of 1939 (FSA), as 
amended, the USDA regulates the importation and interstate movement of 
certain agricultural and vegetable seeds.
    Specifically, our regulations are designed to implement Title III 
of the FSA, ``Foreign Commerce,'' which requires shipments of imported 
agricultural and vegetable seeds to be labeled correctly and to be 
tested for the presence of noxious weeds as a condition of entry into 
the United States.
    Under the authority of the FSA, we have established a seed analysis 
program with Canada that allows U.S. companies that import seed for 
cleaning or processing to enter into compliance agreements with us 
(APHIS). This program eliminates the need for sampling shipments of 
Canadian-origin seed at the border and allows certain seed importers to 
clean seed without the direct supervision of an APHIS inspector. In 
this way, the importation of Canadian-origin seeds into the United 
States is safely expedited without compromising the precautions we take 
to ensure that imported seeds do not pose a health threat to U.S. 
agriculture.
    Our seed analysis program entails the use of several information 
collection activities, including requirements for a declaration of 
importation, container labeling, notification of seed location, a seed 
return request, seed analysis certificates, seed identity maintenance, 
and associated recordkeeping.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve, 
for an additional 3 years, our use of these information collection 
activities in connection with our seed analysis program.
    The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public 
(as well as affected agencies) concerning this information collection 
activity. These comments will help us:
    (1) Evaluate whether the information collection is necessary for 
the proper performance of our Agency's functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the 
information collection, 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 15 minutes per response.
    Respondents: Importers of Canadian seeds, seed cleaning/processing 
facility personnel, and Agri-Food Canada officials.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 1,200.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 25.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 30,000.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 11,555 hours. (Due to 
rounding, the total annual burden hours

[[Page 65290]]

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 27th day of October 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-28006 Filed 10-31-00; 8:45 am]
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