[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 193 (Thursday, October 4, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50605-50606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24884]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01-084-1]


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 the Pseudorabies Eradication Program.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments that we receive by December 3, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please send four copies of your comment (an original and 
three copies) to: Docket No. 01-084-1, 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. 01-084-1.
    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 
Pseudorabies Eradication Program, contact Dr. Arnold Taft, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, National Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737, (301) 734-7708. 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: Pseudorabies.
    OMB Number: 0579-0070.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for preventing the 
spread of contagious, infectious, or communicable animal diseases from 
one State to another, and for eradicating such diseases from the United 
States when feasible.
    In connection with this mission, APHIS regulates the interstate 
movement of swine in order to carefully control the movement of swine 
that are infected with or exposed to pseudorabies. These regulations 
are found in 9 CFR part 85. The most common method of pseudorabies 
transmission is through the movement of infected swine from one herd to 
another.
    Regulating the interstate movement of these animals requires the 
use of certain information collection activities, including the 
completion of documents attesting to the health status of the swine 
being moved, the number of swine being moved in a particular shipment, 
the shipment's point of origin, and the shipment's destination.
    With this information, we are able to carefully monitor the 
location of infected or exposed animals and prevent them from coming 
into contact with healthy animals.
    These documents also provide useful ``traceback'' information in 
the event an infected animal is discovered and an investigation must be 
launched to determine where the animal originated, as well as the 
number and location of other animals with which it may have had contact 
during its interstate movement.
    The information provided by these documents is critical to our 
ability to prevent the interstate spread of pseudorabies, and therefore 
plays a vital role in our Pseudorabies Eradication Program.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
the use of this information collection activity 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 reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 0.02076 hours per response.
    Respondents: Swine shippers, swine herd owners, and State animal 
health protection authorities.

[[Page 50606]]

    Estimated annual number of respondents: 30,050.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.66888.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 80,200.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,665 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 28th day of September 2001.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-24884 Filed 10-3-01; 8:45 am]
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