[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63210-63211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30107]


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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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 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 234 / Wednesday, December 5, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 63210]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01-097-1]


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 regulations governing the importation of 
fruits and vegetables.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by 
February 4, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery 
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send 
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket 
No. 01-097-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No. 01-097-1. If you use e-mail, 
address your comment to [email protected]. Your comment must 
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. 
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 
01-097-1'' on the subject line.
    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 on regulations 
governing the importation of fruits and vegetables, contact Ms. Cynthia 
Stahl, Program Analyst, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 
Unit 60, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-5281. 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: Importation of Fruits and Vegetables.
    OMB Number: 0579-0136.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 
responsible for, among other things, the control and eradication of 
plant pests. The Plant Protection Act authorizes the Department to 
carry out this mission.
    The Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program of USDA's Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for 
implementing the regulations that carry out the intent of the Act.
    Under the regulations in 7 CFR 319.56 through 319.56-8, a number of 
fruits and vegetables may be imported into the United States, under 
specified conditions, from certain parts of the world. These fruits and 
vegetables include cole and mustard crops from Ecuador, El Salvador, 
Nicaragua, and Peru; rhubarb from Guatemala; parsley from Israel and 
Nicaragua; salicornia from Mexico; mint and rosemary from Nicaragua; 
Swiss chard from Peru; Belgian endive, chicory, and endive from Panama; 
pineapple from South Africa; cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and watermelon 
from Brazil and Venezuela; and peppers from Spain.
    Before entering the United States, all of these fruits and 
vegetables are subject to inspection and disinfection at their port of 
first arrival to ensure that no plant pests are inadvertently brought 
into the United States. These precautions, along with other 
requirements, ensure that these items can be imported into the United 
States with minimal risk of introducing exotic plant pests such as 
fruit flies.
    Allowing these fruits and vegetables to be imported requires the 
use of certain information collection activities, including the 
completion of import permits, phytosanitary inspection certificates, 
and fruit fly monitoring records.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our use of these information collection activities 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 
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 information collection 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 0.73227 hours per response.
    Respondents: U.S. importers of fruits and vegetables and plant 
health officials of exporting countries.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 822.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.2311.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 1,834.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,343 hours. (Due to

[[Page 63211]]

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 29th day of November 2001.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-30107 Filed 12-4-01; 8:45 am]
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