[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 241 (Friday, December 14, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64796-64797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30897]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 241 / Friday, December 14, 2001 / 
Notices  

[[Page 64796]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01-105-1]


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 gypsy moth program.

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 12, 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. 01-105-1, 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. 01-105-1. 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. 
01-105-1'' 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 the gypsy moth 
identification worksheet, contact Mr. Jonathan Jones, Operations 
Officer, Invasive Species and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-5038. 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: Gypsy Moth Identification.
    OMB Number: 0579-0104.
    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.
    To this end, Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) of the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA, engages in detection 
surveys to monitor for the presence of, among other things, the 
European gypsy moth and the Asian gypsy moth.
    The European gypsy moth was introduced into the United States in 
the 1860's and has been damaging woodland areas in the Northeast for 
the last 100 years. The Asian gypsy moth, which is not established in 
this country, is considered to pose an even greater threat to trees and 
forested areas.
    Unlike the flightless European gypsy moth female adult, the Asian 
gypsy moth female adult is capable of strong directed flight between 
mating and egg deposition, significantly increasing its ability to 
spread over a much greater area and become widely established within a 
short time.
    To determine the presence and extent of a European gypsy moth or an 
Asian gypsy moth infestation, we set traps in high-risk areas to 
collect specimens. Once an infestation is identified, control and 
eradication work (usually involving State cooperation) is initiated to 
eliminate the moths.
    APHIS personnel, with assistance from State agriculture personnel, 
check traps for the presence of gypsy moths. If a suspicious moth is 
found in the trap, it is sent to APHIS laboratories at the Otis Methods 
Development Center in Michigan so that it can be correctly identified 
through DNA analysis. (Since the European gypsy moth and the Asian 
gypsy moth are strains of the same species, they cannot be visually 
distinguished from each other. DNA analysis is the only way to 
accurately identify these insects.)
    The PPQ or State employee submitting the moth for analysis 
completes a gypsy moth identification worksheet (PPQ Form 305), which 
accompanies the insect to the laboratory. The worksheet enables both 
Federal and State regulatory officials to identify and track specific 
specimens through the DNA identification tests that we conduct.
    The information provided by the gypsy moth identification 
worksheets is vital to our ability to monitor, detect, and eradicate 
gypsy moth infestations.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our 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 
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.

[[Page 64797]]

    Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 0.083 hours per response.
    Respondents: State cooperators.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 120.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 240.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 20 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 10th day of December, 2001.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 01-30897 Filed 12-13-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-U