[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44796-44797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16824]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 02-073-1]


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 regulations for the importation of poultry 
meat and other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico.

DATES: We will consider all comments we receive on or before September 
3, 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. 02-073-1, 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. 02-073-1. 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. 
02-073-1'' 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 regulations 
regarding importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from 
Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico, contact Dr. Michael David, Assistant 
Director, Sanitary International Standards Team, National Center for 
Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 33, Riverdale, MD 
20737; (301) 734-8093. 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 Poultry Meat and Other Poultry Products from 
Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico.
    OMB Number: 0579-0144.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 
responsible for protecting the health of our Nation's livestock and 
poultry populations by preventing the introduction of contagious, 
infectious, or communicable diseases of livestock and poultry and for 
eradicating such diseases from the United States when feasible. In 
connection with this mission, Veterinary Services of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, regulates the importation of 
animals and animals products in order to prevent the introduction of 
animal diseases, such as exotic Newcastle disease, into the United 
States. The regulations pertaining to the importation of animals and 
animal products are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
in title 9, chapter I, subchapter D (9 CFR parts 91 through 99).
    We currently have regulations in place that restrict the 
importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Mexico and 
other regions of the world where exotic Newcastle disease has been 
determined to exist. However, we allow the importation, under specified 
conditions, of poultry meat and poultry products from the Mexican 
States of Sinaloa and Sonora because we have determined that poultry 
meat and products from these two Mexican States, when imported in 
accordance with those conditions, pose a negligible risk of introducing 
exotic Newcastle disease into the United States. To ensure that these 
items are safe for importation, we require that certain data appear on 
the foreign meat inspection certificate that accompanies the poultry 
meat or other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora. We also require 
that serially numbered seals be applied to containers carrying the 
poultry meat or other poultry products. These requirements necessitate 
the use of information collection activities.
    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.

[[Page 44797]]

    Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response.
    Respondents: Federal animal health authorities in Mexico, and 
personnel in Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico, who operate slaughtering and 
processing plants and who engage in the export of poultry meat and 
other poultry products to the United States.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 10.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 4.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 40.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 40 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 June, 2002.
Bobby R. Acord,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-16824 Filed 7-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P