[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 8 (Monday, January 13, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1589-1590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-574]


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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. 68, No. 8 / Monday, January 13, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 1589]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 02-122-1]


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 National Poultry Improvement Plan.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 
14, 2003.

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. 02-122-1, 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. 02-122-1. 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. 
02-122-1'' 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 regarding the National 
Poultry Improvement Plan, contact Mr. Andrew Rhorer, Senior 
Coordinator, National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, APHIS, 1498 
Klondike Road, Suite 200, Conyers, GA 30094-5104; (770) 922-3496. 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: National Poultry Improvement Plan.
    OMB Number: 0579-0007.
    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, among other 
things, administering the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP), the 
primary purpose of which is to protect the health of the U.S. poultry 
population. NPIP is a voluntary Federal-State cooperative program for 
the improvement of poultry breeding flocks and products through disease 
control techniques.
    Administering the NPIP requires us to engage in a number of 
information collection activities, which are described below. We are 
asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the 
continued use of these information collection activities, which are 
critical to our ability to prevent the spread of contagious poultry 
diseases within the United States.

Flock Selecting and Testing Report (VS Form 9-2)

    This form is used by authorized agents and State inspectors when 
breeding flocks are selected and tested. The form provides space for 
the number of birds tested and the results of the test. This form also 
identifies a given flock as to owner, hatchery affiliation, stock, 
type, purpose, classification, and most importantly, flock location. 
Since most of the flocks are supply flocks for the same hatchery, it is 
extremely important to know the location of the flock. The information 
on this form is of critical importance when an investigation must be 
conducted to determine the source of a hatchery-disseminated or egg-
transmitted disease.

Report of Sales of Hatching Eggs, Chicks, and Poults (VS Form 9-3)

    NPIP participants use this form to record any interstate sales of 
their hatching eggs, chicks, and poults. This document is used by both 
APHIS and the receiving State to monitor the movements of these items. 
This form also serves as a vital investigative aid when APHIS is 
attempting to track down the source of a poultry disease. These records 
must be maintained by producers for 3 years.

Summary of Breeding Flock Participation (VS Form 9-4)

    This report form, which is completed by State animal health 
authorities, contains a summary of blood testing work and of flock 
participation by classes and breeding status. It is distributed to 
Official State Agencies from our offices at the end of the testing year 
in June and must be returned to us in July. With this information, we 
can publish our Tables on Hatchery and Flock Participation, which serve 
as an important tool in monitoring the health status of participating 
flocks.

Report of NPIP Hatchery Participation or Change (VS Form 9-5)

    This form is completed by the Official State Agency to record an 
NPIP participant's decision to withdraw from the program, or to record 
a producer's decision to join the program. This document is also used 
to record a change in disease program classification. This form allows 
us to effectively monitor participation in the NPIP, and to maintain an 
up-to-date list of program participants, their addresses, and other 
important information concerning their poultry operations.

Investigation of Salmonella and Arizona Isolations (VS Form 9-7)

    If a multi-State disease outbreak occurs, the NPIP will conduct an 
investigation and share the resulting information with all the States 
involved. VS form 9-7 is one of the tools used to

[[Page 1590]]

complete this investigation; it provides the investigating State agency 
with a uniform method of compiling and analyzing information that can 
subsequently be used to study trends, economic importance, and other 
matters. This form is arranged in sections so that the disease 
investigations can be completed in stages by different inspectors, 
depending upon the location of the flock, hatchery, and breeding flock. 
The inspector obtains some of the needed information by interviewing 
the appropriate poultry producers. When several States are involved in 
a pullorum-typhoid infection, the completed form will be sent to each 
of the States involved so that all of them will be aware of the 
investigation's outcome.

Sentinel Birds Banded for Identification Prior to Flock Vaccination

    When a Federally licensed Salmonella enteritidis bacterin is used 
to vaccinate a flock, 350 birds must remain unvaccinated so that they 
can be used to conduct the necessary serological tests for Salmonella 
pullorum and Salmonella gallinarum. These test birds must be banded so 
that they can be recognized as sentinel birds. A report is submitted 
annually to APHIS, from the various States, with information from their 
participants and data required by the various disease control programs 
of the NPIP.

Request for Salmonella Serotyping (VS Form 10-3)

    This is a National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) form that 
must be completed by State or APHIS personnel who are submitting 
samples for salmonella serotyping. If samples were sent to NVSL without 
this form, lab personnel would have no way of identifying any given 
sample as to the flock from which it came, or even the disease for 
which the sample is to be tested.

Printing and Mailing Computerized Printouts

    These printouts are constructed by hatchery operators who ship 
large numbers of small chick orders all across the United States. These 
computerized lists contain all the information found on a VS form 9-3, 
but reduce the paperwork load substantially because they are computer 
generated. These printouts are sent every month to those States that 
request them. The States use these printouts to monitor the number of 
small chicks they are receiving.
    The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public 
(as well as affected agencies) concerning our information collection. 
We need this outside input to help us:
    (1) Evaluate whether the proposed 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 
proposed 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: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 0.4742 hours per response.
    Respondents: Flock owners, breeders, hatchery operators, and State 
veterinary medical officers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 9,000.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 8.8562.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 79,706.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 37,797 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 7th day of January, 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-574 Filed 1-10-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P