[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 46 (Monday, March 10, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11353-11354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-5597]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-026-1]


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 plant pest, noxious weed, and garbage 
regulations.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May 
9, 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. 03-026-1, 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. 03-026-1. 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. 
03-026-1'' 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

[[Page 11354]]

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 plant 
pest, noxious weed, and garbage regulations, contact Ms. Deborah Knott, 
Chief, Permit Branch, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, 
MD 20737; (301) 734-5055. 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: Plant Pest, Noxious Weed, and Garbage Regulations.
    OMB Number: 0579-0054.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program of the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, is responsible for preventing plant pests and noxious 
weeds from entering the United States, preventing the spread of pests 
and weeds not widely distributed in the United States, and eradicating 
those introduced pests and weeds when eradication is feasible. PPQ is 
also responsible for preventing plant and animal diseases and pests 
from entering the United States in waste material derived from, or 
associated with, fruits, vegetables, meats, or other plant or animal 
matter commonly referred to as garbage.
    The introduction and establishment of new plant and animal pests 
and diseases or noxious weeds in the United States could cause 
multimillion dollar losses to U.S. agriculture.
    To prevent this from happening, we engage in a number of 
information collection activities under 7 CFR parts 330 and 360, and 9 
CFR part 94, Sec.  94.5, that are designed to allow us to determine 
whether shipments of regulated articles (such as certain plants and 
soil) present a possible risk of introducing plant pests or noxious 
weeds into the United States.
    Our primary means of obtaining this vital information is by 
requiring individuals to apply to us for a permit to import regulated 
articles or to move these articles interstate. The permit application 
contains such information as the nature and amount of items to be 
imported or moved interstate, the country or locality of origin, the 
intended destination, and the intended port of entry in the United 
States.
    Such data enable us to evaluate the risks associated with the 
proposed importation or interstate movement of plant pests, noxious 
weeds, and soil and to develop risk-mitigating conditions, if 
necessary, for the proposed importation or interstate movement.
    We also require the owners or operators of certain garbage-handling 
facilities to apply to us for a permit so that they can be approved to 
process regulated garbage in such a way that it no longer poses a 
threat of disseminating plant pests or livestock and poultry diseases 
within the United States. We also employ compliance agreements in our 
programs to help ensure that garbage handlers and others use 
appropriate mitigation measures. These information gathering procedures 
enable us to detect and intercept shipments that pose a potential risk 
to U.S. agriculture.
    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 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: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 0.808961 hours per response.
    Respondents: Importers and shippers of plant pests, noxious weeds, 
and other regulated articles; State plant health authorities; owners/
operators of regulated garbage-handling facilities.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 39,962.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.16435.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 46,530.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 37,641 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 5th day of March 2003.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-5597 Filed 3-7-03; 8:45 am]
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