[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 56 (Monday, March 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14257-14258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6870]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Information Collection To Be Submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under the Paperwork Reduction 
Act; Approval Procedures for Nontoxic Shot and Shot Coatings

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will submit the collection 
of information listed below to OMB for approval under the provisions of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act. A summary of the information collection 
requirement is included in this notice. If you wish to obtain copies of 
the proposed information collection requirement, related forms, and 
explanatory material, contact the Service Information Collection 
Clearance Officer at the address listed below.

[[Page 14258]]


DATES: You must submit comments on or before May 23, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the information collection to Anissa 
Craghead, Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, ms 222-ARLSQ, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 
22207.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection request, explanatory information, and related forms, contact 
Anissa Craghead at (703) 358-2445, or electronically to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which implement provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), require that interested 
members of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to 
comment on information collection and record-keeping activities (see 5 
CFR 1320.8(d)). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (We) plan to submit 
a request to OMB to renew its approval of the collection of information 
for the nontoxic shot and shot coating approval process. We are 
requesting a 3-year term of approval for this information collection 
activity.
    Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this 
collection of information is 1018-0067.
    The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703-712) and Fish and 
Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742d) designate the Department of the 
Interior as the key agency responsible for the wise management of 
migratory bird populations frequenting the United States and for the 
setting of hunting regulations that allow appropriate harvests that are 
within the guidelines that will allow for those populations' well 
being. These responsibilities include approval of nontoxic shot 
materials for use in hunting waterfowl and coots in the United States.
    As of January 1, 1991, lead shot was banned for hunting waterfowl 
and coots in the United States. At that time, steel shot was the only 
nontoxic alternative available. Since then, we have encouraged 
manufacturers to develop other alternatives that the hunting public may 
use. In approving a candidate material as nontoxic for hunting 
waterfowl and coots, we must first ensure that secondary exposure 
(ingestion of spent shot or its components) is not a hazard to 
migratory birds and the environment. In order to make this decision, we 
require the applicant to collect information about the toxicity of 
their candidate material to migratory birds and the environment. A 
further requirement pertains to law enforcement. A noninvasive field 
detection device must be available to distinguish the candidate shot 
from lead shot. The above information provides the bulk of an 
application for approval of nontoxic shot material. Once a candidate 
material is approved as nontoxic, there is no seasonal or annual 
information collection requirement.
    Title: Approval Procedures for Nontoxic Shot and Shot Coatings.
    Approval Number: 1018-0067.
    Service Form Number: Not applicable.
    Frequency of Collection: Occasional (upon application).
    Description of Respondents: Shot manufacturers.
    Total Annual Responses: We expect no more than 1 application per 
year.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: The reporting burden is estimated to 
average 3,200 hours per application. Therefore, if we receive 1 
application per year, the total annual burden hours would amount to 
3,200 hours.
    We invite comments concerning this renewal on: (1) Whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
our migratory bird management functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our 
estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and, (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents. The information collections in this program 
are part of a system of record covered by the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 
552(a)).

    Dated: March 18, 2003.
Paul R. Schmidt,
Assistant Director Migratory Birds and State Programs.
[FR Doc. 03-6870 Filed 3-21-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P