[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 234 (Friday, December 5, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68015-68016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-30231]


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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. 68, No. 234 / Friday, December 5, 2003 / 
Notices  

[[Page 68015]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-107-1]


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 regulations that provide for the payment of 
compensation to owners of commercial stone fruit orchards and fruit 
tree nurseries whose trees or nursery stock were destroyed to eradicate 
plum pox.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
February 3, 2004.

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. 03-107-1, 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. 03-107-1. 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. 
03-107-1'' 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 plum pox 
regulations, contact Mr. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer, Pest 
Detection and Management Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
134, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-8899. 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: Plum Pox Compensation.
    OMB Number: 0579-0159.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-7772) authorizes 
the Secretary of Agriculture, either independently or in cooperation 
with the States, to carry out operations or measures to detect, 
eradicate, suppress, control, prevent, or retard the spread of plant 
pests, such as plum pox, that are new to or not widely distributed 
within the United States.
    Plum pox is an extremely serious viral disease of plants that can 
affect many Prunus (stone fruit) species, including plum, peach, 
apricot, almond, nectarine, and sweet and tart cherry. A number of wild 
and ornamental Prunus species may also be susceptible to this disease. 
Infection eventually results in severely reduced fruit production, and 
the fruit that is produced is often misshapen and blemished. Plum pox 
virus is transmitted locally by a variety of aphid species, as well as 
by budding and grafting with infected plant material, and spreads over 
longer distances through movement of infected budwood, nursery stock, 
and other plant parts.
    There are no known effective methods for treating trees or other 
plant material infected with plum pox, nor are there any known 
effective prophylactic treatments to prevent the disease from occurring 
in trees exposed to the disease due to their proximity to infected 
trees or other plant material. Without effective treatments, the only 
option for preventing the spread of the disease is the destruction of 
infected and exposed trees and other plant material.
    The regulations in ``Subpart--Plum Pox'' (7 CFR 301.74-301.74-5) 
quarantine areas of the United States where plum pox has been detected, 
restrict the interstate movement of host material from quarantined 
areas, and provide for compensation to owners of commercial stone fruit 
orchards and fruit tree nurseries whose trees or nursery stock were 
destroyed to eradicate plum pox.
    Section 310.74-5 requires applicants for the payment of 
compensation to complete a form.
    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.
    Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 0.16666 hours per response.
    Respondents: Eligible owners of stone fruit orchards and fruit tree 
nurseries in Pennsylvania.

[[Page 68016]]

    Estimated annual number of respondents: 6.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 6.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1 hour. (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 1st day of December 2003.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 03-30231 Filed 12-4-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P