[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12708-12709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5450]


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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; Injurious Wildlife; Importation Certification for Live Fish and 
Fish Eggs (50 CFR 16.13)

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 description of the information 
collection requirement is included in this notice. If you wish to 
obtain copies of the proposed information collection requirement, 
related forms, or explanatory material, contact the Service Information 
Collection Officer at the address listed below.

DATES: Submit comments on or before May 17, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments on the requirement to Anissa Craghead, 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203; 
(703) 358-2269 (fax); or [email protected] (e-mail).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information 
collection request, explanatory information, or related forms, contact 
Anissa Craghead by phone at (703) 358-2445 or by e-mail at [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 
parties and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on 
information collection and recordkeeping activities (see CFR 
1320.8(d)). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (we, or the Service) 
plans to submit a request to OMB for approval of a collection of 
information related to importation certification for injurious species 
of live fish and their reproductive products. We are requesting a 3-
year term of approval for these collection activities.
    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 Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42) (``Act'') prohibits the possession or 
importation of any animal or plant deemed to be and prescribed by 
regulation to be injurious, to human beings, to the interests of 
agriculture, horticulture, forestry, or to wildlife or the wildlife 
resources of the United States. The Department of the Interior is 
charged with enforcement of this Act.
    The Act and our regulations at 50 CFR 16 allow for the importation 
of animals classified as injurious if specific criteria are met. 
Specifically, this information collection allows the Service to approve 
the importation of live salmonids and their reproductive products into 
the United States.
    The importation of salmonids requires that we collect information 
from those individuals wishing to import salmonids or their 
reproductive products with regard to the numbers, life stages, and 
species to be imported, as well as their source and destination. In 
addition, we require a health certificate submitted by a certified 
Title 50 inspector to ensure the animals being imported do not pose a 
health risk to the nation's commercial and natural aquatic resources. 
Regarding the qualifications of the Title 50 inspectors, we collect 
information that verifies the applicants' professional qualifications 
and the adequacy of facilities available to those individuals to 
complete the inspections according to methods provided in 50 CFR 16.
    We have regulated the importation of live salmonids and their 
reproductive products for over 25 years. In order to effectively carry 
out these responsibilities and protect the aquatic resources of the 
United States, it is essential that we gather information on the 
animals being imported with regard to their source, destination, and 
health status. It is also imperative that we ensure the qualifications 
of those individuals providing the relevant fish health data upon which 
we base our decision to allow importation. This collection allows us to 
gather the information necessary to make sound decisions on allowing 
importation of live salmonids and their reproductive products into the 
United States.
    The information collection was approved in February 1992. We 
inadvertently allowed the approval to expire in February 1995 even 
though we were still collecting the information. At that time, we used 
a form to collect the qualification information from persons wishing to 
be designated certified Title 50 inspectors, while health 
certifications and import requests were generally submitted in the form 
of letters that varied in content and completeness. The regulations at 
50 CFR 16.13 provide guidance for what must be included in the health 
certificate, yet these submissions were often incomplete or incorrect. 
In the interest of increasing efficiency and standardization, we are 
requesting to use three new forms to collect this information. We have 
submitted an emergency request to OMB to approve this information 
collection, including the three new forms, for six months. In addition, 
we are initiating the process to request regular (3-year) OMB approval 
of this information collection, including the three forms, through this 
publication and to request public comment on this information 
collection. The forms are described below.
    Form Title: Title 50 Certifying Official Form.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0078.
    Form Number: FW 3-2273.
    Frequency of Collection: Every 5 years as needed.
    Description of Respondents: Aquatic animal health professionals 
seeking to be certified Title 50 inspectors.
    Total Annual Responses: 16 (estimate based on previous collection 
activities). There are currently approximately 80 inspectors.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 16 hours. We estimate the reporting 
burden at 1 hour for each of the total 16 responses, or approximately 
16 hours total.
    Form Title: U.S. Title 50 Certification Form.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0078.
    Form Number: FW 3-2274.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion, as needed by the submitting 
individual or entity.
    Description of Respondents: Certified Title 50 inspectors that have 
performed health certifications on live salmonids or their reproductive 
products for importation into the United States.
    Total Annual Responses: Approximately 50 (estimate based on 
previous collection activities).

[[Page 12709]]

    Total Annual Burden Hours: 25 hours. We estimate the reporting 
burden at thirty minutes for each of the total 50 responses, or 
approximately 25 hours total.

    Form Title: Title 50 Importation Request Form.
    OMB Control Number: 1018-0078.
    Form Number: FW 3-2275.
    Frequency of Collection: On occasion, as needed by the submitting 
individual or entity.
    Description of Respondents: Any entity wishing to import live 
salmonids or their reproductive products into the United States.
    Total Annual Responses: 50 (estimate based on previous collection 
activities)
    Total Annual Burden Hours: 12.5 hours. We estimate the reporting 
burden at 0.25 hours for each of the total 50 responses, or 
approximately 13 hours total.
    We invite comments on this proposed information collection on the 
following: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the function of the agency, 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 on 
respondents.

    Dated: March 1, 2004.
Anissa Craghead,
Information Collection Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 04-5450 Filed 3-16-04; 8:45 am]
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