[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 138 (Tuesday, July 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43386-43387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-16435]


 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 138 / Tuesday, July 20, 2004 / 
Notices  

[[Page 43386]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-067-1]


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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services 
intention to request an extension of approval of an information 
collection insupport of the Pseudorabies Eradication Program.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
September 17, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies 
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-067-1, 
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. 04-067-1.
     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. 04-067-1'' on the subject 
line.
     Agency Web site: Go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/cominst.html for a form you can use to submit an e-mail comment through 
the APHIS Web site.
    Reading Room: 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.
    Other Information: You may view APHIS documents published in the 
Federal Register and related information, including the names of groups 
and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the 
Pseudorabies Eradication Program, contact Dr. John Korslund, National 
Swine Programs Liaison, Eradication and Surveillance Team, National 
Center for Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 43, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-5914. 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: Pseudorabies.
    OMB Number: 0579-0070.
    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 preventing the 
spread of contagious, infectious, or communicable animal diseases from 
one State to another, and for eradicating such diseases from the United 
States when feasible.
    In connection with this mission, APHIS regulates the interstate 
movement of swine in order to carefully control the movement of swine 
that are infected with or exposed to pseudorabies. These regulations 
are found in 9 CFR part 85. The most common method of pseudorabies 
transmission is through the movement of infected swine from one herd to 
another.
    Regulating the interstate movement of these animals requires the 
use of certain information collection activities, including the 
completion of documents attesting to the health status of the swine 
being moved, the number of swine being moved in a particular shipment, 
the shipment's point of origin, and the shipment's destination.
    With this information, we are able to carefully monitor the 
location of infected or exposed animals and prevent them from coming 
into contact with healthy animals.
    These documents also provide useful ``traceback'' information in 
the event an infected animal is discovered and an investigation must be 
launched to determine where the animal originated, as well as the 
number and location of other animals with which it may have had contact 
during its interstate movement.
    The information provided by these documents is critical to our 
ability to prevent the interstate spread of pseudorabies, and therefore 
plays a vital role in our Pseudorabies Eradication Program.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
the 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 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 
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 0.0226558 hours per response.
    Respondents: U.S. producers and shippers, State animal health 
protection authorities, and accredited veterinarians.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 30,050.

[[Page 43387]]

    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.66888.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 80,200.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,817 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 14th day of July 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 04-16435 Filed 7-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P