[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 184 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56991-56992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-2345]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-087-1]


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 associated with the swine health protection program.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
November 22, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
    EDOCKET: Go to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket to submit or view 
public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the 
official public docket, and to access those documents in the public 
docket that are available electronically. Once you have entered 
EDOCKET, click on the ``View Open APHIS Dockets'' link to locate this 
document.
    Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies of your 
comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-087-1, 
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. 04-087-1.
    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. 04-087-1'' 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 on the swine health 
protection program, contact Dr. John Korslund, Staff Veterinarian 
(Swine Health), Eradication and Surveillance Team, National Center for 
Animal Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale 
MD 20737; (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: Swine Health Protection.
    OMB Number: 0579-0065.
    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 diseases of livestock 
or poultry from one State to another and for eradicating such diseases 
from the United States when feasible.
    The Swine Health Protection Act prohibits the feeding of garbage to 
swine unless the garbage has been treated to kill disease organisms. 
Untreated garbage is one of the primary media through which numerous 
infectious and communicable diseases can be transmitted to swine. 
Therefore, APHIS' regulations promulgated under the Swine Health 
Protection Act, which are located at 9 CFR part 166, require that 
before garbage may be fed to swine, it must be treated at a facility 
holding a valid permit to treat the garbage and must be treated 
according to the regulations.
    APHIS requires certain information in order to license (issue a 
permit to) a facility to operate and in order to monitor the facility 
for compliance with the regulations. This information is collected from 
applications for a license to operate a garbage treatment facility, 
records of the destination and date of removal of all food waste or 
garbage from the treatment facility, and food waste reports. With this 
information, we are able to carefully monitor garbage treatment 
facilities to ensure that they are meeting our requirements. The 
information provided by these information collection activities is 
critical in preventing the interstate spread of various swine diseases 
and, therefore, plays a vital role in our swine health protection 
program.
    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 this 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

[[Page 56992]]

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 1.2359271 hours per response.
    Respondents: Owners/operators (licensees) of garbage treatment 
facilities, State animal health authorities, and herd owners.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 347.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 3.481268.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 1,208.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,493 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 16th day of September 2004.
Peter Fernandez,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E4-2345 Filed 9-22-04; 8:45 am]
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