[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 250 (Thursday, December 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78385-78386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3898]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-131-1]


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 gypsy moth program.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
February 28, 2005.

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. 04-131-1, 
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. 04-131-1.
    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. 04-131-1'' on the subject line.
    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 gypsy moth 
program, contact Dr. Weyman Fussell, Program Manager, Invasive Species 
and Pest Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134, Riverdale, 
MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-5705. 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: Gypsy Moth Identification Worksheet.
    OMB Number: 0579-0104.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 
responsible for, among other things, the control and eradication of 
plant pests. The Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-7772) authorizes 
the Department to carry out this mission.
    As part of this mission, Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) of 
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA, engages 
in detection surveys to monitor for the presence of, among other 
things, the European gypsy moth and the Asian gypsy moth. The European 
gypsy moth was introduced into the United States in the 1860's and has 
been damaging woodland areas in the Northeast for more than the last 
100 years. The Asian gypsy moth, which is not established in this 
country, is considered to pose an even greater threat to trees and 
forested areas.
    Unlike the flightless European gypsy moth female adult, the Asian 
gypsy moth female adult is capable of strong directed flight between 
mating and egg deposition, significantly increasing its ability to 
spread over a much greater area and become widely established within a 
short time.
    To determine the presence and extent of a European gypsy moth or an 
Asian gypsy moth infestation, we set traps in high-risk areas to 
collect specimens. Once an infestation is identified, control and 
eradication work (usually involving State cooperation) is initiated to 
eliminate the moths.
    APHIS personnel, with assistance from State agriculture personnel, 
check traps for the presence of gypsy moths. If a suspicious moth is 
found in the trap, it is sent to APHIS laboratories at the Otis Methods 
Development Center in Massachusetts so that it can be correctly 
identified through DNA analysis. (Since the European gypsy moth and the 
Asian gypsy moth are strains of the same species, they cannot be 
visually distinguished from each other. DNA analysis is the only way to 
accurately identify these insects.)
    The PPQ or State employee submitting the moth for analysis 
completes a gypsy moth identification

[[Page 78386]]

worksheet (PPQ Form 305), which accompanies the insect to the 
laboratory. The worksheet enables both Federal and State regulatory 
officials to identify and track specific specimens through the DNA 
identification tests that we conduct.
    The information provided by the gypsy moth identification 
worksheets is vital to our ability to monitor, detect, and eradicate 
gypsy moth infestations.
    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 0.1708 hours per response.
    Respondents: State cooperators.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 120.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 240.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 41 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 27th day of December 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E4-3898 Filed 12-29-04; 8:45 am]
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