[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44553-44554]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15288]


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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. 70, No. 148 / Wednesday, August 3, 2005 / 
Notices  

[[Page 44553]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 05-052-1]


Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information 
Collection; Foreign Quarantine Notices

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 to prevent the introduction or 
spread of foreign plant pests within the United States.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
October 3, 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. 05-052-1, 
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. 05-052-1.
    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 on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding foreign 
quarantine regulations, contact Ms. Linda Toran, Management Analyst, 
Regulatory Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 141, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-5307. 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: Foreign Quarantine Notices.
    OMB Number: 0579-0049.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: As authorized by the Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 
7701-7772), the Secretary of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict the 
importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of 
any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, 
means of conveyance, or other article if the Secretary determines that 
the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent a plant pest or 
noxious weed from being introduced into or disseminated within the 
United States. This authority has been delegated to the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service. Regulations governing the importation 
of plants, fruits, vegetables, roots, bulbs, seeds, unmanufactured wood 
articles, and other plant products are contained in 7 CFR part 319, 
``Foreign Quarantine Notices.''
    Implementing the regulations described above is necessary in order 
to prevent injurious plant pests and noxious weeds from entering the 
United States, a situation that could produce serious consequences for 
U.S. agriculture. In administering the regulations, we collect 
information from persons both within and outside the United States who 
are involved in growing, packing, handling, transporting, and importing 
articles regulated under part 319.
    For example, many plants or plant products may not be imported 
until the person wishing to import them receives a permit from us. The 
person wishing to import these items must first fill out a permit 
application. We consider the permit application process extremely 
important, since the information on the application enables us to 
determine whether the items for import represent a potential pest 
threat to U.S. agriculture.
    Under certain circumstances, we also require importers to supply us 
with other types of information. We require, for example, that 
containers used to import various plants or plant products be marked in 
a certain way so that our inspectors can accurately identify them and 
match them to their accompanying documentation.
    We require that certain shipments be accompanied by a phytosanitary 
inspection certificate, which is a document completed by plant health 
officials in the originating country that attests to the condition of 
the shipment with respect to plant pests at the time it was inspected 
prior to its export to the United States. We use this important 
information as a guide in determining the intensity of the inspection 
we must conduct when the shipment arrives in the United States.
    This and other information we collect is vital to helping us ensure 
that imported plants and plant products do not harbor plant pests or 
noxious weeds that, if introduced into the United States, could cause 
millions of dollars in damage to U.S. agriculture.
    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;

[[Page 44554]]

    (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 0.3341847 hours per response.
    Respondents: U.S. importers of fruits and vegetables, foreign plant 
protection authorities, individuals involved in growing, packing, 
handling, transporting, and exporting plants and plant products.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 90,781.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.9583062.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 268,558.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 89,748 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 28th day of July 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 05-15288 Filed 8-2-05; 8:45 am]
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