[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54783-54784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22288]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0109]


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 associated with regulations to prevent the introduction or 
spread of foreign plant pests into or within the United States.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
November 24, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0109 to submit or view comments and 
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send two copies of 
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0109, Regulatory Analysis and 
Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 
Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to 
Docket No. APHIS-2008-0109.
    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: Additional information about APHIS and its 
programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on foreign quarantine 
regulations, contact Ms. Candace Funk, Staff Officer, Quarantine 
Policy, Analysis and Support, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 60, 
Riverdale, MD

[[Page 54784]]

20737; (301) 734-5290. For copies of more detailed information on the 
information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' 
Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2908.

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 (7 U.S.C. 7701 
et seq.), 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 (APHIS). 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.''
    In administering the regulations, APHIS collects 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 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 0.3167168 hours per response.
    Respondents: U.S. importers of fruits and vegetables, foreign plant 
protection authorities, individuals involved in growing, packing, 
handling, transporting, and importing plants and plant products.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 92,420.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 3.259987.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 301,288.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 95,423 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 17th day of September 2008.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E8-22288 Filed 9-22-08; 8:45 am]
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