[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 215 (Wednesday, November 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65846-65848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26266]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0473; FRL-8371-1]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal and 
Consolidation of Several Currently Approved Collections; Comment 
Request; Pesticide Program Public Sector Collections; EPA ICR No. 
2311.01, OMB Control No. 2070-new

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to 
submit a request to renew and consolidate several existing approved 
Information Collection Requests (ICRs) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB). Before submitting the consolidated ICR to OMB for review 
and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of this 
information collection. The consolidated ICR, entitled: ``Pesticide 
Program Public Sector Collections'' and identified by EPA ICR No. 
2311.01 and OMB Control No. 2070-new, will consolidate the following 
currently approved ICRs: ``Applications and Summary Report for 
Emergency Exemption for Pesticides'' (EPA ICR No. 0596.09, OMB Control 
No. 2070-0032) and ``Notice of Pesticide Registration by States to Meet 
a Special Local Need under FIFRA Section 24(c)'' (EPA ICR No. 0595.09, 
OMB Control No. 2070-0055).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 5, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0473, by one of the following methods:
     Federal Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-
line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public 
Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South 
Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays). Special 
arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The 
Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2008-0473. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e-
mail. The regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, 
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and

[[Page 65847]]

included as part of the comment that is placed in the docket and made 
available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA 
recommends that you include your name and other contact information in 
the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA 
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot 
contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your 
comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, 
any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available in http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, 
some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either in the electronic 
docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard 
copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac 
Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of 
operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone 
number is (703) 305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cameo G. Smoot, Field and External 
Affairs Division (7506P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 305-5454; fax number: (703) 305-5884; e-
mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. What Information is EPA Particularly Interested in?

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of PRA, EPA specifically solicits 
comments and information to enable it to:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed 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 the Agency's estimates of the burden of 
the proposed 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.
    4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those 
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from 
very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of 
specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork 
burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.

II. What Should I Consider when I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your 
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific 
examples.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used 
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you 
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
    6. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
    7. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified 
under DATES.
    8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket 
ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page 
of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal 
Register citation.

III. What Do I Need to Know About PRA?

    An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information subject to PRA approval 
unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB 
control numbers for EPA's regulations in title 40 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR), after appearing in the preamble of the final 
rule, are further displayed either by publication in the Federal 
Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related 
collection instruments or form, if applicable. The display of OMB 
control numbers for certain EPA regulations is consolidated in a list 
at 40 CFR 9.1.
    PRA defines burden to mean the total time, effort, or financial 
resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or 
disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This 
includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, 
install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of 
collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and 
maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; 
adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable 
instructions and requirements which have subsequently changed; train 
personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search 
data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and 
transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

IV. What ICR Does this Request Apply to?

    Title: Pesticide Program Public Sector Collections.
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2311.01, OMB Control No. 2070-new.
    ICR status: This ICR reflects the consolidation of the following 
currently approved ICRs: ``Applications and Summary Report for 
Emergency Exemption for Pesticides'' (EPA ICR No. 0596.09, OMB Control 
No. 2070-0032; was scheduled to expire on January 28, 2008 and a 
renewal ICR is at OMB awaiting approval) and ``Notice of Pesticide 
Registration by States to Meet a Special Local Need under FIFRA Section 
24(c)'' (EPA ICR No. 0595.09, OMB Control No. 2070-0055; scheduled to 
expire on August 31, 2009).
    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this ICR are 
pesticide registrants, which may be identified by pesticide and other 
agricultural chemical manufacturing (North American Industrial 
Classification System (NAICS) code 325320) and governments that 
administer environmental quality programs (NAICS code 9241).
    Abstract: This proposed consolidated information collection reports 
the paperwork burden hours and costs for State actions initiated under 
either section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) or section 24(c). Section 18 of FIFRA 
authorizes EPA to grant emergency exemptions to states and Federal 
agencies to allow an unregistered use of a pesticide for a limited time 
if EPA determines that emergency conditions exist. A section 18 action 
arises when growers and others encounter a pest problem on a site for 
which there is either no registered pesticide available, or for which 
there is a registered pesticide that would be effective but is not yet 
approved for use on that particular site. Section 18 also allows EPA to 
grant unregistered pesticide use exemptions for public health and

[[Page 65848]]

quarantine reasons. FIFRA section 24(c) authorizes the States to 
register additional uses of federally registered pesticides for 
distribution and use within the State to meet a special local need 
(SLN). A State-issued registration under FIFRA section 24(c) is deemed 
a federal registration for the purposes of the pesticide's use within 
the State's boundaries. A State must notify EPA, in writing, of any 
action it takes, i.e., when it issues, amends, or revokes a State 
registration. The Agency has 90 days to disapprove the registration. In 
such cases, the State is responsible for notifying the affected 
registrant.
    Burden statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 
49,500 hours annually for state government ``applicants'' for the FIFRA 
section 18 program and for applicants under the FIFRA section 24(c) an 
annual estimate of 23,400 hours, a combined total of 72,900 burden 
hours annually. The consolidated ICR, a copy of which is available in 
the docket, provides a detailed explanation of this estimate, which is 
only briefly summarized here:
    Estimated total number of potential respondents: 950.
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 1.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 72,900 hours.
    Estimated total annual costs: $4,599,290. This ICR does not involve 
any capital investiment or maintenance and operational costs.

V. Are There Changes in the Estimates from the Last Approvals?

    The consolidation of these ICRs will not result in a change of the 
72,900 hours in the total estimated combined respondent burden that is 
currently approved by OMB.

VI. What is the Next Step in the Process for this ICR?

    EPA will consider the comments received and amend the consolidated 
ICR as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB 
for review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. EPA will issue 
another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to 
announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity for the 
public to submit additional comments for OMB consideration.
    If you have any questions about this ICR or the approval process, 
please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.


    Dated: October 27, 2008.
James B. Gulliford,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances.
[FR Doc. E8-26266 Filed 11-4-08; 8:45 am]
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