[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10222-10223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5034]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2008-0137]


Notice of Request for Approval of an Information Collection; 
Plant Protection and Quarantine; Official Control Program

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: 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 approval of an information collection associated 
with Federal recognition of a State's plant pest control or eradication 
program as an official control program.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before May 
11, 2009.

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-2008-0137 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-2008-0137, 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-2008-0137.
    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

[[Page 10223]]

programs is available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Official 
Control Program, contact Ms. Diane L. Schuble, National Coordinator for 
Official Control Programs, Emergency and Domestic Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-8723. 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: Plant Protection and Quarantine; Official Control Program.
    OMB Number: 0579-XXXX.
    Type of Request: 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).
    As part of this mission, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine 
(PPQ) program responds to introductions of plant pests to eradicate, 
suppress, or contain them through various programs to prevent the 
interstate spread of plant pests. APHIS' plant pest control and 
eradication programs qualify as ``official control programs,'' as 
defined by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), 
recognized by the World Trade Organization as the standard-setting body 
for international plant quarantine issues. ``Official control'' is 
defined as ``the active enforcement of mandatory phytosanitary 
regulations and the application of mandatory phytosanitary procedures 
with the objective of eradication or containment of quarantine pests or 
for the management of regulated non-quarantine pests.'' As a 
contracting party to the IPPC, the United States has agreed to observe 
IPPC principles as they relate to international trade.
    APHIS is aware that individual States enforce phytosanitary 
regulations and procedures within their borders to address pests of 
concern, and that those pests are not always also the subject of an 
APHIS response program or activity. To strengthen APHIS' safeguarding 
system to protect agriculture and to facilitate agriculture trade 
through effective management of phytosanitary measures, APHIS plans to 
begin a process to allow a State to request Federal recognition of that 
State's phytosanitary measures or activities as an ``official control 
program'' to restrict the spread of plant pests. Federal recognition of 
a State's pest control activities will justify actions by Federal 
inspectors at ports of entry to help exclude pests under an official 
control program in a destination State. This process involves the use 
of information collection activities, including the submission by 
States of a protocol for quarantine pests of concern and a protocol for 
regulated non-quarantine pests.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our use of these information collection activities for 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 80 hours per response.
    Respondents: State plant health regulatory officials.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 53.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 25.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 1,325.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 106,000 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 4th day of March 2009.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E9-5034 Filed 3-9-09; 8:45 am]
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