[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 47 (Thursday, March 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10704-10705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5301]


 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 47 / Thursday, March 12, 2009 / 
Notices  

[[Page 10704]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Correction

March 6, 2009.
    The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following 
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments 
regarding (a) 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; (b) the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to 
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 should be addressed to: Desk 
Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), [email protected] or 
fax (202) 395-5806 and to Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, 
Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-7602. Comments regarding these 
information collections are best assured of having their full effect if 
received within 30 days of this notification. Copies of the 
submission(s) may be obtained by calling (202) 720-8958.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information 
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB 
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to 
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not 
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays 
a currently valid OMB control number.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

    Title: Importation of Christmas Cactus and Easter Cactus in Growing 
Media from the Netherlands and Denmark.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0266.
    Summary of Collection: Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) (7 
U.S.C. 7701-7772), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to 
prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, or movement of plants and 
plant pests to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United 
States or their dissemination within the United States. The regulations 
contained in ``Subpart-Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and 
Other Plant Products,'' prohibit or restrict, among other things the 
importation of living plants, plant parts, and seeds for propagation. 
Christmas cactus and Easter cactus established in growing media are now 
allowed to be imported into the United States from the Netherlands and 
Denmark under certain conditions.
    Need and Use of the Information: The Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service (APHIS) requires a phytosanitary certificate and a 
declaration stating the plants were grown in accordance with specific 
conditions, an agreement between APHIS and the plant protection 
services of the country where the plants are grown, and an agreement 
between the foreign plant protection service and the grower. The 
information is used as a guide to the intensity of the inspection that 
APHIS must conduct when the shipment arrives. Without this information, 
all shipments would need to be inspected very thoroughly, thereby 
requiring considerably more time.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Federal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents: 20.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 120.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

    Title: Importation of Peppers from Certain Central American 
Countries.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0274.
    Summary of Collection: Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) (7 
U.S.C. 7701-7772), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to carry 
out operations or measures to detect, eradicate, suppress, control, 
prevent, or retard the spread of plant pests new to the United States 
or not known to be widely distributed throughout the United States. 
Regulations authorized by the PPA concerning the importation of fruits 
and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world 
are contained in ``Subpart Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56-1 
through 319.56-47). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) amended the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow certain 
type of peppers grown in approved registered production sites in Costa 
Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua to be imported, 
under certain conditions, into the United States without treatment.
    Need and Use of the Information: The regulations require the use of 
information collection activities including inspections by Central 
American national plant protection organization officials, fruit fly 
trapping, monitoring, recordkeeping, box labeling, and phytosanitary 
certificate. Failing to collect this information would cripple APHIS' 
ability to ensure that peppers from Central America are not carrying 
fruit flies.
    Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 245.
    Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 2,999.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

    Title: Importation of Peppers from the Republic of Korea.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0282.
    Summary of Collection: Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) (7 
U.S.C. 7701-7772), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to carry 
out operations or measures to detect, eradicate, suppress, control, 
prevent, or retard the spread of plant pests new to the United States 
or not known to be widely distributed throughout the United States. 
Regulations authorized by the PPA concerning the importation of fruits 
and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world 
are contained in ``Subpart Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 319.56-1 
through 319.56-47). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS) amended the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the

[[Page 10705]]

importation of peppers from the Republic of Korea under certain 
conditions. As a condition of entry, the peppers would have to be grown 
in approved insect-proof, pest-free greenhouses and packed in pest-
exclusionary packinghouses.
    Need and Use of the Information: Each shipment of pepper from the 
Republic of Korea must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate of 
inspection with a declaration issued by the National Plant Quarantine 
Service of Korea officials stating the peppers were grown in 
greenhouses in accordance with the regulations in 7 CFR 319-56-42 and 
found free of certain plant pests. Failing to collect this information 
would cripple APHIS' ability to ensure that peppers from Korea are not 
carrying plant pests and would cause millions of dollars in damage to 
U.S. agriculture.
    Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 2.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 308.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

    Title: Importation of Small Lots of Seeds Without Phytosanitary 
Certificates.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0285.
    Summary of Collection: Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA) (7 
U.S.C. 7701-7772), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to 
prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, or movement of plants and 
plant pests to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United 
States or their dissemination within the United States. The regulations 
contained in ``Subpart--Nursery Stock, Plants, Roots, Bulbs, Seeds, and 
Other Plant Products,'' prohibit or restrict, among other things the 
importation of living plants, plant parts, and seeds for propagation.
    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) amended the 
nursery stock regulations to allow the importation of small lots of 
seed under an import permit with specific conditions, as an alternative 
to the current phytosanitary certificate requirements. This change was 
necessary because several entities that import small lots of seed had 
difficulty obtaining the necessary certificates and have been adversely 
affected by the phytosanitary certificate requirement.
    Need and Use of the Information: APHIS' Plant Protection and 
Quarantine program will issue a permit indicating the applicable 
conditions for importation if, after reviewing the application, the 
articles are deemed eligible to be imported into the United States 
under the conditions specified in the permit. Permits would be issued 
at the discretion of APHIS to any importer, whether an individual or an 
organization, who would then send the permit to the overseas supplier. 
A certificate of inspection in the form of a label is required to be 
attached to each carton of the articles and to an airway bill of lading 
or delivery tick accompanying the articles. Each seed packet must be 
clearly labeled with the name of the collector/shipper, the country or 
origin, and the scientific name at least to the genus level, and 
preferably to the species level. Without the information APHIS could 
not verify that imported nursery stock does not present significant 
risk of introducing plant pests and plant disease into the United 
States.
    Description of Respondents: Individuals or households; business or 
other for-profit.
    Number of Respondents: 1,600.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 740.

Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
 [FR Doc. E9-5301 Filed 3-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P