[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 230 (Wednesday, November 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74051-74053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30862]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0766; FRL-8890-3]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

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 an existing approved Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR, 
entitled: ``Foreign Purchaser Acknowledgement Statement of Unregistered 
Pesticides'' and identified by EPA ICR No. 0161.12 and OMB Control No. 
2070-0027, is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2012. Before submitting 
the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on 
specific aspects of the proposed information collection.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 30, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0766, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking 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 Facility'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-
2011-0766. 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 
email. The regulations.gov Web site 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 email 
comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your 
email address will be automatically captured and 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.

[[Page 74052]]

    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available at 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: Scott Drewes, Field and External 
Affairs Division (7506P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 347-0107; fax number: (703) 305-5884; 
email 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 information collection activity or ICR does this action apply 
to?

    Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this ICR are 
individuals or entities that either manufacture and export or that 
reformulate or repackage and export unregistered pesticides. The North 
American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to the 
parties responding to this information is 325320.
    Title: Foreign Purchaser Acknowledgement Statement of Unregistered 
Pesticides.
    ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 0161.12, OMB Control No. 2070-0027.
    ICR status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on July 31, 
2012. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information, 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 Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR 
part 9, are displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or 
by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection 
instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers 
for certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
    Abstract: This information collection program is designed to enable 
EPA to provide notice to foreign purchasers of unregistered pesticides 
exported from the United States that the pesticide product cannot be 
sold in the United States. Section 17(a)(2) of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires an exporter of any 
pesticide not registered under FIFRA section 3 or sold under FIFRA 
section 6(a)(1) to obtain a signed statement from the foreign purchaser 
acknowledging that the purchaser is aware that the pesticide is not 
registered for use in, and cannot be sold in, the United States. A copy 
of this statement, which is known as the Foreign Purchaser 
Acknowledgement Statement, or FPAS, must be transmitted to an 
appropriate official of the government in the importing country. This 
information is submitted in the form of annual or per-shipment 
statements to EPA, which maintains original records and transmits 
copies, along with an explanatory letter, to appropriate government 
officials of the countries which are importing the pesticide.
    In addition to the export notification for unregistered pesticides, 
FIFRA requires that all exported pesticides include appropriate 
labeling. There are different requirements for registered and 
unregistered products. Export labeling requirements meet the definition 
of third-party notification. In the interests of consolidating various 
related information collection requests, this ICR includes burden 
estimates for the FPAS requirement for unregistered pesticides, as well 
as the labeling requirement for all exported pesticides, both 
registered and unregistered. These burdens have been consolidated in 
this information collection since the implementation of the 1993 
pesticide export policy governing the export of pesticides, devices, 
and active ingredients used in producing pesticides.
    Burden statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping 
burden for this collection of information is estimated to average from 
one to eight hours per response. Burden means 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;

[[Page 74053]]

complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or 
otherwise disclose the information.
    The ICR provides a detailed explanation of this estimate, which is 
only briefly summarized here:
    Estimated total number of potential respondents: 50.
    Frequency of response: On occasion.
    Estimated total average number of responses for each respondent: 
18-50.
    Estimated total annual burden hours: 24,470 hours.
    Estimated total annual costs: $1,461,658. This is the estimated 
burden cost; there is no cost for capital investment or maintenance and 
operational costs in this information collection.

IV. Are there changes in the estimates from the last approval?

    There is a decrease of 22 hours in the total estimated respondent 
burden compared with that identified in the ICR currently approved by 
OMB. This decrease reflects EPA's updating of burden estimates for this 
collection based upon historical information on the number of foreign 
purchaser acknowledgement statements. Based upon revised estimates, the 
number of foreign purchaser acknowledgement statements has decreased 
from 2,304 to 2,283, with a corresponding decrease in the associated 
burden from 2,442 hours in the previous renewal to 2,420 hours in the 
current renewal. This change is an adjustment.

V. What is the next step in the process for this ICR?

    EPA will consider the comments received and amend the 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 to submit 
additional comments to OMB. 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: November 21, 2011.
Stephen A. Owens,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2011-30862 Filed 11-29-11; 8:45 am]
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