[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32230-32231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12697]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2013-0030]


Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information 
Collection; Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program

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 Federal recognition of a State's plant pest 
containment, eradication, or exclusion program as a Federally 
Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July 
29, 2013.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2013-0030-0001.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2013-0030, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2013-
0030 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Federally 
Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program, contact Ms. Diane L. 
Schuble, National Coordinator for Official Control, Plant Health 
Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737; 
(301) 851-2334. 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: Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program.
    OMB Number: 0579-0365.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) 
authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit or restrict the 
importation, entry, or interstate movement of plants, plant products, 
or other articles 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 their 
interstate spread. APHIS' plant pest containment 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 
containment or eradication 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. However, APHIS will also recognize exclusion 
programs that are

[[Page 32231]]

intended to protect other States that would be endangered by the 
introduction of a quarantine pest established elsewhere in the United 
States.
    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 initiated 
the Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary (FRSMP) Program, 
which establishes an administrative process for granting Federal 
recognition to certain State-managed official control programs for 
plant pest eradication or containment and State-managed pest exclusion 
programs. (The FRSMP Program was previously referred to as the Official 
Control Program.) Federal recognition of a State's pest control 
activities will justify actions by Federal inspectors at ports of entry 
to help exclude pests that are under a phytosanitary 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.
    These information collection activities were previously approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with an estimated total 
annual burden on respondents of 106,000 hours. However, we 
overestimated the number of respondents, and we have adjusted the 
estimated total annual burden on respondents to 1,399 hours.
    We are asking OMB to approve 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 82 hours per response.
    Respondents: State Plant Health Regulatory Officials.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 53.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 0.33.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 17.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,399 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 22nd day of May 2013.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-12697 Filed 5-28-13; 8:45 am]
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