[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78384-78385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30509]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2014-0091]


Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information 
Collection; Emergency Management Response System

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

[[Page 78385]]


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 the Emergency Management Response System.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 
2, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0091.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2014-0091, 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-2014-
0091 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 Emergency 
Management Response System, contact Dr. Fred Bourgeois, EMRS National 
Coordinator, PIC, NPIC, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 41, Riverdale, 
MD 20737; (318) 288-4083. For copies of more detailed information on 
the information collection, contact Ms. Kimberly Hardy, APHIS' 
Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2727.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Emergency Management Response System.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0071.
    Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: Under the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et 
seq.), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture is authorized, among other things, to 
protect the health of U.S. livestock and poultry populations by 
preventing the introduction and interstate spread of serious diseases 
and pests of livestock and by eradicating such diseases from the United 
States when feasible.
    The Emergency Management Response System (EMRS), which is a web-
based system, helps APHIS manage and investigate potential incidents of 
foreign animal diseases in the United States.
    When a potential foreign animal disease incident is reported, APHIS 
or State animal health officials dispatch a foreign animal disease 
veterinary diagnostician to the premises of the reported incident to 
conduct an investigation. The diagnostician obtains vital epidemiologic 
data by conducting field investigations, including sample collection, 
and by interviewing the owner or manager of the premises being 
investigated. These important data, submitted electronically by the 
diagnostician into EMRS, include such items as the purpose of the 
diagnostician's visit and suspected disease, type of operation on the 
premises, the number and type of animals on the premises, the number of 
sick or dead animals on the premises, the results of physical 
examinations of affected animals and necropsy examinations, vaccination 
information on the animals in the herd or flock, biosecurity practices 
at the site, whether any animals were recently moved out of the herd or 
flock, whether any new animals were recently introduced into the herd 
or flock, the number and kinds of test samples taken, and detailed 
geographic data concerning the premises location. EMRS allows these 
epidemiological and diagnostic data to be documented and transmitted 
more efficiently.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our use of 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, such as 
electronic submission of responses.
    Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average 1.0 hour per response.
    Respondents: Owners or operators of livestock and poultry 
facilities and State animal health officials.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 387.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 4.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 1,548.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,548 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 December 2014.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-30509 Filed 12-29-14; 8:45 am]
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