[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25640-25641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10122]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2016 / 
Notices  

[[Page 25640]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2016-0019]


Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an 
Information Collection; Scrapie in Sheep and Goats; Interstate Movement 
Restrictions and Indemnity Program

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revision to and 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 a revision to and extension of approval of an 
information collection associated with the current regulations for the 
interstate movement of sheep and goats and an indemnity program to 
control the spread of scrapie.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 
28, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2016-0019.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2016-0019, 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-2016-
0019 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 domestic 
regulations to control the spread of scrapie, contact Dr. Diane Sutton, 
National Scrapie Program Coordinator, Sheep, Goat, Cervid & Equine 
Health Center, Surveillance, Preparedness and Response Services, VS, 
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-3509. 
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: Scrapie in Sheep and Goats; Interstate Movement Restrictions 
and Indemnity Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0101.
    Type of Request: Revision to and 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 
prohibit or restrict the interstate movement of animals and animal 
products to prevent the dissemination within the United States of 
animal diseases and pests of livestock and to conduct programs to 
detect, control, and eradicate pests and diseases of livestock.
    Scrapie is a progressive, degenerative, and eventually fatal 
disease affecting the nervous system of sheep and goats. Its control is 
complicated because the disease has an extremely long incubation period 
without clinical signs of disease and no known treatment.
    APHIS regulations in 9 CFR part 79 restrict the interstate movement 
of certain sheep and goats to control the spread of scrapie, and 9 CFR 
part 54 contains regulations for an indemnity program, flock cleanup, 
testing, and a Scrapie Flock Certification Program (SFCP).
    The scrapie disease control program information collection 
activities include cooperative agreements; grants; memorandums of 
understanding; APHIS forms for inspection and epidemiology data; 
applications to participate in the SFCP; flock plans; post-exposure 
management and monitoring plans; record suspect/dead animals; scrapie 
test records; applications for indemnity payments; certificates, 
permits, and owner statements for the interstate movement of certain 
sheep and goats; applications for premises identification numbers; 
applications for official APHIS identification; designated scrapie 
epidemiologist training; and other program-related activities.
    In addition, we are adding information collection activities that 
were previously overlooked as being part of the current domestic 
scrapie program \1\ that include State responses associated with 
certificates of veterinary inspection, private laboratory requests for 
approval, responses by breed registry associations, epidemiology and 
identification compliance reporting, declination to respond, 
certification of completion of epidemiology training, and disposal cost 
information. We have adjusted the estimates of burden accordingly. In 
addition, the adjusted estimates also reflect increases in 
identification tag orders and the number of specimen submissions per 
laboratory to better represent our current activities.
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    \1\ This notice and the information collection activities 
described are for the current regulations and not the amendments to 
the regulations described in the proposed rule published September 
10, 2015 (FR 54660-54692, APHIS-2007-0127).
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    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our use of these information collection activities, as described, 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,

[[Page 25641]]

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 1.19 hours per response.
    Respondents: Flock owners; market owners, operators, or managers; 
dealers; slaughter plant owners, operators, or managers; feedlot 
owners, operators, or managers; tag manufacturers; managers of producer 
organizations; accredited veterinarians; and State animal health 
authorities.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 166,000.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 5.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 854,694.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,021,526 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. Responses and respondents include recordkeeping and 
record keepers, respectively.)
    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 25th day of April 2016.
Jere L. Dick,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-10122 Filed 4-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P