[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 246 (Thursday, December 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93881-93882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30833]


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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 
 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 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2016 / 
Notices  

[[Page 93881]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

December 19, 2016
    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 
are requested regarding (1) 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) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of 
the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) 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.
    Comments regarding this information collection received by January 
23, 2017 will be considered. Written comments should be addressed to: 
Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office 
Building, 725--17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20502. Commenters are 
encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: 
[email protected] or fax (202) 395-5806 and to Departmental 
Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-
7602. 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: Scrapie in Sheep and Goats; Interstate Movement Restrictions 
and Indemnity Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0101.
    Summary of Collection: The Animal Health Protection Act (AHPA) of 
2002 is the primary Federal law governing the protection of animal 
health. The law gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to 
detect, control, or eradicate pests or diseases of livestock or 
poultry. The Secretary may also prohibit or restrict import or export 
of any such animal or related material if necessary to prevent spread 
of any livestock or poultry pest or disease. The AHPA is contained in 
Title X, Subtitle E, Sections 10401-18 of P.L. 107-171, May 13, 2002, 
the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. Scrapie is a 
progressive, degenerative, and eventually fatal disease affecting the 
central 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 there is no test for the disease and/or 
known treatment. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 
restricts the interstate movement of certain sheep and goats to help 
prevent the spread of scrapie within the United States. APHIS has 
regulations at 9 CFR part 54 for an indemnity program to compensate 
owners of sheep and goats destroyed because of scrapie.
    Need and Use of the Information: The regulations necessitate the 
use of a number of information collection activities including, but not 
limited to, applications for participation in the Scrapie Flock 
Certification Program; various plans for infected and source flocks; 
scrapie test records; application for indemnity payments; certificates; 
permits; and applications for APHIS-approved eartags, backtags, or 
tattoos, etc. Without this information, APHIS' efforts to more 
aggressively prevent the spread of scrapie would be severely hindered.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not for 
Profit; and State, Local, or Tribal Government;
    Number of Respondents: 166,000.
    Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 1,021,528.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

    Title: Importation of Pork-Filled Pasta.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0214.
    Summary of Collection: The Animal Health Protection Act (AHPA) of 
2002 is the primary Federal law governing the protection of animal 
health. The law gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to 
detect, control, and eradicate pests or diseases of livestock or 
poultry. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
responsible for protecting the health of our Nation's livestock and 
poultry populations by preventing the introduction and interstate 
spread of serious diseases and pests of livestock and for eradicating 
such diseases from the United States when feasible.
    Swine Vesicular Disease (SVD) is a highly contagious disease that 
resists both environmental factors and common disinfectants. SVD rarely 
results I mortality in infected swine and does not cause severe 
production losses. However, the disease can have a major economic 
impact since eradication if costly and SVD-free regions often prohibit 
imports of swine, pork, and pork products from affected regions.
    Need and Use of the Information: A certificate must be completed 
and signed by the issuing official, and contains such information as 
the origin of the meat used in the product, the name and location of 
the facility that processed the product, and the product's intended 
destination. APHIS regulations contain specific requirement for the 
processing, recordkeeping, and certification procedures for pork-filled 
pasta products exported to the United States from SVD-affect regions. 
Without the information, it would significantly cripple APHIS' ability 
to ensure that pork-filled pasta from certain regions poses a minimal 
risk of introducing SVD into the United States.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; and 
Federal Government.
    Number of Respondents: 2.
    Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion.

[[Page 93882]]

    Total Burden Hours: 5.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

    Title: Importation of Shelled Peas from Kenya.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0302.
    Summary of Collection: Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 
7701 et seq.), 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. The 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) fruits and 
vegetables regulations allows the importation of shelled garden peas 
from Kenya into the continental United States while continuing to 
protect against the introduction of quarantined peas.
    Need and Use of the Information: APHIS requires that some plants or 
plant products be accompanied by a phytosanitary inspection certificate 
that is completed by plant health officials in the originating or 
transiting country. APHIS uses the information on the certificate to 
determine the pest condition of the shipment at the time of inspection 
in the foreign country. This information is used as a guide to the 
intensity of the inspection APHIS conducts when the shipment arrives. 
Without the information, all shipments would need to be inspected very 
thoroughly, thereby requiring considerably more time. This would slow 
the clearance of international shipments.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for profit; Federal 
Government.
    Number of Respondents: 2.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 2.

Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2016-30833 Filed 12-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P