[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 229 (Friday, November 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76005-76006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26208]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0108]
Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an
Information Collection; Importation of Poultry Meat and Other Poultry
Products From Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico; Poultry and Pork Transiting
the United States
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 regulations for the
importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Sinaloa and
Sonora and for pork and poultry products transiting the United States.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
January 26, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2020-0108.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2020-0108, 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-2020-
0108 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1620 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 importation of
poultry meat and other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora,
Mexico, and poultry and pork transiting the United States, contact Dr.
Nathaniel J. Koval, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 39, Riverdale, MD
20737; (301) 851-3434. For more information on the information
collection process, contact Mr. Joseph Moxey, APHIS' Information
Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2483.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Importation of Poultry Meat and Other Poultry Products From
Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico; Poultry and Pork Transiting the United
States.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0144.
Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an
information collection.
Abstract: The Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.)
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 the import or export of any
animal or related material if necessary to prevent the spread of any
livestock or poultry pest or disease.
Disease prevention is the most effective method for maintaining a
healthy animal population and for enhancing the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services' (APHIS')
ability to allow U.S. animal producers to compete in the world market
of animal and animal product trade. APHIS is the agency charged with
carrying out disease prevention by regulating the importation of
animals and animal products into the United States. The regulations
under which APHIS conducts these disease prevention activities are
contained in 9 CFR parts 91 through 99. These regulations govern the
importation of animals and animal products.
The regulations in Sec. 94.6 provide the requirements for, among
other things, the importation of poultry carcasses, parts, products,
and eggs (other than hatching eggs) from regions where Newcastle
disease (ND) is considered to exist. However, Sec. 94.15 allows
poultry carcasses, parts, products, and eggs (other than hatching eggs)
that are not eligible for entry into the United States
[[Page 76006]]
to transit the United States via land ports, for immediate export, from
certain Mexican States.\1\ APHIS believes that allowing such in-transit
movements presents a negligible risk of introducing ND into the United
States while simultaneously avoiding unnecessary restrictions on trade.
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\1\ The Mexican States of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatan
can import certain poultry and poultry products into the United
States under the restrictions set forth in Sec. 94.33 because they:
(1) Supplement their meat supply by importing fresh (chilled or
frozen) poultry meat from regions where ND is considered to exist;
(2) share a common land border with regions where ND is considered
to exist; or (3) import live poultry from regions where ND is
considered to exist under conditions less restrictive than would be
acceptable for importation into the United States.
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APHIS also currently has regulations in place that restrict the
importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Mexico due
to the presence of ND in that country. However, under the regulations
in Sec. 94.30, APHIS allows the importation of poultry meat and
poultry products from the Mexican States of Sinaloa and Sonora, if
imported according to APHIS' requirements, because APHIS has determined
that poultry meat and products from these two Mexican States pose a
negligible risk of introducing ND into the United States.
To ensure the above commodities are safe for importation, APHIS
requires that certain information collection activities take place such
as foreign meat inspection certificates, serially numbered seals,
applications for import permits, emergency action notification, and
pre-arrival notifications.
This collection includes activities associated with the regulations
currently in Sec. 94.15 for the transit of pork and pork products from
certain Mexican States through the United States, under seal, to export
to another country. These regulations were adopted because APHIS
considered Mexico, except for certain States, to be affected with
classical swine fever (CSF). However, in January 16, 2018, APHIS
published a notice (83 FR 2131-2132, APHIS-2016-0038) announcing the
addition of Mexico to the list of regions that are considered to be
free of CSF, thus eliminating the basis for this regulatory
requirement.
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, mechanical, and other collection technologies; e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
Estimate of burden: The public burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 0.99 hours per response.
Respondents: Federal animal health authorities in Mexico and U.S.
importers and exporters of poultry meat, other poultry products, pork,
and pork products from Mexico.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 79.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 41.
Estimated annual number of responses: 3,214.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 3,212 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 23rd day of November 2020.
Mark Davidson,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-26208 Filed 11-25-20; 8:45 am]
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