[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7675-7676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02444]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2023-0011]
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
[[Page 7676]]
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 April
7, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2023-0011 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2023-0011, 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 regulations.gov 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 Federally
Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program, contact Ms. Lydia E.
Colon, National Policy Manager for Pest Emergency and Response Program,
Emergency and Domestic Programs, APHIS, PPQ, 4700 River Road,
Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2302; [email protected]. For
information on the information collection reporting process, contact
Mr. Joseph Moxey, APHIS' Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator, at (301)
851-2483; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program.
OMB Control 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 plant pests, 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
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.
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 of a petition for
protocol for quarantine pests of concern, a petition for regulated non-
quarantine pests, State cooperative agreements, and audit review annual
accomplishment reports.
We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (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 burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 34.7 hours per response.
Respondents: State plant health regulatory officials.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 1.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 7.
Estimated annual number of responses: 7.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 243 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 1st day of February 2023.
Anthony Shea
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-02444 Filed 2-3-23; 8:45 am]
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