[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 165 (Monday, August 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68386-68387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19055]


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 Notices
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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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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 165 / Monday, August 26, 2024 / 
Notices  

[[Page 68386]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2024-0037]


Notice of Request for Approval of an Information Collection; 
Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation; Contact Page

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: New 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 approval of a new information collection 
associated with the use of the contact page of the Unified website for 
Biotechnology Regulation to collect certain information from visitors 
to the website.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
October 25, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2024-0037 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-2024-0037, 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 Unified website 
for Biotechnology Regulation, contact Mr. Joseph Tangredi, Document 
Management, Policy, Program and International Collaborations, 
Biotechnology Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 146, 
Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-4061; [email protected]. For more 
information about the information collection process, contact Mr. 
Joseph Moxey, APHIS' Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator, at (301) 851-
2533.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Unified website for Biotechnology Regulation; Contact Page.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-XXXX.
    Type of Request: Approval of a new information collection.
    Abstract: In 1986, the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of 
Biotechnology (Coordinated Framework) was published by the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy and explained the regulatory roles for 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), (herein, 
the Agencies) and how Federal agencies use existing Federal statutes to 
ensure public health and environmental safety while maintaining 
regulatory flexibility to avoid impeding the growth of the 
biotechnology industry. The Coordinated Framework was subsequently 
updated in 1992 (57 FR 6753-6762; February 27, 1992) and 2017,\1\ 
taking into account advances that had occurred in the field of 
biotechnology.
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    \1\ https://usbiotechnologyregulation.mrp.usda.gov/biotechnologygov/home/.
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    Within the USDA, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's 
(APHIS') Biotechnology Regulatory Services unit is responsible for 
ensuring that organisms developed using genetic engineering, such as 
genetically modified plants, insects, and microbes do not pose a plant 
pest risk. APHIS derives its authority to promulgate its biotechnology 
regulations from provisions of the Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 
7701 et seq.) and the Virus-Serum-Toxin Act (VRTA, 21 U.S.C. 151-159). 
The EPA is charged with protecting human health and the environment 
through ensuring the safety of pesticides and other chemicals, 
including those developed using genetic engineering. The EPA derives 
its regulatory authority from provisions of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) and the 
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA, 15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). The FDA is 
responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, 
efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological 
products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our 
nation's food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation, 
which includes oversight of food and feed. FDA derives its regulatory 
authority from provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act 
(FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 301-392). Together with the USDA's Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS), FDA has oversight of certain chemicals 
modified using genetic engineering. FSIS derives its regulatory 
authority from the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA, 21 U.S.C. 601 et 
seq.) and the Poultry Products Protection Act (PPIA, 21 U.S.C. ch.10, 
451 et seq.).
    On September 12, 2022, Executive Order (E.O.) 14081, Advancing 
Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, 
and Secure American Bioeconomy,\2\ was published and directed the 
Agencies, among other things, to build on the Unified website for 
Biotechnology Regulation \3\ developed pursuant to E.O. 13874, 
Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology 
Products, June 11, 2019,\4\ by including on the website the information 
developed under subsection (b) of Section 8 of E.O. 14081, and by 
enabling developers of biotechnology products to submit inquiries about 
a particular product and promptly receive a single, coordinated 
response that provides, to the extent practicable, information and, 
when appropriate, informal guidance regarding the process

[[Page 68387]]

that the developers must follow for Federal regulatory review.
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    \2\ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-09-15/pdf/2022-20167.pdf.
    \3\ https://usbiotechnologyregulation.mrp.usda.gov/biotechnologygov/home/.
    \4\ https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-06-14/pdf/2019-12802.pdf.
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    The necessity for this information collection arises from E.O. 
13874, Section 5, Unified Biotechnology Web-Based Platform, and E.O. 
14081, Section 8(d). These provisions seek to ensure that innovators 
can easily navigate the Federal regulatory system for products of 
biotechnology by directing USDA, EPA, and FDA to jointly establish a 
web-based platform that contains and provides links to relevant United 
States Government regulatory information for biotechnology products. 
These provisions further direct that the web-based platform shall allow 
developers of products of agricultural biotechnology to submit 
inquiries about a particular product and promptly receive from the 
Agencies a single, coordinated response that provides, to the extent 
practicable, information and, when appropriate, informal guidance 
regarding the processes that the developers must follow for Federal 
regulatory review.
    The Unified website for Biotechnology Regulation (``Unified 
website'') is currently hosted by the Department of Agriculture, with 
other agencies providing support, to the extent consistent with 
existing appropriations, through appropriate interagency agreements, 
including agreements under the Economy Act.
    USDA-APHIS, EPA, and FDA will use a web-form on the contact page of 
the Unified website to enable site visitors to ask questions, make 
comments, or request a meeting with one or all of the sponsoring 
agencies. The web-form will collect basic contact information such as 
the name and email address of contact page respondents, as well as the 
respondents' questions or comments and their meeting requests. 
Respondent use of the contact page is voluntary.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our use of this information collection activity for 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 0.5 hours per response.
    Respondents: Commercial and academic developers of biotechnology 
products and the interested public.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 30.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 30.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 15 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 6th day of August 2024.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-19055 Filed 8-23-24; 8:45 am]
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