[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9549-9550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03859]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 38 / Thursday, February 26, 2026 /
Notices
[[Page 9549]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2026-0133]
Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information
Collection; 7 CFR Part 340; Introduction of Organisms and Products
Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering
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
introduction of organisms and products altered or produced through
genetic engineering.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April
27, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2026-0133 in the Search field. Select
the Documents tab, then select the Comment button in the list of
documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send one copy of
your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2026-0133, Regulatory Analysis and
Development, PPD, APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., #AP760, Beltsville, MD
20705.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov or in our reading room, which
is 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 regarding the movement
of organisms modified or produced through genetic engineering, contact
Mrs. Chessa Huff-Woodard, Branch Chief, APHIS, Biotechnology Regulatory
Services, 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Beltsville, MD 20705; [email protected]; 301-851-3943. For information on the information
collection process, contact Ms. Sheniqua Harris, APHIS' Paperwork
Reduction Act Coordinator, at (301) 851-2528 or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: 7 CFR part 340; Introduction of Organisms and Products
Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0085.
Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an
information collection.
Abstract: Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7703, et
seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to prohibit or
restrict the importation, entry, or movement for interstate commerce of
any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed,
article, or means of conveyance if the Secretary determines that the
prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent the introduction or
the dissemination of a plant pest into the United States.
Under this authority, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has established regulations
in 7 CFR part 340, ``Introduction of Organisms and Products Altered or
Produced Through Genetic Engineering Which Are Plant Pests or Which
There is Reason to Believe Are Plant Pests'' that govern the
introduction (importation, interstate movement, or release into the
environment) of covered organisms modified or produced through genetic
engineering. A permit must be obtained before an organism subject to
the regulations may be introduced. The regulations set forth the permit
application requirements for the movement of an organism subject to the
regulations and necessitate certain information collection activities,
such as notifications; permit applications; permit appeals; petitions
to deregulate a regulated organism; marking and labeling of containers;
and maintaining records.
Several activities previously reported under this information
collection, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number 0579-
0085, are being discontinued or replaced with those now listed above.
This change in activities is based on the vacatur of the final rule
that APHIS published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2020 (85 FR
29790-29838, Docket No. APHIS-2018-0034 \1\). Activities being
discontinued include confirmation letters and regulatory status
reviews. Activities being reinstated include notifications, field test
reporting, and petitions.
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\1\ To view the final rule and the vacatur, go to
www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS-2018-0034 in the Search field.
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We are asking 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 be 1.64 per response.
Respondents: Applicants from agricultural companies; applicants
from academic institutions and foundations.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 554.
[[Page 9550]]
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 19.
Estimated annual number of responses: 10,294.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 16,907 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 February 2026.
Kelly Moore,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-03859 Filed 2-25-26; 8:45 am]
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