[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9809-9810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03969]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2026-0199]
Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information
Collection; Endangered Species Regulations and Forfeiture Procedures
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
protection of endangered species of terrestrial plants and for
procedures related to the forfeiture of plants or other property.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April
28, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2026-0199 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-2026-0199, 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 on the regulations to
protect endangered species of terrestrial plants and forfeiture
procedures, contact Dr. John Veremis, National CITES Director,
[[Page 9810]]
PHP, PPQ, APHIS, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250;
[email protected]; (301) 851-2347. For information on the
information collection, contact Ms. Sheniqua Harris, APHIS' Paperwork
Reduction Act Coordinator, at (301) 851-2528 or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Endangered Species Regulations and Forfeiture Procedures.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0076.
Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an
information collection.
Abstract: Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is
responsible for enforcing provisions of the Act and the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES) that pertain to the importation, exportation, or reexportation
of plants.
As part of this mission, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) administers the regulations in 7 CFR part 355,
``Endangered Species Regulations Concerning Terrestrial Plants.'' In
accordance with these regulations, any entity wishing to engage in the
business of importing, exporting, or reexporting terrestrial plants
listed in the CITES regulations at 50 CFR 17.12 or 23.23 must obtain a
protected plant permit from APHIS. Such entities include importers,
exporters, or reexporters who sell, barter, collect, or otherwise
exchange or acquire terrestrial plants as a livelihood or enterprise
engaged in for gain or profit. The requirement does not apply to
persons engaged in business merely as carriers or customhouse brokers.
To obtain a protected plant permit, entities must complete an
application and submit it to APHIS for approval. When a permit has been
issued, the plants covered by the permit may be imported into the
United States, exported, or reexported, provided they are accompanied
by documentation required by the regulations and all other conditions
of the regulations are met.
Effectively regulating entities who are engaged in the business of
importing, exporting, or reexporting endangered species of terrestrial
plants requires the use of this application process, as well as the use
of other information collection activities including, but not limited
to, appealing the denial of a permit; marking containers used for the
importation, exportation, or reexportation of the plants; notifying
APHIS of the impending importation, exportation, or reexportation of
the plants; validating documents; creating and maintaining records of
importation, exportation, and reexportation; and submitting related
reports from records required to be maintained.
APHIS also administers regulations at 7 CFR part 356, ``Forfeiture
Procedures,'' which sets out procedures for the forfeiture of plants or
other property by entities found to be in violation of the Endangered
Species Act or the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.). Entities whose
property is subject to forfeiture may file with APHIS a waiver of
forfeiture procedures, a claim, a request for return of property, or
petition for remission or mitigation of forfeiture.
The information provided by these information collection activities
is critical to APHIS' ability to carry out its responsibilities under
the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act. These responsibilities
include monitoring importation, exportation, and reexportation
activities involving endangered species of plants, as well as the
investigation of possible violations and the forfeiture of plants or
other property.
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. APHIS has amended this information collection by
decreasing the number of Responses. In addition, Total Burden Hours
reported decreased due to APHIS moving the PPQ Form 368 activity to the
new Common Form Information Collection.
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 0.096 hours per response.
Respondents: U.S. importers and exporters of endangered species of
terrestrial plants.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 1,097.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 137.
Estimated annual number of responses: 149,876.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 14,436 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 24th day of February 2026.
Kelly Moore,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-03969 Filed 2-26-26; 8:45 am]
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