Agency information collection activities: Proposed collection; comment request,

[Federal Register: May 10, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 91)]

[Notices]

[Page 31759-31760]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr10my02-23]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 02-030-1]

Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of approval of an information collection; comment request.

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 in support of regulations to prevent the introduction of gypsy moth into noninfested areas of the United States from Canada..

DATES: We will consider all comments we receive that are postmarked, delivered, or e-mailed by July 9, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket No. 02-030-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-030-1. If you use e-mail, address your comment to regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 02-030-1'' on the subject line.

You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our reading room. The reading room is located in room 1141 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) 690-2817 before coming.

APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related information, including the names of organizations and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the regulations regarding importation of gypsy moth host materials from Canada, contact Mr. Frederick A. Thomas, Export Specialist, PIM, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-8367. For copies of more detailed information on the information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-7477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Importation of Gypsy Moth Host Materials from Canada.

OMB Number: 0579-0142.

Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information collection.

Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for preventing plant pests from entering the United States and controlling and eradicating plant pests in the United States. The Plant Protection Act authorizes the Department to carry out this mission. The Plant Protection and Quarantine program of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for implementing the regulations that carry out the intent of the Act.

To carry out this mission, APHIS administers regulations in 7 CFR 319.77-1 through 319.77-5 to prevent the introduction of gypsy moth into noninfested areas of the United States from Canada by placing certain inspection and documentation requirements on gypsy moth host materials (i.e., regulated articles) from Canada. These regulated articles are: Trees without roots (e.g., Christmas trees), trees with roots, shrubs with roots and persistent woody stems, logs and pulpwood with bark attached,

[[Page 31760]]

outdoor household articles, and mobile homes and their associated equipment. Under these regulations, phytosanitary certificates, certifications of origin, or signed homeowner statements will be required for some of these regulated articles, depending on their place of origin in Canada and their destination in the United States. These requirements necessitate the use of information collection activities.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of 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 information collection, 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 information collection 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 reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.03632 hours per response.

Respondents: Canadian plant health authorities; growers; exporters of Christmas trees, shrubs, logs, pulpwood, and other articles from gypsy moth-infested provinces in Canada; private individuals entering the United States with a mobile home or outdoor household articles.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 2,146.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.03914.

Estimated annual number of responses: 2,230.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 81 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 May, 2002. Peter Fernandez, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 02-11725Filed5-9-02; 8:45 am]

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