2023-00284. Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Movement of Organisms Modified 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.

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 movement of organisms and products modified or produced through genetic engineering.

DATES:

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March 13, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2022-0068 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-2022-0068, 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 [phone] 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/Supervisory Policy Analyst, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 146, Riverdale, MD 20737; [phone]. For information about the information collection process, contact Mr. Joseph Moxey, APHIS' Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator; [phone]; [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Movement of Organisms Modified 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 (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, or movement in 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, “Movement of Organisms Modified or Produced Through Genetic Engineering,” that govern the movement (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 moved. 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 confirmation of exemption requests; regulatory status reviews; applications and procedures for certain APHIS-issued permits and associated State and Tribal reviews; permit appeals; marking or 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 a final rule that APHIS published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2020 (85 FR 29790-29838, Docket No. APHIS-2018-0034) ^[1] that revised the regulations in part 340 and the merging of activities that are currently being reported under OMB control number 0579-0471 (Movement of Certain Genetically Engineered Organisms). Activities being discontinued or grandfathered include requests (petitions) for determination of non-regulated status, field test reporting, and training program documentation. After OMB approves this combined information collection (OMB control number 0579-0085), APHIS will retire OMB control number 0579-0471.

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 average 8.9 hours per response.

Respondents: State, Local, and Tribal government agricultural representatives and applicants from agricultural companies.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 301.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 30.8.

Estimated annual number of responses: 9,283.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 82,589 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 5th day of January 2023.

Anthony Shea,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Footnotes

1.  To view the final rule, go to www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS-2018-0034 in the Search field.