02-32133. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission of EPA ICR No. 0152.07 (OMB No. 2070-0020) to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that the following Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Notices of Arrival of Pesticides and Devices (OMB Control No. 2070-0020, EPA ICR No. 0152.07). The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.

DATES:

Additional comments may be submitted on or before January 21, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Follow the detailed instructions in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen Howie, Office of Compliance, 2225A, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: [phone]; fax number: (202) 564-0085; e-mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. The Federal Register Notice required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on July 16, 2002 (67 FR 46663-4), and no comments were received.

EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. OECA-2002-0021, which is available for public viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is [phone], and the telephone number for the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center is [phone]. An electronic version of the public docket is available through EPA Dockets (EDOCKET) at http://www.epa.gov/​edocket. Use EDOCKET to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the public docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified above.

Any comments related to this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice, and according to the following detailed instructions: (1) Submit your comments to EPA online using EDOCKET (our preferred method), by e-mail to [e-mail], or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2201T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, and (2) Mail your comments to OMB at: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing in EDOCKET as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. When EPA identifies a comment containing copyrighted material, EPA will provide a reference to that material in the version of the comment that is placed in EDOCKET. The entire printed comment, including the copyrighted material, will be available in the public docket. Although identified as an item in the official docket, information claimed as CBI, or whose disclosure is otherwise restricted by statute, is not included in the official public docket, and will not be available for public viewing in EDOCKET. For further information about the electronic docket, see EPA's Federal Register notice describing the electronic docket at 67 FR 38102 (May 31, 2002), or go to www.epa.gov./​edocket.

Title: Notices of Arrival of Pesticides and Devices (OMB Control No. 2070-0020, EPA ICR No. 0152.07). This is a request to renew an existing approved collection scheduled to expire on December 31, 2002. Under the OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB.

Abstract: The U.S. Customs regulations at 19 CFR 12.112 require that an importer desiring to import pesticides into the United States shall, prior to the shipment's arrival, submit a Notice of Arrival of Pesticides and Devices (EPA Form 3540-1) to EPA who will determine the disposition of the shipment. After completing the form, EPA returns the form to the importer, or his agent, who must present the form to Customs upon arrival of the shipment at the port of entry. This is necessary to insure that EPA is notified of the arrival of pesticides and devices as required by the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) section 17(c) and has the ability to examine such shipments to determine that they are in compliance with FIFRA. The information is used by EPA Regional pesticide enforcement and compliance staffs, OECA, and the Department of Treasury. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR chapter 15, and are identified on the form and/or instrument, if applicable.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.3 hours per response. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.

Respondents/Affected Entities: Importers of Pesticide and Devices.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 18,500.

Frequency of Response: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 5,550 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $396,085.

Changes in the Estimates: There is an increase of 3,450 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. This increase is due to an adjustment in the number of respondents, based on a survey of responses reported to the EPA Regions in calendar year 2002.

Dated: December 2, 2002.

Oscar Morales,

Director, Collection Strategies Division.