2016-30833. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

December 19, 2016

The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments are requested regarding (1) 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) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments regarding this information collection received by January 23, 2017 will be considered. Written comments should be addressed to: Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), New Executive Office Building, 725—17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20502. Commenters are encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: [e-mail] or fax [phone] and to Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-7602. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling [phone].

An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such persons are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Title: Scrapie in Sheep and Goats; Interstate Movement Restrictions and Indemnity Program.

OMB Control Number: 0579-0101.

Summary of Collection: The Animal Health Protection Act (AHPA) of 2002 is the primary Federal law governing the protection of animal health. The law gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to detect, control, or eradicate pests or diseases of livestock or poultry. The Secretary may also prohibit or restrict import or export of any such animal or related material if necessary to prevent spread of any livestock or poultry pest or disease. The AHPA is contained in Title X, Subtitle E, Sections 10401-18 of P.L. 107-171, May 13, 2002, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. Scrapie is a progressive, degenerative, and eventually fatal disease affecting the central nervous system of sheep and goats. Its control is complicated because the disease has an extremely long incubation period without clinical signs of disease, and there is no test for the disease and/or known treatment. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) restricts the interstate movement of certain sheep and goats to help prevent the spread of scrapie within the United States. APHIS has regulations at 9 CFR part 54 for an indemnity program to compensate owners of sheep and goats destroyed because of scrapie.

Need and Use of the Information: The regulations necessitate the use of a number of information collection activities including, but not limited to, applications for participation in the Scrapie Flock Certification Program; various plans for infected and source flocks; scrapie test records; application for indemnity payments; certificates; permits; and applications for APHIS-approved eartags, backtags, or tattoos, etc. Without this information, APHIS' efforts to more aggressively prevent the spread of scrapie would be severely hindered.

Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not for Profit; and State, Local, or Tribal Government;

Number of Respondents: 166,000.

Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion.

Total Burden Hours: 1,021,528.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Title: Importation of Pork-Filled Pasta.

OMB Control Number: 0579-0214.

Summary of Collection: The Animal Health Protection Act (AHPA) of 2002 is the primary Federal law governing the protection of animal health. The law gives the Secretary of Agriculture broad authority to detect, control, and eradicate pests or diseases of livestock or poultry. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for protecting the health of our Nation's livestock and poultry populations by preventing the introduction and interstate spread of serious diseases and pests of livestock and for eradicating such diseases from the United States when feasible.

Swine Vesicular Disease (SVD) is a highly contagious disease that resists both environmental factors and common disinfectants. SVD rarely results I mortality in infected swine and does not cause severe production losses. However, the disease can have a major economic impact since eradication if costly and SVD-free regions often prohibit imports of swine, pork, and pork products from affected regions.

Need and Use of the Information: A certificate must be completed and signed by the issuing official, and contains such information as the origin of the meat used in the product, the name and location of the facility that processed the product, and the product's intended destination. APHIS regulations contain specific requirement for the processing, recordkeeping, and certification procedures for pork-filled pasta products exported to the United States from SVD-affect regions. Without the information, it would significantly cripple APHIS' ability to ensure that pork-filled pasta from certain regions poses a minimal risk of introducing SVD into the United States.

Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; and Federal Government.

Number of Respondents: 2.

Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion.

Total Burden Hours: 5.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Title: Importation of Shelled Peas from Kenya.

OMB Control Number: 0579-0302.

Summary of Collection: Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to carry out operations or measures to detect, eradicate, suppress, control, prevent, or retard the spread of plant pests new to the United States or not known to be widely distributed throughout the United States. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) fruits and vegetables regulations allows the importation of shelled garden peas from Kenya into the continental United States while continuing to protect against the introduction of quarantined peas.

Need and Use of the Information: APHIS requires that some plants or plant products be accompanied by a phytosanitary inspection certificate that is completed by plant health officials in the originating or transiting country. APHIS uses the information on the certificate to determine the pest condition of the shipment at the time of inspection in the foreign country. This information is used as a guide to the intensity of the inspection APHIS conducts when the shipment arrives. Without the information, all shipments would need to be inspected very thoroughly, thereby requiring considerably more time. This would slow the clearance of international shipments.

Description of Respondents: Business or other for profit; Federal Government.

Number of Respondents: 2.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.

Total Burden Hours: 2.

Ruth Brown,

Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.