2013-12697. Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program

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 associated with Federal recognition of a State's plant pest containment, eradication, or exclusion program as a Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program.

DATES:

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July 29, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/​#!documentDetail;​D=​APHIS-2013-0030-0001.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2013-0030, 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 http://www.regulations.gov/​#!docketDetail;​D=​APHIS-2013-0030 or in our reading room, which 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 [phone] before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information on the Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program, contact Ms. Diane L. Schuble, National Coordinator for Official Control, Plant Health Programs, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737; [phone]. For copies of more detailed information on the information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program.

OMB Number: 0579-0365.

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

Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, or interstate movement of plants, plant products, or other articles if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent a plant pest or noxious weed from being introduced into or disseminated within the United States. This authority has been delegated to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

As part of this mission, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program responds to introductions of plant pests to eradicate, suppress, or contain them through various programs to prevent their interstate spread. APHIS' plant pest containment and eradication programs qualify as “official control programs,” as defined by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), recognized by the World Trade Organization as the standard-setting body for international plant quarantine issues. “Official control” is defined as “the active enforcement of mandatory phytosanitary regulations and the application of mandatory phytosanitary procedures with the objective of containment or eradication of quarantine pests or for the management of regulated non-quarantine pests.” As a contracting party to the IPPC, the United States has agreed to observe IPPC principles as they relate to international trade. However, APHIS will also recognize exclusion programs that are intended to protect other States that would be endangered by the introduction of a quarantine pest established elsewhere in the United States.

APHIS is aware that individual States enforce phytosanitary regulations and procedures within their borders to address pests of concern, and that those pests are not always also the subject of an APHIS response program or activity. To strengthen APHIS' safeguarding system to protect agriculture and to facilitate agriculture trade through effective management of phytosanitary measures, APHIS initiated the Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary (FRSMP) Program, which establishes an administrative process for granting Federal recognition to certain State-managed official control programs for plant pest eradication or containment and State-managed pest exclusion programs. (The FRSMP Program was previously referred to as the Official Control Program.) Federal recognition of a State's pest control activities will justify actions by Federal inspectors at ports of entry to help exclude pests that are under a phytosanitary program in a destination State. This process involves the use of information collection activities, including the submission by States of a protocol for quarantine pests of concern and a protocol for regulated non-quarantine pests.

These information collection activities were previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with an estimated total annual burden on respondents of 106,000 hours. However, we overestimated the number of respondents, and we have adjusted the estimated total annual burden on respondents to 1,399 hours.

We are asking OMB to approve 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 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 reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 82 hours per response.

Respondents: State Plant Health Regulatory Officials.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 53.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 0.33.

Estimated annual number of responses: 17.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,399 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 22nd day of May 2013.

Kevin Shea,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.