E7-14168. Proposed Information Collection; OMB Control Number 1018-0078; Injurious Wildlife; Importation Certification for Live Fish and Fish Eggs

AGENCY:

Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

We (Fish and Wildlife Service) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to renew the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This IC is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2007. We 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.

DATES:

You must submit comments on or before September 21, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on the IC to Hope Grey, Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service, MS 222-ARLSQ, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203 (mail); [e-mail] (e-mail); or [phone] (fax).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this IC, contact Hope Grey by mail, fax, or e-mail (see ADDRESSES) or by telephone at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42)(Act) prohibits the possession or importation of any animal or plant deemed to be and prescribed by regulation to be injurious to human beings; to the interests of agriculture, horticulture, and forestry; or to wildlife or the wildlife resources of the United States. The Department of the Interior is charged with enforcement of this Act. The Act and our regulations at 50 CFR 16 allow for the importation of animals classified as injurious if specific criteria are met. To effectively carry out our responsibilities and protect the aquatic resources of the United States, we must gather information on the animals being imported with regard to their source, destination, and health status. It is also imperative that we ensure the qualifications of those individuals providing the fish health data upon which we base our decision to allow importation.

We use three forms to collect this information:

(1) FWS Form 3-2273 (Title 50 Certifying Official Form). New applicants and those seeking recertification as a Title 50 certifying official provide information so that we can assess their qualifications. Information includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Name, position title, current place of employment (with address) and work phone number, fax number, and e-mail address.

(b) Professional degrees.

(c) Primary duties.

(d) Areas of expertise and related certifications.

(e) Facilities available for diagnostic tests and available equipment.

(2) FWS Form 3-2274 (U.S. Title 50 Certification Form). The certifying official uses this form to affirm the health status of the fish or their reproductive products to be imported. Information includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Certifying official's name and date of most recent certification.

(b) Number, life stage, and species of animals or eggs.

(c) Site and date of sample collection.

(d) Name and address of laboratory conducting the assays.

(e) Site from which the animals or eggs will be shipped.

(f) Dates of the shipment.

(g) Means of shipment and anticipated border crossing.

(3) FWS Form 3-2275 (Title 50 Importation Request Form). We use the information on this form to ensure the safety of the shipment and to track and control importations. Information includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Name and address of company/agency and facility receiving animals or eggs.

(b) Number, life stage, and species of animals or eggs.

(c) Origin of animals or eggs.

(d) Name and address of exporter.

II. Data

OMB Control Number: 1018-0078.

Title: Injurious Wildlife; Importation Certification for Live Fish and Fish Eggs, 50 CFR 16.13.

Service Form Number(s): 3-2273, 3-2274, and 3-2275.

Type of Request: Extension without change.

Affected Public: Aquatic animal health professionals seeking to be certified Title 50 inspectors; certified Title 50 inspectors who have performed health certifications on live salmonids; and any entity wishing to import live salmonids or their reproductive products into the United States.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Activity	Number of annual respondents	Number of annual responses	Completion time per response	Annual burden hours
FWS Form 3-2273	16	16	1 hour	16
FWS Form 3-2274	25	50	30 minutes	25
FWS Form 3-2275	25	50	15 minutes	12.5
Totals	56	116		53.5

III. Request for Comments

We invite comments concerning this IC on:

(1) whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility;

(2) the accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information;

(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 respondents.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include and/or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this IC. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Dated: July 9, 2007.

Hope Grey,

Information Collection Clearance Officer, Fish and Wildlife Service.