02-16824. Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection

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 in support of the regulations for the importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico.

DATES:

We will consider all comments we receive on or before September 3, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket No. 02-073-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-073-1. If you use e-mail, address your comment to [e-mail]. Your comment must be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. Please include your name and address in your message and “Docket No. 02-073-1” on the subject line.

You may read any comments that we receive on this docket in our reading room. The reading room 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.

APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related information, including the names of organizations and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/​ppd/​rad/​webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information on the regulations regarding importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico, contact Dr. Michael David, Assistant Director, Sanitary International Standards Team, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 33, 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: Importation of Poultry Meat and Other Poultry Products from Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico.

OMB Number: 0579-0144.

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

Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for protecting the health of our Nation's livestock and poultry populations by preventing the introduction of contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases of livestock and poultry and for eradicating such diseases from the United States when feasible. In connection with this mission, Veterinary Services of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, regulates the importation of animals and animals products in order to prevent the introduction of animal diseases, such as exotic Newcastle disease, into the United States. The regulations pertaining to the importation of animals and animal products are set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in title 9, chapter I, subchapter D (9 CFR parts 91 through 99).

We currently have regulations in place that restrict the importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Mexico and other regions of the world where exotic Newcastle disease has been determined to exist. However, we allow the importation, under specified conditions, of poultry meat and poultry products from the Mexican States of Sinaloa and Sonora because we have determined that poultry meat and products from these two Mexican States, when imported in accordance with those conditions, pose a negligible risk of introducing exotic Newcastle disease into the United States. To ensure that these items are safe for importation, we require that certain data appear on the foreign meat inspection certificate that accompanies the poultry meat or other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora. We also require that serially numbered seals be applied to containers carrying the poultry meat or other poultry products. These requirements necessitate the use of information collection activities.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of 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 information collection, 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 information collection 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 1 hour per response.

Respondents: Federal animal health authorities in Mexico, and personnel in Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico, who operate slaughtering and processing plants and who engage in the export of poultry meat and other poultry products to the United States.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 10.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 4.

Estimated annual number of responses: 40.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 40 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 28th day of June, 2002.

Bobby R. Acord,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.