Washington, DC
March 12, 2004
[Federal Register: March 12, 2004
(Volume 69, Number 49)]
[Notices]
[Page 11830-11831]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr04-22]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notices
Federal Register
This section of the FEDERAL
REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules
that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and
investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and
applications and agency statements of organization and functions
are examples of documents appearing in this section.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 11830]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 04-015-1]
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 regulations under which
eligible persons can receive compensation for losses and
expenses incurred because of Karnal bunt.
DATES: We will consider all
comments that we receive on or before May 11, 2004.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
<BULLET Postal Mail/Commercial
Delivery: Please send four copies of your comment (an original
and three copies) to Docket No. 04-015-1, 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. 04-015-1.
<BULLET E-mail: Address your
comment to
regulations@aphis.usda.gov. 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.
04-015-1'' on the subject line.
<BULLET Agency Web site: Go to
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/cominst.html for a form
you can use to submit an e-mail comment through the APHIS Web
site.
<BULLET Federal eRulemaking
Portal: Go to
http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for
locating this docket and submitting comments.
Reading Room: 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 (202) 690-2817 before coming.
Other Information: You may
view APHIS documents published in the Federal Register and
related information, including the names of groups and
individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet
at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For information on the regulations for Karnal bunt compensation,
contact Mr. Stephen Poe, Operations Officer, Pest Detection and
Management Programs, PPQ APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 134,
Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-8899. For copies of more
detailed information on the information collection, contact Mrs.
Celeste Sickles, APHIS'' Information Collection Coordinator, at
(301) 734-7477.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Karnal Bunt;
Compensation for the 1999-2000 Crop Season and Subsequent
Seasons.
OMB Number: 0579-0182.
Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information
collection.
Abstract: The Plant Protection
Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-7772) authorizes the Secretary of
Agriculture, either independently or in cooperation with States,
to carry out operations or measures to detect, eradicate,
suppress, control, prevent, or
retard the spread of plant pests, such as Karnal bunt, that are
new to or not widely distributed within the United States.
Karnal bunt is a fungal
disease of wheat (Tricum aestivum), durum wheat (Triticum
durum), and triticale wheat (Triticum aestivum X Secale
cereale), a hybrid of wheat and rye. Karnal bunt is caused by
the smut fungus Tilletia indica (Mitra) Mundkur and is spread by
spores, primarily through the movement of infected seed. In the
absence of measures taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
to prevent its spread, the establishment of Karnal bunt in the
United States could have significant consequences with regard to
the export of wheat to international markets.
The regulations regarding
Karnal bunt are set forth in 7 CFR 301.89-1 through 301.89-16.
Among other things, the regulations define areas regulated for
Karnal bunt and restrict the movement of certain regulated
articles, including wheat seed and grain, from the regulated
areas.
The regulations also provide
for the payment of compensation to eligible persons in order to
reduce the economic impact of our Karnal bunt quarantine on
wheat producers and other individuals, and to help
obtain their cooperation in our
eradication efforts. The compensation program requires
individuals to engage in several information collection
activities, including the completion of a Karnal bunt
compensation worksheet and compensation form.
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 0.5 hours per response.
[[Page 11831]]
Respondents: Wheat growers,
shippers, seed companies, State plant regulatory
authorities, and Farm Service Agency personnel.
Estimated annual number of respondents: 170.
Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 1.
Estimated annual number of responses: 170.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 85 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 8th
day of March 2004.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service.
[FR Doc. 04-5627 Filed 3-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P |