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 swine health protection program.

DATES:

We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all comments we receive that are postmarked by January 7, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Please send four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket No. 01-087-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your comment refers to Docket No. 01-087-1.

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.

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 swine health protection program, contact Dr. Arnold Taft, Senior Staff Veterinarian, National Animal Health Programs Staff, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 43, Riverdale MD 20737, (301) 734-7708. 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: Swine Health Protection.

OMB Number: 0579-0065.

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

Abstract: The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for preventing the spread of contagious, infectious, or communicable diseases of livestock or poultry from one State to another and for eradicating such diseases from the United States when feasible.

The Swine Health Protection Act prohibits the feeding of garbage to swine unless the garbage has been treated to kill disease organisms. Untreated garbage is one of the primary media through which numerous infectious and communicable diseases are transmitted to swine. Therefore, APHIS' regulations promulgated under the Swine Health Protection Act, which are located at 9 CFR part 166, require that before garbage may be fed to swine, it must be treated at a facility holding a valid permit to treat the garbage and must be treated according to the regulations.

APHIS requires certain information in order to license (issue a permit to) a facility to operate and in order to monitor the facility for compliance with the regulations. This information is collected from applications for a license to operate a garbage treatment facility, records of the destination and date of removal of all food waste or garbage from the treatment facility, and food waste reports. With this information, we are able to carefully monitor garbage treatment facilities to ensure that they are meeting our requirements. The information provided by these information collection activities is critical in preventing the interstate spread of various swine diseases and, therefore, plays a vital role in our swine health protection program.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the continued use of these information collection activities.

The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public (as well as affected agencies) concerning these information collection activities. 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 0.6790697 hour per response.

Respondents: Owners/operators (licensees) of garbage treatment facilities and State animal health authorities.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 383.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.245.

Estimated annual number of responses: 860.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 584 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.