Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Unshu Oranges From the Republic of Korea Into the Continental United States

AGENCY:

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION:

Revision to and 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 a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea into the continental United States.

DATES:

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before December 31, 2012.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0084-0001 .
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2012-0084, 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-2012-0084 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 (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information on the regulations for the importation of Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea into the continental United States, contact Mr. Andrew Wilds, Trade Director, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 140, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 851-2275. For copies of more detailed information on the information collection, contact Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS' Information Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2908.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Importation of Unshu Oranges from the Republic of Korea into the Continental United States.

OMB Number: 0579-0314.

Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an information collection.

Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to restrict the importation, entry, or interstate movement of plants, plant products, and other articles to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United States or their dissemination within the United States. As authorized by the PPA, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates the importation of citrus fruit from certain parts of the world as provided in “Subpart—Citrus Fruit” (7 CFR 319.28).

In accordance with these regulations, APHIS allows the importation of Unshu oranges from Cheju Island, Republic of Korea, into the continental United States under certain conditions to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United States. These conditions involve the use of information collection activities, including packinghouse registration and a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the fruit has undergone surface sterilization and was inspected and found free of the plant pathogen that causes sweet orange scab. These requirements were put into effect by a final rule published on October 12, 2010 (75 FR 62455-62457, Docket No. APHIS-2010-0022).

Prior to this, the regulations only allowed Unshu oranges from the Republic of Korea to be imported into Alaska. These importations had to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration and had to be in boxes marked to indicate that the oranges could not be shipped to or distributed in any State other than Alaska. These information collection activities were approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control number 0579-0314. However, the October 12, 2010, final rule eliminated the box marking requirement and added the packinghouse registration requirement, resulting in a decrease in total estimated annual burden from 31 hours to 19 hours.

We are asking 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 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 0.56 hours per response.

Respondents: Importers and the national plant protection organization of the Republic of Korea.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 4.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 8.5.

Estimated annual number of responses: 34.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 19 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.