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,

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rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

18510 

Vol. 76, No. 64 

Monday, April 4, 2011 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0119] 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Approval of an Information Collection; 

Gypsy Moth Identification Worksheet 

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 associated with 

the gypsy moth program. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before June 3, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2010-0119 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send one copy of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2010–0119, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2010–0119. 

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: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the gypsy moth program, 

contact Mr. Paul Chaloux, National 

Program Manager, Gypsy Moth Program, 

Emergency and Domestic Programs, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 137, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; (301) 734– 

0917. 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: Gypsy Moth Identification 

Worksheet. 

OMB Number: 0579–0104. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: Under the Plant Protection 

Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), either independently or in 

cooperation with the States, is 

authorized to carry out operations or 

measures to detect, eradicate, suppress, 

control, prevent, or retard the spread of 

plant pests new to the United States or 

not widely distributed throughout the 

United States. The Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS), 

USDA, has delegated authority to carry 

out this mission. 

As part of the mission, Plant 

Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), 

APHIS, engages in detection surveys to 

monitor for the presence of, among 

other things, the European gypsy moth 

and the Asian gypsy moth. The 

European gypsy moth is one of the most 

destructive pests of fruit and ornamental 

trees as well as hardwood forests. First 

introduced into the United States in 

Medford, Massachusetts, in 1869, the 

European gypsy moth has gradually 

spread to infest the entire northeastern 

portion of the country. 

Heavily infested areas are inundated 

with actively crawling larvae, which 

cover trees, fences, vehicles, and houses 

during their search for food. Entire areas 

may be stripped of all foliage, often 

resulting in heavy damage to trees. The 

damage can have long-lasting effects, 

depriving wildlife of food and shelter, 

and severely limiting the recreational 

value of forested areas. 

The Asian gypsy moth is an exotic 

strain of gypsy moth that is closely 

related to the European variety already 

established in the United States. While 

the Asian gypsy moth has been 

introduced into the United States on 

several occasions, it is currently not 

established in this country. Due to 

behavioral differences, this strain is 

considered to pose an even greater 

threat to trees and forested areas. 

Unlike the flightless European gypsy 

moth female adult, the Asian gypsy 

moth female adult is capable of strong 

directed flight between mating and egg 

deposition, significantly increasing its 

ability to spread over a much greater 

area and become widely established 

within a short time. In addition, Asian 

gypsy moth larvae feed on a much wider 

variety of hosts, allowing them to 

exploit more areas and cause more 

damage than the European gypsy moth. 

To determine the presence and extent 

of a European gypsy moth or an Asian 

gypsy moth infestation, APHIS sets 

traps in high-risk areas to collect 

specimens. Once an infestation is 

identified, control and eradication work 

(usually involving State cooperation) is 

initiated to eliminate the moths. 

APHIS personnel, with assistance 

from State agriculture personnel, check 

traps for the presence of gypsy moths. 

If a suspicious moth is found in the trap, 

it is sent to APHIS laboratories at the 

Otis Methods Development Center in 

Massachusetts so that it can be correctly 

identified through DNA analysis. (Since 

the European gypsy moth and the Asian 

gypsy moth are strains of the same 

species, they cannot be visually 

distinguished from each other. DNA 

analysis is the only way to accurately 

identify these insects.) 

The PPQ or State employee 

submitting the moth for analysis 

completes a gypsy moth identification 

worksheet (PPQ Form 305), which 

accompanies the insect to the 

laboratory. The worksheet enables both 

Federal and State regulatory officials to 

identify and track specific specimens 

through the DNA identification tests 

that we conduct. 

The information provided by the 

gypsy moth identification worksheets is 

vital to our ability to monitor, detect, 

and eradicate gypsy moth infestations. 


Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 64 / Monday, April 4, 2011 / Notices 18511 

1To view the February 2010 notice and the 

comments we received, and the May 2010 notice, 

go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2009-0097. 

2See footnote 1. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of this information 

collection activity 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 

0.1708333 hours per response. 

Respondents: State cooperators. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 120. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 2. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 240. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 41 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 29th day of 

March 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7895 Filed 4–1–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2009–0097] 

Notice of Decision To Issue Permits for 

the Importation of Fresh Figs From 

Chile into the Continental United 

States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our decision to begin issuing permits for 

the importation into the continental 

United States of fresh figs from Chile. 

Based on the findings of a pest risk 

analysis, which we made available to 

the public for review and comment 

through a previous notice, we believe 

that the application of one or more 

designated phytosanitary measures will 

be sufficient to mitigate the risks of 

introducing or disseminating plant pests 

or noxious weeds via the importation of 

fresh figs from Chile. 

DATES: Effective Date: April 4, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory Policy 

Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and 

Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 734–0754. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart— 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–50, referred to below as 

the regulations), the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

prohibits or restricts the importation of 

fruits and vegetables into the United 

States from certain parts of the world to 

prevent plant pests from being 

introduced into and spread within the 

United States. 

Section 319.56–4 of the regulations 

contains a performance-based process 

for approving the importation of 

commodities that, based on the findings 

of a pest risk analysis, can be safely 

imported subject to one or more of the 

designated phytosanitary measures 

listed in paragraph (b) of that section. 

Under that process, APHIS publishes a 

notice in the Federal Register 

announcing the availability of the pest 

risk analysis that evaluates the risks 

associated with the importation of a 

particular fruit or vegetable. Following 

the close of the 60-day comment period, 

APHIS may begin issuing permits for 

importation of the fruit or vegetable 

subject to the identified designated 

measures if: (1) No comments were 

received on the pest risk analysis; (2) 

the comments on the pest risk analysis 

revealed that no changes to the pest risk 

analysis were necessary; or (3) changes 

to the pest risk analysis were made in 

response to public comments, but the 

changes did not affect the overall 

conclusions of the analysis and the 

Administrator’s determination of risk. 

In accordance with that process, we 

published a notice 1 in the Federal 

Register on February 9, 2010 (75 FR 

6344–6345, Docket No. APHIS–2009– 

0097), in which we announced the 

availability, for review and comment, of 

two pest risk analyses that evaluate the 

risks associated with the importation 

into the continental United States of 

fresh figs, pomegranates, and baby kiwi 

fruit from Chile. We solicited comments 

on the notice for 60 days ending on 

April 12, 2010. We received 25 

comments by that date, from port 

terminal operators, growers’ 

associations, trade associations, a 

fumigation service, a State agriculture 

department, a foreign government 

agency, a foreign trade association, and 

several produce importers, exporters, 

and wholesalers. Most of the 

commenters agreed that the mitigation 

measures described in the pest risk 

analysis would be adequate. However, 

three commenters raised concerns about 

the pest risk analyses or proposed 

mitigation measures. The issues raised 

by two of those commenters were 

addressed in a notice of decision to 

issue permits for the importation of 

fresh pomegranates and baby kiwi from 

Chile into the United States,2 published 

in the Federal Register on May 12, 2010 

(75 FR 26707–26708). 

The third commenter raised several 

concerns regarding the risks associated 

with the importation of fresh figs from 

Chile. In order to give ourselves 

adequate time to explore the issues 

raised by the commenter, we delayed 

our decision on figs and addressed only 

pomegranates and baby kiwi from Chile 

in our May 2010 notice. 

The commenter stated that fumigation 

of fresh figs in the recommended 

treatment may not kill eggs of the 

insects of concern because eggs would 

most likely be deposited in the tissues 

of the fruit through the ostiole of the fig. 

The commenter was concerned that the 

treatment would not penetrate the fruit 

and kill the pest. 

While the commenter did not specify 

a particular insect of concern, the pest 


Emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES