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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66240-66241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27849]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2018-0088]

Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an 
Information Collection; Lacey Act Declaration Requirement; Plants and 
Plant Products

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Revision to and extension of approval of an information 
collection; comment request.

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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 required by the Lacey Act for the importation of 
certain plants and plant products.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
February 25, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0088.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2018-0088, 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-2018-
0088 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 concerning the Lacey 
Act declaration requirements for plants and plant products, contact Dr. 
Robert Baca, Assistant Director, Compliance and Environmental 
Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 150, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 851-2292. For more detailed information on the 
information collection, contact Ms. Kimberly Hardy, APHIS' Information 
Collection Coordinator, at (301) 851-2483.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Lacey Act Declaration Requirement; Plants and Plant 
Products.
    OMB Control Number: 0579-0349.
    Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an 
information collection.
    Abstract: The Lacey Act, as amended, makes it unlawful to import, 
export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or 
foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken, 
possessed, transported, or sold in violation of the laws of the United 
States, a State, an Indian tribe, or any foreign law that protects 
plants. The Act also makes it unlawful to make or submit any false 
record, account, or label for, or any false identification of, any 
plant covered by the Act.
    In addition, section 3 of the Act makes it unlawful to import 
certain plants and plant products without an import declaration. The 
declaration must contain, among other things, the scientific name of 
the plant, value of the importation, quantity of the plant, and name of 
the country in which the plant was harvested. For paper and paperboard 
products with recycled plant content, the importer is not required to 
specify the species or country of harvest with respect to the recycled 
plant product component, but is required to provide the average 
percentage of recycled content. If the product also contains non-
recycled plant materials, the basic declaration requirements still 
apply to that component of the product imported.
    In addition to the declaration, there is a supplemental form that 
must be completed if additional space is needed to declare additional 
plants and plant products. Also, records of the import declaration and 
supplemental form must be retained for at least 5 years.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve 
our use of these information collection activities, as described, 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;

[[Page 66241]]

    (3) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    (4) Minimize the burden 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 burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 0.48 hours per response.
    Respondents: Importers of certain plants and plant products.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 26,044.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 27.
    Estimated annual number of responses: 703,189.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 338,990 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 19th day of December 2018.
 Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-27849 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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