Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 5 / Friday, January 8, 2021 / Notices 1477 

animal and animal product trade. To 

facilitate the export of U.S. animals and 

animal products, the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

maintains information regarding the 

import health requirements of other 

countries for animals and animal 

products, including aquaculture 

animals, exported from the United 

States. 

While APHIS does not currently 

require the approval or certification of 

laboratories that conduct disease tests 

for the export of aquaculture animals, 

some countries that import these 

animals from the United States require 

them to be tested for certain diseases 

and the test results recorded on the 

export certificates. In addition, the test 

results must originate from a laboratory 

approved by the competent authority of 

the exporting country, which is APHIS 

in this case. State, university, and 

private laboratories can voluntarily seek 

APHIS approval of individual 

diagnostic methods. Though APHIS 

does not have regulations for the 

approval or certification of laboratories 

that conduct tests for the export of 

aquaculture animals, APHIS provides 

this approval as a service to U.S. 

exporters who export aquaculture 

animals to countries that require this 

certification. 

APHIS evaluates diagnostic methods 

for detecting aquatic animal pathogens 

listed by the World Organization for 

Animal Health (OIE) in the OIE 

diagnostic manual and other supporting 

scientific literature. APHIS lists the 

laboratories approved to conduct 

diagnostic testing in support of export 

health certification of aquatic species at 

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_

health/lab_info_services/downloads/ 

ApprovedLabs_Aquaculture.pdf. Once 

approved, the laboratories are inspected 

by APHIS every 2 years to maintain 

their approval. 

The approval of laboratories to 

conduct tests for the export of 

aquaculture animals requires the use of 

certain information collection activities 

including notification of intent to 

request approval, application for APHIS 

approval, protocol statement, 

submission and recordkeeping of 

sample copies of diagnostic reports, 

quality assurance/control plans and 

their recordkeeping, notification of 

proposed changes to assay protocols, 

recordkeeping of supporting assay 

documentation, and request for removal 

of approved status. 

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; 

(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 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 11.4 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: State, university, and 

private laboratory personnel. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 8. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 70. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 560. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 6,382 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 4th day of 

January 2021. 

Mark Davidson, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00064 Filed 1–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2019–0068] 

Notice of Availability of an 

Environmental Assessment for 

Release of Lilioceris egena for 

Biological Control of Air Potato 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) relative 

to permitting the release of an insect, 

Lilioceris egena, for the biological 

control of air potato (Dioscorea 

bulbifera). Based on the environmental 

assessment and other relevant data, we 

have reached a preliminary 

determination that the release of this 

control agent within the continental 

United States will not have a significant 

impact on the quality of the human 

environment. We are making the EA 

available to the public for review and 

comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before February 8, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2019-0068. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2019–0068, 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-2019-0068 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

room 1620 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: Dr. 

Colin D. Stewart, Assistant Director, 

Pests, Pathogens, and Biocontrol 

Permits, Permitting and Compliance 

Coordination, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1237; (301) 851–2327; colin.stewart@

usda.gov. 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES
1478 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 5 / Friday, January 8, 2021 / Notices 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) is proposing 

to issue permits for the release of an 

insect, Lilioceris egena, into the 

continental United States for use as a 

biological control agent to reduce the 

severity of air potato (Dioscorea 

bulbifera) infestations. 

Air potato is an herbaceous, twining 

vine that can grow 65 feet long or more, 

capable of climbing and out-competing 

native vegetation. Since its introduction 

to Florida in 1905, air potato has 

aggressively spread throughout the 

State; this species is reportedly 

naturalized in Georgia, Alabama, 

Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and 

Hawaii. In 1999, the Florida Department 

of Agricultural and Consumer Services 

added air potato to its list of noxious 

weeds in an attempt to protect the 

State’s native plant species from being 

displaced or hybridized. Presently, the 

air potato is well established in Florida 

and probably throughout the Gulf States 

where it has the potential to severely 

disrupt entire ecosystems. 

Existing air potato management 

options, which include chemical and 

mechanical control methods, are 

ineffective, expensive, temporary, or 

have non-target impacts. Thus, a permit 

application has been submitted to 

APHIS for the purpose of releasing an 

insect, L. egena, into the continental 

United States for use as a biological 

control agent to reduce the severity of 

air potato infestations. 

APHIS’ review and analysis of the 

proposed action are documented in 

detail in an environmental assessment 

(EA) titled ‘‘Field Release of the Beetle 

Lilioceris egena (Coleoptera: 

Chrysomelidae) for Classical Biological 

Control of Air Potato, Dioscorea 

bulbifera (Dioscoreaceae), in the 

Continental United States’’ (October 

2019). We are making the EA available 

to the public for review and comment. 

We will consider all comments that we 

receive on or before the date listed 

under the heading DATES at the 

beginning of this notice. 

The EA may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov website or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room). 

You may request paper copies of the EA 

by calling or writing to the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Please refer to the title of the 

EA when requesting copies. 

The EA has been prepared in 

accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), (2) regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of 

January 2021. 

Michael Watson, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–00063 Filed 1–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of Economic Analysis 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Direct Investment Surveys: 

BE–605, Quarterly Survey of Foreign 

Direct Investment in the United 

States—Transactions of U.S. Affiliate 

With Foreign Parent 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on October 23, 

2020 during a 60-day comment period. 

This notice allows for an additional 30 

days for public comments. 

Agency: Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA), Commerce. 

Title: Quarterly Survey of Foreign 

Direct Investment in the United States— 

Transactions of U.S. Affiliate with 

Foreign Parent. 

OMB Control Number: 0608–0009. 

Form Number: BE–605. 

Type of Request: Regular submission. 

Number of Responses: 17,800 

annually. 

Average Hours per Response: One 

hour is the average but may vary 

considerably among respondents 

because of differences in company size 

and complexity. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 17,800. 

Needs and Uses: The Quarterly 

Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in 

the United States—Transactions of U.S. 

Affiliate with Foreign Parent (Form BE– 

605) obtains quarterly data on 

transactions and positions between 

foreign-owned U.S. business enterprises 

and their ‘‘affiliated foreign groups’’ 

(i.e., their foreign parents and foreign 

affiliates of their foreign parents). The 

survey is a sample survey that covers all 

U.S. affiliates above a size-exemption 

level. The sample data are used to 

derive universe estimates of direct 

investment transactions, positions, and 

income in non-benchmark years from 

similar data reported in the BE–12, 

Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct 

Investment in the United States, which 

is conducted every five years and will 

next be conducted for the fiscal year 

ending in 2022. The data collected 

through the BE–605 survey are essential 

for the preparation of the U.S. 

international transactions, national 

income and product, and input-output 

accounts and the international 

investment position of the United 

States. The data are needed to measure 

the size and economic significance of 

foreign direct investment in the United 

States, measure changes in such 

investment, and assess its impact on the 

U.S. economy. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit organizations. 

Frequency: Quarterly. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory. 

Legal Authority: International 

Investment and Trade in Services 

Survey Act (Pub. L. 94–472, 22 U.S.C. 

3101–3108, as amended). 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be 

submitted within 30 days of the 

publication of this notice on the 

following website http://

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find this particular information 

collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 

30-day Review—Open for Public 

Comments’’ or by using the search 

function and entering either the title of 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with NOTICES