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,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

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

61846 

Vol. 79, No. 199 

Wednesday, October 15, 2014 

1To view the interim final rule and the comments 

we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2009-0018. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0082] 

Notice of Request for Approval of an 

Information Collection; Lacey Act; 

Definitions for Exempt and Regulated 

Articles 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: New 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 approval of a new information 

collection required by the Lacey Act 

concerning definitions for exempt and 

regulated articles. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before December 

15, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0082. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0082, 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-2014-0082 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 Lacey Act 

definitions for exempt and regulated 

articles, contact Ms. Parul Patel, Senior 

Agriculturalist, Regulations, Permits, 

and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 60, Riverdale, MD 20737; 

(301) 851–2351. For copies of more 

detailed information on the information 

collection, contact Ms. Kimberly Hardy, 

APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2727. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Lacey Act; Definitions for 

Exempt and Regulated Articles. 

OMB Control Number: 0579–0XXX. 

Type of Request: Approval of a new 

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, which 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. In addition, 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. 

These collection activities have been 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under OMB control 

number 0579–0349. 

Common cultivars and common food 

crops are among the categorical 

exclusions to the provisions of the Act. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) maintains a list of 

common cultivars and common food 

crops that is available on the APHIS 

Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

plant_health/lacey_act/index.shtml. 

This list is not exhaustive. In fact, in an 

interim final rule 1 published in the 

Federal Register on July 9, 2013 (78 FR 

40940–40945, Docket No. APHIS–2009– 

0018), we advised the public that 

inquiries about specific taxa or 

commodities and requests to add taxa or 

commodities to the list, or remove them 

from the list, be sent in writing to 

APHIS and include information as to 

the scientific name of the plant (genus, 

species), common or trade names, 

annual trade volume (e.g., cubic meters) 

or weight (e.g., metric tons/kilograms) of 

the commodity, and any other 

information that will help us make a 

determination, such as countries or 

regions where grown, estimated number 

of acres or hectares in commercial 

production, and so on. 

When we listed the above information 

needs, we inadvertently did not obtain 

OMB approval nor did we add it to 

OMB control number 0579–0349. We 

are asking OMB to approve our use of 

this information collection for 3 years 

and assign an OMB control number. 

Eventually, we will combine this 

collection with OMB control number 

0579–0349, subject to OMB approval. 

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 1 

hour per response. 

Respondents: Importers of certain 

plants and plant products. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 199 / Wednesday, October 15, 2014 / Notices 61847 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 5. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 1. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 5. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 5 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 8th day of 

October 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–24530 Filed 10–14–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0080] 

Notice of Request for Revision to and 

Extension of Approval of an 

Information Collection; Endangered 

Species Regulations and Forfeiture 

Procedures 

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 

protection of endangered species of 

terrestrial plants and for procedures 

related to the forfeiture of plants or 

other property. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before December 

15, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0080. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0080, 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-2014-0080 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 to protect 

endangered species of terrestrial plants 

and forfeiture procedures, contact Dr. 

John Veremis, National CITES Director, 

PHP, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, 

Unit 52, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 

851–2347. For copies of more detailed 

information on the information 

collection, contact Ms. Kimberly Hardy, 

APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2727. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Endangered Species Regulations 

and Forfeiture Procedures. 

OMB Control Number: 0579–0076. 

Type of Request: Revision to and 

extension of approval of an information 

collection. 

Abstract: Under the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 

responsible for enforcing provisions of 

the Act and the Convention on 

International Trade in Endangered 

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 

(CITES) that pertain to the importation, 

exportation, or reexportation of plants. 

As part of this mission, USDA’s 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Services (APHIS) administers the 

regulations in 7 CFR part 355, 

‘‘Endangered Species Regulations 

Concerning Terrestrial Plants.’’ In 

accordance with these regulations, any 

individual, nursery, or other entity 

wishing to engage in the business of 

importing, exporting, or reexporting 

terrestrial plants listed in the CITES 

regulations at 50 CFR 17.12 or 23.23 

must obtain a protected plant permit 

from APHIS. Such entities include 

importers, exporters, or reexporters who 

sell, barter, collect, or otherwise 

exchange or acquire terrestrial plants as 

a livelihood or enterprise engaged in for 

gain or profit. The requirement does not 

apply to persons engaged in business 

merely as carriers or customhouse 

brokers. 

To obtain a protected plant permit, 

entities must complete an application 

(Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 

Form 621) and submit it to APHIS for 

approval. When a permit has been 

issued, the plants covered by the permit 

may be imported into the United States, 

exported, or reexported, provided they 

are accompanied by documentation 

required by the regulations and all other 

conditions of the regulations are met. 

Effectively regulating entities who are 

engaged in the business of importing, 

exporting, or reexporting endangered 

species of terrestrial plants requires the 

use of this application process, as well 

as the use of other information 

collection activities including, but not 

limited to, notifying APHIS of the 

impending importation, exportation, or 

reexportation of the plants; marking 

containers used for the importation, 

exportation, or reexportation of the 

plants; and creating and maintaining 

records of importation, exportation, and 

reexportation. 

APHIS also administers regulations at 

7 CFR part 356, ‘‘Forfeiture 

Procedures,’’ which sets out procedures 

for the forfeiture of plants or other 

property by entities found to be in 

violation of the Endangered Species Act 

or the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 

(16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.). Entities whose 

property is subject to forfeiture may file 

with APHIS a waiver of forfeiture 

procedures, a petition for remission or 

mitigation of forfeiture, or a request for 

release of property. 

The information provided by these 

information collection activities is 

critical to APHIS’ ability to carry out its 

responsibilities under the Endangered 

Species Act and the Lacey Act. These 

responsibilities include monitoring 

importation, exportation, and 

reexportation activities involving 

endangered species of plants, as well as 

the investigation of possible violations 

and the forfeiture of plants or other 

property. However, since the last 

approval of this collection, APHIS no 

longer requires completion of PPQ Form 

625 (Claim and Bond) due to 

implementation of the Civil Asset 

Forfeiture Reform Act. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve 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; 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES