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

5911 

Vol. 74, No. 21 

Tuesday, February 3, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0119] 

Implementation of Revised Lacey Act 

Provisions 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Food, Conservation, and 

Energy Act of 2008 amended the Lacey 

Act to provide, among other things, that 

importers submit a declaration at the 

time of importation for certain plants 

and plant products. The declaration 

requirements of the Lacey Act became 

effective on December 15, 2008; 

however, enforcement of the declaration 

requirement will be phased in and will 

begin on April 1, 2009 (unless the 

implementation date must be delayed 

slightly for technical reasons as 

described below). The purpose of this 

notice is to inform the public of the 

Federal Government’s revised plan to 

phase in enforcement of the declaration 

requirement and other implementation 

plans. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before April 6, 

2009. 

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=APHIS2008-0119 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0119, 

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– 

2008–0119. 

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: Mr. 

Alex Belano, Assistant Branch Chief, 

Commodity Import Analysis and 

Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1231; (301) 734–8758. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et 

seq.), first enacted in 1900 and 

significantly amended in 1981, is the 

United States’ oldest wildlife protection 

statute. The Act combats trafficking in 

‘‘illegal’’ wildlife, fish, or plants. The 

Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 

2008, effective May 22, 2008, amended 

the Lacey Act by expanding its 

protection to a broader range of plants 

and plant products (Section 8204, 

Prevention of Illegal Logging Practices). 

As amended, the Lacey Act now makes 

it unlawful to import, export, transport, 

sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in 

interstate or foreign commerce any 

plant, with some limited exceptions, 

taken in violation of the laws of a U.S. 

State or any foreign law that protects 

plants. The Lacey Act also now makes 

it unlawful to make or submit any false 

record, account, or label for, or any false 

identification of, any plant. In addition, 

Section 3 of the Lacey Act, as amended 

(16 U.S.C. 3372), 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 from 

where the plant was harvested. For 

paper and paperboard products 

containing recycled content, the 

declaration also must include the 

average percent of recycled content 

without regard for species or country of 

harvest. 

Comment Analysis 

On October 8, 2008, we published a 

notice in the Federal Register (73 FR 

58925–58927, Docket No. APHIS–2008– 

0119) announcing our plans to begin 

phased-in enforcement of the 

declaration requirement on April 1, 

2009, and provided dates and products 

covered for the first three phases of 

enforcement. We solicited comment on 

the proposed phase-in plan for 60 days 

ending on December 8, 2008, and 

received 124 comments by that date. 

The comments covered a range of 

topics, including the scope of the 

declaration requirement, the specific 

products covered in each phase, 

definitions of terms, length of phases, 

effects on trade/industry, and 

enforcement issues. While we will not 

provide specific responses to comments 

in this notice, we have revised the 

phase-in schedule based on the 

comments we received. Comments 

related to other aspects of our 

implementation plan for the declaration 

requirement are still being analyzed and 

those comments will be taken into 

account as we continue to implement 

the provisions related to the declaration 

requirement of the Lacey Act. 

Revised Phase-in Schedule 

After review of the comments 

received and further internal 

consideration, we have revised the 

phase-in schedule, which covers the 

period from December 15, 2008, to 

September 30, 2010. We have extended 

the length of each phase from 3 months 

to 6 months and provided an affirmative 

list of products that fall within each 

phase of enforcement of the declaration 

requirement. We revised the schedule 

by phasing in products largely based on 

their degree of processing and 

complexity of their composition. For 

example, phase II contains products that 

are minimally processed and/or of less 

complicated composition (e.g., wood in 

the rough, sheets for veneering). Phase 

III contains products that are more 

processed and of more complex 

composition (e.g., wood pulp and 

particle board). Finally, phase IV 

includes more highly processed 

products composed of materials from 

phases II and III (e.g., paper and 


yshivers on PROD1PC62 with NOTICES
5912 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 3, 2009 / Notices 

furniture). We continue to consider the 

applicability of the declaration 

requirement to products not included in 

the current phase-in schedule and we 

invite public comment on how the 

declaration requirement should be 

enforced as to these products. 

The proposed phased enforcement 

schedule through September 30, 2010, is 

described in the table below. It is 

important to note that while 

enforcement of the declaration 

requirement will be phased in and will 

begin no earlier than April 1, 2009, the 

other Lacey Act amendments are 

already effective, and actions to enforce 

provisions of the Act other than the 

declaration requirement may be taken at 

any time. We invite public comment 

particularly on the products covered 

under phases III and IV of the revised 

plan, as well as on whether any 

additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

(HTS) chapters should be included in 

the current phase-in schedule. 

PHASE-IN SCHEDULE OF ENFORCEMENT OF THE DECLARATION REQUIREMENT FOR GOODS OF, OR CONTAINING, PLANTS

OR PLANT PRODUCTS * 

I 

Present–March 2009 

II 

April 1, 2009–September 30, 

2009 

III 

October 1, 2009–March 31, 2010 

IV 

April 1, 2010–September 30, 

2010 

PPQ Plant Import Declaration Form 

will be available on Web site, and 

accepted after December 15, 

2008.

HTS Chapters: HTS Chapters: HTS Chapters: 

Domestic and International Outreach.Ch. 44 Headings (wood & articles 

of wood).

Ch. 44 Headings (wood & articles 

of wood).

Ch. 44 Headings (wood & articles 

of wood). 

4421—(Articles of wood, 

nesoi). 

4401—(Fuel wood) ............... 4402—(Wood charcoal) ........ Ch. 48 Headings (paper & articles 

of). 

4403—(Wood in the rough) .. 4405—(Wood wool [excelsior]).4801—(Newsprint). 

4404—(Hoopwood; poles, 

piles, stakes).

4410—(Particle board) .......... 4802—(Uncoated writing 

paper). 

4406—(Railway or tramway 

sleepers).

4411—(Fiberboard of wood) 4803—(Toilet or facial tissue 

stock). 

4407—(Wood sawn or 

chipped lengthwise).

4412—(Plywood, veneered 

panels).

4804—(Uncoated kraft 

paper). 

4408—(Sheets for veneering) 4413—(Densified wood) ....... 4805—(Other uncoated 

paper and board). 

4409—(Wood continuously 

shaped).

4414—(Wooden frames) ....... 4806—(Vegetable parchment, etc.). 

4417—(Tools, tool handles, 

broom handles).

4415—(Packing cases, 

boxes, crates, drums).

4807—(Composite paper and 

board). 

4418—(Builders’ joinery and 

carpentry of wood).

4416—(Casks, barrels, vats, 

tubs).

4808—(Corrugated paper 

and board). 

4419—(Tableware & kitchenware, of wood).4809—(Carbon paper). 

4420—(Wood marquetry; 

caskets; statuettes).

4810—(Coated paper and 

board). 

Ch. 47 Headings (wood pulp) ...... 4811—(paper coated, etc., 

other than 4803, 4809, or 

4810). 

4701—(Mechanical wood 

pulp).

Ch. 94 Headings (furniture, etc.). 

4702—(Chemical wood pulp, 

dissolving).

940169 (seats with wooden 

frames). 

4703—(Chemical wood pulp, 

sulfate).

940330 (wooden office furniture). 

4704—(Chemical wood pulp, 

sulfite).

940340 (wooden kitchen furniture). 

4705—(Combination mechanical and chemical).940350 (wooden bedroom 

furniture). 

940360 (other wooden furniture). 

94039070 (wooden furniture 

parts). 

PLUS PHASE II ........................... PLUS PHASES II & III. 

* Declaration requirements are effective as of December 15, 2008. All declarations submitted must be accurate; false statements may be referred for enforcement. Failure to submit a declaration will not be prosecuted, and customs clearance will not be denied for lack of a declaration 

until after the phase-in date above. 

With respect to the declaration 

requirement, the Federal enforcement 

agencies do not intend to refer for 

enforcement entries of products in HTS 

chapters not listed in the above phasein schedule, during the respective 

timeframes, unless APHIS publishes 

another notice in the Federal Register 

announcing an amended 

implementation plan. Any such 

changes/additions would apply only to 

phases III or IV. There will be no further 


yshivers on PROD1PC62 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 21 / Tuesday, February 3, 2009 / Notices 5913 

changes to phase II. Should there be 

additions to phases III or IV, we intend 

to provide at least 6 months’ notice to 

persons and industries affected by those 

changes to facilitate compliance with 

the new requirements. Changes will be 

announced in the Federal Register. 

The Federal Government will conduct 

studies in order to inform 

implementation of the amended Lacey 

Act, including with respect to products 

under HTS headings not listed in the 

current phase-in schedule. In addition, 

consistent with the requirements of the 

statute, we will review our experience 

with implementation and make 

decisions, including promulgating 

regulations, to guide any further phase 

in of the declaration requirement. 

Applicability of the Declaration 

Requirement 

At present, we will be enforcing the 

declaration requirement only as to 

formal consumption entries (i.e., most 

commercial shipments). Also at this 

time, we do not intend to enforce the 

declaration requirement for informal 

entries (i.e., most personal shipments), 

personal importations, or mail (unless 

subject to formal entry), transportation 

and exportation entries, in-transit 

movements, carnet importations (i.e., 

merchandise or equipment that will be 

re-exported within a year), and foreign 

trade zone and warehouse entries; 

however, we welcome public comment 

on enforcement of the declaration 

requirement with regard to those types 

of entries. Further, we will only enforce 

a declaration for the product being 

imported and not for sundries that 

ordinarily accompany the product (e.g., 

tags, labels, manuals, and warranty 

cards). 

Declaration Form 

A printable declaration form is 

currently available for voluntary 

submission on the Internet at http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ 

lacey_act/index.shtml or from the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. You may submit 

completed declaration forms by mail to: 

The Lacey Act, c/o U.S. Dept of 

Agriculture, Box 10, 4700 River Road, 

Riverdale, MD 20737. 

As indicated previously, we intend to 

collect the data required by the 

amended Lacey Act electronically and 

anticipate the majority of importers will 

not need to submit a paper declaration 

form. No agencies with Lacey Act 

enforcement authority will bring 

prosecutions or forfeiture actions for 

failing to complete the paper declaration 

form before April 1, 2009; however, if 

any person submits a form and it 

contains false information, they may be 

prosecuted. We also invite public 

comment on the paper declaration form. 

Comments related to the content of the 

declaration form should be submitted by 

one of the methods provided under the 

heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of 

this notice and not to the Lacey Act 

mailbox. In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), APHIS requested 

and received the Office of Management 

and Budget’s emergency approval to 

collect information that the Lacey Act 

requires importers to include in the 

declaration and that is not already being 

collected for other purposes. The 

emergency approval is valid for 6 

months and allowed us to collect the 

information and make the paper form 

available for immediate use. On January 

5, 2009, we published an information 

collection notice in the Federal Register 

(74 FR 259–260, Docket No. APHIS– 

2008–0136) soliciting comments from 

the public (as well as affected agencies) 

on these information collection 

requirements and requesting an 

extension of the 6-month emergency 

approval. 

Availability of Electronic System 

The Department of Homeland 

Security’s Bureau of Customs and 

Border Protection (CBP) already collects 

some of the information that the Lacey 

Act amendments require importers to 

include in their declarations. CBP is 

currently modifying its Automated 

Commercial System (ACS) to collect the 

remaining data required to be declared. 

As noted in our October 2008 Federal 

Register notice, we intend to begin 

enforcement of the declaration 

requirements upon completion of those 

modifications. At this time, CBP still 

anticipates completing the changes to 

the system by April 1, 2009, and phase 

II remains scheduled to begin on April 

1, 2009. If there are any changes to that 

date, we will notify the public through 

a Federal Register notice. 

Additional Information 

APHIS will continue to provide the 

latest information regarding the Lacey 

Act on our Web site, http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov. The Web site 

currently contains the Lacey Act, as 

amended; a slideshow covering 

background and context, new 

requirements, commodities and 

products covered, information on 

prohibitions, and the current status of 

implementation of the declaration 

requirement of the Lacey Act; frequently 

asked questions; the phase-in 

implementation plan; and the paper 

declaration form. The Web site will be 

updated as new materials become 

available. We encourage persons 

interested in receiving timely updates 

on APHIS’s Lacey Act efforts to register 

for our stakeholder registry at https:// 

web01.aphis.usda.gov/ 

PPQStakeWeb2.nsf and select ‘‘Lacey 

Act Declaration’’ as a topic of interest. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of 

January 2009. 

William H. Clay, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–2232 Filed 1–29–09; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

COMMITTEE FOR PURCHASE FROM 

PEOPLE WHO ARE BLIND OR 

SEVERELY DISABLED 

Information Collection To Be 

Submitted to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for Approval Under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act; Initial 

Certification 

AGENCY: Committee for Purchase From 

People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Committee for Purchase 

From People Who Are Blind or Severely 

Disabled (Committee) is submitting the 

information collection listed below to 

OMB for approval under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act. This 

notice solicits comments on those 

information collection activities. 

DATES: Submit your written comments 

on the information collection on or 

before April 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments on 

the requirements to Edward Yang, Chief 

Information Officer, Committee for 

Purchase From People Who Are Blind 

or Severely Disabled, 1421 Jefferson 

Davis Highway, Jefferson Plaza 2, Suite 

10800, Arlington, VA 22202–3259; fax 

(703) 603–0655; or e-mail to 

rulecomments@abilityone.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Edward Yang to request a copy of the 

applicable forms or explanatory material 

at the addresses shown above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB) 

regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320, which 

implement provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.), require that interested members 

of the public and affected agencies have 

an opportunity to comment on 

information collection and 

recordkeeping activities [see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)]. The Committee plans to 

submit a request to OMB to renew its 


yshivers on PROD1PC62 with NOTICES