### 65164 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 203 / Thursday, October 20, 2011 / Notices

technologies; e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 0.5714285 hours per response.

Respondents: Foreign plant protection service officials and growers in the
Netherlands and Denmark.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 20.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 10.5.

Estimated annual number of

responses: 210.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 120 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 14th day of
October 2011.

Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 2011–27170 Filed 10–19–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–34–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Animal and Plant Health Inspection**
**Service**

**[Docket No. APHIS–2011–0096]**

**Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection;** 
**Hawaiian and Territorial Quarantine**
**Notices**

**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 regulations to prevent the interstate spread of plant pests from the State of
Hawaii and U.S. territories.

**DATES :**  We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before December

19, 2011.

**ADDRESSES :**  You may submit comments by either of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/ #!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0096-

0001. • Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS–2011–0096, 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-2011-0096 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) 690–2817 before coming.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  For information on regulations for the
interstate movement of fruits and vegetables from Hawaii and U.S. territories, contact Mr. David Lamb, Import Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 156, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734–0627. 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: Hawaiian and Territorial Quarantine Notices.

OMB Number: 0579–0198. Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information collection.

Abstract: As authorized by the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq. ) (PPA), the Secretary of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, exportation, or movement in interstate commerce of any plant, plant product, biological control organism, noxious weed, means of conveyance, or other article if the Secretary determines that the prohibition or restriction is necessary to prevent a plant pest or noxious weed from being introduced
into or disseminated within the United States. This authority has been delegated to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which administers regulations to implement the PPA.

Regulations governing the interstate movement of plants and plant products from Hawaii and U.S. territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are contained in 7 CFR part 318, ‘‘State of Hawaii and Territories Quarantine Notices.’’

These regulations are necessary to prevent the interstate spread of plant pests such as the Mediterranean fruit fly, the melon fly, the Oriental fruit fly, green coffee scale, the bean pod borer, and other plant pests to noninfested
areas of the United States.

Administering these regulations requires APHIS to collect information from a variety of individuals who are involved in growing, packing, handling, and transporting plants and plant products. This information serves as supporting documentation required for the issuance of forms and documents, including limited permits, Federal certificates, compliance agreements, and applications for transit permits, that authorize the movement of regulated articles and is vital to help ensure that injurious plant pests are not spread
interstate from the State of Hawaii and
U.S. territories to noninfested areas of
the United States.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of these information
collection activities 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 0.7371428 hours per response.

Respondents: State plant health regulatory officials, irradiation facility personnel, and individuals involved in growing, packing, handling, and transporting plants and plant products.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 110.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 38.181818.

Estimated annual number of

responses: 4,200.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 3,096 hours. (Due to averaging, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of the annual


### 65165 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 203 / Thursday, October 20, 2011 / Notices

1 ISPMs are developed under the auspices of the International Plant Protection Convention, to which the United States is a signatory. To view this and other ISPMs on the Internet, go to http:// www.ippc.int/ and click on the ‘‘Adopted
Standards’’ link under the ‘‘Core activities’’ heading. 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 14th day of
October 2011.

Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 2011–27172 Filed 10–19–11; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–34–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

**Animal and Plant Health Inspection**
**Service**

**[Docket No. APHIS–2011–0092]**

**Importation of Plants for Planting; Risk-Based Sampling and Inspection**  **Approach and Propagative Monitoring and Release Program** 

**AGENCY :**  Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

**ACTION :**  Notice.

**SUMMARY :**  We are advising the public of our decision to implement a risk-based sampling approach for the inspection of imported plants for planting. In our previous approach, we inspected 2 percent of consignments of imported plants for planting regardless of previous evidence of the risk posed by the plants for planting. The risk-based sampling and inspection approach will allow us to target high-risk plants for planting for more extensive inspection to help ensure that plants for planting infested with quarantine pests do not enter the United States, while providinga speedier inspection process for lowerrisk plants for planting. In addition, for taxa of plants for planting that pose an extremely low risk, we are establishing a Propagative Monitoring and Release Program under which consignments of those taxa will be periodically monitored but not every consignment will be inspected.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Mr. Gordon Muraoka, National Plant Inspection Station Coordinator, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734–0932; or Dr. Mary Palm, Senior Mycologist and Lab Director, National Identification Services, Molecular Diagnostic Lab, PPQ, APHIS, B–580, BARC-East, Powder Mill Road, Beltsville, MD 20705; (301) 504–7154.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  The regulations in 7 CFR part 319 prohibit or restrict the importation of certain plants and plant products into the United States to prevent the introduction of plant pests that are not already established in the United States or plant pests that may be established
but are under official control to
eradicate or contain them within the
United States.

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart—Plants for Planting,’’ §§ 319.37 through 319.37– 14 (referred to below as the regulations), restrict the importation of plants for planting. Plants for planting is defined in § 319.37–1 as plants intended to remain planted, to be planted or replanted. The definition of plant in that section includes any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.

All plants for planting imported into the United States must be presented for inspection. Inspectors examine the plants for planting to determine whether they show any visual evidence of being infested with quarantine pests or infected with quarantine pathogens. After inspection, the plants may be allowed entry into the United States (with treatment, if necessary), destroyed, or reexported, depending on the results of the inspection.

Plants for planting that are required to be imported under a written permit under § 319.37–3(a)(1) through (a)(6)
and that are not from Canada must be imported or offered for importation at a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant inspection station. Under § 319.37–3(a)(5), lots of 13 or more articles (other than seeds, bulbs, or sterile cultures of orchid plants) from any country or locality except Canada may be imported into the United States only after issuance of a written permit. Therefore, most consignments of plants for planting must be imported or offered for importation at a USDA plant inspection station. Such stations are listed in § 319.37–14. Plants for planting that are offered for inspection at a USDA plant inspection station are inspected by Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) inspectors.

This notice announces our decision to standardize our approach to sampling and inspecting consignments of plants for planting offered for importation at USDA plant inspection stations based on the pest risk presented by the plants for plant for planting.

To this point, PPQ inspectors have inspected a minimum of 2 percent of every consignment of plants for planting presented for inspection. We have assessed our sampling and inspection
methods and found that we can use our resources more effectively by targeting our efforts towards plants for planting that are known to present a higher risk, based on past inspection results for those plants for planting. Such an approach would be consistent with International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) #31, ‘‘Methodologies for Sampling of Consignments.’’ 1

Therefore, we are standardizing our sampling and inspection approach to adjust the intensity of our inspection of imported plants for planting based on the risk they present of introducing quarantine pests into the United States.
We will evaluate the risk associated with combinations of taxa of plants for planting and countries from which they are exported and assign risk ratings to
those articles.

Plants for planting determined to present an extremely low risk will be inspected under the Propagative Monitoring and Release Program (PMRP). Taxa of plants for planting included in this program will be periodically monitored at plant inspection stations. Not every consignment of plants for planting included in the PRMP will be inspected, but those consignments that are inspected will be inspected at normal levels to confirm the plants’ continued eligibility for the PMRP.

Subsequently, we will also implement a risk-based sampling plan for all other plants for planting. We will implement this approach initially by considering all taxa of plants for planting to be high risk. All plants for planting will be sampled at high risk rates until we have gathered sufficient data to establish that the plants for planting present a
medium or low risk.

If a taxon of plants for planting from a certain country is determined to present a medium or low risk, it will be sampled at the plant inspection stations at a less intensive rate than high-risk plants for planting. We will continue to sample some consignments of the taxon at higher rates to monitor whether the
taxon should still be considered to be medium or low risk. We will update our categorizations of taxa regularly in response to data from all inspections. This approach will allow us to target our resources towards taxa of plants for planting that pose the greatest risk and thus to provide greater security against the introduction of quarantine pests into
the United States.