[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 92 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30388-30389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11831]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00-029-1]


Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved 
Information Collection

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Approved information collection extension; 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 an extension of a currently approved information 
collection in support of animal disease surveillance programs.

DATES: We invite you to comment on this docket. We will consider all 
comments that we receive by July 10, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send your comment and three copies to: Docket No. 00-
029-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Suite 3C03, 
4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that 
your comment refers to Docket No. 00-029-1.
    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.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the use of 
VS Form 10-4, contact Mr. Carl Nagle, Administrative Officer, National 
Veterinary Services Laboratories, VS, APHIS, P.O. Box 844, Ames, IA 
50010; (515) 663-7357. For copies of more detailed information on the 
information collection, contact Ms. Cheryl Groves, APHIS' Information 
Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734-5086.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Specimen Submission.
    OMB Number: 0579-0090.
    Expiration Date of Approval: April 30, 2000.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: The United States Department of Agriculture is 
responsible for preventing the spread of

[[Page 30389]]

contagious, infectious, or communicable animal diseases from one State 
to another, and for eradicating such diseases from the United States 
when feasible.
    Disease prevention is the most effective method for maintaining a 
healthy animal population and enhancing our ability to compete in 
exporting animals and animal products.
    Disease prevention cannot be accomplished without the existence of 
an effective disease surveillance program, an activity that is carried 
out by the Veterinary Services (VS) division of USDA's Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The VS Form 10-4 is a critical 
component of our disease surveillance mission; it is routinely used 
whenever specimens (such as blood, milk, tissue, or urine) from any 
animal (including cattle, swine, sheep, goats, horses, and poultry) are 
submitted to our National Veterinary Services Laboratories for disease 
testing.
    We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve, 
for an additional 3 years, our use of this VS Form 10-4 in connection 
with our regulations.
    The purpose of this notice is to solicit comments from the public 
(as well as affected agencies) concerning this information collection 
activity. These comments will help us:
    (1) Evaluate whether the information collection is necessary for 
the proper performance of our Agency's functions, including whether the 
information will have practical utility;
    (2) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the burden of the 
information collection, 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 information collection on those who 
are to respond (such as through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses).
    Estimate of burden: The public reporting burden for this collection 
of information is estimated to average .5 hours per response.
    Respondents: State, Federal, and accredited veterinarians.
    Estimated annual number of respondents: 12,000.
    Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 2.524.
    Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 15,149 hours. (Due to 
rounding, the total annual burden hours may not equal the product of 
the annual number of responses multiplied by the average 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 May 2000.
Bobby R. Acord,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 00-11831 Filed 5-10-00; 8:45 am]
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