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 

### 38276

Vol. 79, No. 129

Monday, July 7, 2014

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

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

**[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0039]**

**Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an**  **Information Collection; National Poultry Improvement Plan** 

**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 National Poultry Improvement Plan.

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

5, 2014.

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

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket Detail;D=APHIS-2014-0039.

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS–2014–0039, 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-2014-0039 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 National Poultry Improvement Plan, contact Dr. Denise Brinson, Director, National Poultry Improvement Plan, Veterinary Services, APHIS, 1506 Klondike Road, Suite 300, Conyers, GA 30094; (770) 922–3496. 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: National Poultry Improvement
Plan.

OMB Control Number: 0579–0007. Type of Request: Revision to and extension of approval of an information
collection.

Abstract: Under the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq. ), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is authorized to, among other things, administer the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP or the Plan), the primary purpose of which is to protect the health of the U.S. poultry population. NPIP is a voluntary Federal-State-industry cooperative program for the improvement of poultry flocks and products through disease control techniques. Participation in all Plan programs is voluntary, but flocks, hatcheries, and dealers of breeding poultry must first qualify as ‘‘U.S. Pullorum-Typhoid Clean’’ as a condition for participation in the Plan programs. The NPIP regulations are contained in 9 CFR parts 56, 145, 146,
and 147.

To administer the Plan, APHIS requires a number of information activities and forms, including Veterinary Services (VS) Forms 1–23/1– 23A, Appraisal and Indemnity Claim for Animals Destroyed or Materials Destroyed/Continuation Sheet; VS Form 9–2, Flock Selecting and Testing Report; VS Form 9–3, Report of Sales of Hatching Eggs, Chicks, and Poults; VS Form 9–4, Summary of Breeding Flock Participation; VS Form 9–5, Report of Hatcheries, Dealers, and Independent Flocks, Table-Egg Producers, Meat-Type Chicken and Turkey Slaughter Plants Participating in the NPIP; VS Form 9– 6, Report of Salmonella Isolations to NPIP Official State Agencies; VS Form 9–7, Investigation of Salmonella Isolations in Poultry; VS Form 9–8, Flock Inspection and Check-Testing Report; VS Form 9–9, Hatchery Inspection Report; VS Form 10–3, Request for Salmonella Serotyping; banding of sentinel birds for identification prior to flock vaccination; memorandums of understanding; and recordkeeping.

Since the last approval of these collection activities, participation in NPIP has risen. In addition to industry participation, which is estimated at 99 percent, backyard chicken farmers who are raising poultry to satisfy the demand due to the increasing number of organic chicken and egg consumers want to join. Many people are also raising chickens and producing eggs for their own use.
As a result of the increase in participation, the estimated annual number of respondents has increased from 10,800 to 18,097, and the
estimated annual total burden has increased from 103,363 hours to 104,311 hours. Though the number of respondents increased, there was not a
commensurate increase in the burden because of NPIP procedural changes. For instance, due to the information that can be obtained from NPIP’s Web site, NPIP no longer sends letters to all NPIP participants and no longer prints participant directories.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of these information collection activities, as described, for 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


### 38277 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 129 / Monday, July 7, 2014 / 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 0.7 hours per response.

Respondents: Flock owners, breeders, hatchery operators, table-egg producers, meat-type chicken and turkey slaughter plant workers, personnel at approved laboratories, and State personnel.

Estimated annual number of respondents: 18,097.

Estimated annual number of responses per respondent: 8.5.

Estimated annual number of

responses: 153,548.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 104,311 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 30th day of June 2014.
Kevin Shea,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 2014–15751 Filed 7–3–14; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 3410–34–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE**

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

**[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0044]**

**Notice of Request for Reinstatement of an Information Collection; National**  **Animal Health Monitoring System; Equine 2015 Study** 

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

**ACTION :**  Reinstatement 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 reinstatement of an information collection to support the National Animal Health Monitoring System’s Equine 2015 Study to support the equine industry in the United States.

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

5, 2014.

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

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket Detail;D=APHIS-2014-0044. • Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS–2014–0044, 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-2014-0044 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 Equine 2015 Study, contact Mr. Chris Quatrano, Industry Analyst, Centers for Epidemiology and Animal Health, VS, APHIS, 2150 Centre Avenue, Building B MS 2E7, Fort Collins, CO 80526; (970) 494–7207. 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: National Animal Health Monitoring System; Equine 2015 Study.

OMB Control Number: 0579–0269. Type of Request: Reinstatement of an
information collection.

Abstract: Under the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq. ), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture is authorized, among other things, to protect the health of U.S. livestock and poultry populations by preventing the introduction and interstate spread of serious diseases and pests of livestock and by eradicating
such diseases from the United States
when feasible. In connection with this mission, APHIS operates the National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS), which collects nationally representative, statistically valid, and scientifically sound data on the prevalence and economic importance of
livestock diseases and associated risk
factors.

NAHMS’ national studies are a collaborative industry and Government initiative to help determine the most effective means of preventing and controlling diseases of livestock. APHIS is the only agency responsible for collecting national data on livestock health. Participation in any NAHMS study is voluntary. APHIS plans to conduct an Equine 2015 Study as part of an ongoing series
of NAHMS studies on the U.S. livestock population. The purpose of this study is

to:

• Describe trends in equine care and health management for study years 1998, 2005, and 2015;

• Estimate the occurrence of ownerreported lameness and describe practices associated with the management of lameness;

• Describe health and management practices associated with important equine infectious diseases;

• Describe animal health related costs of equine ownership;

• Evaluate control practices for gastrointestinal parasites;

• Evaluate horses for presence of ticks and describe tick-control practices used on equine operations; and

• Collect equine sera along with equine demographic information in
order to create a serum bank for future
studies.

The Equine 2015 Study will consist of on-farm questionnaires and a biological collection administered by National Agricultural Statistics Service enumerators and APHIS-designated data
collectors. States are selected for participation based on the number of operations with equids and on the equid inventory. The goal is to include States that, combined, account for at least 70 percent of the operations and inventory in the United States. For each State, a weighted average of operations and inventory is calculated, with inventory weighted slightly higher. Generally, States with at least 2 percent of the U.S. total weighted average are selected to participate in the survey. States may also be included based on industry interest or for geographic representation.

The information collected will be
used to:

• Direct future equine industry education;

• Allow equine owners and managers to compare their health management practices and disease prevalence in their equids with national and regional estimates;

• Identify research needs;

• Describe trends in equine health and management over time; and

• Provide baseline information to assist with policy development.

We are asking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve our use of these information collection activities for 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: