Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 7, 2000 / Notices 36137

exemption to justify its use during the

4th year of the exemption. Roses, Inc.

would consolidate these statements and

submit them to the Agency. An

individual statement of need would

continue to be required during the 5th

year of the exemption. The exemption

would terminate at the end of its 5th

year.

Roses, Inc. bases its exception request

on the following proposed conditions.

There is continued development of IPM

programs that include effective and

economic predator and parasite

biological control agents for the rose

greenhouse industry during the

proposed 5 years of the exemption.

There is also continued development

and registration of effective short REI

pesticides for this industry during this

time. An annual review of the exception

and the industry’s progress toward

phasing out the exception would be

conducted by Roses, Inc. and the

Agency. There is continued EPA

support of the Rose Exception Advisory

Workgroup. The Food Quality

Protection Act will not negatively

impact the cut-rose industry because of

mitigation measures or suspensions

based on aggregate and cumulative risk

assessments. Increasing foreign imports

will not be priced so low that individual

growers cannot afford transition to new

insect and disease control agents and

products that facilitate optimal

harvesting procedures. The National

Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health study on risk to early-entry

workers in the rose greenhouse does not

produce significant adverse effects data

on early entry after pesticide use or

other adverse pesticide effects in floral

greenhouses.

B. Agency Assessment, Concerns, and

Opinion

Under CFR 40 170.112, (e) Exception

requiring Agency approval—(1)

Requesting an exception, the following

information must be submitted to the

Agency for an exception to be

considered:

(i) The name, address and telephone

number of the submitter.

(ii) The time period for which the

exception is requested.

(iii) A description of the crop(s) and

specific crop production tasks for which the

exception is requested.

(iv) A description of the geographic area for

which the exception is requested.

(v) An explanation as to why, for each

requested crop-task combination, alternative

practices would not be technically or

financially viable. This information should

include estimates or data on a per acre

revenue and cost of production for the crop

and area for which the exception is

requested. These estimates or data should

include: the situation prior to

implementation of this final rule, the

situation after implementation of this final

rule if the exception is not granted, the

situation after implementation of this final

rule if the exception is granted, and specific

information on individual factors which

cause differences in revenues and costs

among the three situations.

(vi) A description or documentation of the

safety and feasibility of such an exception,

including, but not limited to, the feasibility

of performing the necessary hand labor

activity while wearing the personal

protective equipment required for early entry

for the pesticide(s) expected to be applied,

the means of mitigating heat-related illness

concerns, the period of time required daily

per worker to perform the hand labor

activity, any suggested methods of reducing

the worker’s exposure, and any other

mitigating factors such as the availability of

running water for routine and emergency

decontamination and mechanical devices

that would reduce the workers’ contact with

the treated surfaces.

The information should include the

costs associated with early-entry, such

as decontamination facilities, special

information and training for the

workers, heat stress avoidance

procedures, and provision, inspection,

cleaning, and maintenance of PPE. EPA

will not grant exceptions where the

costs of early entry equal or exceed the

expected loss in value of crop yield or

quality.

Since receipt of Roses, Inc.’s request

for an exception, the Agency has been

discussing the content with Roses, Inc.

and within the Agency to better

understand and supplement the request

with other information. Even though the

request remains incomplete, the Agency

has chosen to publish this notice of

receipt and would like public comment

prior to making a decision on the

request.

The petition by Roses, Inc. does not

adequately address the information

requirements regarding specific

information on individual factors which

cause differences in revenues and costs.

The petition also did not provide the

information required regarding the

means of mitigating heat-related illness

concerns, the period of time required

daily per worker to perform the hand

labor activity, and the costs associated

with early-entry as stated above.

The Agency would also like to

consider a narrower exception request,

such as one confined to specific

pesticide products, time, pest or

infestations where risks and benefits can

be better defined. This would allow for

an exception with potentially less risk

for workers because of less frequent

exposure.

C. Comments Solicited

The Agency is interested in a full

range of comments and information on

this exception request. The Agency

particularly welcomes comments

supported by information that would

help establish the economic need for the

exception in light of the significant

number of rose growers that continue

production without it, the appropriate

group to administer or manage the

exception since Roses Inc. has proposed

to administer several aspects such as

grower registration, justification of need,

limitation of eligibility to use an

exception to Roses, Inc. membership,

and pesticide exposure risks to workers

from allowing early entry for harvesting.

Data and information that will assist

worker and harvester risk assessment

and adverse incident reports are of

particular need. Through public

comment, the Agency is seeking

information to further improve the riskbenefit analysis. Individuals are

encouraged to provide comments on all

or any portions of the information

sought by the Agency.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 170

Environmental protection,

Administrative practice and procedure,

Occupational safety and health,

Pesticides and pests, Roses.

Dated: May 23, 2000.

Marcia E. Mulkey,

Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 00–14322 Filed 6–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–F

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA), as part of

its continuing effort to reduce

paperwork and respondent burden,

invites the general public and other

Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on proposed

new information collections. In

accordance with the Paperwork

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

3506(c)(2)(A)), this notice seeks

comments concerning implementation

of Project Impact Baseline and Progress

Reports in Project Impact communities.

These reports will provide data, both

narrative and quantitative, for assessing

36138 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 7, 2000 / Notices

a community’s progress towards disaster

resistance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Congress

tasked FEMA with the responsibility to

design and implement a meaningful predisaster initiative that would reduce

rapidly escalating disaster costs, and

provided funding towards that goal.

This initiative is entitled Project Impact:

Building a Disaster Resistant

Community. Congress, through the

mechanism of the Government

Performance Results Act, requires that

we show that the money is being used

effectively by establishing a systematic

process of evaluation. The Baseline

Report and subsequent Annual Progress

Report provide a means of data

collection for this objective and have

been developed to capture the progress

of a community towards disaster

resistance in a non-disaster situation.

The questions in both reports request

information relevant to the hazards and

vulnerabilities faced by the community.

There are also questions that request

information about damage prevention

activity and public education and

awareness activity. The requested

information will not only gauge the

momentum towards disaster resistance

but will indicate success of the

collaborative processes as well. The data

collected will also be used as a basis for

initiative development.

The community may also use the data

for their own evaluation. The results of

the evaluation, particularly when they

reflect hard work and accomplishment,

can be publicized as a way of affirming

the community’s commitment to the

initiative in the previous year. Included

in the reports are questions about the

community’s insurance ratings (the

Building Code Effectiveness Grading

Scale (BCEGS) and the Community

Rating System (CRS)). These indicators

provide financial incentives, in the form

of lower premium rates, to communities

who are increasing their disaster

resistance.

Collection of Information

Title. Project Impact Baseline and

Annual Progress Reports.

Type of Information Collection. New.

Abstract. The Baseline report, due

only the 1st year and 60 days after the

Signing Ceremony, is critical to provide

a picture of the community’s ability to

withstand disasters at the beginning of

its designation as a Project Impact

community. It requests information

necessary to evaluate the disaster

resistant status of a community and

should help Project Impact

Communities establish their initial

focus. The Annual Progress Report,

which is due annually to FEMA for five

years starting on the 1st anniversary of

the Signing Ceremony, allows FEMA to

assess the community’s progress with

respect to both national goals and

program initiatives. It also provides an

opportunity for a community to evaluate

its own success with respect to local

goals. Both of these data collection

mechanisms provide means to measure

the proper use of grant funding as well

as data for Government Performance

Results Act (GPRA) reporting.

Affected Public: Completing the form

will be the primary responsibility of the

Local Government or their designee but

will contain information about

households, businesses, not for profit

institutions, State, Local, and tribal

Government.

FEMA Forms

No. of

respondents

(A)

Frequency of

response

(B)

Hours per response

(C)

Annual burden hours

(A × B × C)

Baseline Report .................................................. 65 One-time .................... 2 Hours ...................... 130 Hours

Progress Reports ................................................ 113 Annually ..................... 2 Hours ...................... 226 Hours

Total ............................................................. 178 .................................... .................................... 356 Hours

Estimated Cost. $15,000.00 (Fifteen

Thousand dollars).

Comments

Written comments are solicited to (a)

evaluate whether the proposed data

collection is necessary for the proper

performance of the agency, including

whether the information shall have

practical utility; (b) evaluate the

accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the

burden of the proposed collection of

information, including the validity of

the methodology and assumptions used;

(c) enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) minimize the burden

of the collection of information on those

who are to respond, including 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. Comments should be

received within 60 days of the date of

this notice.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons should

submit written comments to Muriel B.

Anderson, Chief, Record Management

Branch, Program Service Division,

Operations Support Directorates,

Federal Emergency Management

Agency, 500 C Street, SW, Room 316,

Washington, DC 20472. Telephone

number (202) 646–2625. FAX number

(202) 646–3524, Or e-mail

muriel.anderson@fema.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Priscilla Scruggs, Evaluation

and Assessment Specialist, Mitigation

Directorate—Project Impact, at (202)

646–4155 for additional information.

Contact Muriel B. Anderson at (202)

646–2625 for copies of the proposed

collection of information.

Mike Bozzelli,

Acting Director, Program Services Division,

Operations Support Directorate.

[FR Doc. 00–14298 Filed 6–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6718–01–P

FEDERAL EMERGENCY

MANAGEMENT AGENCY

[FEMA–1326–DR]

Maine; Amendment No. 2 to Notice of

a Major Disaster Declaration

AGENCY: Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice amends the notice

of a major disaster for the State of Maine

(FEMA–1326–DR), dated April 28, 2000,

and related determinations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 24, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Madge Dale, Response and Recovery

Directorate, Federal Emergency

Management Agency, Washington, DC

20472, (202) 646–3772.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is

hereby given that the incident period for

this disaster is closed effective April 26,

2000.

(The following Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Numbers (CFDA) are to be used

for reporting and drawing funds: 83.537,