Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 2006 / Notices 905 

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: For 

information regarding the National 

Veterinary Accreditation Program, 

contact Ms. Lynn Thomas, Management 

Analyst, Surveillance and Identification 

Programs, National Center for Animal 

Health Programs, VS, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 200, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1231; (301) 734–5777. For copies of 

more detailed information on the 

information collection, contact Mrs. 

Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734–

7477. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: National Veterinary 

Accreditation Program. 

OMB Number: 0579–0032. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: The Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture is 

responsible for, among other things, 

protecting the health of our Nation’s 

livestock and poultry populations by 

preventing the introduction and spread 

of serious diseases and pests of livestock 

and poultry and for eradicating such 

diseases and pests from the United 

States when feasible. 

To help us accomplish our mission, 

APHIS’ Veterinary Services administers 

the National Veterinary Accreditation 

Program. This program certifies private 

veterinary practitioners to work 

cooperatively with Federal 

veterinarians, as well as with State 

animal health officials, to conduct 

certain activities for us. Accredited 

veterinarians are instrumental in 

increasing our capacity to perform 

health certifications and conduct 

extensive disease surveillance and 

monitoring. 

Operating this program requires a 

number of information gathering 

activities, including: 

• Conducting veterinary accreditation 

orientation and training. 

• Completing animal health 

certificates. 

• Applying and removing official 

seals. 

• Completing test reports. 

• Reviewing applications for 

veterinary accreditation and 

reaccreditation. 

• Recordkeeping. 

• Updating information on accredited 

veterinarians. 

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 

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, 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 

0.477348 hours per response. 

Respondents: Accredited 

veterinarians, candidates for the 

National Veterinary Accreditation 

Program, and State animal health 

officials who review applications for 

veterinary accreditation and 

reaccreditation. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 63,000. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 2.095936. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 132,044. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 63,031 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 29th day of 

December 2005. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–87 Filed 1–5–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. 05–085–1] 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Approval of an Information Collection; 

Requirements for Recognizing the 

Animal Health Status of Foreign 

Regions 

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 

requirements for recognizing the animal 

health status of foreign regions. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before March 7, 

2006. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and, in the 

‘‘Search for Open Regulations’’ box, 

select ‘‘Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service’’ from the agency 

drop-down menu, then click on 

‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, 

select APHIS–2005–0115 to submit or 

view public comments and to view 

supporting and related materials 

available electronically. After the close 

of the comment period, the docket can 

be viewed using the ‘‘Advanced Search’’

function in Regulations.gov. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send four copies of your 

comment (an original and three copies) 

to Docket No. 05–085–1, 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. 05–085–1. 

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 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
906 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 2006 / Notices 

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: For 

information on regulations for 

recognizing the animal health status of 

foreign regions, contact Dr. Gary 

Colgrove, Director, National Center for 

Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1231; (301) 734–4356. For copies 

of more detailed information on the 

information collection, contact Mrs. 

Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ Information 

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734–

7477. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Requirements for Recognizing 

the Animal Health Status of Foreign 

Regions. 

OMB Number: 0579–0219. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: The Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture is 

responsible for, among other things, 

protecting the health of our Nation’s 

livestock and poultry populations by 

preventing the introduction and spread 

of serious diseases and pests of livestock 

and poultry and for eradicating such 

diseases and pests from the United 

States when feasible. 

The regulations in 9 CFR part 92, 

Importation of Animals and Animal 

Products: Procedures for Requesting 

Recognition of Regions, set out the 

process by which a foreign government 

may request recognition of the animal 

health status of a region or approval to 

export animals or animal products to 

the United States based on the risk 

associated with animals or animal 

products from that region. Each request 

must include information about the 

region, including information on the 

veterinary services organization of the 

region; the extent to which movement of 

animals and animal products is 

controlled from regions of higher risk, 

and the level of biosecurity for such 

movements; livestock demographics and 

marketing practices in the region; 

diagnostic laboratory capabilities in the 

region; and the region’s policies and 

infrastructure for animal disease 

control. Specifically, in § 92.2, we 

require regions that have been granted 

status under the regulations to provide 

information, or allow us to access 

information, to confirm the regions’

animal health status when we request it. 

The types of information collected will 

vary based on the information required 

to adequately assess a region’s animal 

health status. 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of this information 

collection activity 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 

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, 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 40 

hours per response. 

Respondents: Veterinary authorities 

in regions that have been granted a 

particular animal health status for a 

specified animal disease. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 3. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 1. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 3. 

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 29th day of 

December, 2005. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–89 Filed 1–5–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. 04–114–2] 

Monsanto Company; Availability of 

Determination of Nonregulated Status 

for Corn Genetically Engineered for 

Insect Resistance and Glyphosate 

Tolerance 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our determination that the Monsanto 

corn line designated as transformation 

event MON 88017, which has been 

genetically engineered for resistance to 

a corn rootworm complex and for 

tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate, is 

no longer considered a regulated article 

under our regulations governing the 

introduction of certain genetically 

engineered organisms. Our 

determination is based on our 

evaluation of data submitted by 

Monsanto in their petition for a 

determination of nonregulated status, 

our analysis of other scientific data, and 

comments received from the public in 

response to a previous notice 

announcing the availability of the 

petition for nonregulated status and an 

environmental assessment. This notice 

also announces the availability of our 

written determination and our finding 

of no significant impact. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 14, 

2005. 

ADDRESSES: You may read the petition, 

the environmental assessment, the 

determination, the finding of no 

significant impact, and the comments 

that we received on Docket No. 04–114–

1 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Robyn Rose, Biotechnology Regulatory 

Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 

147, Riverdale, MD 20737–1236; (301) 

734–0489. To obtain copies of the 

petition, EA, determination, FONSI, or 

response to comments, contact Ms. 

Ingrid Berlanger at (301) 734–4885; email: 

Ingrid.E.Berlanger@aphis.usda.gov. The 

petition and the draft environmental 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES