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Notices Federal Register

42255 

Vol. 77, No. 138 

Wednesday, July 18, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0051] 

Notice of Request for Approval of a 

New Information Collection; National 

Animal Health Monitoring System; 

Layers 2013 Study 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Approval of a new information 

collection activity; 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 

initiate the Layers 2013 Study, an 

information collection to support the 

U.S. poultry industry. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before September 

17, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0051- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0051, 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-2012-0051 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: Mr. 

Chris Quatrano, Industry Analyst, 

Centers for Epidemiology and Animal 

Health, VS, APHIS, 2150 Centre Avenue 

Building B MS 2E6, 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; Layers 2013 Study. 

OMB Number: 0579–XXXX. 

Type of Request: Approval of a new 

information collection activity. 

Abstract: Under the Animal Health 

Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), 

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service (APHIS) of the United States 

Department of Agriculture is authorized 

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 for eradicating such diseases from 

the United States when feasible. In 

connection with this mission, APHIS 

would like to conduct the Layers 2013 

Study, which will be used to collect 

information to: 

• Estimate flock-level prevalence of 

Salmonella enteritidis. 

• Identify potential risk factors with 

Salmonella enteritidis presence to 

support and enhance quality assurance 

programs. 

• Describe biosecurity measures and 

management practices being used by the 

industry that are potentially related to 

the presence of Salmonella enteritidis. 

Through the Layers 2013 Study, 

APHIS will collect data, voluntarily, 

from individual producers involved in 

the U.S. table egg layer industry. The 

study questionnaire will be 

administered by Veterinary Services 

personnel. No national, cross-company 

study on the table egg layer industry has 

been conducted since the National 

Animal Health Monitoring Systems’ 

(NAHMS) Layers ‘99 Study. 

On March 20, 2012, NAHMS was 

recognized by Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) as a statistical unit 

under Title V of the E-Governement Act 

of 2002, Public Law 107–347, also 

known as the Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (CIPSEA). All information 

acquired under the Layers 2013 Study 

will be used for statistical purposes only 

and will be treated as confidential in 

accordance with CIPSEA guidelines. 

Only NAHMS staff and designated 

agents will be permitted access to 

individual-level data. 

We are asking OMB to approve our 

use of this information collection 

activity for 2 years. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments from the public (as well as 

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 

0.625 hours per response. 

Respondents: Egg producers. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 1,344. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 1. 

Estimated annual number of response 

hours: 1,344. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 840. (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 12th day of 

July 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17535 Filed 7–17–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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