74 FR 208 pgs. 55842-55843 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Tolerance Petitions for Pesticides on Food/Feed Crops and New Inert Ingredients; EPA ICR No. 0597.10, OMB Control No. 2070-0024
Type: NOTICEVolume: 74Number: 208Pages: 55842 - 55843
Docket number: [EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0927; FRL-8975-5]
FR document: [FR Doc. E9-26089 Filed 10-28-09; 8:45 am]
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0927; FRL-8975-5]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Tolerance Petitions for Pesticides on Food/Feed Crops and New Inert Ingredients; EPA ICR No. 0597.10, OMB Control No. 2070-0024
AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq. ), this document announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. This is a request to renew an existing approved collection. The ICR, which is abstracted below, describes the nature of the information collection and its estimated burden and cost.
DATES:
Additional comments may be submitted on or before November 30, 2009.
ADDRESSES:
Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0927, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or by mail to: EPA Docket Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001, and (2) OMB by mail to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lily Negash, Field and External Affairs Division, (7506P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-347-8515; fax number: 703-305-5884; e-mail address: negash.lily@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
EPA has submitted the following ICR to OMB for review and approval according to the procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. On February 25, 2009 (74 FR 8537), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment during the comment period, which is addressed in the ICR. Any additional comments on this ICR should be submitted to EPA and OMB within 30 days of this notice.
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0927, which is available for online viewing at http://www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
Use EPA's electronic docket and comment system at http://www.regulations.gov, to submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select "docket search," then key in the docket ID number identified above. Please note that EPA's policy is that public comments, whether submitted electronically or in paper, will be made available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov as EPA receives them and without change, unless the comment contains copyrighted material, confidential business information (CBI), or other information whose public disclosure is restricted by statute. For further information about the electronic docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Title: Tolerance Petitions for Pesticides on Food/Feed Crops and New Inert Ingredients.
ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 0597.10, OMB Control No. 2070-0024.
ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2009. Under OMB regulations, the Agency may continue to conduct or sponsor the collection of information while this submission is pending at OMB. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, are displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
Abstract: This information collection will enable EPA to collect adequate data to support the establishment of pesticide tolerances pursuant to section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). A pesticide may not be used on food or feed crops unless EPA has established a tolerance for the pesticide residues on that crop, or established an exemption from the requirement to have a tolerance. Responses to this collection are required to obtain tolerances or exemptions from tolerances for pesticides used on food or feed crops, pursuant to section 408 of FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a, as amended by FQPA (Pub. L. 104-170). Confidential Business Information (CBI) submitted to EPA in response to this information collection is protected from disclosure under FIFRA Section 10.
This ICR only applies to the information collection activities associated with the submission of a petition for a tolerance action. It is EPA's responsibility to ensure that the maximum residue levels likely to be found in or on food/feed crops are safe for human consumption through a careful review and evaluation of residue chemistry and toxicology data. In addition, it must ensure that adequate enforcement of the tolerance can be achieved through the testing of submitted analytical methods. If the data are adequate for EPA to determine that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate exposure, the Agency will establish the tolerance or grant an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1,726 hours per response for petitions submitted by pesticide registrants and 1,739 hours per response for petitions submitted by IR-4 participants. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements which have subsequently changed; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
Respondents/Affected Entities: Entities potentially affected by this ICR include individuals or entities engaged in activities related to the registration of a pesticide product, which may be identified by the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code 325320.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 103.
Frequency of Response: As needed.
Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 178,285.
Estimated Total Annual Cost: $14,103,722. This ICR does not involve any capital investment or maintenance and operational costs.
Changes in the Estimates: There is a net decrease of 80,615 hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens. EPA anticipates that 47 fewer tolerance petitions will be received annually compared to the previous three years (2006, 2007, and 2008). This would result in a corresponding 81,122 hour reduction in estimated annual burden. The change is an adjustment. In addition, EPA estimates that IR-4 petitioners are changing the way in which they compile tolerance petitions for submission to EPA in an effort to capture the new fee waiver incentives under the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act. This change in IR-4 petition preparation results in an additional 13 hours per response, resulting in a program change increase of 507 hours annually.
Dated: October 23, 2009.
Richard T. Westlund,
Acting Director, Collection Strategies Division.
[FR Doc. E9-26089 Filed 10-28-09; 8:45 am]
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