Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Foreign Purchaser Acknowledgment Statement of Unregistered Pesticides; EPA ICR No. 0161.11, OMB Control No. 2070-0027

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 January 14, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0255, to (1) EPA online using http://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by mail—Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, 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:

Nathanael R. Martin, Field and External Affairs Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, 7506P, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-305-6475; fax number: 703-305-5884; e-mail address: martin.nathanael@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 June 11, 2008 (73 FR 33081) EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received one comment on this ICR during the 60-day comment period and addressed them 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-2008-0255, 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 Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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 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: Foreign Purchaser Acknowledgment Statement of Unregistered Pesticides

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 0161.11, OMB Control No. 2070-0027.

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on February 28, 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 program is designed to enable EPA to provide notice to foreign purchasers of unregistered pesticides exported from the United States that the pesticide product cannot be sold in the United States. Section 17(a)(2) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requires an exporter of any pesticide not registered under FIFRA section 3 or sold under FIFRA section 6(a)(1) to obtain a signed statement from the foreign purchaser acknowledging that the purchaser is aware that the pesticide is not registered for use in, and cannot be sold in, the United States. A copy of this statement must be transmitted to an appropriate official of the government in the importing country. The purpose of the purchaser acknowledgment statement requirement is to notify the government of the importing country that a pesticide judged hazardous to human health or the environment, or for which no such hazard assessment has been made, will be imported into that country. This information is submitted in the form of annual or per-shipment statements to EPA, which maintains original records and transmits copies thereof to appropriate government officials of the countries which are importing the pesticides. Pursuant to 40 CFR part 168, responses to this collection of information are mandatory.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.06 hours per response. 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: Manufacturers of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals, exporters of unregistered pesticide products.

Estimated No. of Respondents: 50.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 24,492 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Labor Costs: $1,574,306.

Changes in Burden Estimates: The total estimated annual respondent burden for this ICR renewal is 24,492 hours, a reduction of 208 hours from the 24,700 total estimated burden hours in the currently-approved ICR. This change is an adjustment and reflects a decrease in the estimated average annual number of Foreign Purchaser Acknowledgment Statements that will be submitted to EPA.