Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to OMB for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Plant-Incorporated Protectants; CBI Substantiation and Adverse Effects Reporting; EPA ICR No. 1693.05, OMB Control No. 2070-0142

AGENCY:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (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 16, 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your comments, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0860, to (1) EPA online using www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), by e-mail to opp.ncic@epa.gov, or by mail to: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, 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:

Joseph Hogue, Field and External Affairs Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, 7506P, Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 703-308-9072; fax number: 703-305-5884; e-mail address: hogue.joe@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 March 14, 2007 (72 FR 11862), EPA sought comments on this ICR pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no comments. 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-2006-0860, which is available for online viewing at 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. This docket facility is open 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 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 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 www.regulations.gov.

Title: Plant-Incorporated Protectants; CBI Substantiation and Adverse Effects Reporting

ICR Numbers: EPA ICR No. 1693.05, OMB Control No. 2070-0142

ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to expire on October 31, 2007. 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 ICR addresses the two information collection requirements described in regulations pertaining to pesticidal substances that are produced by plants (plant-incorporated protectants) and which are codified in 40 CFR part 174. A plant-incorporated protectant is defined as “the pesticidal substance that is intended to be produced and used in a living plant and the genetic material necessary for the production of such a substance.” Many, but not all, plant-incorporated protectants are exempt from registration requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Registrants sometimes include in a submission to EPA for registration of a plant-incorporated protectant, information that they claim to be confidential business information (CBI). CBI is protected by FIFRA and generally cannot be released to the public. Under 40 CFR part 174, whenever a registrant claims that information submitted to EPA in support of a registration application for plant-incorporated protectants contains CBI, the registrant must substantiate such claims when they are made, rather than provide it later upon request by EPA. In addition, manufacturers of plant-incorporated protectants that are otherwise exempted from the requirements of registration must report adverse effects of the plant-incorporated protectant to the Agency. Such reporting will allow the Agency to determine whether further action is needed to prevent unreasonable adverse effects to the environment. Submission of this information is mandatory.

Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 7 hours for an adverse effects report and 21.5 hours for substantiation of a CBI claim, 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: Producers and importers of plant-incorporated protectants.

Estimated Number of Respondents: 14.

Frequency of Response: On occasion.

Estimated Total Annual Hour Burden: 303.

Estimated Total Annual Cost: $20,879, includes no annualized capital or O&M costs.

Changes in the Estimates: There is no change in the number of hours in the total estimated burden currently identified in the OMB Inventory of Approved ICR Burdens.