
[Federal Register: October 29, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 208)]
[Notices]               
[Page 55842-55843]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29oc09-79]                         

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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.

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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

[[Page 55843]]

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]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
