2013 Ss 0207

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

OMB NO. 0579-0207

Bees and Related Articles

May 1, 2014

This Information Collection is being Reinstated.

A. Justification

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for preventing plant diseases or insect pests from entering the United States, preventing the spread of pests and noxious weeds not widely distributed in the United States, and eradicating those imported pests when eradication is feasible.

The Plant Protection Act (PPA) (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, or interstate movement of plants, plant products, and other articles to prevent the introduction of plant pests into the United States or their dissemination within the United States.

Further, under the Honeybee Act (7.U.S.C. 281-286), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to prohibit or restrict the importation of honeybee semen to prevent the introduction into the United States of diseases and parasites harmful to honeybees and of undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees such as Apis mellifera scutellata, commonly known in the United States as the African honeybee. Regulations established under the Honeybee Act are contained in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 7, Part 322 (referred to as the “honeybee regulations”).

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), is responsible for implementing the intent of these Acts, and does so through the enforcement of its pollinator regulations and honeybee regulations.

Pollination is necessary for the production of many important crops, including forages, fruits, vegetables, and vegetable oils. The pollinator regulations and honeybee regulations govern the importation into the United States of honeybees, honeybee semen, live bees other than honeybees, dead bees of the superfamily Apoidea, certain beekeeping byproducts, and beekeeping equipment.

The establishment of certain bee diseases, parasites, or undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees in the United States could cause substantial reductions in pollination by bees. Reductions in pollination by bees could indirectly cause serious damage to crops and other plants, and, therefore, could lead to multimillion dollar losses to American agriculture.

This regulation revises the honeybee regulations and the pollinator regulations. Among other things, APHIS allows honeybees and honeybee germ plasm from New Zealand, to be imported into the United States under certain conditions, to impose certain conditions on the importation into the United States of bees and related articles from Canada, and to prohibit the interstate movement of honeybees into Hawaii.

This regulation requires APHIS to collect information from a variety of individuals who are involved in breeding, exporting, importing, and containing bees and related articles. The information APHIS collects serves as the supporting documentation needed to issue required PPQ forms and documents that allow importation of bees and related articles or authorize release of bees. This documentation is vital to helping APHIS ensure that exotic bee diseases and parasites, and undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees, do not spread into or within the United States.

APHIS is asking OMB to approve the reinstatement of information collection activities associated with its efforts to prevent the spread of diseases and parasites harmful to honeybees, and the introduction of genetically undesirable germ plasm of honeybees for 3 years.

2. Indicate how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

APHIS uses the following information activities to prohibit or restrict the importation of honeybee semen to prevent the introduction into the United States of diseases and parasites harmful to honeybees and of undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees such as Apis mellifera scutellata, commonly known in the United States as the African honeybee.

Notice of Arrival for Shipments from Approved Regions – At least 10 days prior to the arrival in the United States of any shipment of bees or honeybee germ plasm imported into the United States under CFR § 322.7, APHIS must be notified of the impending arrival.

Labeling of Shipments – Packages of bees and related articles imported into the United States will be labeled with the contents of the shipment and the name of the exporting country. This requirement will be used by APHIS to protect the safety of its inspectors, and will help facilitate the importation of these products, by providing its inspectors with ready access to essential information about the shipment.

Request for Risk Assessments – A risk assessment will be performed by APHIS before a country can be approved to import honeybees or honeybee germ plasm into the United States under its proposed subpart B. This requirement will ensure that bees imported under its less stringent requirements do not pose a risk of introducing exotic bee diseases, parasites, or undesirable species or subspecies of honeybees into the United States. This requirement will also make its risk assessment review process more transparent to its trading partners.

Application for a Permit to Import a Restricted Organism (PPQ FORM 526) – Anyone wishing to import honeybees, honeybee semen, or any restricted article (such as beekeeping equipment) that would potentially harbor exotic bee diseases or parasites, must apply to APHIS for an import permit. This application must be submitted at least 30 days before the honeybees, honeybee semen, or restricted article arrives at its port of entry in the United States.

The permit application need not be in any particular format, but it must include the importer’s name, address, and telephone number; the quantity and kinds of articles intended for export, the amount of semen to be imported; the species or subspecies of honeybee from which the semen was collected; the country or locality of origin; the intended port of entry in the United States; the means of transportation; and the expected date of arrival.

Recordkeeping for Containment Facilities - Containment facilities housing restricted articles will have to maintain records about the condition and behavior of the bees and the amount of time spent in containment. This information will help APHIS determine whether the bees can eventually be safely released from containment. Records are maintained for APHIS to review for a period of 3 years.

Transit Documentation - Each shipment of restricted organisms transiting the United States will have to be accompanied by a document issued by the appropriate regulatory agency of the national government of the exporting region. The document will have to state that the packaging requirements for transit shipments have been met. This requirement will help prevent the introduction of exotic bee diseases, parasites, and undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees into the United States.

Packaging of Shipments – The outside of packaging must be clearly marked with the contents of the transit shipment, i.e., either “Live Bees,” “Bee Germ Plasm,” or “Live Bee Brood,” and the name of the exporting region.

Notice of Arrival for Transit Shipments - At least 2 business days prior to the expected date of arrival of restricted organisms at a port in the continental United States for in-transit movement, the shipper must contact the port to provide the name of each U.S. airport where the shipment will arrive; the name of the U.S. airport where the shipment will be transloaded (if applicable); the date of the shipment’s departure for each U.S. airport; the names, phone numbers, and addresses of both the shipper and the receiver; the number of units in the shipment; and the airline carrying the shipment.

Notice of Arrival for Restricted Articles – At least 10 business days prior to the arrival in the United States of any shipment of restricted articles, APHIS must be notified of the impending arrival.

Labeling of Restricted Articles – If restricted articles are imported through the mail or through commercial express delivery, the package must be marked on both sides with the name of the exporting region (print clearly in black with one inch or higher letters).

Appeal for Withdrawal of Permit (none at this time) – APHIS may withdraw any permit that APHIS issues. Any person whose permit is withdrawn may appeal the decision by writing to the Deputy Administrator of PPQ within 20 days after receiving written notification of the withdrawal. The letter must state all of the facts and reasons upon which the person relies to show that the permit was wrongfully withdrawn.

Export Certificate - Each shipment of bees and honeybee germ plasm arriving in the United States from an approved region must be accompanied by an export certificate issued by the appropriate regulatory agency of the national government of the exporting region.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.

Application for Permit (PPQ Form 526) is posted and downloadable at:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/downloads/forms/ppqform526.pdf

Letters for an application for permit and appeal of withdrawal can be automated by anyone utilizing a computer.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purpose described in item 2 above.

The information APHIS collects is exclusive to its mission of preventing the introduction of exotic honeybee diseases, parasites, and undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees. This information is not available from any other source.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.

The information APHIS collects is the minimum needed to protect the U.S. beekeepers and bee populations nationwide from the potential introduction of exotic bee diseases, parasites, and undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees into the United States. APHIS has determined 15 percent of the respondents are small entities.

6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

If APHIS did not collect this information or if APHIS collected it less frequently, APHIS could not verify that imported bees and related articles do not present a significant risk of introducing exotic bee disease, parasites, and undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees. The establishment of certain bee diseases, parasites, or undesirable species and subspecies of honeybees in the United States could cause substantial reduction of pollination by bees. Reductions in pollination by bees could indirectly cause serious damage to crops and other plants and, therefore, could lead to multimillion dollar losses to American agriculture.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the general information collection guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5.

• requiring respondents to report informa­tion to the agency more often than quarterly;

• requiring respondents to prepare a writ­ten response to a collection of infor­ma­tion in fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

Notice of Arrival for Shipments from Approved Regions – At least 10 days prior to the arrival in the United States of any shipment of bees or honeybee germ plasm imported into the United States under CFR § 322.7, APHIS must be notified of the impending arrival.

Application for a Permit to Import a Restricted Organism (PPQ FORM 526) – Anyone wishing to import honeybees, honeybee semen, or any restricted article (such as beekeeping equipment) that would potentially harbor exotic bee diseases or parasites, must apply to APHIS for an import permit. This application must be submitted at least 30 days before the honeybees, honeybee semen, or restricted article arrives at its port of entry in the United States.

Notice of Arrival for Transit Shipments - At least 2 business days prior to the expected date of arrival of restricted organisms at a port in the continental United States for in-transit movement, the shipper must contact the port to provide the name of each U.S. airport where the shipment will arrive; the name of the U.S. airport where the shipment will be transloaded (if applicable); the date of the shipment’s departure for each U.S. airport; the names, phone numbers, and addresses of both the shipper and the receiver; the number of units in the shipment; and the airline carrying the shipment.

Notice of Arrival for Restricted Articles – At least 10 business days prior to the arrival in the United States of any shipment of restricted articles, APHIS must be notified of the impending arrival.

Appeal for Withdrawal of Permit (none at this time) – APHIS may withdraw any permit that APHIS issues. Any person whose permit is withdrawn may appeal the decision by writing to the Deputy Administrator of PPQ within 20 days after receiving written notification of the withdrawal. The letter must state all of the facts and reasons upon which the person relies to show that the permit was wrongfully withdrawn.

• requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

• requiring respondents to retain re­cords, other than health, medical, governm­ent contract, grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

• in connection with a statisti­cal sur­vey, that is not de­signed to produce valid and reliable results that can be general­ized to the uni­verse of study;

• requiring the use of a statis­tical data classi­fication that has not been re­vie­wed and approved by OMB;

• that includes a pledge of confiden­tiali­ty that is not supported by au­thority estab­lished in statute or regu­la­tion, that is not sup­ported by dis­closure and data security policies that are consistent with the pledge, or which unneces­sarily impedes shar­ing of data with other agencies for com­patible confiden­tial use; or

• requiring respondents to submit propri­etary trade secret, or other confidential information unless the agency can demon­strate that it has instituted procedures to protect the information's confidentiality to the extent permit­ted by law.

No other special circumstances exist that would require this collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with the general information collection guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5.

8. Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting form, and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB.

Productive consultations concerning information collection activities were made in 2013 with the following individuals:

Dr. Darold Batzer

Professor of Entomology

University of Georgia

413 Biological Sciences Building

Athens, GA 30602-2603

(706) 542-2301

Prof. Ben Oldroyd

Professor in Behavioral Genetics

School of Biological Sciences

A12 - Macleay
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006 Australia

+61 2 9351 7501
benjamin.oldroyd@sydney.edu.au

Diane Weinberg

Meeks, Sheppard, Leo & Pillsbury

570 Lexington Avenue
44th Floor
New York, NY 10022
(212) 949-7120

On Thursday, August 29, 2013, pages 53422-53423, APHIS published in the Federal Register, a 60-day notice seeking public comments on its plans to request a 3-year approval of this collection of information. During that time one comment was received from a about citizen her concern of importing bees into the United States. This comment had no relevance to this information collection.

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than reenumeration of contractors or grantees.

This information collection activity involves no payments or gifts to respondents.

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

No additional assurance of confidentiality is provided with this information collection. Any and all information obtained in this collection shall not be disclosed except in accordance with

5 U.S.C. 552a.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and others that are considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

This information collection activity asks no questions of a personal or sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated.

• Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in Item 13 of OMB Form 83-I.

See APHIS Form 71 for hour burden estimates.

• Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories.

Federal animal health authorities in Canada and New Zealand that inspect beekeeping operations (farms) in the country of origin. APHIS estimates the total annualized cost to these respondents to be $1,792.00 (56 hours X $32.00 average hourly wage equals $1,792.00). The hourly wage is provided and estimated by USDA’s Agricultural Specialist and Animal Health Specialist in Canada and New Zealand via beekeepers within their country of origin.

13. Provide estimates of the total annual cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information, (do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in items 12 and 14). The cost estimates should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost component annualized over its expected useful life; and (b) a total operation and maintenance and purchase of services component.

There is no annual cost burden associated with start-up, operation, maintenance, and purchase of services.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Provide a description of the method used to estimate cost and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information.

The estimated cost for the Federal Government is $ 1,488.00 (see APHIS Form 79)

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 13 or 14 of the OMB Form 83-1.

ICR Summary of Burden:

	Requested	Program Change Due to New Statute	Program Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA	Previously Approved
Annual Number of Responses	361	0	-208	0	569	0
Annual Time Burden (Hr)	56	0	-30	0	86	0
Annual Cost Burden ($)	0	0	0	0	0	0

This is a reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

This collection expired in 2011 because of an improper submission and APHIS did not resubmit the package before it expired. However, the Agency continued to collect information for this program, so the activities have been in violation of the PRA since then. Approval of this submission will rectify the violation.

APHIS is reporting 199 respondents, 361 responses and 56 burden hours for this collection. There is a reduction program change from the previous approved submission of -77 respondents from 276 to 199, and -208 annual responses from 569 to 361 resulting in a reduction of -30 total burden hours from 86 to56. These decreases are due to fewer exports of bees into the United States.

16. For collections of information whose results are planned to be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication.

APHIS has no plans to tabulate or publish this data.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

The APHIS Form 526 is in 4 collections (0579-0049, 0054, 0207 and 0213); therefore, it is not practical to include an OMB expiration date because of the various expiration dates for each collection. APHIS is seeking approval to not display the OMB expiration date on this form.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in the "Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act."

APHIS is able to certify compliance with all the provisions under the Act.

B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods

This collection of information does not use statistical methods.