Ss - 0579-0131

Supporting Statement

Importation of Tomatoes from Spain,

Chile, France, Morocco, and Western Sahara

OMB Number: 0579-0131

A. Justification July 2011

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), is responsible for preventing plant pests and noxious weeds from entering the United States, preventing the spread of plant diseases not widely distributed in the United States, and eradicating those imported pests and noxious weeds when eradication is feasible.

Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 – et.seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to carry out operations or measures to detect, eradicate, suppress, control, prevent, or retard the spread of plant pests new to the United States or not known to be widely distributed throughout the United States.

The regulations “Subpart-Tomatoes from Certain Countries” (7 CFR part 319.56-28, referred to below as the regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world to prevent the introduction and dissemination of plant pests, including fruit flies. APHIS is responsible for ensuring that these regulations are enforced.

APHIS implemented these regulations to allow tomatoes from Spain, Chile, France, Morocco, and Western Sahara to be imported into the United States (subject to certain conditions). This action is necessary in order to protect the ripening, or ripe tomatoes from infestation by the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly).

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

Phytosanitary Certificate (foreign)

APHIS requires each shipment of pink or red tomatoes to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture, Fresh Product Export (EACCE). APHIS uses the information on this certificate to determine the pest condition of the shipment at the time of inspection in the foreign country. This information is used as a guide to the intensity

of the inspection that APHIS must conduct when the shipment arrives. Without this information, all shipments would need to be inspected very thoroughly, thereby requiring considerably more time. This would slow the clearance of international shipments.

Plant health authorities in Spain, France, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Chile are responsible for conducting export certification inspections of each shipment of tomatoes destined for the United States, and for issuing a phytosanitary certificate that will accompany each shipment. The phytosanitary certificate certifies, among other things, that tomatoes are grown in registered greenhouses in a specified area of the exporting country.

Records of Trap Placement and Medfly Captures

Participating facilities must maintain records regarding trap placement and Medfly captures. The information APHIS collects serves as the supporting documentation needed to confirm that the tomatoes have been produced in accordance with the conditions set forth in the regulations. These records must be maintained for a period of 3 years.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, 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.

APHIS has no control or influence over when foreign countries will automate these certificates.

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.

APHIS is the only Federal agency responsible for preventing the introduction of exotic fruit flies into the United States. The information APHIS collects is exclusive to its mission of preventing the introduction of exotic fruit flies into the United States and 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.

APHIS estimates that 100% of the total 34 respondents are small entities. The information that APHIS collects is the minimum needed to protect the United States from the potential introduction of exotic fruit flies into the country.

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 this information was not collected, APHIS’ ability to protect the United States from exotic insect pests would be severely compromised.

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 report informa­tion to the agency more often than quarterly;

Daily Log
For purposes of security, facility operators must maintain a daily log to record the entry and exit of all persons entering and leaving the facility while quarantine is in progress.  

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

Licensees and permittees must immediately, but no later than 2 days, send stop distribution and sale notices to any jobbers, wholesalers, dealers, foreign consignees, or other persons known to have any such veterinary biological product in their possession, which instruct them to stop the preparations, distribution, sale, barter, exchange, shipment, or importation of any such veterinary biological product.  All notification shall be documented in writing by the licensee or permittee.

Shipments of live VHS-regulated fish must be presented for inspection at a port of entry.  For live fish entering through certain limited ports listed in APHIS’ regulations, the importer must notify the APHIS port veterinarian at least 72-hours in advance of the arrival in the United States of the shipment.  This notification is necessary to ensure APHIS is prepared for the arrival of the shipment at the port of entry, to ensure that inspectors and facilities are available for inspection in the United States, and to contact appropriate persons if any questions arise concerning the importation.  This prior notification to the port veterinarian may be made via phone, fax, or e-mail.

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;

Testing records to support an aquaculture facility's claim of disease freedom from VHS virus must be maintained for a maximum of 4 years.  This recordkeeping will provide APHIS with historical documentation to determine the risk of spreading VHS from a given facility.  

APHIS is requiring herd owners to maintain their herd records for as long as the herd remains in the CWD program.  This time varies from herd to herd.

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.

 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;

 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 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.

In 2010, APHIS held productive consultations with the following individuals concerning the information collection activities associated with its program to import tomatoes from Spain, Chile, France, Morocco, and Western Sahara:

Andres Rodriguez

North America – Latin America Marketing Manager

Association De Exportadores De Chile (ASOEX)

Cruz del Sur 133, Piso 2

Las Condes, Santiago, Chile

Telephone 562-472-4700

Grisel Monje Vildósola

Chief, Plant Protection Department

Servicio Agricolay Ganadero (SAG)

Av. Bulness 140

Santiago, Chile

Telephone 566-96-8500 3451201

Andrea Visconti

Agricultural Attache`

Embassy of Chile

1732 Massachusetts Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20036

Telephone (202) 530-4141

Fax (202) 872-1657

On May 19, 2011, page 28949, APHIS published in the Federal Register, a 60-day notice seeking public comments on its plans to request a 3-year renewal of this collection of information. No comments from the public were received.

9. Explain any decisions to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration 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.

However, the confidentiality of information is protected under 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.

The cost to the public is determined by multiplying the total number of burden hours times the wage per hour rate. APHIS PPQ estimates that the average hourly wage is $18.45. $18.45 X 1704 = $31,438.80.

Respondents are foreign officials in Chile, Spain, France, Morocco, and the Western Sahara. The total burden hours for the respondents are 1704 burden hours. These estimates were developed by using historical data through discussions with the PPQ Regulatory Coordination Specialist and the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of Chile, Spain, France, Morocco, and Western Sahara.

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 zero annual cost burden associated with capital and start-up costs, maintenance costs, and purchase of services in connection with this program.

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 $12, 711.00. (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.

There is no change in burden for this 3-year renewal information collection.

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 the information it collects.

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.

There are no U.S. forms involved in this information collection.

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 in the Act.

.