[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1089-1092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-410]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 5 / Friday, January 7, 2000 /
Notices
[[Page 1089]]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
January 3, 2000.
The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments
regarding (a) whether the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy
of the agency's estimate of burden including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; (d) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology should be addressed to: Desk
Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, DC 20503 and to
Departmental Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington,
DC 20250-7602. Comments regarding these information collections are
best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days of
this notification. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by
calling (202) 720-6746.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays
a currently valid OMB control number.
Forest Service
Title: Urban Connections.
OMB Control Number: 0596-NEW.
Summary of Collection: Urban residents are increasingly looking to
the National Forests as a source of recreation and relaxation and to
gain some relief from dense urban settings. As a result National Forest
System lands are under increased pressure from urban residents to meet
their need for relief from dense urban environments. The Forest Service
(FS) is legally bound to conduct public involvement activities, as
referenced in FSM 1626, FSM 1950.1, 36 CFR 219.6, (NEPA, NFMA), and has
a long history of doing so. The purpose of the information collection
is to help the FS better understand the demands urban residents make on
the agency's programs and services, how well the agency communicates it
programs and services to these residents, and how well the agency meets
the needs and expectations of urban residents, how opportunities might
be made available to involve urban residents in participating in
volunteer activities on National Forest System lands. Communicating
with people who live in close proximity to the National Forests has
been of great value to the agency. Because of the increased demands on
the natural resources, the FS is collecting information to identify the
concerns that urban residents have regarding the agency's ability to
meet these additional demands. The FS will collect information using
telephone interviews, telephone surveys and focus groups.
Need and Use of the Information: FS will collect information to
create opportunities for public involvement with urban residents;
provide written information to them; provide them future opportunities
to comment on national policy and initiatives; design communications
that will meet urban residents needs; make urban residents aware of
volunteer opportunities; provide the opportunity to correct any
misinformation; let people know about land management planning
activities and opportunities to be involved; share information about
State and Private Forestry activities; and ensure FS communications
reach diverse audiences. The results of this information collection
will be used by FS employees to provide information to urban people in
the cities of Boston, MA; Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; and Detroit, MI.
Without the results of the study, the FS would not know which urban
residents are interested in public involvement or whom to share
information with.
Description of Respondents: Individuals or households.
Number of Respondents: 4,148.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 1,549.
Foreign Agricultural Service
Title: Buyer Alert.
OMB Control Number: 0551-0024.
Summary of Collection: Under 7 U.S.C. part 1761, the Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS) and the AgExport Connections Office
facilitates trade contracts between U.S. exporters and foreign buyers
seeking U.S. food and agricultural products. The Buyer Alert service is
designed to help U.S. firms introduce their products to new foreign
markets, as well as expand their presence in existing markets. This
service provides the U.S. firm an opportunity to have its products
listed in a biweekly newsletter which is distributed to foreign buyers.
Need and Use of the Information: Buyer Alert is a biweekly overseas
newsletter which advertises U.S. food and agricultural products to
foreign buyers. Buyer Alert Announcements (advertisements) are
processed by the USDA/FAS AgExport connections office and transmitted
electronically to 80 FAS overseas offices, who distribute the
information to more than 22,000 interested buyers world-wide. Each
Announcement features a product description, and optional price
indicator, and information about the exporter. U.S. firms may submit up
to five Buyer Alert Announcements for distribution in each issue of the
newsletter.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 600.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 306.
Foreign Agricultural Service
Title: FAS/Cooperator Foreign Market Development Program.
OMB Control Number: 0551-0026.
[[Page 1090]]
Summary of Collection: The basic authority for the Foreign Market
Development Program is contained in Title VII of the Agricultural Trade
Act of 1978, 7 U.S.C. 5721, et seq. Program regulations appear at 7 CFR
1550. Title VII directs the Secretary of Agriculture to ``establish
and, in cooperation with eligible trade organizations, carry out a
foreign market development cooperator program to maintain and develop
foreign markets for United States agricultural commodities and
products.'' All data collected is used by the Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS) marketing specialists and program managers for the
allocation of funds, program management, planning and evaluation. The
data collection has, in almost every case, been mandated by either the
General Accounting Office or the Office of the Inspector General to
eliminate perceived deficiencies in program management and to establish
additional program controls. FAS will collect information using an
application submitted by prospective Cooperators.
Need and Use of the Information: FAS will collect information to
manage, plan, evaluate, and account for government resources.
Specifically, data is used to assess the extent to which: applicant
organizations represent U.S. commodity interests; benefits derived from
market development efforts will translate back to the broadest possible
range of beneficiaries; the market development efforts will lead to
increases in consumption and imports of U.S. agricultural commodities;
the applicant is able and willing to commit personnel and financial
resources to assure adequate development, supervision and execution of
project activities; and private organizations are able and willing to
support the promotional program with aggressive marketing of the
commodity in question. If information is not available which provides
evidence that taxpayer funds are being disbursed in accordance with
authorizing legislation, ethical standards, and standard Government
rules and regulations, regulatory offices such as the General
Accounting Office or the Office of the Inspector General would likely
recommend terminating the program.
Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions; State,
Local or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 30.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 43,748.
Agricultural Marketing Service
Title: Regulations Governing the Inspection and Grading of
Manufactured or Processed Dairy Products--Recordkeeping.
OMB Control Number: 0581-0110.
Summary of Collection: The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946
directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop programs
which will provide and enable a more orderly marketing of agricultural
products. One of these programs is the USDA voluntary inspection and
grading program for dairy products where these dairy products are
graded according to U.S. grade standards by a USDA grader. The dairy
products so graded may be identified with the USDA grade mark. Dairy
processors, buyers, retailers, institutional users, and consumers have
requested that such a program be developed to assure the uniform
quality of dairy products purchased. In order for any service program
to perform satisfactorily, there must be written guides and rules,
which in this case are regulations for the provider and user. The
Agricultural Marketing Service will require records be maintained on
dairy processing activity for visual review during inspections.
Need and Use of the Information: The Agricultural Marketing Service
will collect information to administer the dairy inspection program and
insure that dairy products are produced under sanitary conditions and
buyers are purchasing a quality product. Without laboratory testing
results requiring recordkeeping, inspectors would not be able to
evaluate the quality of dairy products. The required records are
routinely reviewed and evaluated during the inspection of the dairy
plant facilities for USDA approval.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 508.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping.
Total Burden Hours: 1,525.
Rural Housing Service
Title: Form RD 410-8, ``Application Reference Letter'' (A Request
for Credit Reference).
OMB Control Number: 0575-0091.
Summary of Collection: The Rural Housing Service (RHS) is required
by the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, as amended, and the
Housing Act of 1949 as amended to obtain information about an
applicant's credit history that might not appear on a credit report in
conjunction with its loanmaking operations. Form RD 410-8, ``Applicant
Reference Letter'' is used by RHS to gather this information. It can be
used to document an ability to handle credit effectively for applicants
who have not used sources of credit that appear on a credit report. The
form asks only for specific relevant information to determine the
applicant's creditworthiness and to provide clarification on the
promptness of applicant's payments on debts which enables RHS to make
better creditworthiness decisions.
Need and Use of the Information: RHS will collect information to
supplement or verify other debts when a credit report is limited or
unavailable to determine the applicant's eligibility and
creditworthiness for RHS loans and grants.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 28,523.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 28,238.
Forest Service
Title: Customer and Use Survey Techniques for Operations,
Management, Evaluation and Research.
OMB Control Number: 0596-0110.
Summary of Collection: The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of
1976 and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Act (RPA) of 1974
require a comprehensive assessment of present and anticipated uses,
demand for, and supply of renewable resources from the nation's public
and private forests and rangelands. The Forest Service (FS) is required
to report to Congress and others in conjunction with these legislated
requirements as well as the use of appropriated funds. An important
element in the reporting is the number of visits to National Forests
and Grasslands, as well as to Wilderness Areas that the agency manages.
The Customer and Use Survey Techniques for Operations, Management,
Evaluation and Research (CUSTOMER) project combines several different
survey approaches to gather data describing visitors to and users of
public recreation lands, including their trip activities, satisfaction
levels, evaluations, demographic profiles, trip characteristics,
spending, and annual visitation patterns. FS will use fact-to-face
interviewing for collecting information on-site as well as written
survey instruments to be mailed back by respondents.
Need and Use of the Information: FS plans to collect information
from a variety of National Forests and other recreation areas.
Information gathered through the various CUSTOMER modules has been and
will continue to be used by planners, researchers, managers, policy
analysts, and legislators in resources management areas, regional
offices, regional research
[[Page 1091]]
stations, agency headquarters, and legislative offices.
Description of Respondents: Individuals or households.
Number of Respondents: 57,000.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Quarterly; Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 9,917.
Food and Nutrition Service
Title: Child Nutrition Labeling Program.
OMB Control Number: 0584-0320.
Summary of Collection: The Child Nutrition Labeling Program is a
voluntary technical assistance program administered by the Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS). The program is designed to aid schools and
institutions participating in the National School Lunch Program, the
School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and
the Summer Food Service Program in determining the contribution a
commercial product makes towards the meal pattern requirements. By
requiring that companies who sell food to the government for use in
nutrition program to identify the contribution of a product to the
established meal pattern requirements. The Child Nutrition Labeling
Program is implemented in conjunction with existing label approval
programs administered by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS),
the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and the U.S. Department of
Commerce. In addition to an application for approval of a child
nutrition label, companies must include a separate statement on how the
product satisfies meal pattern requirements. All information is
submitted to FSIS on form FSIS 7234-1, Application for Approval of
Labels, Marking or Device.
Need and Use of the Information: FNS uses the information collected
by FSIS to aid school food authorities and other institutions
participating in child nutrition programs in determining the
contribution a commercial product makes towards the established meal
pattern requirements.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 795.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Other (as needed).
Total Burden Hours: 3,122.
Food and Nutrition Service
Title: SMI Implementation Study--Year 3 Data Collection.
OMB Control Number: 0584-0485.
Summary of Collection: The Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act
of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-448), as amended, provided the framework for
implementing the School Meals Initiative (SMI) for Healthy Children.
The SMI was launched for the purposes of modifying school meals in
order to meet the Dietary Guidelines, which were established in 1980 as
a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and
the Department of Health and Human Services. In order to assess the
progress of the SMI, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) developed
plans for a multi-year longitudinal research project that collects
information on SMI implementation at the state, district, and school
levels. The study project plan calls for a three phase approach. FNS
collected evaluation data in the Spring of 1996 and again in 1997. FNS
is now seeking approval to proceed with the third phase of the project
planned for the 1999-2000 school year.
Need and Use of the Information: FNS plans to collect information
from 51 State Child Nutrition Directors, and a representative sample of
School Food Authorities to: (1) Describe the status of the
implementation of the SMI and (2) provide descriptive information on
the operations and characteristics of the school-based Child Nutrition
Programs. Two separate surveys have been developed--one for each sample
group--that will be mailed to respondents in hardcopy format. Without
the information to be collected in this study, FNS would not have
continuous and reliable data about the status of the SMI, its effects
on school food programs, problems encountered, and progress in
achieving its objectives.
Description of Respondents: State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 2,039.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Other (one-time).
Total Burden Hours: 2,039.
Food and Nutrition Service
Title: The Impacts of Food Stamp Program Time Limits on Able-Bodied
Adults Without Dependents.
OMB Control Number: 0584-NEW.
Summary of Collection: Under the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193 (PRWORA), able-
bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs) are subject to a time limit
on the receipt of food stamps unless they work or participate in an
approved work or training program. The time limit on the receipt of
food stamp benefits represents a significant change to the Food Stamp
Program (FSP) rules and an operational challenge to administer, yet
relatively little is know about how states are implementing this policy
or how many people are affected by the new provisions. The Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS) is proposing to conduct a study to (1) describe
how the ABAWD provisions have been implemented, and (2) to provide
national estimates of how many people are affected by the ABAWD
provisions. FNS has contracted with an outside firm to conduct the
study which will involve telephone and written surveys with state
agency personnel, local office FSP personnel, and representatives from
selected advocacy groups. For a smaller sample, some site visits will
also be conducted.
Need and Use of the Information: FNS plans to collect information
in order to develop a national picture of how the ABAWD provisions are
implemented from state to state and to determine how many people are
affected by the provisions. It will also provide information on the
range of policy decisions that were available to the states and the
factors that affected the choice of policies by individual states,
counties, and local offices. The information will be shared by FNS with
the states and the Congress to inform ongoing discussions on strategies
for responding to this segment of the FSP population. The findings
generated from the information collection will be presented in the form
of a final reported and a public-use file containing the state and
local responses to the survey questionnaires.
Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions; State,
Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 897
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Other (one-time).
Total Burden Hours: 2,193.
Food and Nutrition Service
Title: Summer Food Service Program.
OMB Control Number: 0584-0280.
Summary of Collection: The National School Lunch Act, as amended,
authorizes the Summer Food Service Program for Children (SFSP). The
SFSP is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The
purpose of the SFSP is to provide nutrition meals to children from low-
income areas during periods when schools are not in session.
Information is gathered from state agencies and other organizations
wishing to participate in the program to determine eligibility. If
selected, additional reporting requirements apply to determine the
amount of meals served and other program volume information. FNS used a
variety of forms to collect information.
Need and Use of the Information: FNS uses the information collected
to determine an organizations eligibility to participate and to monitor
program
[[Page 1092]]
performance for compliance and reimbursement purposes.
Description of Respondents: Individuals or households.
Number of Respondents: 76,733.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion;
Quarterly; Monthly; Weekly.
Total Burden Hours: 316,005.
Rural Housing Service
Title: 7 CFR 1944-I, ``Self-Help Technical Assistance Grants''.
OMB Control Number: 0575-0043.
Summary of Collection: This regulation prescribes policies and
responsibilities, including the collection and use of information,
necessary to administer the Section 523 program. Rural Housing Service
(RHS) will be collecting information from the non-profit organizations
who want to develop a Self-Help program in their area to increase the
availability of affordable housing. The information is collected at the
local, district, and state levels. The information requested by RHS
includes financial and organizational information about the non-profit
organization.
Need and Use of the Information: RHS needs this information to
determine if the organization is capable of successfully carrying out
the requirements of the Self-Help program. The information is collected
on an as requested or needed basis. RHS has reviewed the program's need
for the collection of information versus the burden placed on the
public.
Description of Respondents: State, Local or Tribal Government; Not-
for-profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 100.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: Monthly,
Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 3,095.
Rural Housing Service
Title: 7 CFR 1944-B, Housing Applications Packaging Grants.
OMB Control Number: 0575-0157.
Summary of Collection: Section 509 of the Housing Act of 1949, as
amended, authorizes the Rural Housing Service (RHS) to make grants to
private and public nonprofit organizations and State and local
governments to package housing applications for Section 502, 504, 514/
515 and 533 to colonials and designated counties. Eligible
organizations aid very low and low-income individuals and families in
obtaining benefits from RHS housing programs.
Need and Use of the Information: RHS field personnel use this
information, required for approval of housing application packaging
grants, to verify program eligibility requirements and to secure grant
assistance. The information is also to insure that the program is
administered in a manner consistent with legislative and administrative
requirements.
Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 200.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 900.
Nancy B. Sternberg,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-410 Filed 1-6-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-01-M
