[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 142 (Friday, July 24, 1998)] [Notices] [Pages 39806-39809] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-19679] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request July 20, 1998. 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. Food and Nutrition Service Title: National School Lunch Program. OMB Control Number: 0584-0006. Summary of Collection: In conjunction with the Healthy Meals for Children Act of 1996 and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) proposes amending the information collection requirements for the National School Lunch Program. The revision would add recordkeeping requirements associated with implementing additional menu planning alternatives into the program. Information on menu planning must be reported by school food authorities to State agencies. The plans would include a written description outlining the intended menu planning procedures and how the required elements for alternative menu planning will be met. Need and Use of the Information: The information will be collected to ensure [[Page 39807]] that the alternatives implemented by the States and the school food authorities adequately meets program requirements and goals. The plans will also ensure a comprehensive review and will be available for monitoring purposes. Description of Respondents: State, Local, or Tribal Government; Individuals or households; Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government. Number of Respondents: 114,169. Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion; Quarterly; Semi-annually; Monthly; Annually; Other (daily). Total Burden Hours: 9,434,462. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Title: Phytosanitary Export Certification. OMB Control Number: 0579-0052. Summary of Collection: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for preventing plant diseases or insect pests from entering the United States, preventing the spread of pests not widely distributed in the United States, and eradicating those imported pests when eradication is feasible. The Federal Plant Pest Act authorizes the Department to carry out this mission. APHIS provides export certification services to assure other countries that the plants and plant products they are receiving from the United States are free of prohibited (or regulated) plant diseases and insect pests. APHIS will collect information using several forms to provide export certification services. Need and Use of the Information: APHIS will use the information collected to locate shipments, guide inspection, and issue a certificate to meet the requirements of the importing country. Lack of the information would make it impossible for APHIS to issue a phytosanitary certificate to meet the importing country's requirements. Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Farm; Individual or households; Not-for-profit institutions; Federal Government; State, Local or Tribal Government. Number of Respondents: 3,913. Frequencey of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion. Total Burden Hours: 116,181. Rural Housing Service Title: 7 CFR 1822-G, Rural Housing Loans, Policies, Procedures and Authorizations. OMB Control Number: 0575-0071. Summary of Collection: Section 523 of the Housing Act of 1949 as amended (Pub. L. 90-448) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Self-Help Land Development Fund to be used by the Secretary as a revolving fund for making loans on such terms and conditions and in such amounts as deemed necessary to public or private nonprofit organizations for the acquisition and development of the land as building sites to be subdivided and sold to families, nonprofit organizations and cooperative eligible for assistance. Section 524 authorizes the Secretary to make loans on such terms and conditions and in such amounts as deemed necessary to public or private nonprofit organizations for the acquisition and development of land as building sites to be subdivided and sold to families, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and cooperative eligible for assistance under any section of this title, or under any other law which provides financial assistance for housing low and moderate income families. Information is collected from non-profit organizations and others wishing to receive loans to determine eligibility for the loan program. Need and Use of the Information: The information required for approval of rural housing site loans is used by RHS field personnel to verify program eligibility requirements. The information is collected at the RHS field office responsible for the processing of the loan application being submitted. The information is also used to insure that the program is administered in a manner consistent with legislative and administrative requirements. The information required for approval of site loans is (a) overall housing need in an area; (b) demographic data to determine that housing is needed for person of low and modest income: (c) eligibility of a public or private nonprofit group. The data is necessary to protect the public from projects being built in areas of low need by applicants that are unable to administer the program properly. Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions: State, Local or Tribal Government. Number of Respondents: 6. Frequencey of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion. Total Burden Hours: 36. The Assistant Secretary for Administration, Office of Outreach Title: Small Farmer Outreach, Training, and Technical Assistance. OMB Control Number: 0560-0163. Summary of Collection: The Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990, title XXV, section 2501 and the Department of Agriculture Appropriation Acts provides funding for the ``Small Farmer Outreach Training and Technical Assistance Program,'' and the ``Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program.'' These Acts provide the Office of Outreach with the authority to make grants and enter into contracts, cooperative agreements, and other agreements with entities to provide outreach, training, and technical assistance; to encourage and assist small, limited resource and economically/socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to own and operate farms and ranches; and increase their participation and accessibility to agricultural programs. Information is collected from organizations who wish to apply for grants. After a grant is awarded, additional information regarding the status of each project must be supplied to the Office of Outreach. Need and Use of the Information: Information is collected from organizations applying for training and assistance grants to determine eligibility and experience and to evaluate the proposed projects against the goals of the outreach program. Once a grant is awarded, the Office of Outreach uses project reports and other information to ensure that the projects are performing well and achieving the desired goals. Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions; Farms; State, Local, or Tribal Government. Number of Respondents: 150. Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion; Quarterly; Monthly; Annually. Total Burden Hours: 5,888. Foreign Agricultural Service Title: No Form Required--Specialty Sugar--Importer Applies to USDA/ Import Licensing and a Letter (Specialty Certificate) Is Provided. OMB Control Number: 0551-0025. Summary of Collection: Provisions associated with Presidential Proclamation No. 4941 prevented the importation of certain refined sugars used for specialized purposes originating in countries which did not have quota allocations. This led the Secretary of Agriculture to announce a quota system requiring certificates for entering specialty sugar. In order to grant licenses, ensure that imported specialty sugar does not disrupt the current domestic support program, and maintain administrative control over the program, an application with certain specific information must be collected from those who wish to participate in the program established by the regulation. Accordingly, applicants must supply information found in 15 [[Page 39808]] CFR 2011.205 to be considered eligible for a certificate. Need And Use of the Information: Importers are required to supply specific information to the Secretary and the Foreign Agricultural Service, in order to be granted a certificate to import specialty sugar. The information is supplied to U.S. Customs officials in order to certify that the sugar being imported is ``specialty sugar.'' Without the collection of this information the Certifying Authority would not have any basis on which to make a decision on whether a certificate should be granted, and would not have the ability to monitor sugar imports under the program. Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Individual or households. Number of Respondents: 30. Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually. Total Burden Hours: 60. Rural Housing Service Title: 7 CFR 1930-C, Management and Supervision of Multiple Family Housing Borrowers and Grant Recipients. OMB Control Number: 0575-0033. Summary of Collection: The Rural Housing Service (RHS) is authorized under Section 514, 515, 516, and 521 of Title V of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended, to provide loans and grants to eligible recipients for the development of rural rental housing. Such multiple family housing projects are intended to meet the housing needs of persons or families having very low to moderate incomes, senior citizens, the handicapped or disabled, and domestic farm laborers. RHS has the responsibility of assuring the public that the housing project financed are managed and operated as mandated by Congress and are operated as economically as possible. To do so, RHS must collect information from borrowers and housing tenants. Need And Use of the Information: RHS collects financial information to identify distressed properties, portfolio management trends, and potential problems before they become loan delinquencies, unpaid operation expenses, or high vacancy rates. In addition, the information provided is intended to verify whether or not the borrower is complying with the terms and conditions of loan, grant, and/or subsidy agreements. This information is used by RHS to monitor the management of the projects and to conduct compliance reviews. Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Individual or households; Farms; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal Government. Number of Respondents: 538,200. Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion; Monthly. Total Burden Hours: 2,128,740. National Agricultural Statistics Service Title: Milk and Milk Products. OMB Control Number: 0535-0020. Summary of Collection: U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204, statute specifies that ``The Secretary of Agriculture shall procure and preserve all information concerning agriculture which he can obtain . . . by the collection of statistics and shall distribute them among agriculturists''. The National Agriculture Statistics Service's (NASS) primary function is to prepare and issue current official state and national estimates of crop and livestock production. Estimates of milk production and manufactured dairy products are an integral part of this program. Milk and dairy statistics are used by USDA to help administer price support programs and by the dairy industry in planning, pricing, and projecting supplies of milk and milk products. NASS will collect information from a weekly survey to produce unbiased and statistically defensible butter, dry whey, and nonfat dry milk prices to incorporate into the new price formula following an AMS comparison study with the current Basic Formula Price (BFP). Need And Use of the Information: NASS will collect information on monthly estimates of stocks, shipments, and selling prices for such products as butter, cheese, dry whey, and nonfat dry milk. Cheddar cheese prices are collected weekly and used by USDA to assist in the determination of the fair market value of raw milk. Estimates of number of milk cows, milk production per cow, and total milk production are used by the dairy industry in planning, pricing, and projecting supplies of milk and milk products. Description of Respondents: Farm; Business or other for-profit. Number of Respondents: 44,619. Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Quarterly; Weekly; Monthly; Annually. Total Burden Hours: 21,571. Rural Housing Service Title: Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program. OMB Control Number: 0575-NEW Summary of Collection: On March 28, 1996, President Clinton signed the ``Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act of 1996.'' One of the provisions of the Act was the authorization of the section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP), adding the program to the Housing Act of 1949. The purpose of the GRRHP is to increase the supply of affordable rural rental housing through the use of loan guarantees that encourage partnerships between the Rural Housing Service (RHS), private lenders and public agencies. The Secretary is authorized under Section 510 (k) to prescribe regulations to ensure that these federally funded loans are made to eligible applicants for authorized purposes. RHS will collect information from lenders on the eligibility cost, benefits, feasibility, and financial performance of the proposed project. Need And Use of the Information: RHS will collect information from lenders to mange, plan, evaluate, and account for Government resources. Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for- profit institutions. Number of Respondents: 50. Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Monthly; Annually. Total Burden Hours: 644.39. Emergency approval for this information collection has been requested by July 15, 1998. Farm Service Agency Title: American Indian Livestock Feed Program. OMB Control Number: 0560-NEW. Summary of Collection: the Agricultural Act of 1970 (7 U.S.C. 1427a), section 813, gives the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to relieve distress caused by a natural disaster using funds from the sale of commodities held in reserve. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will make assistance available to eligible livestock owners when as a result of natural disaster occurring on reservations or other land designated for Indian use, significant loss of livestock feed has occurred and a livestock feed emergency exists. Information will be collected to determine eligibility and process program payments using the following three forms: Form CCC-644, Payment Authorization--American Indian Livestock Feed Program, on which it will be necessary to identify the eligible producer by name, address the identification number. As a method to determine the amount of benefits a producer may be entitle to receive, he or she will be asked to report the number of head of livestock, and his or her shares in that livestock, in addition to the type, quantity, cost, date or sale and seller of any livestock feed the producer had to purchase during a designated [[Page 39809]] feeding period. Form CCC-648, Area Designation and Feed Loss Assessment, it will be necessary for a tribal government to provide the name, address, and phone number of their tribal government for identification purposes, in addition to the name of the tribal contact person who could assist FSA if any questions should arise. Form CCC- 453, American Indian Livestock Feed Program Contract to Participant, tribal governments will define the region where the natural disaster has taken place in order to determine if the region meets the requirements of the regulations. Need and Use of the Information: FSA will collect information to determine if the tribal government recommended disaster region meets the criteria set forth and to determine if the conditions, such as eligible payees, meet the criteria and also determine the amount of benefits the applicant may be entitled to receive. Description of Respondents: Individuals or households; State, Local or Tribal Government. Number of Respondents: 45,000. Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion; Other (when losses occur) Total Burden Hours: 22,563 Emergency approval for this information collection has been requested by July 31, 1998. Farm Service Agency Title: Tree Assistance Program 7 CFR 783. OMB Control Number: 0560-NEW. Summary of Collection: Pub. L. 105-174, the 1998 Supplemental Appropriation and Recessions Act of 1998 (the Act), authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a Tree Assistance Program (TAP) for losses of eligible trees and vines that were lost due to natural disasters during fiscal year 1998. Owners of eligible trees or vines applying for the TAP Program must meet the program requirements as set forth in 7 CFR part 783. Owners will be reimbursed for practice costs which may not exceed 100 percent of the eligible replanting or rehabilitation costs and may be based on average costs or the actual costs for the eligible replanting or rehabilitation practices, as determined by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The intended effect of this action is to provide assistance to eligible owners to replace or rehabilitate eligible trees and vines damaged by natural disasters occurring in fiscal year 1998. To qualify for this program, owners must certify that each ``person'', as defined by FSA, who is an owner or co- owner of eligible trees or vines had an annual qualifying gross revenue of less than $2.5 million in the 1997 tax year. FSA will use forms CCC- 434 and CCC-435 to collect information from the owners. Need And Use of The Information: FSA uses form CCC-434 to collect information on the total number of trees or vines in the individual stand, total number of trees or vines lost or damaged, acres in need of site preparation, and extent of losses requested for payment. Form CCC- 435 is used by FSA to collect information on the lost or damaged trees or vines for which replanting or rehabilitation assistance is requested, including species, location, average number planted per acre, total acres in an individual stand, and cause and percentage of mortality. Description of Respondents: Farms; Business or other for-profit; Individuals or households. Number of Respondents: 1,000. Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; Reporting: Other (Once). Total Burden Hours: 291. Emergency approval for this information collection has been requested by July 20, 1998. Farm Service Agency Title: Report of Acreage. OMB Control Number: 0560-0004. Summary of Collection: Land and crop information is the basic foundation upon which many of Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs operate. The report of acreage is conducted on an annual basis and is used by FSA's county offices to determine eligibility for benefits that are available to producers on the farm. The actual number of producers who must supply information varies depending on 1) the type of farming operations, and 2) the mix of crops planted (which has a direct relationship to the type of program the producer is eligible to participate in). In order to establish eligibility annually for these programs a minimal amount of land and crop data about a producer's farming operation is required. The information is subsequently used to ensure compliance with program provisions, to determine actual production histories, and when disaster occurs, to verify crop loss. Producers must provide the information each year because variables such as previous year experiences, weather projections, market demand, new farming techniques and personal preferences affect the amount of land being farmed, the mix of crops planted, and the projected harvest. FSA will collect information verbally from the producers during visit to the county offices and also through the use of postcards. Need and Use of the Information: FSA will collect information on crop planted, planting date, crop's intended use (e.g. fresh or processing), type or variety (e.g. sweet cherries or tart cherries), practice (irrigated or nonirrigated), acres, location of the crop (tract and field), and the producer's percent share in the crop along with the names of other producers having an interest in the crop. Once the information is collected and eligibility established, the information is used throughout the crop year to ensure the producer remains complaint with program provisions. Without a certain level of information provided each crop year by the producer, a significant misues of public funds occurs. Description of Respondents: Farms. Number of Respondents: 639,008. Frequency of Responses: Annually. Total Burden Hours: 479,255. Ruth Brown, Acting Departmental Information Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 98-19679 Filed 7-23-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-01-M