[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 54 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12108-12109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-6193]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service


Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the Smith-Lever 
3(d) Extension Integrated Pest Management Competitive Grants Program

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, 
USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for stakeholder input.

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SUMMARY: Section 7403 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 
(Pub. L. 110-246) (FCEA) amended section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 
U.S.C. 343(d)) to provide the opportunity for 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant 
Institutions, including Tuskegee University and West Virginia State 
University to compete for section 3(d) funds. Section 7417 of FCEA also 
provided the University of the District of Columbia the opportunity to 
compete for section 3(d) funds. The Extension Integrated Pest 
Management Coordination and Support Program (EIPM-CS) is among the 
Extension programs funded under this authority. By this notice, CSREES 
is designated to act on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture in 
soliciting public comment from interested persons regarding the future 
design and implementation of this program.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on Thursday, March 26, 2009, 
from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Pacific time. All comments not otherwise 
presented or submitted for the record at the meeting must be submitted 
by close of business Wednesday, April 29, 2009, to be considered.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the St. Helens Meeting Room, 
Doubletree Hotel Portland, 1000 N.E. Multnomah, Portland, Oregon 97232, 
phone--800-996-0510 (toll-free in USA); 503-281-6111 (outside USA).
    You may submit comments, identified by CSREES-2008-0005, by any of 
the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments.
    E-mail: [email protected]. Include CSREES-2008-0005 in the 
subject line of the message.
    Fax: (202) 401-4888.
    Mail: Paper, disk or CD-ROM submissions should be submitted to 
newEIPM; Plant and Animal Systems Unit, Cooperative State Research, 
Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 
2220, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-2220.
    Hand Delivery/Courier: EIPM; Plant and Animal Systems Unit, 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Room 3472, Waterfront Centre, 800 9th 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and the identifier CSREES-2008-0005. All comments received will be 
posted to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elizabeth Ley, (202) 401-6195 
(phone), (202) 401-4888 (fax), or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Additional Meeting and Comment Procedures

    Because of the diversity of subjects, and to aid participants in 
scheduling their attendance, the following schedule

[[Page 12109]]

is anticipated for the March 26, 2009, meeting:
    1:30-2:30 p.m. Introduction to the Extension Integrated Pest 
Management Coordination and Support Competitive Grant Program (EIPM).
    2:30-5:30 p.m. Stakeholder input on general administration of EIPM, 
including: Solicitation of proposals; types of projects and awards; 
length of awards; evaluation criteria; protocols to ensure the widest 
program participation; allocation of funds, including protocols to 
solicit and consider stakeholder input; determination of priority 
areas; and determination of activities to be supported. A break is 
scheduled for 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
    5:30 p.m. Adjourn
    Persons wishing to present oral comments at the March 26, 2009, 
meeting are requested to pre-register by contacting Ms. Juli Obudzinski 
at (202) 401-5136, by fax at (202) 401-4888, or by e-mail to 
[email protected]. Participants may reserve one 5-minute comment 
period. More time may be available, depending on the number of people 
wishing to make a presentation and the time needed for questions 
following presentations. Reservations for oral comments will be 
confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis. All other attendees may 
register at the meeting. Written comments may also be submitted for the 
record at the meeting. All comments not presented or submitted for the 
record at the meeting must be received by close of business Wednesday, 
April 29, 2009, to be considered. All comments and the official 
transcript of the meeting, when they become available, may be reviewed 
on the CSREES Web page for six months. Participants who require a sign 
language interpreter or other special accommodations should contact Ms. 
Obudzinski as directed above.

Background and Purpose

    On October 6, 2008, CSREES held a stakeholder listening session on 
Smith-Lever 3(d) IPM restructuring due to changes found in section 7403 
of the FCEA (see http://www.csrees.usda.gov/business/reporting/stakeholder/eipm_stakeholder.html). Changes to Smith-Lever 3(d) 
funding include: (1) The requirement for a competitive program delivery 
model as opposed to a long-standing formula-based delivery model; and 
(2) the inclusion of 1890 Institutions and the University of the 
District of Columbia as eligible entities to receive 3(d) funds. The 
primary intent of the listening session was to gather stakeholder input 
on program focus and design. Prior to the listening session, National 
Program Leaders presented stakeholders with the following questions:
    1. What should be the primary goals and objectives of the program?
    2. How can CSREES funding be optimized?
    3. Should there be a limit on the number of proposals that can be 
submitted by each eligible institution?
    4. What criteria should be used in the proposal review and 
selection process?
    5. Should regional, multi-institutional or multi-state proposals be 
encouraged?
    6. Should proposals addressing gaps in current program coverage 
(organic, small farms, etc.) be given greater emphasis in the 
evaluative process?
    7. What limits should be set on funding and project duration?
    The written comment period ran from October 6 through November 15, 
2008. Over 400 written comments were received. A written summary of the 
comments is available at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/business/reporting/stakeholder/eipm_stakeholder.html. Contained in the comments are many 
areas with broad agreement among stakeholders. For instance, from both 
verbal and written comments, it was clear that stakeholders felt the 
most critical issue was making the fiscal year 2009 funds available as 
soon as possible, which the Agency responded to by promptly issuing the 
EIPM-CS RFA and proceeding with the competition on a compressed 
schedule.
    Efforts were made to incorporate suggestions from the October 6, 
2008, Listening Session into the FY 2009 EIPM-CS program as allowable 
by law. It was felt, however, that additional input could help 
structure the program for future years. The March 2009, Listening 
Session is scheduled to assist CSREES leadership in more fully 
addressing stakeholder needs.

Implementation Plans

    CSREES plans to consider stakeholder input received from this 
public meeting as well as other written comments in developing the FY 
2010 program guidelines. CSREES anticipates releasing the FY 2010 
Request for Applications (RFA) by mid July 2009.

    Done at Washington, DC, this 17th day of March 2009.
Colien Hefferan,
Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension 
Service.
 [FR Doc. E9-6193 Filed 3-20-09; 8:45 am]
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