[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32214-32215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12897]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

May 29, 2014.
    The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following 
information collection requirement(s) to Office of Management and 
Budget (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, New Executive 
Office Building, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20502. Commenters 
are encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: [email protected] or fax (202) 395-5806 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) 720-8681.
    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.

Rural Utilities Service

    Title: 7 CFR Part 1744, Subpart B, Lien Accommodations and 
Subordination Policy.
    OMB Control Number: 0572-0126.
    Summary of Collection: Recent changes in the telecommunications 
industry, including deregulation and technological developments, have 
caused Rural Utilities Service (RUS) borrowers and other organizations 
providing telecommunications services to consider undertaking projects 
that provide new telecommunications services and other 
telecommunications services not ordinarily financed by RUS. To 
facilitate the financing of those projects and services, RUS is willing 
to consider accommodating the Government's lien on telecommunications 
borrowers' systems in an expedited manner based on the financial 
strength of the borrowers' operations. The RUS telecommunication 
program provides loans to borrowers at interest rates and on terms that 
are more favorable than those generally available from the private 
sector.
    Need and Use of the Information: Depending on the purposes for 
which a lien accommodation is sought, RUS will use the information to 
provide ``automatic'' approval for borrowers that meet the financial 
tests. These tests are designed to ensure that the financial strength 
of the borrower is more than sufficient to protect the government's 
loan security interests; hence, the lien accommodations will not 
adversely affect the government's financial interests.
    Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not for-
profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 3.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 2.

Rural Utilities Service

    Title: Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0572-0134.
    Summary of Collection: Beginning in 2003 the Omnibus Appropriations 
Act (Pub. L. 108-7) provided grant funds in the Distance Learning and 
Telemedicine Grant Program budget, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 
(Pub. L. 108-199) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Pub. 
L. 108-447) provided additional funds for public broadcasting systems 
to meet the digital transition. As part of the nation's transition to 
digital television, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 
required all television broadcasters to initiate the broadcast of a 
digital television signal and to cease analog television broadcasts on 
February 18, 2009. While stations must broadcast its main transmitter 
signal in digital, many rural stations often have translators serving 
small or isolated areas and some of these have not completed the 
transition to digital or fully converted its production and studio 
equipment to digital. Because the FCC deadline did not apply to 
translators, they are allowed to continue broadcasting in analog. The 
digital transition also created some service gaps where households 
receiving an analog signal cannot receive a digital signal. For these 
reasons the grant program has continued past the FCC digital transition 
deadline of June 2009. The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will develop 
and issue requirements for the grant program to finance the conversion 
of television services from analog to digital broadcasting for public 
television stations serving rural areas.
    Need and Use of the Information: Applicants will submit grant 
applications to RUS for review. The information will consist of the 
following: Standard Form (SF) 424, ``Application for Federal 
Assistance'', executive summary, evidence of eligibility and compliance 
with other Federal statutes and any other supporting documentation. RUS 
will use the information to score and rank applications for funding. 
Scoring will consist of three categories: Rurality; economic need as 
measured by eligibility for National School Lunch Program 
participation; and critial need, which measures special disadvantaging 
factors facing the station's transition plans. If this information is 
not collected, there would be no basis for awarding grant funding.
    Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 30.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 714.

Rural Utilities Service

    Title: 7 CFR 1783, Revolving Fund Program.
    OMB Control Number: 0572-0138.
    Summary of Collection: Section 6002 of the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002 amended the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act by adding a grant program that established the 
Revolving Fund Program (RFP) to assist communities with water or 
wastewater systems. Qualified private non-profit organizations will 
receive RFP grant funds to establish a revolving loan fund. Loans will 
be made to eligible entities

[[Page 32215]]

to finance predevelopment costs of water or wastewater projects, or 
short-term small capital projects not part of the regular operation and 
maintenance of current water and wastewater systems.
    Need and Use of the Information: Non-profit organizations applying 
for the RFP grant(s) must submit an application package that includes 
an application form, narrative proposal (work plan), various other 
forms, certifications, and supplemental information. The Rural 
Development State Offices and the Rural Utilities Service National 
Office staff will use the information collected to determine applicant 
eligibility, project feasibility, and the applicant's ability to meet 
the grant and regulatory requirements. Grant recipients will set up a 
revolving loan fund to provide loans to finance predevelopment costs of 
water or wastewater projects, or short-term small capital projects not 
part of the regular operation and maintenance of current water and 
wastewater systems.
    Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 5.
    Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
    Total Burden Hours: 374.

Charlene Parker,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-12897 Filed 6-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P