[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43738-43739]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19421]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


Departmental Management, Office of Procurement and Property 
Management; Notice of Request for Comments on Extension of a Currently 
Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Departmental Management, Department of Agriculture.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department of Agriculture, 
Departmental Management, Office of Procurement and Property 
Management's intention to request an extension of a currently approved 
information collection, Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products 
for Federal Procurement.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by November 20, 2017 to 
be assured of consideration.

[[Page 43739]]


ADDRESSES: The Office of Procurement and Property Management invites 
interested persons to submit comments on this notice. Comments may be 
submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: This Web site provides the 
ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on this 
Web page or attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include ``Notice 
on Request for Comments on Extension of a Currently Approved 
Information Collection'' on the subject line. Please include your name 
and address in your message.
     Mail/commercial/hand delivery: Mail or deliver your 
comments to: Karen Zhang, USDA, Office of Procurement and Property 
Management, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20250.
    Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must 
include the Agency name (Office of Procurement and Property 
Management). Comments received in response to this notice will be made 
available for public inspection and posted without change, including 
any personal information, to http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Zhang, USDA, Office of 
Procurement and Property Management, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., 
Washington, DC 20250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the intention 
of the USDA, Office of Procurement and Property Management, to request 
approval for an extension of an existing collection.
    Title: Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal 
Procurement.
    OMB Control Number: 0503-0011.
    Expiration Date of Approval: March 31, 2018.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: The USDA BioPreferred Program provides that qualifying 
biobased products that fall under product categories (generic groups of 
biobased products) that have been designated for preferred procurement 
by rule making are required to be purchased by Federal agencies in lieu 
of their fossil energy-based counterparts, with certain limited 
exceptions. Further, USDA is required by section 9002 of the Farm 
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as amended by the Food, 
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 and the Agricultural Act of 2014, 
to provide certain information on qualified biobased products to 
Federal agencies. To meet these statutory requirements, USDA will 
gather that information from manufacturers and vendors of biobased 
products. The information sought by USDA can be transmitted 
electronically using the Web site http://www.biopreferred.gov. If for 
any reason the requested information cannot be electronically 
transmitted, USDA will provide technical assistance to support the 
transmission of information to USDA. The information collected will 
enable USDA to meet statutory information requirements that will then 
permit USDA to designate product categories for preferred procurement 
under the BioPreferred Program. Once product categories are designated, 
manufacturers and vendors of qualifying biobased products that fall 
under these designated product categories will benefit from preferred 
procurement by Federal agencies.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 40 hours per response.
    Respondents: Manufacturers and vendors of biobased products. 
Participation is entirely voluntary.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 220.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: One per manufacturer 
or vendor.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 8,800 hours, one time 
only. Manufacturers and vendors are only asked to respond once for each 
stand-alone product or product family. Therefore, there is no ongoing 
annual paperwork burden on respondents unless they wish to add 
additional stand-alone products or product families. Furthermore, their 
participation in the BioPreferred Program is entirely voluntary.
    Comments are invited on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways 
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who 
are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms 
of information technology. Comments may be sent to Karen Zhang, USDA, 
Office of Procurement and Property Management, 1400 Independence Ave. 
SW., Washington, DC 20250. All comments received will be available for 
public inspection during regular business hours at the same address.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB (Office of Management and Budget) approval. All 
comments will become a matter of public record.

    Dated: August 31, 2017.
Malcom A. Shorter,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Administration, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2017-19421 Filed 9-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-93-P