[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 44022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18717]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Information Collection Activity; Comment Request

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service 
(RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be 
requested.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by October 29, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michele Brooks, Team Lead, Rural 
Development Innovation Center--Regulatory Team, USDA, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW, STOP 1522, Room 5162, South Building, Washington, DC 20250-
1522. Telephone: (202) 690-1078. Email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) 
regulation (5 CFR 1320) implementing provisions of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) requires that interested members 
of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on 
information collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an information collection that RUS 
is submitting to OMB for extension.
    Comments are invited on: (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 the burden of the collection of 
information including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on respondents, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology. 
Comments may be sent to: Michele Brooks, Team Lead, Rural Development 
Innovation Center--Regulatory Team, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, 
STOP 1522, Room 5162, South Building, Washington, DC 20250-1522. 
Telephone: (202) 690-1078. Email [email protected].
    Title: 7 CFR part 1717, subpart Y, Settlement of Debt Owed by 
Electric Borrowers.
    OMB Control Number: 0572-0116.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection package.
    Abstract: The Rural Utilities Service makes mortgage loans and loan 
guarantees to electric systems to provide and improve electric service 
in rural areas pursuant to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.)(RE Act). This information collection 
requirement stems from passage of Public Law 104-127, on April 4, 1996, 
which amended section 331(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.) to extend to RUS the Secretary 
of Agriculture's authority to settle debts with respect to loans made 
or guaranteed by RUS. Only those electric borrowers that are unable to 
fully repay their debts to the Government and who apply to RUS for 
relief will be affected by this information collection. The collection 
will require only that information which is essential for determining: 
The need for debt settlement; the amount of relief that is needed; the 
amount of debt that can be repaid; the scheduling of debt repayment; 
and, the range of opportunities for enhancing the amount of debt that 
can be recovered. The information to be collected will be similar to 
that which any prudent lender would require to determine whether debt 
settlement is required and the amount of relief that is needed. Since 
the need for relief is expected to vary substantially from case to 
case, so will the required information collection.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 1,000 hours per response.
    Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions and other businesses.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,000 hours.
    Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Thomas 
P. Dickson, Program Development and Regulatory Analysis at (202) 690-
4492.
    All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the 
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of 
public record.

    Dated: August 23, 2018.
Christopher A. McLean,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-18717 Filed 8-28-18; 8:45 am]
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