[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 32 (Friday, February 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10235-10236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03349]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business--Cooperative Service


Notice of Request for Comments on Extension of a Currently 
Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; comments requested.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) invites comments on this 
information collection for which approval from the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) will be requested. The intention is to request an 
extension of a currently approved information collection in support of 
the Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal 
Procurement.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by April 20, 2021 to be 
assured of consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vernell Thompson, Procurement Analyst, 
USDA Rural Development, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20250-1522. Telephone: (202) 720-4145, 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 RBCS 
is submitting to OMB for extension.
    Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) 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; (c)

[[Page 10236]]

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 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.
    Comments may be sent by the following method:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    Title: Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal 
Procurement.
    OMB Control Number: 0570-0073.
    Expiration Date of Approval: April 30, 2021.
    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, 
and the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, 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 website 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. This 
collection was previously approved under 0503-0011, and on February 4, 
2021, was transferred to Rural Development and assigned OMB Control No. 
0570-0073.
    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.
    Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Kimble 
Brown, Innovation Center--Regulations Management Division, at (202) 
720-6780, Email: [email protected].
    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.

Mark Brodziski,
Acting Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-03349 Filed 2-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XY-P