[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 143 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48428-48429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15884]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

[DOCKET #: RBS-23-NONE-0016]


Notice of Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the 
Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) announces its intention to 
request a revision of a currently approved information collection 
package for Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal 
Procurement.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by September 25, 2023 
to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted electronically by the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal, http://www.regulations.gov. In the ``Search for 
dockets and documents on agency actions'' box enter the Docket No. RBS-
23-NONE-0016 and click the ``Search'' button. From the search results, 
click on or locate the document title: ``Notice of Request of a 
Currently Approved Information Collection'' and select the ``Comment'' 
button. Before inputting comments, commenters may review the 
``Commenter's Checklist'' (optional). Insert comments under the 
``Comment'' title, click ``Browse'' to attach files (if available), 
input email address and select ``Submit Comment.''
    Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for 
accessing documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket after 
the close of the comment period, is available through the site's 
``FAQ'' link.
    All comments will be available for public inspection online at the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal (https://www.regulations.gov).
    Other Information: Additional information about Rural Development 
and its programs is available on the internet at https://www.rd.usda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Anne Mathis, Rural 
Development Innovation Center--Regulations Management Division, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20250, Telephone: 202-713-7565, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) 
regulation (5 CFR part 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 the 
Agency is submitting to OMB for revision.
    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) 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.
    Title: Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal 
Procurement.
    OMB Control Number: 0570-0073.
    Type of Request: Revision 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.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 40 hours per response.

[[Page 48429]]

    Respondents: Manufacturers and vendors of biobased products. 
Participation is voluntary.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 220.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: One per manufacturer 
or vendor.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 220.
    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 
Katherine Anne Mathis, Rural Development Innovation Center--Regulations 
Management Division, at (202) 713-7565. 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.

Karama Neal,
Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA Rural 
Development.
[FR Doc. 2023-15884 Filed 7-26-23; 8:45 am]
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