[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 184 (Monday, September 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65652-65653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20578]



[[Page 65652]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service


Notice of Intent To Reinstate a Previously Approved Information 
Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service (NASS) to request the reinstatement, with changes, to a 
previously approved information collection, the Conservation Effects 
Assessment Project (CEAP) Survey. Revision to burden hours will be 
needed due to changes in the size of the target, sampling design, and/
or questionnaire length.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by November 24, 2023 to 
be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number 0535-
0245, Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Survey, by any of 
the following methods:
     Email: [email protected]. Include docket number 
above in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (855) 838-6382.
     Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions to: 
Richard Hopper, NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Room 5336 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20250-2024.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: Hand deliver to: Richard Hopper, 
NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 5336 South 
Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin L. Barnes, Associate 
Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, (202) 720-4333. Copies of this information 
collection and related instructions can be obtained without charge from 
Richard Hopper, NASS Clearance Officer, at (202) 720-2206.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Survey.
    OMB Control Number: 0535-0245.
    Type of Request: Statement to seek reinstatement of an information 
collection.
    Abstract: The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was 
initiated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2003 
as a multi-agency effort to quantify the environmental effects of 
conservation practices on agricultural lands. As part of this 
assessment, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) 
conducted on-site interviews with farmers during 2003-2006 to document 
tillage and irrigation practices, application of fertilizer, manure, 
and pesticides, and use of conservation practices at sample points 
drawn from the Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) sampling frame. These 
data were linked through the NRI frame to the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service (NRCS) soil, climate, and historical survey 
databases. The combined information was used to model the impact on 
soil and water resources and to estimate the benefits of conservation 
practices, including nutrient, sediment, and pesticide losses from farm 
fields, reductions of in-stream nutrient and sediment concentrations, 
and impacts on soil quality and erosion.
    USDA needs updated scientifically credible data on residue and 
tillage management, nutrient management, and conservation practices in 
order to quantify and assess current impacts of farming practices and 
to document changes. A pilot survey focused in the Chesapeake Bay 
Watershed was conducted for the 2011 crop year. In 2012 the target area 
was the Western Lake Erie Basin and the Des Moines River Watershed. In 
2013 the target area was the Sacramento River, San Joaquin and Tulare 
Lake basin watersheds. This group of surveys is referred to as the 
``NRI Conservation Tillage and Nutrient Management Survey'' (NRI-
CTNMS). The survey questionnaires are modeled after the 2003-2006 CEAP 
surveys and were administered through personal interviews of farm 
operators by trained National Association of State Departments of 
Agriculture (NASDA) enumerators. Under the current approval the sample 
sizes averaged less than 2,500 operators per year. In 2014 NASS was 
conducting the survey in the St. Francis River Basin (Arkansas, 
Missouri and Mississippi). In 2015 and 2016 the CEAP program was 
expanded to the US level. The target sample size for this approval will 
be approximately 20,000 farm operators each year.
    The data that is collected by the CEAP surveys, provide 
conservation tillage estimates and is used to model impacts of 
conservation practices on the larger environment. The summarized 
results of the survey are available in a web-based format to 
agricultural producers and professionals, government officials, and the 
general public.
    Authority: The Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS's) 
participation in this agreement is authorized under the Soil and Water 
Resources Conservation Act of 1977, 16 U.S.C. 2001-2009, as amended, 
Economy Act U.S.C. 1535. NRCS contracted with NASS to collect and 
compile this data for them. These data will be collected under the 
authority of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a). Individually identifiable data collected 
under this authority are governed by section 1770 of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires USDA to afford 
strict confidentiality to non-aggregated data provided by respondents. 
This notice is submitted in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) and Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR part 1320.
    All NASS employees and NASS contractors must also fully comply with 
all provisions of the Confidential Information Protection and 
Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA) of 2018, title III of Public Law 
115-435, codified in 44 U.S.C. ch. 35. CIPSEA supports NASS's pledge of 
confidentiality to all respondents and facilitates the agency's efforts 
to reduce burden by supporting statistical activities of collaborative 
agencies through designation of NASS agents, subject to the limitations 
and penalties described in CIPSEA. NASS uses the information only for 
statistical purposes and publishes only tabulated total data.
    Estimate of Burden: Burden will be approximately 10 minutes for a 
first visit to verify the operator of the NRI point. The operators who 
did not screen out during the initial visit will be contacted at a 
later time to complete the survey. The second visit will take an 
estimated 60 minutes to complete the interview. (It may be possible to 
complete both during the same visit).
    Respondents: Farmers and ranchers.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 20,000 annually.
    Frequency of Responses: Potentially, 2 times for each respondent.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 13,080 hours (based on an overall 
response rate of approximately 80%).
    Comments: 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,

[[Page 65653]]

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, through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, 
mechanical, technological or other forms of information technology 
collection methods.
    All responses to this notice will become a matter of public record 
and be summarized in the request for OMB approval.

    Signed at Washington, DC, September 7, 2023.
Kevin L. Barnes,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2023-20578 Filed 9-22-23; 8:45 am]
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