[Federal Register: August 1, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 148)]
[Notices]
[Page 45211-45213]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01au03-29]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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[[Page 45211]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
July 28, 2003.
The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following
information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments
regarding (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 burden including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information to be collected; (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 should be addressed to: Desk
Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Pamela--Beverly-- OIRA--
Submission @OMB.EOP.GOV, or fax (202) 395-5806; and to Departmental
Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250-
7602. Comments regarding these information collections are best assured
of having their full effect if received within 30 days of this
notification. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling
(202) 720-6746.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information
unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB
control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to
respond to the collection of information that such persons are not
required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays
a currently valid OMB control number.
Economic Research Service
Title: Evaluation of Three Models Designed to Increase
Participation of Eligible Elderly in the Food Stamp Program.
OMB Control Number: 0536-NEW.
Summary of Collection: Reaching the poor elderly has been a
persistent issue in the Food Stamp Program (FSP). Each month, millions
of eligible, poor elderly individuals go without food stamp benefits.
Fewer than one-third of eligible elderly individuals have participated
in the FSP. These low participation rates are troublesome, because the
elderly have unique nutritional needs. To help improve their health and
nutritional status, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
wants to identify ways to increase participation rates among eligible
elderly. In response to concerns over the low participation rates, USDA
has funded the Elderly Nutrition Demonstrations. These demonstrations
to increase elderly participation in the FSP are based on three models:
Alternative food stamps commodity benefit, Simplified eligibility and
benefit determination, and Application assistance for eligible elderly.
The Economic Research Service (ERS) will collect information using
surveys and focus groups.
Need and Use of the Information: ERS will collect information to
reduce the barriers to FSP participation that the elderly face, by
providing food stamp benefits as commodities rather than as traditional
payment on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, simplifying the
application process, increasing eligible elderly individuals'
understanding of the program, and assisting elderly individuals with
the application process. ERS will also collect information to determine
the appeal of commodity demonstrations to elderly individuals and the
aspects of the demonstration they like or dislike. Comparisons of the
characteristics of demonstration participants with those of
nonparticipants will show whether the demonstration is appealing to
certain types of elderly individuals.
Description of Respondents: Individuals or households.
Number of Respondents: 748.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 352.
Farm Service Agency
Title: County Committee Election.
OMB Control Number: 0560-NEW.
Summary of Collection: The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act
of 2002 requires that the Secretary prepare a report of election that
includes, among other things, ``the race, ethnicity and gender of each
nominee, as provided through the voluntary self-identification of each
nominee''. The information will be collected using form FSA-669-A,
``Nomination Form for County FSA Committee Election''. Completion of
the form is voluntary; however, if the form is not completed, the Farm
Service Agency (FSA) will make note of the nominee's race/ethnicity and
gender on the basis of visual observation or surname.
Need and Use of the Information: FSA will collect information on
race, ethnicity and gender of each nominee as provided through the
voluntary self-identification of each nominee agreeing to run for a
position. The information will be sent to Kansas City for preparation
of the upcoming election. The Secretary will review the information
annually. If the information is not collected in any given year, the
Secretary would not be able to prepare the report that the Department
has been charged with preparing.
Description of Respondents: Individuals or households; farms.
Number of Respondents: 10,000.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 6,700.
Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service
Title: Select Agent Registration.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0213.
Summary of Collection: The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism
Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 were signed into law June 12,
2002. This law is designed to prevent, prepare for and respond to
bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. The law requires
persons possessing agents or toxins deemed a severe threat to animal or
plant health, or to animal or plant products, to be registered with the
Secretary of Agriculture unless they have been specifically exempted.
The registration process entail the use of a
[[Page 45212]]
number of separate forms designed to obtain critical information
concerning persons or facilities in possession of certain agents or
toxins, as well as the specific characteristics of the agents or
toxins-including name, strain, and genetic information.
Need and Use of the Information: The Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service will collect information to ensure that appropriate
safeguard, containment, and disposal requirements commensurate with the
risk of the agent or toxin are in place, thus preventing access to such
agents and toxins for use in domestic or international terrorism. If
the information is not collected, APHIS efforts to more aggressively
prevent a bioterrorism event in the United States would be compromised.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for profit; State,
local and Tribal Government; not-for-profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 652.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 25,460.
Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service
Title: Sapote Fruit Fly.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0222.
Summary of Collection: The Sapote fruit fly is a destructive pest
of fruits and vegetables, including apples, avocados, grapefruits,
mangoes, peaches, pears, and tangerines. This pest can cause economic
losses by lowering the yield and quality of these fruits and vegetables
and, in some cases, by damaging seedlings and young plants. Under the
Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-7772), the Secretary of Agriculture
is authorized to prohibit or restrict the importation, entry, or
movement of plants and plant pest to prevent the introduction of plant
pest into the United States or their dissemination with the United
States.
Need and Use of the Information: The Animal Plant and Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) will collect information using APHIS form
PPQ 519, ``Compliance Agreement'', for the convenience of persons who
are involved in the growing, handling, or moving of regulated articles
from quarantined areas. Failure to collect this information would
cripple APHIS' ability to ensure that citrus and many other types of
fruit do not carry Sapote fruit flies.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for profit; State,
local and Tribal government.
Number of Respondents: 700.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 112.
Food and Nutrition Service
Title: Food Distribution Forms.
OMB Control Number: 0584-0293.
Summary of Collection: The Food distribution Programs of the
Department of Agriculture assist American Farmers and needy people by
purchasing commodities and delivering them to State agencies that in
turn, distribute them to organizations for use in providing food
assistance to those in need. The commodities help to meet the
nutritional needs of: (a) Children from preschool age through high
school and children in nonprofit summer camps, (b) needy person in
households on Indian reservations, (c) needy household in the nuclear
affected islands, (d) needy persons served by charitable institutions,
(e) pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants, and children, and
elderly persons, (f) low-income, unemployed or homeless people provided
foods through household distributions or meals through soup kitchens,
(g) pre-school, school-age children, elderly and functionally impaired
adults enrolled in child and adult day care centers, and (h) victims of
Presidential-declared disasters and other situation of distress. The
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will collect information from state
and local agencies using several FNS forms.
Need and Use of the Information: FNS will collect the following
information from state and local agencies: (a) Number of households or
meals served in the programs, (b) the kinds of commodities most
acceptable to recipients, (c) the quantities of foods ordered and where
the food is to be delivered, (d) verification of the receipt of a food
order, and (e) the amounts of commodities in inventory.
Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions; individual
or households; business or other for-profit; Federal Government; State,
local or tribal government.
Number of Respondents: 368,499.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; reporting: On occasion;
quarterly; biennially; semi-annually; monthly; annually.
Total Burden Hours: 1,154,152.
Forest Service
Title: Forest Service Ride-Along Application.
OMB Control Number: 0596-NEW.
Summary of Collection: The Forest Service (FS) ride-along program
will allow the general public or other interested person to accompany
agency law enforcement personnel as they conduct their normal field
duties, including access to and discussions about agency law
enforcement vehicles, procedures, and facilities. The purpose is to
enhance public understanding and support of the agency program and to
increase agency understanding of public and community concerns. The
program also aids the agency's recruitment program by allowing
interested persons to observe a potential career choice or to
participate in innovative intern-type programs, and by allowing the
agency to showcase the quality of its program and services.
Need and Use of the Information: Information will be collected from
any person who voluntarily approaches the FS and wishes to participate
in the program. The FS 5300-33 program application form will be used to
conduct a minimal background check and the FS 5300-34 is a liability
waiver form that requires the applicant's signature and their written
assurance that they have read and understood the form. The information
collected from the forms will be used by FS and, in appropriate part,
by any person or entity needed and authorized by the FS to provide the
needed background information (primarily applicable local law
enforcement agencies, state criminal justice agencies maintaining state
justice records, and by the FBI). If the information is not collected,
the program could not operate.
Description of Respondents: Individuals or households; Federal
Government; State, local or Tribal government.
Number of Respondents: 100.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Other (per applicant).
Total Burden Hours: 16.
Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service
Title: Irradiation Phytosanitary Treatment of Fresh Fruits and
Vegetables.
OMB Control Number: 0579-0155.
Summary of Collection: The Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-
7772) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the
importation of plants, plant products, and other articles into the
United States to prevent the introduction of injurious plant pests and
noxious weeds. Regulations in 7 CFR 305 provide for the use of
irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment for certain fruits and
vegetables imported in the United States. The irradiation treatment
provides protection against 11 species of fruit flies and mango seed
weevil.
Need and Use of the Information: The Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) will collect information using a compliance
agreement, 24-hour notification, labeling requirements,
[[Page 45213]]
dosimetry recordings, requests for dosimetry device approval,
recordkeeping, requests for facility approval, trust fund agreement,
and annual work plan. Without the collection of this information, APHIS
would have no practical way of determining that any given commodity had
actually been irradiated.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for profit;
individuals or households; farms.
Number of Respondents: 125.
Frequency of Responses: Recordkeeping; reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 10,305.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 03-19552 Filed 7-31-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-01-M