[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 107 (Wednesday, June 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32214-32215]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12897]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
May 29, 2014.
The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following
information collection requirement(s) to Office of Management and
Budget (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, New Executive
Office Building, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20502. Commenters
are encouraged to submit their comments to OMB via email to: [email protected] 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) 720-8681.
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.
Rural Utilities Service
Title: 7 CFR Part 1744, Subpart B, Lien Accommodations and
Subordination Policy.
OMB Control Number: 0572-0126.
Summary of Collection: Recent changes in the telecommunications
industry, including deregulation and technological developments, have
caused Rural Utilities Service (RUS) borrowers and other organizations
providing telecommunications services to consider undertaking projects
that provide new telecommunications services and other
telecommunications services not ordinarily financed by RUS. To
facilitate the financing of those projects and services, RUS is willing
to consider accommodating the Government's lien on telecommunications
borrowers' systems in an expedited manner based on the financial
strength of the borrowers' operations. The RUS telecommunication
program provides loans to borrowers at interest rates and on terms that
are more favorable than those generally available from the private
sector.
Need and Use of the Information: Depending on the purposes for
which a lien accommodation is sought, RUS will use the information to
provide ``automatic'' approval for borrowers that meet the financial
tests. These tests are designed to ensure that the financial strength
of the borrower is more than sufficient to protect the government's
loan security interests; hence, the lien accommodations will not
adversely affect the government's financial interests.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not for-
profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 3.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 2.
Rural Utilities Service
Title: Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program.
OMB Control Number: 0572-0134.
Summary of Collection: Beginning in 2003 the Omnibus Appropriations
Act (Pub. L. 108-7) provided grant funds in the Distance Learning and
Telemedicine Grant Program budget, the Consolidated Appropriations Act
(Pub. L. 108-199) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005 (Pub.
L. 108-447) provided additional funds for public broadcasting systems
to meet the digital transition. As part of the nation's transition to
digital television, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
required all television broadcasters to initiate the broadcast of a
digital television signal and to cease analog television broadcasts on
February 18, 2009. While stations must broadcast its main transmitter
signal in digital, many rural stations often have translators serving
small or isolated areas and some of these have not completed the
transition to digital or fully converted its production and studio
equipment to digital. Because the FCC deadline did not apply to
translators, they are allowed to continue broadcasting in analog. The
digital transition also created some service gaps where households
receiving an analog signal cannot receive a digital signal. For these
reasons the grant program has continued past the FCC digital transition
deadline of June 2009. The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will develop
and issue requirements for the grant program to finance the conversion
of television services from analog to digital broadcasting for public
television stations serving rural areas.
Need and Use of the Information: Applicants will submit grant
applications to RUS for review. The information will consist of the
following: Standard Form (SF) 424, ``Application for Federal
Assistance'', executive summary, evidence of eligibility and compliance
with other Federal statutes and any other supporting documentation. RUS
will use the information to score and rank applications for funding.
Scoring will consist of three categories: Rurality; economic need as
measured by eligibility for National School Lunch Program
participation; and critial need, which measures special disadvantaging
factors facing the station's transition plans. If this information is
not collected, there would be no basis for awarding grant funding.
Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 30.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 714.
Rural Utilities Service
Title: 7 CFR 1783, Revolving Fund Program.
OMB Control Number: 0572-0138.
Summary of Collection: Section 6002 of the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 amended the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act by adding a grant program that established the
Revolving Fund Program (RFP) to assist communities with water or
wastewater systems. Qualified private non-profit organizations will
receive RFP grant funds to establish a revolving loan fund. Loans will
be made to eligible entities
[[Page 32215]]
to finance predevelopment costs of water or wastewater projects, or
short-term small capital projects not part of the regular operation and
maintenance of current water and wastewater systems.
Need and Use of the Information: Non-profit organizations applying
for the RFP grant(s) must submit an application package that includes
an application form, narrative proposal (work plan), various other
forms, certifications, and supplemental information. The Rural
Development State Offices and the Rural Utilities Service National
Office staff will use the information collected to determine applicant
eligibility, project feasibility, and the applicant's ability to meet
the grant and regulatory requirements. Grant recipients will set up a
revolving loan fund to provide loans to finance predevelopment costs of
water or wastewater projects, or short-term small capital projects not
part of the regular operation and maintenance of current water and
wastewater systems.
Description of Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 5.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 374.
Charlene Parker,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-12897 Filed 6-3-14; 8:45 am]
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