[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 97 (Thursday, May 19, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31590-31591]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11832]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
Information Collection Activity; Comment Request
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), hereinafter referred to as Agency, invites comments
on this information collection for which the
[[Page 31591]]
Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB).
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by July 18, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas P. Dickson, Acting Director,
Program Development and Regulatory Analysis, Rural Utilities Service,
1400 Independence Ave. SW., STOP 1522, Room 5164 South Building,
Washington, DC 20250-1522. Telephone: (202) 690-4492, FAX: (202) 720-
4120.
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 the
Agency 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) 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 to: Thomas
P. Dickson, Acting Director, Program Development and Regulatory
Analysis, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP
1522, Room 5164, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC 20250-1522.
FAX: (202) 720-4120.
Title: Public Television Station Digital Transition Grant Program.
OMB Control Number: 0572-0134.
Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: As part of the nation's evolution to digital television,
the Federal Communications Commission had ordered all television
broadcasters to initiate the broadcast of a digital television signal.
Public television stations rely largely on community financial support
to operate. In many rural areas the cost of the transition to digital
broadcasting may exceed community resources. Since rural communities
depend on public television stations for services ranging from
educational course content in their schools to local news, weather, and
agricultural reports, any disruption of public television broadcasting
would be detrimental.
Initiating a digital broadcast requires the installation of a new
antenna, transmitter or translator, and new digital program management
facilities consisting of processing and storage systems. Public
television stations use a combination of transmitters and translators
to serve the rural public. If the public television station is to
perform program origination functions, as most do, digital cameras,
editing and mastering systems are required. A new studio-to-tower site
communications link may be required to transport the digital broadcast
signal to each transmitter and translator. The capability to broadcast
some programming in a high definition television format is inherent in
the digital television standard, and this can require additional
facilities at the studio. These are the new components of the digital
transition.
In designing the national competition for the distribution of these
grant funds, priority is given to public television stations serving
the areas that would be most unable to fund the digital transition
without a grant. The largest sources of funding for public television
stations are public membership and business contributions. In rural
areas, lower population density reduces the field of membership, and
rural areas have fewer businesses per capita than urban and suburban
areas. Therefore, rurality is a primary predictor of the need for grant
funding for a public television station's digital transition. In
addition, some rural areas have per capita income levels that are lower
than the national average, and public television stations covering
these areas in particular are likely to have difficulty funding the
digital transition. As a result, the consideration of the per capita
income of a public television station's coverage area is a secondary
predictor of the need for grant funding. Finally, some public
television stations may face special difficulty accomplishing the
transition, and a third scoring factor for station hardship will
account for conditions that make these public television stations less
likely to accomplish the digital transition without a grant.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 30.
Respondents: Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local or Tribal
Government.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimate of annual responses: Public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated to be 30 hours annual responses.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 744 hours.
Copies of this information collection can be obtained from MaryPat
Daskal, Program Development and Regulatory Analysis, at (202) 720-7853.
FAX: (202) 720-4120.
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.
Dated: May 10, 2016.
Brandon McBride,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-11832 Filed 5-18-16; 8:45 am]
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