78114 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 233 / Thursday, December 3, 2020 / Notices 

Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 1901) 

authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 

issue guidelines for regulating the 

commercial transportation of equines to 

slaughter by persons regularly engaged 

in that activity within the United States. 

Specifically, the Secretary is authorized 

to regulate the food, water, and rest 

provided to these equines while the 

equines are in transit and to review 

related issues appropriate to ensuring 

that these animals are treated humanely. 

To implement the provisions of this 

Act, the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) established 

minimum standards to ensure the 

humane movement of equines to 

slaughtering facilities, or to assembly 

points while en route to slaughtering 

facilities, via commercial transportation. 

These standards, contained in 9 CFR 

part 88, require that conveyances 

protect the health and well-being of the 

animals and meet certain other criteria; 

that double-deck conveyances are 

prohibited; and that access to food, 

water, and rest be provided to these 

animals 6 hours prior to shipment. 

APHIS’ regulations also require the 

application of backtags and completion 

of owner/shipper certificates of fitness 

to travel to a slaughter facility with 

identification of the animals and details 

of the transportation and signatures 

attesting to compliance with the 

provision of food, rest, and water and to 

the animal’s fitness to travel. The 

regulations further prohibit the use of 

electric prods and state aggressive 

animals must be separated. Any owner/ 

shipper transporting equines to 

slaughtering facilities outside the 

United States must present the ownershipper certificates to U.S. Department 

of Agriculture representatives at the 

border. 

Implementing these regulations 

entails the use of information collection 

activities such as providing business 

information; completing owner/shipper 

certificates of fitness to travel to a 

slaughter facility; applying backtags, as 

needed; certificates of veterinary 

inspection; and maintaining records of 

the owner/shipper certificates and 

continuation sheets. 

APHIS is asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve these information collection 

activities for an additional 3 years. The 

activities described are associated with 

APHIS’ efforts to ensure that equines 

being transported commercially for 

slaughter receive adequate food, water, 

and rest and that their health and wellbeing are protected. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments from the public (as well as 

affected agencies) concerning our 

information collection. These comments 

will help us: 

(1) Evaluate 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; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, through use, as 

appropriate, of automated, electronic, 

mechanical, and other collection 

technologies; e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

Estimate of burden: The public 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 0.465 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Owners and shippers of 

slaughter horses, owners or operators of 

slaughtering facilities, and drivers of the 

transport vehicles. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 302. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 61. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 18,500. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 8,608 hours. (Due to 

averaging, the total annual burden hours 

may not equal the product of the annual 

number of responses multiplied by the 

reporting burden per response.) 

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. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 30th day of 

November 2020. 

Mark Davidson, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26611 Filed 12–2–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Virtual Public Listening Session; 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service Programs and Western Water 

Quantity 

AGENCY: Natural Resources 

Conservation Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Natural Resources 

Conservation Service (NRCS) will host a 

virtual, open, public listening session 

with remote participation only, for 

public input about water quantity in the 

west as it relates to existing NRCS 

programs. There will not be any inperson gathering for this listening 

session. 

DATES: 

Listening Session: The virtual public 

listening session will be held on 

Thursday, December 17, 2020 (also see 

below for Meeting Times section below). 

Registration to comment date: To 

provide oral comments during the 

virtual listening session, you must 

register by 12:00 p.m. (noon) on 

Tuesday, December 18, 2020. 

Registration to view date: You may 

register to view the listening session 

(but not provide oral comments), by 

12:00 p.m. (noon) on Tuesday, 

December 15, 2020. 

Written comment date: You may 

submit written comments by January 19, 

2021. 

ADDRESSES: 

Registration: To register and receive 

information on how to attend the virtual 

listening session, please email your 

information to WesternWater@

usda.gov—send your first and last name, 

organization, job title, City, State, email, 

and phone number. 

Written comments: We invite you to 

submit written comments by any of the 

following methods: 

• Mail: Deborah Miles, NRCS, ATTN: 

Western Water Quantity Listening 

Session, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, 

Room 5739, Mail Stop 1600, 

Washington, DC 20250, or 

• Email: WesternWater@usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information about providing 

written comments, joining the virtual 

listening session, or registering to speak 

at the virtual listening session, contact 

Leslie Deavers, telephone: 202–690– 

4616, or by email: Leslie.Deavers@

usda.gov. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for 

communication should contact the 

USDA Target Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On November 5, 2020, NRCS 

announced it had selected 31 priority 

areas to receive $13 million in 

Environmental Quality Incentives 

Program (EQIP) funding as part of the 

WaterSMART Initiative (WSI). These 

investments will help producers on 

private working lands better conserve 

water resources in coordination with 

investments made by water suppliers. 

The Natural Resources Conservation 

Service (NRCS) will host a virtual, open, 

public listening session with remote 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 233 / Thursday, December 3, 2020 / Notices 78115 

participation only, for public input 

about water quantity in the west as it 

relates to existing NRCS programs. 

(There will not be any in-person 

gathering for this listening session.) 

Stakeholders will have an opportunity 

to provide oral comments during the 

virtual public listening session. 

Stakeholders must notify NRCS 

during registration of their wish to 

speak at the listening session. 

Stakeholders who do not notify NRCS 

during registration of their wish to 

speak will not have the opportunity to 

comment during the virtual listening 

session. Due to the anticipated high 

level of interest in the opportunity to 

make public comments and the limited 

time available to do so, NRCS will do 

its best to accommodate all persons who 

registered and requested to provide oral 

comments and will limit all speakers to 

3 minutes. NRCS encourages persons 

and groups who have similar interests to 

consolidate their information for 

presentation by a single representative. 

The stakeholders may provide 

feedback on any of the following 

questions: 

D For agricultural producers: What is 

your most pressing water related issue 

that may constrain or currently 

constrains your operations? 

D For non-producers and 

organizations: What is your most 

pressing water related issue that is 

needed by the agricultural community 

you assist? 

D For producers and organizations: 

What is your most pressing water 

related issue with which NRCS can help 

you through a technical or financial 

assistance program or through 

facilitating and engaging in a 

collaboration or partnership? 

D How can NRCS best coordinate with 

other Federal, State, and Local efforts to 

address water related issues? 

D How can State Technical 

Committees assist in addressing your 

most pressing water related issues? 

D What additional issues do you 

confront that NRCS should have 

awareness of? 

NRCS expects to obtain input about 

the challenges, needed breakthroughs, 

and priorities through the virtual 

listening session and through 

submission of written comments. NRCS 

will treat stakeholder input equally. 

NRCS will then evaluate the challenges, 

needed breakthroughs, and priorities 

identified by this effort and will 

consider this information in its 

evaluation of existing programs and 

efforts to position these programs to 

achieve positive outcomes. 

Meeting Agenda 

The listening session will begin with 

brief opening remarks, with an overview 

of NRCS efforts to address water related 

issues in the west, from USDA and 

NRCS leadership. 

Individual speakers providing oral 

comments will be limited to 3 minutes 

each. However, if all speakers can be 

accommodated within time for the 

listening session, individual speaking 

times may be adjusted at the written 

request of the stakeholder (use the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

information provided above in this 

notice). If, at 3 minutes each, the time 

allotted to registered speakers exceeds 

the available time for the listening 

session, a limited number of speakers 

will be selected on a first-come, firstserve basis. 

If you are called upon during the 

listening session to provide oral 

comments and you or your 

representative are not available to speak, 

your opportunity to provide oral 

comments will pass to another speaker. 

Meeting Times 

The listening session will be held on 

Thursday, December 17, 2020, starting 

at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. A mid-day 

break will be scheduled at 

approximately 12:00 p.m. (noon). The 

listening session will resume at 1:30 

p.m. and continue to approximately 

3:30 p.m. 

NRCS may decide to extend the 

listening session to Friday, December 

18, 2020. At the end of the listening 

session on Thursday, December 17, 

2020, NRCS will announce whether an 

extension of the listening session will 

occur on Friday, December 18, 2020, or 

whether the listening session will 

conclude on Thursday, December 17, 

2020. If the listening session is extended 

to Friday, December 18, 2020, the 

listening session will begin at 10:00 a.m. 

Eastern time and end at approximately 

12:00 p.m. (noon). The listening session 

on Friday, December 18, 2020, may end 

earlier if there are no additional oral 

comments to be presented from anyone 

who registered to provide oral 

comments. 

Oral and Written Comments 

We request that speakers providing 

oral comments also provide a written 

copy of their comments. All written 

comments have the same due date, as 

specified above in this notice. 

Registration Required To Attend 

There is no registration fee for the 

public listening session, but preregistration is mandatory for anyone 

who wishes to attend. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement 

No agency, officer, or employee of the 

USDA will, on the grounds of race, 

color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity, sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family or 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, or political 

beliefs, exclude from participation in, 

deny the benefits of, or subject to 

discrimination any person in the United 

States under any program or activity 

conducted by USDA. 

How To File a Complaint of 

Discrimination 

To file a complaint of discrimination, 

complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form, which 

may be accessed online at: https://

www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ 

docs/2012/Complain_combined_6_8_

12.pdf or write a letter signed by you or 

your authorized representative. 

You may also send your completed 

complaint form or letter to USDA by any 

of following methods: Mail: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Director, 

Office of Adjudication, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; Fax: (202) 690–7442; or 

Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice only). 

Kevin D. Norton, 

Acting Chief, Natural Resources Conservation 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26525 Filed 12–2–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Notice of Public Meeting of the New 

York Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: U.S. Commission on Civil 

Rights. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights (Commission) and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act that 

the New York Advisory Committee 

(Committee) will hold a meeting on 

Friday, December 18, 2020, from 1:00– 

2:15 p.m. EST for the purpose of 

discussing the Committee’s project on 

evictions in New York. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Friday, December 18, 2020, from 1:00– 

2:00 p.m. EST. 

Public Call Information: Dial: (800) 

367–2403; Conference ID: 7109728. 


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