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.

Notices Federal Register

58802 

Vol. 77, No. 185 

Monday, September 24, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

September 18, 2012. 

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), 

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) 720–8958. 

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. 

Agricultural Research Service 

Title: Web Forms for Research Data, 

Models, Materials, and Publications as 

well as Study and Event Registration. 

OMB Control Number: 0518–0032. 

Summary of Collection: OMB Circular 

130 Management of Federal Information 

Resources, establishes that ‘‘agencies 

will use electronic media and formats 

* * * in order to make government 

information more easily accessible and 

useful to the public’’. In order to 

provide information and services related 

to its program responsibilities defined at 

7 CFR 2.65, the Agricultural Research 

Service (ARS) needs to obtain certain 

basic information from the public. 

Online forms allow the public to request 

from ARS research data, models, 

materials, and publications as well as 

registration for scientific studies and 

events. 

Need and Use of the Information: 

ARS will use the information to respond 

to requests for specific services. The 

information will be collected 

electronically. If this collection is not 

conducted, ARS will be hindered from 

reducing the burden on its customers by 

providing them the most timely and 

efficient way to request services. 

Description of Respondents: 

Individuals or households. 

Number of Respondents: 15,000. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

On occasion. 

Total Burden Hours: 750. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–23416 Filed 9–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Research Service 

Notice of Intent To Seek OMB Approval 

To Collect Information: Forms 

Pertaining to the Peer Review of ARS 

Research Projects 

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service 

(ARS), USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The proposed information 

collection requirement described below 

will be submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 and OMB 

implementing regulations. The 

Department is soliciting public 

comments on the subject proposal. 

DATES: Written comments on this notice 

must be received by November 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Address all comments 

concerning this notice to: Michael S. 

Strauss, Peer Review Program 

Coordinator, Office of Scientific Quality 

Review; Agricultural Research Agency, 

USDA; 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, 

Beltsville, Maryland 20705; Phone: 301– 

504–3283; Fax: 301–504–1251. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael S. Strauss, 301–504–3283. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Scientific Quality Review will seek 

approval from OMB to update six 

existing forms that will allow the ARS 

to efficiently manage data associated 

with the peer review of agricultural 

research. All forms are transferred and 

received in an electronic storage format 

that does not include on-line access. 

Abstract: The Office of Scientific 

Quality Review was established in 

September of 1999 as a result of the 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Education Reform Act 1998 (‘‘The Act’’) 

(Pub. L. 105–185). The Act included 

mandates to perform scientific peer 

reviews of all research activities 

conducted by the USDA. The Office 

manages the ARS peer review system by 

centrally planning peer panel reviews 

for ARS research projects on a five-year 

cycle. 

Each set of reviews is assigned a 

chairperson to govern the review 

process. Peer reviewers are non-ARS 

scientists. Peer review panels are 

convened to provide in-depth 

discussion and review of the research 

project plans. Each panel reviewer 

receives information on between 1 and 

20 ARS research projects. 

On average, 220 research projects are 

reviewed annually by an estimated 200 

reviewers; whereby approximately 200 

are reviewed by panel and 

approximately 20 are reviewed through 

an ad hoc (written review) process. The 

organization and management of this 

peer review system, particularly panel 

reviews, is highly dependent on the use 

of forms. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 185 / Monday, September 24, 2012 / Notices 58803 

The Office of Scientific Quality 

Review will seek OMB approval of the 

following forms: 

1. Confidentiality Agreement Form— 

USDA uses this form to document that 

a selected reviewer is responsible for 

keeping confidential any information 

learned during the subject peer review 

process. The Confidentiality Agreement 

is signed prior to the reviewer’s 

involvement in the peer review process. 

This form requires an original signature. 

Electronically transmitted scans of 

signed forms are also accepted. 

2. Panelist Information Form—USDA 

uses this form to gather up-to-date 

background information about the 

reviewer as well as information relevant 

to the paying of an honorarium and for 

travel, where appropriate. Reviewers 

often include sensitive information on 

this form and, thus it is not retained or 

recorded in electronic form by the 

OSQR. 

3. Peer Review of an ARS Research 

Project Form (Peer Review Form)— 

USDA uses this form to guide the 

reviewer’s comments on the subject 

project. The form contains the reviewing 

criteria and space for the reviewer’s 

narrative comments and evaluation. 

4. Ad Hoc Review Form—USDA uses 

this in select cases (for Ad Hoc 

Reviewers who are not members of a 

review panel), a check-off listing of 

action classes at the end of the form 

allows them to provide an overall rating 

of the plan. 

5. Recommendations for ARS 

Research Project Form— 

(Recommendations Form)—USDA uses 

this form to guide the panel’s evaluation 

and critique of the review process. The 

form contains the recommendations of 

the panel for the subject research 

project. 

6. Panel Expense Report Form 

(Expense Report)—USDA uses this form 

to document a panel reviewer’s expense 

incurred traveling to and attending a 

peer review meeting. The Expense 

Report includes lodging, meals, and 

transportation expenses. When 

completed, the form contains sensitive 

information. 

7. Panel Invoice Form (Honorarium 

Form)—USDA uses this form to 

document the transfer of an honorarium 

to a peer reviewer. Reviewers receive 

honoraria as compensation for serving 

as peer review panelists. This form 

requires an original signature. It is used 

only in special circumstances where 

reviewers cannot accept a direct bank 

transfer of the honorarium. In such 

cases this is used in lieu of the SF–1034 

to provide OSQR a written record of the 

honorarium payment. 

(1) USDA’s collection of information 

on the Confidentiality Agreement Form 

is needed to document that a selected 

reviewer is responsible for keeping 

confidential any information learned 

during the subject peer review process. 

The Confidentiality Agreement would 

be signed prior to the reviewer’s 

involvement in the peer review process. 

(2) USDA’s collection of information 

on the Panelist Information Form is 

needed to gather up-to-date background 

information about the reviewer. It 

contains sensitive information. 

(3) USDA’s collection of information 

on the Peer Review Form is needed to 

guide the reviewer’s comments on the 

subject project. It contains the reviewing 

criteria and space to insert comments. 

(4) USDA’s collection of information 

on the Ad Hoc Review Form is needed 

to guide reviewer comments of those not 

participating in a chaired panel and 

affords a place to select an overall 

Action Class rating for the plan. 

(5) USDA’s collection of information 

on the Recommendations Form is 

needed to guide the panel’s critique of 

the review process. It contains the 

recommendations of the panel for the 

subject research project. 

(6) USDA’s collection of information 

on the Expense Report Form is needed 

to document a panel reviewer’s 

expenses incurred by attending a peer 

review meeting. The Expense Report 

includes lodging, meals, and 

transportation expenses. It includes 

sensitive information. 

(7) USDA’s collection of information 

on the Honorarium Form is needed to 

document the transfer of an honorarium 

to the peer reviewer in those rare cases 

where an SF–1034 is not completed. 

The honorarium is given to reviewers as 

appreciation for their time spent on the 

panel review process. 

Estimate of Burden: The burden 

associated with this approval process is 

the minimum required to achieve 

program objectives. The information 

collection frequency is the minimum 

consistent with program objectives. The 

following estimates of time required to 

complete the forms are based on OSQR’s 

experience in working with reviewers 

and accepting their input into our 

procedures. 

1. Confidentiality Agreement Form: 

This form takes up to10 minutes to 

complete. It only requires a signature 

and date, but the reviewer must read 

and consider the terms of the agreement. 

2. Panelist Information Form: This 

form takes about 30 minutes to 

complete. It resembles a typical request 

for personal information; many 

reviewers provide the same data as grant 

reviewers in other peer review 

programs. 

3. Peer Review of an ARS Research 

Project Form (Peer Review Form) This 

form takes 5–7 hours to complete. 

Because this is a review, the page length 

varies. Reviewers are free to write as 

much as they wish, but to complete the 

form they must thoroughly read and 

evaluate a research project plan that 

may exceed 60–70 pages in length. 

4. Recommendations for ARS 

Research Project Form 

(Recommendations Form) This form 

takes 1–2 hours to complete. Because 

this is a review, the page length 

significantly varies. Reviewers are free 

to write as much as they wish. The form 

is prepared by one reviewer combining 

comments from two of the reviewers as 

found on the Peer Review Form as well 

as adding further analyses derived from 

discussion with other reviewers. 

5. Panel Expense Report Form 

(Expense Report) This form takes 30 

minutes to complete. 

6. Panel Invoice Form (Honorarium 

Form): This form takes 3 minutes to 

complete. This form has the reviewer’s 

personal information pre-filled and the 

reviewer only verifies its accuracy and 

signs. 

Respondents and Estimated Number 

of Respondents: Scientific experts, 

currently working in the same 

discipline as the research projects under 

review, are selected to review research 

projects. These experts are notable peers 

within and external to the ARS. 

Annually, about 150 peer reviewers 

complete these forms. Ad hoc reviewers 

are paid a modest honorarium but 

generally do not travel to meet with 

other reviewers; and thus they do not 

complete Expense Report and Invoice 

Forms. On occasion, ad hoc reviewers 

may participate in a Web-based panel, 

thus necessitating completion of an 

either an SF–1034 or an Honorarium 

Form. Ad hoc reviewers, retained for 

special situations, will make up about a 

20 percent of all the reviewers retained 

annually. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
58804 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 185 / Monday, September 24, 2012 / Notices 

FREQUENCY OF RESPONSE

Form Number of 

respondents Annual frequency 

Confidentiality Agreement ................................................................................. 200 1 per respondent (Total of 200). 

Peer Review Forms (Required for all reviewers and they have 2 review assignments on average.).200 2 per panel respondent (Total of 400). 

Expense Report (Only for those reviewers traveling to the review.) ................ 20 1 per respondent (Total of 20). 

Honorarium Form (Only for those reviewers paid by check.) .......................... 20 1 per respondent (Total of 20). 

Panelist Information Forms ............................................................................... 200 1 per respondent for each form (Total of 200). 

Recommendations Form (For use only for panels not meeting online.) .......... 20 2 per respondent (Total of 40). 

ESTIMATED TOTAL ANNUAL BURDEN ON RESPONDENTS

Form (time required to complete) 

Number 

completed 

annually 

Total burden 

(hours) 

Confidentiality Agreement (10 min.) ............................................................................................................................ 200 33 

Panelist Information Forms (30 min.) .......................................................................................................................... 200 100 

Peer Review Forms (∼6 hrs) ....................................................................................................................................... 400 2400 

Recommendations Form (1 hr) ................................................................................................................................... 20 20 

Honorarium Form (3 min.) ........................................................................................................................................... 20 1 

Expense Report (30 min.) ........................................................................................................................................... 20 10 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35. 

Comments: The Notice is soliciting 

comments from members of the public 

and affected agencies concerning the 

proposed collection of information to: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection is necessary for the proper 

performance of ARS functions, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (2) Evaluate the 

accuracy of the estimated burden from 

proposed collection of information; (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, including the use of 

appropriate automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology, e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. All responses 

to this notice will be summarized and 

included in the request for OMB 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. 

Dated: September 4, 2012. 

Caird Rexroad, 

Associate Administrator, Research, 

Management and Operations, Agricultural 

Research Service, USDA. 

[FR Doc. 2012–23474 Filed 9–21–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2012–0032] 

Testing of Product Samples for Listeria 

monocytogenes: Changes in 

Procedures 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

changes in procedures for Listeria (L.) 

monocytogenes product sampling 

programs in ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and 

poultry products. Starting 60 days after 

issuance of this notice, FSIS will 

increase the number of product samples 

it collects under its Routine Risk-based 

L. monocytogenes (RLm) Sampling 

Program and its Intensified Verification 

Testing (IVT) protocol from three to five 

samples per sampling unit. In addition, 

FSIS laboratories will composite the five 

25-g product samples from the RLm 

sampling program, which will increase 

the sample size of the analyzed test 

portion from 25 g to 125 g. The Agency 

is effecting these changes to make its 

sampling procedures more consistent 

with international practices, to conserve 

its laboratory resources, and to improve 

public health. FSIS invites comments on 

these changes to its sampling programs. 

DATES: To receive full consideration, 

comments on this notice should be 

received by November 23, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

notice. Comments may be submitted by 

either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

Web site provides the ability to type 

short comments directly into the 

comment field on this Web page or 

attach a file for lengthier comments. Go 

to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

• Mail, including CD–ROMs, etc.: 

Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, Office of Policy and 

Program Development, Risk, 

Innovations, and Management Division, 

Patriots Plaza 3, 8–163A, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Mailstop 

3782, Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

• Hand- or courier-delivered 

submittals: Deliver to Patriots Plaza 3, 

355 E Street SW., Room 8–163A, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Agency name and docket number FSIS– 

2012–0032. Comments received in 

response to this notice will be made 

available for public inspection and 

posted without change, including any 

personal information, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, go to 

the FSIS Docket Room at the address 

listed above between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Edelstein, Acting Assistant 

Administrator, Office of Policy and 

Program Development, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, telephone (202) 204–0495. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES