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

54603

Vol. 62, No. 203

Tuesday, October 21, 1997

COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION

Sunshine Act Meeting

TIME AND DATE: 2:00 p.m., November 3,

1997.

PLACE: Room 104–A, Jamie Whitten

Building, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Washington, D.C.

STATUS: Open.

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:

1. Approval of the Minutes of the

Special Open meeting of February 5,

1996.

2. Memorandum re: Update of

Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)-

Owned Inventory.

3. Memorandum re: Commodity

Credit Corporation’s (CCC’s) Financial

Condition Report.

4. Memorandum re: Resolution for

Docket CZ–266, Resolution No. 33,

Amendment 2, ratification of

Commodities Available for Public Law

480 during Fiscal Year 1996.

5. Resolution re: Amendment of

Bylaws of the Commodity Credit

Corporation.

6. Resolution re: Termination of

Obsolete CCC Board Dockets.

7. Resolution re: Amendment of

Dockets Requiring Only a Change in

Nomenclature.

8. Docket GCX–326, Rev. 1, re: Market

Access Program for Fiscal Year 1996

and Subsequent Years.

9. Docket GCZ–136, Rev. 2, re: Policy

with Respect to Establishment of

Valuation Reserves Against Assets of the

Commodity Credit Corporation.

10. Docket CZ–266, Rev. 2, re:

Operations Under Agricultural Trade

Development and Assistance Act.

11. Docket CZ–148, Rev. 4 re: Capital

Fund Commitments and Control of

Valuation Reserves Against Assets of the

Commodity Credit Corporation.

12. Docket P–CON–96–02, re:

Environmental Activities.

13. Docket P–CON–96–03, re:

Delegating Authority for CCC

Conservation Programs.

14. Docket CZ–332, Rev. 1, re: Food

for Progress Program.

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Juanita B. Daniels, Acting Secretary,

Commodity Credit Corporation, Stop

0571, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

1400 Independence Avenue SW,

Washington, D.C. 20250–0571.

Dated: October 16, 1997.

Juanita B. Daniels,

Acting Secretary, Commodity Credit

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 97–27928 Filed 10–16–97; 4:34 pm]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To

Conduct an Information Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.

L. 104–13) and Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR

Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29,

1995), this notice announces the

National Agricultural Statistics Service’s

(NASS) intention to request approval for

a new information collection, the

Respondent Information Evaluation.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by December 26, 1997 to be

assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact Rich

Allen, Associate Administrator,

National Agricultural Statistics Service,

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400

Independence Avenue SW, Room 4117

South Building, Washington, D.C.

20250–2000, (202) 720–4333.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Respondent Information

Evaluation.

Type of Request: Intent to seek

approval to conduct an information

collection.

Abstract: The NASS is initiating a

coordinated effort to increase survey

cooperation. This effort will include the

development of a program to educate

producers about the functions of NASS

and the uses of survey data. The

importance of unbiased NASS estimates

and the potential consequences of

estimates being unavailable are

expected to be a major part of the

program. Ways to disseminate this

message will also be investigated. Data

users will be surveyed to gain insight

into uses of NASS data. Data providers

will be surveyed to obtain their

opinions of how NASS survey data are

used. These data will be collected under

the authority of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a).

Individually identifiable data collected

under this authority are governed by

Section 1770 of the Food Security Act

of 1985, 7 U.S.C. 2276, which requires

USDA to afford strict confidentiality to

non-aggregated data provided by

respondents.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 10 minutes per

response.

Respondents: Subscribers to National

Agricultural Statistics Service

commodity reports and producers (data

providers to NASS commodity reports).

Estimated Number of Respondents:

1,000 report subscribers and 4,000

producers.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 833 hours.

Copies of this information collection

and related instructions can be obtained

without charge from Larry Gambrell, the

Agency OMB Clearance Officer, at (202)

720–5778.

Comments

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:

Larry Gambrell, Agency OMB Clearance

Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
54604 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 1997 / Notices

1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room

4162 South Building, Washington, D.C.

20250–2000.

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.

Signed at Washington, D.C., October 3,

1997.

Rich Allen,

Acting Administrator, National Agricultural

Statistics Service.

[FR Doc. 97–27748 Filed 10–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–20–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

DOC has submitted to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

clearance the following proposal for

collection of information under the

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

Agency: Bureau of the Census.

Title: Annual Commodity Survey

Test.

Form Number(s): MA25Z, MA28X,

MA28Z.

Agency Approval Number: None.

Type of Request: New collection.

Burden: 4,380 hours.

Number of Respondents: 2,900.

Avg Hours Per Response: 1.5 hours.

Needs and Uses: The proposed

information collection is a test of an

alternate method of collecting

manufacturers’ product shipments data.

Currently, we collect product class

shipments from the establishments in

the Annual Survey of Manufactures

(ASM) and product shipments in the

Census of Manufactures every five

years. We also collect product

shipments for various products from a

combination of companies and

establishments in the Current Industrial

Reports (CIR) series. The data from the

CIR, while quite detailed, do not cover

all manufactured products. The data

from the ASM, while comprehensive,

does not provide sufficient detail for

some users.

The Census Bureau would like to

design a survey that would satisfy the

need for both comprehensive and more

detailed product data. The survey

would collect detailed product

shipments data from a sample of all

manufacturing companies. The survey

would cover all manufacturers’ products

at greater detail than the current ASM

but less detail that is available in the

existing CIR. If it is possible to

successfully design such a survey, we

could reduce the size of the ASM and

eliminate much of the existing CIR

program and divert those resources to

the new survey.

Before we give additional

consideration to implementation, we are

planning to test the concept. We plan to

select a sample of approximately 2,900

companies and ask them to report their

company level product shipments for

data year 1997. We have drafted

questionnaires and developed reporting

instructions. We plan to compare the

results of this test collection to data

from the CIR program and the 1997

Census of Manufactures. Those

comparisons and the results of response

follow-up to the test survey should help

us determine if this type of survey is

feasible and likely to produce the results

our data users need.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit.

Frequency: One-time.

Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C.,

Section 182.

OMB Desk Officer: Jerry Coffey, (202)

395–7314.

Copies of the above information

collection proposal can be obtained by

calling or writing Linda Engelmeier,

DOC Forms Clearance Officer, (202)

482–3272, Department of Commerce,

room 5312, 14th and Constitution

Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

Written comments and

recommendations for the proposed

information collection should be sent

within 30 days of publication of this

notice to Jerry Coffey, OMB Desk

Officer, room 10201, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: October 15, 1997.

W. Dan Haigler,

Acting Departmental Forms Clearance

Officer, Office of Management and

Organization.

[FR Doc. 97–27820 Filed 10–20–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and

Technology

[Docket No. 970811195–7195–01]

Alternative Personnel Management

System (APMS) at the National

Institute of Standards and Technology

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards

and Technology, Department of

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of consolidation and

republication of a demonstration project

plan as a permanent system pursuant to

Public Law 104–113.

SUMMARY: This notice (1) consolidates

the original plan and the two

subsequent amendments into a single

document for better understanding and

ease of use; (2) documents the

procedures by which the equivalent of

locality-based comparability payments

are applied at the National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST); (3)

specifies how to determine the General

Schedule (GS) grade and rates of pay for

employees who leave the NIST

alternative personnel management

system; (4) allows NIST to remove from

the pay-for-performance system any

positions not filled by career or careerconditional appointment; and (5)

corrects, simplifies, and clarifies the

project plan.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 21, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Allen Cassady at NIST on (301) 975–

3031; Gail Redd at OPM on (202) 606–

1521.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

In accordance with Public Law 99–

574, the NIST authorization act for

1987, OPM approved a demonstration

project plan, ‘‘Alternative Personnel

Management System at the National

Institute of Standards and Technology,’’

and published the plan in the Federal

Register on October 2, 1987 (52 FR

37082). The project plan has been

modified two times to clarify certain

NIST authorities (54 FR 21331 of May

17, 1989, and 54 FR 33790 of August 16,

1989), and to revise the performance

appraisal and pay administration

systems to better link pay with

performance (55 FR 19688 of May 10,

1990, and 55 FR 39220 of September 25,

1990).

In a letter to NIST dated December 30,

1993, OPM offered two options to NIST

for implementing locality pay beginning

in January 1994. Option 1 would have

required implementation of locality pay

in a manner as close as possible to the

implementation for GS employees.

Locality pay would have been separate

from basic pay and would have counted

as basic pay for the same limited

purposes for which it is basic pay for GS

employees (5 CFR 531.606(b)). Option 2

would allow NIST to incorporate the

equivalent of locality pay into its own

basic pay package.

NIST chose Option 2. Adjustments in

pay band ranges and in eligible

employees’ basic pay rates are made at

the time of GS general and/or locality

pay increases. Pay rates under the NIST

Alternative Personnel Management

System (NIST APMS) will be basic pay