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

32618 

Vol. 83, No. 135 

Friday, July 13, 2018 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2018–0023] 

Notice of Request To Renew an 

Approved Information Collection 

(Petitions for Rulemaking) 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

its intention to renew the approved 

information collection regarding 

petitions for rulemaking. The approval 

for this information collection will 

expire on November 30, 2018. FSIS is 

making no changes to the approved 

collection. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

September 11, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

Federal Register notice. Comments may 

be submitted by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

website 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, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Room 6065, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

• Hand- or courier-delivered 

submittals: Deliver to 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Agency name and docket number FSIS– 

2018–0023. Comments received in 

response to this docket 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, call 

(202) 720–5627 to schedule a time to 

visit the FSIS Docket Room at 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina 

Kouba, Office of Policy and Program 

Development, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Room 6065, 

South Building, Washington, DC 20250– 

3700; (202) 720–5627. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Petitions for Rulemaking. 

OMB Control Number: 0583–0136. 

Expiration Date: 11/30/2018. 

Type of Request: Renewal of an 

approved information collection. 

Abstract: FSIS, by delegation (7 CFR 

2.18, 2.53), exercises the functions of 

the Secretary as specified in the Federal 

Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 

601, et seq.), the Poultry Products 

Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 U.S.C. 451, et 

seq.), and the Egg Products Inspection 

Act (EPIA) (21 U.S.C. 1031, et seq.). 

These statutes mandate that FSIS 

protect the public by verifying that 

meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, 

wholesome, unadulterated, and 

properly labeled and packaged. 

The Administrative Procedure Act 

requires that Federal agencies give 

interested persons the right to petition 

for issuance, amendment, or repeal of a 

rule (5 U.S.C. 553(e)). 

FSIS has regulations to govern the 

submission to the Agency of petitions 

for rulemaking (9 CFR part 392). These 

regulations are designed to encourage 

the filing of well-supported petitions 

that contain information that the 

Agency needs to evaluate a requested 

rulemaking in a timely manner. FSIS 

uses the information associated with a 

petition to assess the merits of the 

requested action and to determine 

whether to issue, amend, or repeal 

regulations in response to the petition. 

FSIS is requesting a renewal of the 

approved information collection 

addressing paperwork requirements 

regarding petitions submitted to the 

Agency. FSIS is making no changes to 

the approved collection. 

FSIS has made the following 

estimates based upon an information 

collection assessment. 

Estimate of Burden: FSIS estimates 

that it takes respondents an average of 

40 hours per year to complete and 

submit a petition. 

Respondents: Official establishments, 

official plants, firms, trade associations, 

and public interest groups. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

10. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 400. Copies of this 

information collection assessment can 

be obtained from Gina Kouba, Office of 

Policy and Program Development, Food 

Safety and Inspection Service, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 

6065, South Building, Washington, DC 

20250–3700; (202) 720–5627. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of FSIS’s functions, including whether 

the information will have practical 

utility; (b) the accuracy of FSIS’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the method 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, 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 both FSIS, at the addresses 

provided above, and the Desk Officer for 

Agriculture, Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, Washington, 

DC 20253. 

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. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, FSIS will 

announce this Federal Register 

publication on-line through the FSIS 

web page located at: http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2018 / Notices 32619 

FSIS also will make copies of this 

publication available through the FSIS 

Constituent Update, which is used to 

provide information regarding FSIS 

policies, procedures, regulations, 

Federal Register notices, FSIS public 

meetings, and other types of information 

that could affect or would be of interest 

to our constituents and stakeholders. 

The Update is available on the FSIS web 

page. Through the web page, FSIS is 

able to provide information to a much 

broader, more diverse audience. In 

addition, FSIS offers an email 

subscription service which provides 

automatic and customized access to 

selected food safety news and 

information. This service is available at: 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/subscribe. 

Options range from recalls to export 

information, regulations, directives, and 

notices. Customers can add or delete 

subscriptions themselves, and have the 

option to password protect their 

accounts. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement 

No agency, officer, or employee of the 

USDA shall, on the grounds of race, 

color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity, sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/ 

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 the 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 http://

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. 

Send your completed complaint form 

or letter to USDA by mail, fax, or email: 

Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410, Fax: (202) 690–7442, 

Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.), 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

Paul Kiecker, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15015 Filed 7–12–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 

Notice of Intent To Extend and Revise 

a Currently Approved Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the National Institute 

of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) 

intention to extend and revise a 

currently approved information 

collection entitled, ‘‘Reporting 

Requirements for State Plans of Work 

for Agricultural Research and Extension 

Formula Funds.’’ 

DATES: Written comments on this notice 

must be received by September 11, 2018 

to be assured of consideration. 

Comments received after that date will 

be considered to the extent practicable. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

concerning this notice and requests for 

copies of the information collection may 

be submitted by any of the following 

methods: Email: rmartin@nifa.usda.gov; 

Fax: 202–720–0857; Mail: Office of 

Information Technology (OIT), NIFA, 

USDA, STOP 2216, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250– 

2216. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert Martin, eGovernment Program 

Leader; Email: rmartin@nifa.usda.gov; 

Phone: 202–401–5924. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Reporting Requirements for 

State Plans of Work for Agricultural 

Research and Extension Capacity 

Grants. 

OMB Number: 0524–0036. 

Expiration Date of Current Approval: 

January 1, 2019. 

Type of Request: Notice of intent to 

extend and revise the submission 

requirements for a currently approved 

information collection. The burden for 

this submission remains unchanged. 

Abstract: Type of Request: Intent to 

seek approval for the extension and 

revision of a currently approved 

information collection for three years. 

Abstract: The purpose of this 

collection of information is to continue 

implementing the requirements of 

sections 202 and 225 of the Agricultural 

Research, Extension, and Education 

Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) which 

require that a plan of work must be 

submitted by each institution and 

approved by the National Institute of 

Food and Agriculture (NIFA) before 

formula funds may be provided to the 

1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions. 

The formula funds are authorized 

under the Hatch Act for agricultural 

research activities at the 1862 land-grant 

institutions, under the Smith-Lever Act 

for the extension activities at the 1862 

land-grant institutions, and under 

sections 1444 and 1445 of the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Teaching Policy Act of 1977 for research 

and extension activities at the 1890 

land-grant institutions. The plan of 

work must address critical agricultural 

issues in the State and describe the 

programs and projects targeted to 

address these issues using the NIFA 

formula funds. The plan of work also 

must describe the institution’s 

multistate activities as well as their 

integrated research and extension 

activities. 

This collection of information also 

includes the reporting requirements of 

section 102(c) of AREERA for the 1862 

and 1890 land-grant institutions. This 

section requires the 1862, 1890, and 

1994 land-grant institutions receiving 

agricultural research, education, and 

extension formula funds from NIFA of 

the Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

to establish and implement processes 

for obtaining input from persons who 

conduct or use agricultural research, 

extension, or education concerning the 

use of such funds effective October 1, 

1999. 

Section 102(c) further requires that 

the Secretary of Agriculture promulgate 

regulations that prescribe what the 

institutions must do to meet this 

requirement and the consequences of 

not complying with this requirement. 

The Stakeholder Input Requirements for 

Recipients of Agricultural Research, 

Education, and Extension Formula 

Funds (7 CFR part 3418) final rule (65 

FR 5993, Feb. 8, 2000) applies not only 

to the land-grant institutions receiving 

formula funds but also to the veterinary 

and forestry schools that are not landgrant institutions but receive forestry 

research funds under the McIntireStennis Act of 1962 and animal health 

and disease research funds under 

section 1433 of the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Teaching Policy Act of 1977 

(NARETPA). Failure to comply with the 

requirements of this rule may result in 

the withholding of a recipient 

institution’s formula funds and 

redistribution of its share of formula 

funds to other eligible institutions. The 

institutions are required to annually 

report to NIFA: (1) The actions taken to 

seek stakeholder input to encourage 


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