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

17368 

Vol. 75, No. 65 

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Information Collection Activity; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the 

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites 

comments on this information 

collection for which approval from the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) will be requested. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by June 7, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michele Brooks, Director, Program 

Development and Regulatory Analysis, 

Rural Utilities Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., STOP 

1522, Room 5162 South Building, 

Washington, DC 20250–1522. 

Telephone: (202) 690–1078. FAX: (202) 

720–8435. E-mail: 

michele.brooks@wdc.usda.gov. 

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 

RUS is submitting to OMB for an 

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: 

Michele Brooks, Director, Program 

Development and Regulatory Analysis, 

Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, STOP 1522, Room 5162 

South Building, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

1522. FAX: (202) 720–8435. 

Title: Assistance to High Energy Cost 

Rural Communities. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0136. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Abstract: The Rural Electrification Act 

of 1936 (RE Act) (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) 

was amended in November 2000 to 

create a new program to help rural 

communities with extremely high 

energy costs (Pub. L. 106–472). Under 

this new section 19 of the RE Act (7 

U.S.C. 918a), the Secretary of 

Agriculture, through RUS, is authorized 

to provide financial assistance through 

the following three funding streams: 

• High Energy Cost Grants and Loans. 

RUS may provide grants and loans for 

energy generation, transmission, and 

distribution facilities serving 

communities with average home energy 

costs in excess of 275 percent of the 

national average. Many of these 

communities are in rural Alaska, but 

there are other eligible areas 

nationwide. Eligible applicants include 

persons, State agencies (including 

Territories), entities organized under 

State law, and Indian Tribes. Only grant 

funds have been appropriated to date. 

• Denali Commission Grants and 

Loans. RUS may provide grants and 

loans to the Denali Commission, a 

Federal agency, for energy generation, 

transmission, and distribution facilities 

serving extremely high energy cost rural 

and remote communities in Alaska. 

Annual Denali grants are awarded and 

advanced as soon as funds are available 

to RUS. The Denali Grants are governed 

by a Memorandum of Understanding 

between the two agencies and by 

individual Grant Agreements. Only 

grant funds have been appropriated to 

date. 

• Bulk Fuel Revolving Fund Grants. 

RUS may provide grants to State entities 

in existence as of November 9, 2000, to 

support revolving loan funds to improve 

the efficiency of fuel purchases for 

communities where the fuel cannot be 

delivered by surface transportation. 

Only Alaska and a handful of other 

States are eligible. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 4.32 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Business or other forprofit, Not-for-profit institutions, State, 

Local, or Tribal Government. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

112. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 2.82. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 1,365. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Gale Richardson, 

Program Development and Regulatory 

Analysis, at (202) 720–0992, FAX: (202) 

720–8435. 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: March 30, 2010. 

Jessica Zufolo, 

Deputy Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–7733 Filed 4–5–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0088] 

Notice of Availability of an Evaluation 

of the Highly Pathogenic Avian 

Influenza Status of Czech Republic and 

Sweden 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared an 

evaluation of the animal health status of 

the Czech Republic and Sweden relative 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 6, 2010 / Notices 17369 

1To view the list of regions APHIS considers to 

be affected with HPAI H5N1, go to (http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/ 

animal_import/animal_imports_hpai.shtml). 

2OIE (2008). Risk Analysis. In, Terrestrial Animal 

Health Code, 17th edition. Paris, World 

Organization for Animal Health: Chapter 2.2 on 

Import Risk Analysis; Chapter 10.4 on Avian 

Influenza. To view the document on the Internet, 

go to (http://www.oie.int/eng/normes/mcode/ 

A_summry.htm?e1d11). 

to the H5N1 subtype of highly 

pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The 

evaluation presents our assessment of 

the HPAI H5N1 detection, control, and 

eradication measures in place in the 

Czech Republic and Sweden following 

the outbreaks of HPAI in Sweden during 

2006, and in the Czech Republic during 

2007, as well as our assessment of the 

present status of the Czech Republic and 

Sweden with respect to HPAI H5N1. We 

are making this evaluation available to 

the public for review and comment. If, 

after the close of the comment period, 

we can identify no additional risk 

factors that would indicate that 

domestic poultry in the Czech Republic 

and Sweden continue to be affected 

with HPAI H5N1, we will remove those 

regions from our list of regions affected 

with HPAI H5N1. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before May 6, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

∑ Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

(http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS2009-0088) to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

∑ Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS-2009-0088, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737-1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS2009-0088. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on the 

evaluations in our reading room. The 

reading room is located in room 1141 of 

the USDA South Building, 14th Street 

and Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC. Normal reading room 

hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, except holidays. To be 

sure someone is there to help you, 

please call (202) 690-2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

(http://www.aphis.usda.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Julia Punderson, Senior Staff 

Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation 

Services-Import, National Center for 

Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 

River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 

20737-1231; (301) 734-4356. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the Animal Health Protection 

Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.), the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) has the authority to prohibit or 

restrict the importation into the United 

States of animals, animal products, and 

other articles in order to prevent the 

introduction of diseases and pests into 

the U.S. livestock and poultry 

populations. 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza 

(HPAI) is a zoonotic disease of poultry. 

The H5N1 subtype of HPAI is an 

extremely infectious and fatal form of 

the disease. HPAI can strike poultry 

quickly without any warning signs of 

infection and, once established, can 

spread rapidly from flock to flock. HPAI 

viruses can also be spread by manure, 

equipment, vehicles, egg flats, crates, 

and people whose clothing or shoes 

have come in contact with the virus. 

HPAI viruses can remain viable at 

moderate temperatures for long periods 

in the environment and can survive 

indefinitely in frozen material. The 

H5N1 subtype of HPAI has been of 

particular concern because it has 

crossed the species barrier and caused 

disease in humans. 

On March 17, 2006, the Swedish 

Board of Agriculture reported their first 

case of HPAI H5N1 in domestic poultry 

to the World Organization of Animal 

Health (OIE). The outbreak was 

confirmed in mallard ducks on a game 

bird breeding farm in the village of 

Ga ̈sshult, Oskarshamn, in Kalmar 

County, located in an area which had 

already been under restriction since 

February 2006 due to the detection of 

HPAI H5N1 in wild birds. No further 

reports of the HPAI H5N1 in wild or 

domestic birds have been reported in 

Sweden since that time. 

On June 22, 2007, the Director of the 

Department of Animal Health and 

Welfare in Ministry of Agriculture of the 

Czech Republic reported the first 

occurrence of HPAI H5N1 in domestic 

poultry to the OIE. The outbreak was 

confirmed in a flock of 6,000 turkeys 

near Tisova, Usti nad Orlici district, in 

the Pardubicky Region and then spread 

to other neighboring commercial poultry 

farms over the following weeks. 

To prevent the introduction of HPAI 

H5N1 into the United States, APHIS 

added the regions of the Czech Republic 

and Sweden where the outbreaks 

occurred to the list of regions that 

APHIS considers to be affected with 

HPAI H5N1.1 This action resulted in 

restrictions on the importation of bird, 

poultry, and birds and poultry products 

into the United States from those two 

regions. 

We have evaluated the status of HPAI 

H5N1 in domestic and wild poultry in 

the Czech Republic and Sweden in light 

of the actions taken by the Czech and 

Swedish authorities since the outbreaks. 

We present the results of our evaluation 

in a document titled ‘‘APHIS’ Evaluation 

of the Status of High Pathogenicity 

Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1) in 

the Czech Republic and Sweden’’ (July 

2009), and document our analysis of the 

risk associated with allowing the 

importation of birds, poultry, and 

poultry products from regions of the 

Czech Republic and Sweden into the 

United States in the aftermath of the 

outbreaks. 

We based our evaluation of the Czech 

Republic’s and Sweden’s HPAI H5N1 

status on the following critical factors: 

∑ Each region had been free of 

outbreaks of the H5N1 subtype in its 

domestic poultry for at least 3 months 

as a result of effective control measures 

taken by a competent veterinary 

infrastructure; 

∑ HPAI H5N1 was a notifiable disease 

in each region at the time of the 

outbreak; 

∑ Each region had an ongoing disease 

awareness program in place at the time 

of the outbreak; 

∑ Each region investigated, all 

notified, and/or suspected occurrences 

of the disease; 

∑ Each region had an effective 

surveillance program in place that 

supported the detection and 

investigation of outbreaks; 

∑ Diagnostic and laboratory 

capabilities within each region were 

both adequate and effective; 

∑ Each region undertook appropriate 

eradication and control measures and 

movement restrictions in response to 

the outbreaks to prevent further spread 

of disease; and 

∑ In each region, procedures used for 

repopulation of affected premises 

included monitoring to demonstrate that 

HPAI H5N1 had been eradicated from 

the premises. 

Based on these factors, which are 

consistent with the OIE’s 

recommendations for reinstatement for 

trade with a country that has 

experienced an HPAI H5N1 outbreak,2


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
17370 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 65 / Tuesday, April 6, 2010 / Notices 

our evaluations concluded that the 

Czech Republic and Sweden were able 

to effectively control and eradicate 

HPAI H5N1 in their respective poultry 

populations and that the Czech and 

Swedish authorities have adequate 

control measures in place to rapidly 

identify, control, and eradicate the 

disease should it be reintroduced into 

their respective countries in either wild 

birds or domestic poultry. We further 

concluded that the importation of live 

birds, poultry carcasses, parts of 

carcasses, and eggs (other than hatching 

eggs) of poultry, game birds, or other 

birds from regions of the Czech 

Republic and Sweden presents a low 

risk of introducing HPAI H5N1 into the 

United States. 

We are making the evaluation 

available for public comment. We will 

consider all comments that we receive 

on or before the date listed under the 

heading DATES at the beginning of this 

notice. 

If, after the close of the comment 

period, APHIS can identify no 

additional risk factors that would 

indicate that domestic poultry in 

regions of the Czech Republic or 

Sweden continue to be affected with 

HPAI H5N1, we will remove from the 

list of regions affected by HPAI H5N1 

those regions of the Czech Republic and 

Sweden that are currently on the list. 

The evaluation may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

a link to Regulations.gov and 

information on the location and hours of 

the reading room). You may request 

paper copies of the evaluation by calling 

or writing to the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please 

refer to the title of the evaluation when 

requesting copies. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 31st day 

of March 2010. 

Gregory Parham 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–7734 Filed 4–5–10; 12:01 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–S 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Farm Service Agency 

Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) to 

Invite Applications for the American 

Indian and Alaska Native Credit 

Outreach Initiative 

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency 

(FSA) is requesting applications for 

competitive cooperative agreement 

funds for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 for the 

credit outreach initiative targeted to 

American Indian and Alaska Native 

farmers, ranchers, and youth residing 

primarily on Indian reservations within 

the contiguous United States and in 

Alaska. There is $400,000 available in 

funding for the remainder of FY 2010. 

FSA will make one award to a 

successful applicant through a 

cooperative agreement. FSA requests 

proposals from eligible nonprofit 

organizations, land-grant institutions, 

and federally-recognized Indian tribal 

governments interested in a 

competitively-awarded cooperative 

agreement to create and implement a 

mechanism that will provide credit 

outreach and promotion, pre-loan 

education, and one-on-one loan 

application preparation assistance to 

American Indian and Alaska Native 

farmers, ranchers, and youth. Successful 

proposals may include other innovative 

services intended to enhance 

participation by American Indians and 

Alaska Natives in specific FSA 

Agricultural Credit Programs and other 

relevant credit programs available to 

American Indian and Alaska Native 

producers. 

DATES: Applications must be completed 

and submitted to the Agency no later 

than 5 p.m. eastern time May 6, 2010. 

Late applications will not be accepted 

and will be returned to the applicant. 

Applicants must ensure that the service 

used to deliver the application can do 

so by the deadline. Due to security 

concerns, packages sent to the Agency 

by mail have been delayed several days 

or even weeks. 

ADDRESSES: Submit applications and 

other required materials by mail to: 

Mark Palmer, Director, Office of 

External Affairs, FSA, United States 

Department of Agriculture (USDA), 

STOP 0505, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

0511. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

FSA Office of External Affairs or Office 

of Outreach: Mark Palmer, (202) 720– 

9933; email: 

mark.palmer@wdc.usda.gov. 

For USDA Office of Tribal Relations: 

Janie Hipp, (202) 205–2249; e-mail: 

janie.hipp@osec.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of Solicitation 

This NOFA is being re-released 

because there was insufficient response 

to the NOFA published on August 27, 

2009 (74 FR 43665–43669). This NOFA 

has been adjusted to reflect 

improvements in the American Indian 

Credit Outreach Initiative Program that 

ensures it better serves American Indian 

and Alaska Native producers. Most 

notable among these improvements is 

the fact that FSA will now administer 

the program with advice from USDA 

Office of Tribal Relations. 

This solicitation is issued under 7 

U.S.C. 2204b (b)(4), which authorizes 

the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into 

cooperative agreements to improve the 

coordination and effectiveness of 

Federal programs affecting rural areas. 

The principal objective of this 

cooperative agreement is to continue a 

national outreach program that enables 

American Indian and Alaska Native 

farmers, ranchers, and youth located 

either on Indian reservations or in other 

regions that have a significant presence 

of American Indian and Alaska Native 

farmers, ranchers, and youth in the 

contiguous United States and Alaska to 

understand and have access to the 

various FSA Agriculture Credit 

Programs. 

The USDA Office of Tribal Relations 

will provide ongoing and concrete 

assistance and advice in program 

planning, delivery, and coordination; 

this will partially satisfy the ‘‘significant 

agency participation’’ requirement for 

the cooperative agreement. All program 

outcomes will be reported to FSA and 

the USDA Office of Tribal Relations. 

Proposal Requirements 

All proposed approaches must 

include a plan for how the project will 

have the following capabilities in place 

within three months after acceptance of 

award: 

1. The demonstrated ability to deliver 

these credit outreach services. This 

should include demonstrated technical 

expertise, program familiarity, and 

technological capability, including the 

ability to use relevant software programs 

used for preparing farm business plans. 

This should also include demonstrated 

cultural sensitivity and a thorough 

understanding of the population 

targeted by the applicant, including a 

firm grasp of the unique credit 

challenges faced by the targeted 

population. 

2. A strategic plan with concrete, 

actionable goals. 

3. A tracking system with which to 

first, document the steps taken by the 

cooperator to realize these goals, and 

second, gauge the efficacy and impact of 

the program. Thus, the cooperator 

should be able to document, track, and 

report on their own internal activities, 

as well as their external results in the 

targeted population. 


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