Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 45 / Wednesday, March 7, 2012 / Notices 13531 

mechanical or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. Comments may 

be sent to Michele L. Brooks, Director, 

Program Development and Regulatory 

Analysis, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, STOP 1522, 

1400 Independence Ave. SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–1522. Fax: (202) 

720–8435. 

Title: Advance of Loan Funds and 

Budgetary Control and Other Related 

Burdens. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0015. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: This collection is necessary 

to comply with the applicable 

provisions of the RUS loan contract. 

Borrowers submit requisitions to RUS 

for funds for project costs incurred. 

Insured loan funds will be advanced 

only for projects which are included in 

the RUS approved borrower’s 

construction workplan or approved 

amendment and in an approved loan, as 

amended. The process of loan advances 

establishes the beginning of the audit 

trail of the use of loan funds which is 

required for subsequent RUS 

compliance audits. 

The RUS Form 595 is used as a 

requisition for advances of funds. The 

form helps to assure that loan funds are 

advanced only for the budget purposes 

and amount approved by RUS. 

According to the applicable provisions 

of the RUS loan contract, borrowers 

must certify with each request for funds 

to be approved for advance, which such 

funds are for projects previously 

approved. 

When a prospective borrower requests 

and is granted an RUS loan, a loan 

contract is established between the 

Federal government, acting through the 

RUS Administrator, and the borrower. 

At the time this contract is entered into, 

the borrower must provide RUS with a 

list of projects for which loan funds will 

be spent, along with an itemized list of 

the estimated costs of these projects. 

Thus, the borrower receives a loan 

based upon estimated cost figures. 

RUS Form 219, Inventory of Work 

Orders, is one of the documents the 

borrower submits to RUS to support 

actual expenditures and an advance of 

loan funds. The form also serves as a 

connecting link and provides an audit 

trail that originates with the advance of 

funds and terminates with evidence 

supporting the propriety of 

expenditures for construction or 

retirement projects. 

Estimate of Burden: The Public 

reporting burden for this collection of 

information is estimated to average 1.57 

hours per response. 

Respondents: Not-for-profit 

institutions; Business or other for profit. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

650. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 15.42. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 15,745. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from MaryPat Daskal, 

Program Development and Regulatory 

Analysis, at (202) 720–7853. 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 1, 2012. 

James R. Newby, 

Chief of Staff, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5490 Filed 3–6–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit 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: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Title: Permits for Incidental Taking of 

Endangered or Threatened Species. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0230. 

Form Number(s): NA. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

(extension of a current information 

collection). 

Number of Respondents: 13. 

Average Hours per Response: Permit 

applications, 80 hours; annual reports, 8 

hours; permit transfers, 40 hours. 

Burden Hours: 472. 

Needs and Uses: This request is for an 

extension of a currently approved 

information collection. 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 

(ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq.) imposed 

prohibitions against the taking of 

endangered species. In 1982, Congress 

revised the ESA to allow permits 

authorizing the taking of endangered 

species incidental to otherwise lawful 

activities. The corresponding 

regulations (50 CFR 222.222) 

established procedures for persons to 

apply for such a permit. In addition, the 

regulations set forth specific reporting 

requirements for such permit holders. 

The regulations contain three sets of 

information collections: (l) Applications 

for incidental take permits, (2) 

applications for certificates of inclusion, 

and (3) reporting requirements for 

permits issued. Certificates of inclusion 

are only required if a general permit is 

issued to a representative of a group of 

potential permit applicants, rather than 

requiring each entity to apply for and 

receive a permit. 

The required information is used to 

evaluate the impacts of the proposed 

activity on endangered species, to make 

the determinations required by the ESA 

prior to issuing a permit, and to 

establish appropriate permit conditions. 

When a species is listed as threatened, 

section 4(d) of the ESA requires the 

Secretary to issue whatever regulations 

are deemed necessary or advisable to 

provide for conservation of the species. 

In many cases those regulations reflect 

blanket application of the section 9 take 

prohibition. However, the National 

Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 

recognizes certain exceptions to that 

prohibition, including habitat 

restoration actions taken in accord with 

approved state watershed action plans. 

While watershed plans are prepared for 

other purposes in coordination with or 

fulfillment of various state programs, a 

watershed group wishing to take 

advantage of the exception for 

restoration activities (rather than 

obtaining a section 10 permit) would 

have to submit the plan for NMFS 

review. 

Affected Public: Not-for-profit 

institutions; state, local or tribal 

government. 

Frequency: Annually and on occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

OMB Desk Officer: 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Copies of the above information 

collection proposal can be obtained by 

calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, 

Departmental Paperwork Clearance 

Officer, (202) 482–0336, Department of 

Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 

JJessup@doc.gov). 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Dated: March 1, 2012. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5457 Filed 3–6–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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