Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2012 / Notices 2267 

DATES: We will consider comments that 

we receive by March 19, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit 

comments on this notice by any of the 

following methods: 

• Internet: Go to http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail, hand deliver, or courier to 

Dexter Thomas, GIPSA, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Room 

2530–S, Washington, DC 20250–3604. 

• Fax to (202) 690–2173. 

Instructions: All comments should be 

identified as ‘‘High Quality Specialty 

Grain Exported in Containers 

Information Collection,’’ and should 

reference to the date and page number 

of this issue of the Federal Register. The 

information collection package, public 

comments, and other documents 

relating to this action will be available 

for public inspection in the above office 

during regular business hours (7 CFR 

1.27(b)). Please call GIPSA’s 

Management and Budget Services at 

(202) 720–7486 to arrange a viewing of 

these documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information regarding the collection of 

information activities and the use of the 

information, contact Candace Hildreth 

at (202) 720–0203. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Congress 

enacted The United States Grain 

Standards Act (USGSA) (7 U.S.C. 71– 

87k) to facilitate the marketing of grain 

in interstate and foreign commerce. The 

USGSA, with few exceptions, requires 

that all grain shipped from the United 

States must be officially inspected and 

officially weighed. The USGSA 

authorizes the Department of 

Agriculture to waive the mandatory 

inspection and weighing requirements 

of the USGSA in circumstances when 

the objectives of the USGSA would not 

be impaired. 

The Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) 

amended section 7 CFR 800.18 of the 

regulations to waive the mandatory 

inspection and weighing requirements 

of the USGSA for high quality specialty 

grain exported in containers. GIPSA 

established this waiver to facilitate the 

marketing of high quality specialty grain 

exported in containers. GIPSA 

determined that this action was 

consistent with the objectives of the 

USGSA and would promote the 

continuing development of the high 

quality specialty grain export market. 

To ensure that exporters of high 

quality specialty grain complied with 

this waiver, GIPSA required exporters to 

maintain records generated during the 

normal course of business that pertain 

to these shipments and make these 

documents available to GIPSA upon 

request for review or copying purposes 

(76 FR 45397). These records shall be 

maintained for a period of 3 years. This 

information collection requirement is 

essential to ensure that exporters who 

ship high quality specialty grain in 

containers comply with the waiver 

provisions. GIPSA does not require 

exporters of high quality specialty grain 

to complete and submit new Federal 

government record(s), form(s), or 

report(s). 

Title: Export Inspection and Weighing 

Waiver for High Quality Specialty Grain 

Transported in Containers. 

OMB Number: 0580–0022. 

Expiration Date of Approval: May 31, 

2012. 

Type of Request: Extension and 

revision of a currently approved 

information collection. 

Abstract: GIPSA amended the 

regulations under the USGSA to waive 

the mandatory inspection and weighing 

requirements for high quality specialty 

grain exported in containers. GIPSA 

established this waiver to facilitate the 

marketing of high quality specialty grain 

exported in containers. To ensure 

compliance with this wavier, GIPSA 

required these exporters to maintain 

records generated during their normal 

course of business that pertain to these 

shipments and make these documents 

available to GIPSA upon request, for 

review and copying purposes. 

Grain Contracts 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

and recordkeeping burden for 

maintaining contract information 

averages 6.0 hours per exporter. 

Respondents: Exporters of high 

quality specialty grain in containers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

80. 

Estimated Number of Respondents 

per Request: 1. 

Estimated Total Burden on 

Respondents: 480 Hours. 

Estimated Total Cost: $2,640. 

Comments: Comments are invited on: 

(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 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 forms of information 

technology. 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. 

J. Dudley Butler, 

Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and 

Stockyards Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2012–711 Filed 1–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–KD–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 

Notice of Intent To Extend 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 and 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations at (5 CFR part 1320), 

this notice announces the National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) 

intention to request approval for an 

extension of the currently approved 

information collection for the NIFA 

proposal review process. 

DATES: Written comments on this notice 

must be received by March 19, 2012, 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: gmendez@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: 

Gidel Mendez, eGovernment Program 

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: NIFA Proposal Review Process. 

OMB Number: 0524–0041. 

Expiration Date of Current Approval: 

05/31/2012. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection for three years. 

Abstract: The National Institute of 

Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is 

responsible for performing a review of 

proposals submitted to NIFA 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
2268 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2012 / Notices 

competitive award programs in 

accordance with section 103(a) of the 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Education Reform Act of 1998, 7 U.S.C. 

7613(a). Reviews are undertaken to 

ensure that projects supported by NIFA 

are of high quality, and are consistent 

with the goals and requirements of the 

funding program. 

Proposals submitted to NIFA undergo 

a programmatic evaluation to determine 

worthiness of Federal support. The 

evaluations consist of a peer panel 

review and may also entail an 

assessment by Federal employees and 

electronically submitted (ad-hoc) 

reviews in the Peer Review System. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

information collected from the 

evaluations is used to support NIFA 

grant programs. NIFA uses the results of 

the proposal evaluation to determine 

whether a proposal should be declined 

or recommended for award. When NIFA 

has rendered a decision, copies of 

reviews, excluding the names of the 

reviewers, and summaries of review 

panel deliberations, if any, are provided 

to the submitting Project Director. 

Given the highly technical nature of 

many of these proposals, the quality of 

the peer review greatly depends on the 

appropriate matching of the subject 

matter of the proposal with the 

technical expertise of the potential 

reviewer. In order to obtain this 

information, an electronic questionnaire 

is used to collect information about 

potential panel and ad-hoc reviewers. If 

the reviewer is already in our database, 

the questionnaire asks potential 

reviewers to update their basic 

biographical information including 

address, contact information, 

professional expertise, and their 

availability to review for NIFA in the 

future. If the reviewer is new they are 

prompted to complete the 

questionnaire. This information has 

been invaluable in the NIFA review 

process, which has been recognized by 

the grantee and grantor community for 

its quality. 

The applications and associated 

materials made available to reviewers, 

as well as the discussions that take 

place during panel review meetings are 

strictly confidential and are not to be 

disclosed to or discussed with anyone 

who has not been officially designated 

to participate in the review process. 

While each panelist certifies at the time 

of preparing a review they do not have 

a conflict-of-interest with a particular 

application and will maintain its 

confidentiality in the Peer Review 

System, a certification of their intent at 

the time of the panel review 

proceedings is collected to emphasize 

and reinforce confidentiality not only of 

applications and reviews but also panel 

discussions. On the Conflict-of-Interest 

and Confidentiality Certification Form, 

the panelist affirms they understand the 

conflict-of-interest guidelines and will 

not be involved in the review of the 

application(s) where a conflict exists. 

The panelist also affirms their intent to 

maintain the confidentiality of the panel 

process and not disclose to another 

individual any information related to 

the peer review or use any information 

for personal benefit. 

Estimate of Burden: NIFA estimates 

that anywhere from one hour to twenty 

hours may be required to review a 

proposal. It is estimated that 

approximately five hours are required to 

review an average proposal. Each 

proposal receives an average of four 

reviews, accounting for an annual 

burden of 20 hours. NIFA estimates it 

receives 4,600 competitive applications 

each year. The total annual burden on 

reviewers is 92,000 hours. NIFA 

estimates that the potential reviewer 

questionnaire takes an estimated 10 

minutes to complete. The database 

consists of approximately 50,000 

reviewers. The total annual burden of 

questionnaire is 8,330 hours. NIFA 

estimates that the potential Conflict-ofInterest and Confidentiality Certification 

Form takes an estimated 10 minutes to 

complete. The agency has 

approximately 1,000 panelists each 

year. The total annual burden of the 

certification form is 167 hours. The total 

annual burden of the component of the 

entire review process is 100,497 hours. 

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; (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. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

to OMB for approval. All comments will 

become a matter of public record. 

Done in Washington, DC this 9th day of 

January 2012. 

Catherine E. Woteki, 

Under Secretary, Research, Education, and 

Economics. 

[FR Doc. 2012–629 Filed 1–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Dairyland Power Cooperative: CapX 

2020 Hampton-Rochester-La Crosse 

Transmission Line Project 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to extend public 

comment period for a Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is 

extending the public comment period 

for the Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) to meet its 

responsibilities under the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 

7 CFR 1794 related to providing 

financial assistance to Dairyland Power 

Cooperative (Dairyland) for its share in 

the construction of a proposed 345- 

kilovolt (kV) transmission line and 

associated infrastructure between 

Hampton, Minnesota and the La Crosse 

area in Wisconsin (the proposed 

project). Dairyland is participating in 

the proposed project with a number of 

other utilities (Applicants). 

The purpose of the proposed project 

is to: (1) Improve community reliability 

of the transmission system in Rochester, 

Winona, La Crosse, and the surrounding 

areas, which include areas served by 

Dairyland; (2) improve the regional 

reliability of the transmission system; 

and (3) increase generation outlet 

capacity. 

DATES: Written comments on this Draft 

EIS will be accepted 30 days following 

the publication of this notice in the 

Federal Register. Written comments 

should be sent to Stephanie A. Strength, 

see the Address portion of this notice. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Draft EIS may 

be viewed online at the following Web 

site: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP–

CapX2020–Hampton-RochesterLaCrosse.html and at the following 

repositories: 

Alma Public Library, 312 North Main 

Street Alma, WI 54610, Phone: 608– 

685–3823. 

Arcadia Public Library, 406 E Main 

Street Arcadia, WI 54612, Phone: 

608–323–7505. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES