Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 3, 2012 / Notices 20005 

Total Annual Responses: 212. 

Reporting Time per Response: 3 

Hours. 

Estimated Annual Reporting Burden 

Hours: 636. 

Dated: March 26, 2012. 

Audrey Rowe, 

Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7991 Filed 4–2–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 

Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders 

Regarding the Proposed Crop 

Protection Competitive Grants 

Program 

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

request for stakeholder input. 

SUMMARY: The President’s budget 

proposal for FY 2013 consolidates six 

funding lines addressing pest 

management and integrated pest 

management (IPM) issues into a single 

budgetary line, called the Crop 

Protection Program (CPP). The six 

budgetary lines being consolidated are 

Expert Integrated Pest Management 

Decision Support System, IPM and 

Biological Control, Minor Crop Pest 

Management/IR–4, Pest Management 

Alternatives, Smith-Lever 3(d) Pest 

Management, and Regional Pest 

Management Centers. The new program 

is described broadly to encompass all of 

the functions of the existing programs. 

A listening session was previously 

announced in the Federal Register on 

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 to be held 

on March 29 to guide future Request for 

Applications (RFAs) of the Extension of 

IPM Coordination and Support Program 

(EIPM–CS), one of the programs affected 

by this realignment. That session has 

been redefined to collect stakeholder 

input on the broader Crop Protection 

topic. Additional opportunities for 

comment are also being scheduled. By 

this notice, NIFA is designated to act on 

behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture in 

soliciting public comment from 

interesting persons regarding the future 

design and implementation of this 

proposed program. 

DATES: Four public meetings will be 

held to collect stakeholder input. The 

first of those meetings will be on 

Thursday, March 29, 2012 from 2 p.m. 

to 5 p.m. Central time. Successive 

meetings will be held on Wednesday, 

April 11, 2012 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Eastern time; Monday, April 16, 2012 

from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time; and 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 from 1 p.m. to 5 

p.m. Eastern time. All comments not 

otherwise presented or submitted for the 

record at one of the meetings must be 

submitted by close of business 

Thursday, May 31, 2012, to assure 

consideration in the development of the 

proposed FY 2013 Crop Protection RFA. 

ADDRESSES: The March 29, 2012 

meeting will be held in the Nashville 

Meeting Room, Memphis Marriot 

Downtown Hotel, 250 North Main 

Street, Memphis, Tennessee 38103, 

phone—888–557–8740 (toll-free in 

USA); 901–527–7300 (outside USA). 

The April 11 and May 1, 2012 meetings 

will be held by conference call (audio) 

and internet (visual only). Connection 

details for those meetings will be posted 

on the National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture Web site 

(www.nifa.usda.gov) or by contacting 

the individual listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION (below). The April 16, 2012 

meeting will be held in room 1410A–D, 

Waterfront Centre Building, National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture, 

United States Department of 

Agriculture, 800 9th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20024. Attendees will 

need to provide photo identification to 

be admitted in the building. Please 

allow sufficient time to go through 

security. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by NIFA–2012–0006, by any of the 

following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Email: CropProtection@nifa.usda.gov. 

Include NIFA–2012–0006 in the subject 

line of the message. 

Fax: (202) 401–1782. 

Mail: Paper, disk or CD–ROM 

submissions should be submitted to 

Crop Protection comments; Division of 

Plant Protection, Institute of Food 

Production and Sustainability, National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture; STOP 2220, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–2220. 

Hand Delivery/Courier: Crop 

Protection; Division of Plant Protection, 

Institute of Food Production and 

Sustainability, National Institute of 

Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture; Room 3105, Waterfront 

Centre, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, 

DC 20024. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and the 

identifier NIFA–2012–0006. All 

comments received will be posted to 

http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Elizabeth Ley, (202) 401–6195 (phone), 

(202) 401–1782 (fax), or 

CropProtection@nifa.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Additional Meeting and Comment 

Procedures 

Because of the diversity of subjects, 

and to aid participants in scheduling 

their attendance, the following schedule 

is anticipated for the March 29, 2012, 

meeting: 

2–2:20 p.m. Introduction to the 

proposed CPP. 

2:20–5 p.m. Stakeholder input on 

general administration of the proposed 

CPP, including: solicitation of 

proposals, types of projects and awards, 

length of awards, evaluation criteria, 

and protocols to ensure the widest 

program participation, allocation of 

funds including protocols to solicit and 

consider stakeholder input, 

determination of priority areas, and 

determination of activities to be 

supported. 

5 p.m. Adjourn. 

Persons wishing to present oral 

comments at the March 29, 2012, 

meeting are requested to pre-register by 

contacting Elizabeth Ley, (202) 401– 

6195 (phone), by fax at (202) 401–1782, 

or by email to 

CropProtection@nifa.usda.gov. 

Participants may reserve one 5-minute 

comment period. More time may be 

available, depending on the number of 

people wishing to make a presentation. 

Reservations for oral comments will be 

confirmed on a first-come, first-served 

basis. All other attendees may register at 

the meeting. 

Written comments may also be 

submitted for the record at the meeting. 

All comments not presented or 

submitted for the record at the meeting 

must be submitted by close of business 

Thursday, May 31, 2012, to be 

considered in the development of the 

proposed FY 2013 CPP. All comments 

and the official transcript of the 

meeting, when they become available, 

may be reviewed on the NIFA Web page 

for six months. Participants who require 

a sign language interpreter or other 

special accommodations should contact 

Ms. Ley as directed above. 

Background and Purpose 

Current grant programs associated 

with this consolidation and their 

current funding authorities include 

Expert Integrated Pest Management 

Decision Support program (EIPMDSS)— 

(7 U.S.C. 450i Section (c)(1)(B)); Minor 

Crop Pest Management Program (IR– 

4)—(Section 2(c)(1)(B) of the 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

20006 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 3, 2012 / Notices 

Competitive, Special and Facilities 

Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i)); Pest 

Management Alternatives Program 

(PMAP)—(Section 2(c)(1)(A) of the 

Competitive, Special, and Facilities 

Research Grant Act, (Pub. L. No. 89– 

106), as amended (7 U.S.C. 

450i(c)(1)(A)); Regional IPM 

Competitive Grants Program (RIPM)— 

(Section 2(c)(1)(B) of the Competitive, 

Special, and Facilities Research Grant 

Act (Pub. L. No. 89–106, as amended (7 

U.S.C. 450i(c)(1)(B)) and Section 3(d) of 

the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)); 

Extension Integrated Pest Management 

Coordination and Support (EIPM–CS)— 

(Section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 

U.S.C. 343(d) as amended by Section 

7403 of the FCEA) (Pub. L. 110–246), 

and the Regional IPM Centers—(Section 

406 of the Agricultural Research, 

Extension, and Education Reform Act of 

1998 (AREERA) (7 U.S.C. 7626), as 

reauthorized by Section 7306 of the 

FCEA of 2008) (Pub. L. 110–246)). The 

Crop Protection Program, as proposed, 

would be authorized under Section 406 

of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

and Education Reform Act of 1998 

(AREERA) (7 U.S.C. 7626), as 

reauthorized by Section 7306 of the 

FCEA) (Pub. L. 110–246). This funding 

authority will allow eligibility for fouryear degree granting institutions and 

provide for the recovery of indirect 

costs. The intent of the listening 

sessions is to gather stakeholder input 

on program focus, function and design. 

Additional detail can be found in the 

explanatory notes to the President’s 

budget, found at http:// 

www.obpa.usda.gov/ 

17nifa2013notes.pdf. USDA–NIFA 

suggests the following questions be 

addressed in drafting comments on the 

program. Prior to the listening session, 

National Program Leaders presented 

stakeholders with the following 

questions: 

1. What conceptual elements are 

needed in the new CPP to address 

research education and extension in 

pest management to ensure global food 

security and other major societal 

challenges are addressed? 

2. Is regionalization a sound concept 

for coordination of IPM programs? Why 

or why not? 

3. What administrative functions are 

needed to adequately manage elements 

of the new program? 

4. Should the program be delivered 

through a state, regional, or national 

structure or should there be a blend of 

elements to address regional and 

national interests? 

5. How should resources be 

apportioned across the functional areas 

and across regions if regionalization is 

an element of the program? 

6. If regional program delivery is a 

part of the concept, what critical 

benefits does this approach provide? 

7. If a regional structure is deployed, 

what should it look like? 

8. Should the CPP be limited to shortterm projects or should longer-term 

ongoing programs also be supported? 

9. What size should the awards be for 

research, education or extension? What 

scope should projects encompass? 

10. What portion of the Crop 

Protection Program budget should be 

dedicated to each of the five IPM 

program areas: (a) Plant Protection 

Tactics and Tools; (b) Diversified IPM 

Systems; (c) Enhancing Agricultural 

Biosecurity; (d) IPM for a Sustainable 

Society; and (e) Development of the 

Next Generation of IPM Scientists. 

The March, April and May 2012, 

Listening Sessions are scheduled to 

assist NIFA leadership in more fully 

addressing stakeholder needs and 

assuring that the CPP has influence on 

the discovery of new IPM knowledge, 

IPM principles are adopted, and end 

users are best served. 

Implementation Plans 

NIFA plans to consider stakeholder 

input received from these public 

meetings as well as other written 

comments in developing the FY 2013 

program guidelines, dependent on 

Congressional appropriation. NIFA 

anticipates releasing the proposed FY 

2013 RFA(s) by winter 2012–13. 

Dated: Done at Washington, DC, this 23rd 

day of March 2012. 

Chavonda Jacobs-Young, 

Acting Director, National Institute of Food 

and Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7987 Filed 4–2–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–22–P 

ARCTIC RESEARCH COMMISSION 

Reports and Updates on Programs and 

Research Projects 

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. 

Arctic Research Commission will hold 

its 97th meeting in Montreal, Quebec, 

Canada, on April 28, 2012. The business 

session, open to the public, will 

convene at 8:30 a.m. 

The Agenda items include: 

(1) Call to order and approval of the 

agenda. 

(2) Approval of the minutes from the 

96th meeting. 

(3) Commissioners and staff reports. 

(4) Discussion and presentations 

concerning Arctic research activities. 

The focus of the meeting will be 

reports and updates on programs and 

research projects affecting the Arctic. 

If you plan to attend this meeting, 

please notify us via the contact 

information below. Any person 

planning to attend who requires special 

accessibility features and/or auxiliary 

aids, such as sign language interpreters, 

must inform the Commission of those 

needs in advance of the meeting. 

Contact person for further 

information: John Farrell, Executive 

Director, U.S. Arctic Research 

Commission, 703–525–0111 or TDD 

703–306–0090. 

John Farrell, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7826 Filed 4–2–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Economic Development Administration 

Proposed Information Collection; 

Comment Request; Requirements for 

Approved Construction Investments 

AGENCY: Economic Development 

Administration (EDA), Department of 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Commerce, as part of its continuing 

effort to reduce paperwork and 

respondent burden, invites the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

take this opportunity to comment on 

proposed and/or continuing information 

collections, as required by the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, as 

amended. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

submitted on or before June 4, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments 

to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental 

Paperwork Clearance Officer, 

Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 

14th Street and Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the 

Internet at JJessup@doc.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Requests for additional information or 

copies of the information collection 

instrument and instructions should be 

directed to John Cobb, Program Analyst, 

Office of Regional Affairs, Room 7009, 

Economic Development Administration, 

Washington, DC 20230, telephone (202) 

482–0951, facsimile (202) 482–2838 (or 

via the Internet at John.f.cobb@eda.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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