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

75606 

Vol. 77, No. 246 

Friday, December 21, 2012 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

December 18, 2012. 

The Department of Agriculture has 

submitted the following information 

collection requirement(s) to OMB for 

review and clearance under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13. Comments 

regarding (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 burden including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; (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 should be addressed to: Desk 

Officer for Agriculture, Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), 

OIRA_Submission@OMB.EOP.GOV or 

fax (202) 395–5806 and to Departmental 

Clearance Office, USDA, OCIO, Mail 

Stop 7602, Washington, DC 20250– 

7602. Comments regarding these 

information collections are best assured 

of having their full effect if received 

within 30 days of this notification. 

Copies of the submission(s) may be 

obtained by calling (202) 720–8958. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless the collection of information 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number and the agency informs 

potential persons who are to respond to 

the collection of information that such 

persons are not required to respond to 

the collection of information unless it 

displays a currently valid OMB control 

number. 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Administration 

Title: USDA/1994 Tribal Scholars 

Program. 

OMB Control Number: 0503–0016. 

Summary of Collection: The USDA/ 

1994 Tribal Scholars Program, within 

the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Administration, Office of Advocacy and 

Outreach, is an annual human capital 

initiative supporting Executive Order 

13592—Improving American Indian and 

Alaska Native Educational 

Opportunities and Strengthening Tribal 

Colleges and Universities. The USDA/ 

1994 Tribal Scholars Program is to assist 

USDA Agencies to meet critical human 

capital needs in rural, Tribal areas 

through qualified American Indian or 

Alaska Native students hired utilizing 

Indian Preference. This program offers a 

combination of paid work experience 

with the USDA sponsoring agency 

through the USDA Pathways Internship 

Program guidelines and the payment of 

a student’s tuition, fees, and books. 

USDA Tribal Scholarship recipients are 

required to study in the food, and 

agricultural, and related sciences, as 

defined by the National Agricultural 

Research, Extension, and Teaching 

Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(8)). 

Need and Use of the Information: 

Information will be collected to 

determine the eligibility of applicants to 

the USDA Tribal Scholars Program. 

Each applicant to the program will be 

required to apply to an announced 

vacancy announcement through the 

USDA Pathways Internship Program 

and submit an application with required 

documentation. This will include: (1) A 

resume or OF–612 form; (2) Proof of 

acceptance or enrollment in school via 

transcript (mandatory for current 

students and recent graduates), or a 

letter of acceptance, or proof of 

registration, or letter from school official 

(on official letterhead); (3) Standing 

Register/Certificate of Eligibility; and (4) 

OF–306 Declaration for Federal 

Employment. 

The collected information is used 

only to identify students for the USDA 

1994 Tribal Scholarship Award. 

Description of Respondents: 

Individuals or households. 

Number of Respondents: 1,440. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

Annually. 

Total Burden Hours: 5,040. 

Ruth Brown, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30776 Filed 12–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3412–88–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Document No. AMS–ST–12–0054] 

Renewal of the Plant Variety Protection 

Board Charter 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA) (5 U.S.C. App.), this notice 

announces that the Secretary of 

Agriculture intends to renew the Plant 

Variety Protection Board (PVP Board) 

Charter. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Zankowski, USDA, Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS), 1400 

Independence Ave. SW.; Rm. 4512- 

South Bldg., Mail Stop 0274; 

Washington, DC 20250–0274 or by 

phone at (202) 720–1128 or by email: 

Paul.Zankowski@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Plant 

Variety Protection Act (PVPA) (7 U.S.C. 

2321 et seq.) provides legal protection in 

the form of intellectual property rights 

to developers of new varieties of plants, 

which are reproduced sexually by seed 

or are tuber-propagated. A Certificate of 

Plant Variety Protection is awarded to 

an owner of a crop variety after an 

examination shows that it is new, 

distinct from other varieties, and 

genetically uniform and stable through 

successive generations. The term of 

protection is 20 years for most crops and 

25 years for trees, shrubs, and vines. 

The PVPA also provides for a 

statutory Board (7 U.S.C. 2327) to be 

appointed by the Secretary of 

Agriculture. The duties of the Board are 

to: (1) Advise the Secretary concerning 

the adoption of rules and regulations to 

facilitate the proper administration of 

the Act; (2) provide advisory counsel to 

the Secretary on appeals concerning 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with 

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 246 / Friday, December 21, 2012 / Notices 75607 

decisions on applications by the PVP 

Office and on requests for emergency 

public-interest compulsory licenses; and 

(3) advise the Secretary on any other 

matters under the Regulations and Rules 

of Practice and on all questions under 

Section 44 of the Act, ‘‘Public Interest 

in Wide Usage’’ (7 U.S.C. 2404). 

Renewing the PVP Board Charter is 

necessary and in the public interest. 

The PVPA provides that ‘‘the Board 

shall consist of individuals who are 

experts in various areas of varietal 

development covered by this Act.’’ The 

Board membership ‘‘shall include 

farmer representation and shall be 

drawn approximately equally from the 

private or seed industry sector and from 

the sector of government or the public.’’ 

The Board consists of 14 members, each 

of whom is appointed for a 2-year 

period, with no member appointed for 

more than three 2-year periods. 

Nominations are made by farmers’ 

associations, trade associations in the 

seed industry, professional associations 

representing expertise in seed 

technology, plant breeding, and variety 

development, public and private 

research and development institutions 

(13 members) and the USDA (one 

member). 

Equal opportunity practices, in 

agreement with USDA 

nondiscrimination policies, will be 

followed in all membership 

appointments to the Board. To ensure 

that the suggestions of the Board have 

taken into account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include, to the extent 

practicable, individuals with 

demonstrated ability to represent 

minorities, women, and persons with 

disabilities. 

The Charter for the PVP Board will be 

available on the Web site at: http:// 

www.ams.usda.gov/PVPO or may be 

requested by contacting the individual 

identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 

USDA prohibits discrimination in all 

its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, gender, 

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, 

sexual orientation, and marital or family 

status. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means for 

communication of program information 

(Braille, large print, or audiotape.) 

should contact USDA’s Target Center at 

202–720–2600 (voice and TTY). 

To file a written complaint of 

discrimination, write USDA, Office of 

the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call 

202–720–5964 (voice and TTY). USDA 

is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

Dated: December 17, 2012. 

David Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–30745 Filed 12–18–12; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Document No. AMS–ST–12–0056] 

Plant Variety Protection Board; 

Soliciting Nominations 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Plant Variety Protection 

Office (PVPO) is seeking candidates for 

the Plant Variety Protection Board. We 

are asking for the submission of 

nomination packages (an Application 

for Committee Membership (AD–755) 

and resume) by January 7, 2013. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Zankowski, USDA, Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS), Plant Variety 

Protection Office; 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Room 3543; Washington, 

DC 20250 or by phone at (202) 720–5231 

or by email: 

Paul.Zankowski@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Plant 

Variety Protection Act (PVPA) (7 U.S.C. 

2321 et seq.) provides legal protection in 

the form of intellectual property rights 

to developers of new varieties of plants, 

which are reproduced sexually by seed 

or are tuber-propagated. A Certificate of 

Plant Variety Protection is awarded to 

an owner of a crop variety after an 

examination shows that it is new, 

distinct from other varieties, and 

genetically uniform and stable through 

successive generations. The term of 

protection is 20 years for most crops and 

25 years for trees, shrubs, and vines. 

The PVPA also provides for a 

statutory Board to be appointed by the 

Secretary of Agriculture (7 U.S.C. 2327). 

The duties of the Board are to: (1) 

Advise the Secretary concerning the 

adoption of rules and regulations to 

facilitate the proper administration of 

the PVPA; (2) provide advisory counsel 

to the Secretary on all appeals from the 

Examiner; and (3) advise the Secretary 

on any other matters under the 

Regulations and Rules of Practice and 

on all questions under Section 44 of the 

PVPA, ‘‘Public Interest in Wide Usage’’ 

(7 U.S.C. 2404). Reestablishing the PVP 

Board is necessary and in the public 

interest. 

The PVPA provides that ‘‘The Board 

shall consist of individuals who are 

experts in various areas of varietal 

development covered by this Act.’’ (7 

U.S.C. 2327(a)). The Board membership 

‘‘shall include farmer representation 

and shall be drawn approximately 

equally from the private or seed 

industry sector and from the sector of 

government or the public.’’ (7 U.S.C. 

2327(a)). 

The PVP Board consists of 14 

members, each of whom is appointed 

for a 2-year period, with no member 

appointed for more than three 2-year 

periods. The term of the present Board 

will expire in December 2012. The first 

meeting of the new Board will most 

likely be held in the spring/summer of 

2013. In order to provide the Secretary 

of Agriculture with a broad choice from 

a diverse group of applicants, the PVPO 

is asking for nominated members to 

serve on the Board for 2 years from the 

date of appointment. PVP Board 

members will serve without 

compensation, except for standard 

government reimbursable expenses. 

To ensure that the recommendations 

of the Board take into account the needs 

of the diverse groups served by the 

USDA (from research and production to 

trade, use, and consumption). The 

USDA is responsible for vetting every 

candidate who applies for membership 

to a USDA Research and Promotion 

Board and/or Federal Advisory 

Committee. Also, please note that 

federally registered lobbyists are 

prohibited from serving on advisory 

committees governed by the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (FACA). 

In order to be appointed by the 

Secretary of Agriculture to serve on a 

board or committee, each applicant 

must clear all stages of the vetting 

process. Vetting is a comprehensive 

personal and professional background 

investigation that specifically includes, 

but is not limited to, an analysis of each 

candidate’s criminal history, bankruptcy 

filings, liens and judgments, affiliations 

and associations, lobbyist status, and 

prior involvement with USDA. This 

process is used to ensure that the finest 

candidates are selected to represent the 

interests of the United States 

Department of Agriculture. 

Submit full nomination packages with 

completed AD 755 background 

information forms and resumes no later 

than January 7, 2013. Final selection of 

members will be made by the Secretary 

from nominations submitted. All 

nomination materials should be mailed 

in a single, complete package to: Paul 

Zankowski, Commissioner; Plant 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with