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

24524

Vol. 63, No. 85

Monday, May 4, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

Request for an Approval of a New

Information Collection

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit

Corporation (CCC) is seeking approval

from the Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) to establish procedures

for determining the computing

capabilities of vendors, contractors, and

other potential electronic commerce

trading partners. Participants would

include, but not be limited to:

Contractors that supply bids to supply

commodities for use under export

donation programs; vendors that supply

bids for transportation of commodities;

and contractors that supply bids to store

commodities.

An Electronic Commerce Capability

Survey will provide for submission of

computing capability information from

the trade. Currently there is no

procedure in place to allow for the

collection of computing capability

information. The new procedure will

allow CCC to collect the information

needed to target specific labor and paper

intensive processes for migration

towards electronic commerce.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received on or before July 6, 1998 to be

assured consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Timothy P. Mehl, Chief, Planning and

Analysis Division, Kansas City

Commodity Office, 9200 Ward Parkway,

Kansas City, Missouri 64114, telephone

(816) 926–3536, fax (816) 926–6767.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Electronic Commerce Capability

Survey.

OMB Number: New submission.

Type of Request: Approval of a new

information collection.

Abstract: CCC conducts a variety of

programs under which information is

submitted and manually entered by

CCC. A brief description of each of these

programs is explained below.

The Dairy and Domestic Operations

Division (D&DOD) issues invitations for

purchase of commodities for domestic

and dairy programs on a monthly,

multi-month, quarterly and yearly basis.

Vendors respond by making offers using

the form KC–327, Domestic Offer Form.

D&DOD verifies that the KC–327 is

responsive and manually enters the

information on the form into the bid

evaluation program. The keypunched

data is then uploaded into the Processed

Commodities Inventory Management

System (PCIMS). As an alternative to

keypunch, bids are entered manually by

using PCIMS bid input screens.

Export Operations Division (EOD)

issues invitations to purchase or process

commodities for food donation

programs monthly. Special invitations,

however, are issued throughout the

month. Steamship lines currently

respond to these invitations with offers

for transportation via hard copy form

KC–324, Steamship Line Service Offer.

Responsive offers are analyzed by

Traffic Management Division; the lowest

U.S. and foreign flag offers for each U.S.

port and foreign discharge port are

recorded on form KC–149, Ocean Rates.

Form KC–149’s are reviewed for

accuracy and form KC–148, Commodity

Requests, is attached. Ocean rate forms

and commodity request forms are

forwarded to Information Management

Processing Division (IMPD) for data

entry and proof lists are printed for

review.

Bulk Grain Division (BGD) issues

invitations as needed for purchase of

grains for use in export donation

programs. Grain export companies

respond to these invitations for offers on

form KC–331, Procurement Offer Form,

which is a part of each invitation. At the

same time BGD issues the invitation,

EOD communicates with the Private

Volunteer Organization (PVO) booking

agent, to issue a freight tender for ocean

freight. Once the steamship line’s bid

for ocean freight is received from the

booking agent, the offers are manually

recorded on a spread sheet. When the

grain offers are evaluated, they are

combined with the ocean freight

received from the booking agent to

determine lowest landed cost to

destination. Data entry requires dual bid

entry for verification purposes.

CCC conducts a program to provide

storage adequate to fulfill its program

needs by contracting with commercial

warehouses to store grain in country,

sub-terminal, and terminal locations.

CCC contracts for the use of privately

owned facilities in carrying out this

program. Grain, cotton, and processed

commodity warehouse operators

interested in storing and/or handling

CCC-interest commodities are required

to have entered into a Uniform Storage

Agreement with CCC. Warehouse

operators must meet certain standards

and complete documents prior to

receiving CCC approval. Information

which is provided by warehouse

operators is entered into the Grain

Inventory Management System (GIMS)

which is in turn used by numerous

other Agency entities. CCC uses this

data to develop policy and implement

program operations.

The current keypunching processes

require entering handwritten data and

then verifying the results. This

information collection will enable CCC

to analyze the computing capability of

its trading partners and move processes

towards electronic commerce in a

logical and orderly fashion.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for collecting information under

this notice is estimated to average 15

minutes per response, including the

time for reviewing instructions,

searching existing data sources,

gathering and maintaining the data

needed, and completing and reviewing

the collection of information.

Respondents: Business and other for

profit organizations.

Respondents: 3,750.

Estimated Number of Annual

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 937 hours.

Proposed topics for comment include:

(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 collected; or (d) ways to
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 85 / Monday, May 4, 1998 / Notices 24525

minimize the burden of the collection of

the 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

regarding this information collection

requirement may be directed to the

Office of Information and Regulatory

Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer

for USDA, Washington, DC 20503, and

to Timothy P. Mehl, Chief, Planning and

Analysis Division, Kansas City

Commodity Office, 9200 Ward Parkway,

Kansas City, Missouri 64114, telephone

(816) 926–3536, fax (816) 926–6767.

All comments will become a matter of

public record.

Signed at Washington, DC, April 24, 1998.

Keith Kelly,

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–11697 Filed 5–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

Uniform Grain and Rice Storage

Agreement Fees

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of fees.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is

to publish a schedule of fees to be paid

to Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)

by grain and rice warehouse operators

requesting to enter into a storage

agreement; increase the capacity of an

existing storage agreement; or renew an

existing storage agreement.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Howard Froehlich, Chief, Storage

Contract Branch, Warehouse and

Inventory Division, Farm Service

Agency, United States Department of

Agriculture, 1400 Independence

Avenue, S.W., STOP 0553, Washington,

D.C. 20250–0553, telephone (202) 720–

7398, FAX (202) 690–3123.

In accordance with the provisions of

the Commodity Credit Corporation

Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714 et seq), CCC

enters into storage agreements with

private grain and rice warehouse

operators to provide for the storage of

commodities owned by CCC or pledged

as security to CCC for marketing

assistance and price support loans.

Specifically, 7 CFR 1421.5558

provides that all grain and rice

warehouse operators who do not have

an existing agreement with CCC for

storage and handling of CCC-owned

commodities or commodities pledged to

CCC as loan collateral, but who desire

such an agreement, must pay an

application and examination fee for

each warehouse for which CCC approval

is sought prior to CCC conducting the

original warehouse examination.

A review of the revenue collected for

application and examination fees

indicates that the fees collected are

insufficient to meet costs incurred by

CCC for warehouse examinations and

contract origination administrative

functions. Accordingly, beginning April

1 with the start of the 1998–99 contract

year, the fees are changed by increasing

by 10 percent those fees applicable to

the 1997–98 contract year. The fee will

be computed at the rate of $15 for each

10,000 bushels of storage capacity or

fraction thereof, but the fee will be not

less than $150 nor more than $1,500.

Further, each warehouse operator

who has a non-federally licensed grain

or rice warehouse in States that do not

have a cooperative agreement with CCC

for warehouse examinations must pay

an annual fee to CCC for each such

warehouse which is approved by CCC or

for which CCC approval is sought. The

collection of the annual fee by CCC is

currently suspended. CCC continues to

suspend collection of the annual fee, but

CCC may reinstate the annual fee by

future notice to the industry.

Signed at Washington, DC, on April 27,

1998.

Keith Kelly,

Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–11695 Filed 5–1–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–05–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Rural Utilities Service

Farm Service Agency

Notice of Request for Reinstatement of

an Information Collection

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, Rural

Business-Cooperative Service, Rural

Utilities Service, and Farm Service

Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed collection: Comments

request.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Rural Housing

Service (RHS), the Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RBS), Rural

Utilities Service (RUS), and the Farm

Service Agency’s (FSA) intention to

request an extension for a currently

approved information collection in

support of compliance with Civil Rights

laws.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by July 6, 1998 to be assured

of consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jacqueline Micheli, Equal Opportunity

Specialist, Rural Development, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, STOP 0703,

1400 Independence Ave., S.W.,

Washington, DC 20250–0703,

Telephone (202) 690–9812 (voice) or

690–9809 (TDD).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: 7 CFR 1901–E, Civil Rights

Compliance Requirements.

OMB Number: 0575–0018.

Type of Request: Reinstatement of an

information collection.

Abstract: The information collection

under OMB Number 0575–0018 enables

the RHS, RBS, RUS, and FSA to

effectively monitor a recipient’s

compliance with the civil rights laws,

and to determine whether or not service

and benefits are being provided to

beneficiaries on an equal opportunity

basis.

The RBS, RHS, RUS, and FSA,

formerly the Farmers Home

Administration, are required to provide

Federal financial assistance through its

farmer, housing, and community and

business programs on an equal

opportunity basis. The laws

implemented in 7 CFR Part 1901,

Subpart E (‘‘1901–E’’), require the

recipients of RBS, RHS, RUS, and FSA’s

Federal financial assistance to collect

various types of information, including

information on participants in certain of

these agencies’ programs, by race, color,

and national origin. While these

agencies realize that the provisions of

1901–E are outdated as the result of

statutory amendment and other

processes of law, the information

needed to be collected under this

implementing regulation is not affected

by the obsolete nature of the regulation.

The RBS, RHS, RUS, and FSA use the

information to monitor a recipient’s

compliance with the civil rights laws,

and to determine whether or not service

and benefits are being provided to

beneficiaries on an equal opportunity

basis. The agencies are in the process of

revising 1901–E, and expect to publish

for comment a Federal Register

document proposing these revisions in

1998. The following laws implemented

are 7 CFR 1901–E:

a. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of

1964 (‘‘Title VI’’). The implementing