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

26139

Vol. 63, No. 91

Tuesday, May 12, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

[Docket No. 98–053–1]

National Wildlife Services (Formerly

Known as Animal Damage Control)

Advisory Committee; Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: We are giving notice of a

meeting of the National Wildlife

Services Advisory Committee.

PLACE, DATES, AND TIME OF MEETING: The

meeting will be held at the USDA

Center at Riverside in the Conference

Center, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD

20737. The Committee will meet on

May 27–28, 1998, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Martin Mendoza, Director, Operational

Support Staff, WS, APHIS, 4700 River

Road Unit 87, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1234, (301) 734–7921.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

National Wildlife Services Advisory

Committee (Committee) advises the

Secretary of Agriculture concerning

policies, program issues, and research

needed to conduct the Wildlife Services

(WS) program. The Committee also

serves as a public forum enabling those

affected by the WS program to have a

voice in the program’s policies.

The meeting will focus on operational

and research activities, and will be open

to the public. However, due to time

constraints, the public will not be

allowed to participate in the

Committee’s discussions. Written

statements concerning meeting topics

may be filed with the Committee before

or after the meeting by sending them to

Mr. Martin Mendoza at the address

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT, or may be filed at the meeting.

Please refer to Docket No. 98–053–1

when submitting your statements.

This notice of meeting is given

pursuant to section 10 of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463).

Done in Washington, DC, this 8th day of

May 1998.

Bobby R. Acord,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 98–12660 Filed 5–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Request For Proposals: Fiscal Year

1998 Funding Opportunity for

Research on Rural Cooperative

Opportunities and Problems

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RBS) announces

the availability of approximately $1.9

million in competitive cooperative

agreement funds allocated from FY 1998

appropriations. RBS hereby requests

proposals from institutions of higher

education or nonprofit organizations

interested in applying for competitively

awarded cooperative agreements for

research related to agricultural and

nonagricultural cooperatives serving

rural communities. The intent of the

funding is to encourage research on

critical issues vital to the development

and sustainability of cooperatives as a

means of improving the quality of life in

America’s rural communities.

DATES: Cooperative agreement

applications must be received on or

before June 30, 1998. Proposals received

after June 30, 1998, will not be

considered for funding. Comments

regarding the information collection

requirements under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 must be received

on or before July 13, 1998, to be assured

of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Send Proposals and other

required materials to Dr. Thomas H.

Stafford, Director, Cooperative

Marketing Division, Rural BusinessCooperative Service, USDA, Stop 3252,

Room 4204, 1400 Independence Avenue

SW, Washington, D.C. 20250–3252.

Telephone: (202) 690–0368.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Thomas H. Stafford, Director,

Cooperative Marketing Division, Rural

Business-Cooperative Service, USDA,

Stop 3252, Room 4204, 1400

Independence Avenue SW, Washington,

D.C. 20250–3252. Telephone: (202) 690–

0368.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General Information

This solicitation is issued pursuant to

the Agriculture, Rural Development,

Food and Drug Administration, and

Related Agencies Appropriations Act,

1998 making appropriations for

programs administered by USDA’s Rural

Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) for

the fiscal year ending September 30,

1998. The Rural Business-Cooperative

Service (RBS) was established by the

Department of Agriculture

Reorganization Act of 1994. The mission

of RBS is to improve the quality of life

in rural America by financing

community facilities and businesses,

providing technical assistance, and

creating effective strategies for rural

development. RBS has authority to enter

into cooperative agreements pursuant to

section 607(b)(4) of the Rural

Development Act of 1972, as amended

by section 759A of the Federal

Agriculture Improvement and Reform

Act of 1996.

The primary objective of this funding

is to encourage research through

cooperative agreements on critical

issues vital to the development and

sustainability of cooperatives as a means

of improving the quality of life in

America’s rural communities. Among

others, these issues include:

(1) The appropriate role of

cooperatives in fostering rural

development;

(2) The role of cooperatives in filling

the farm income safety net ‘‘void’’

created by the reduction or elimination

of price support programs;

(3) The role of cooperatives in an

increasingly global environment;

(4) The role of cooperatives in highly

integrated agricultural industries;

(5) Effective structures and operations

for agricultural bargaining associations;

(6) The role of cooperatives in lowresource areas.

(7) Barriers to small and new farmer

membership in agricultural marketing

cooperatives.
26140 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 91 /Tuesday, May 12, 1998 / Notices

(8) Cooperation as a tool for smallfarmer use of farmers markets.

(9) Models for shared or

cooperatively-owned agricultural

production inputs.

A Cooperative Agreement reflects a

relationship between the United States

Government and an eligible recipient

where (1) the principal purpose of the

relationship is the transfer of money,

property, services, or anything of value

to the eligible recipient to carry out

research related to rural cooperatives;

and (2) substantial involvement is

anticipated between RBS acting for the

United States Government, and the

eligible recipient during the

performance of the research in the

agreement. Cooperative agreements are

to be awarded on the basis of merit,

quality, and relevance to advancing the

purpose of federally supported rural

development programs which increase

economic opportunities in farming and

rural communities.

To obtain an application kit

containing instructions and all required

forms, please contact Cooperative

Services Program; USDA/RBS, at

(202)690–0368 or FAX (202)690–2723.

When calling Cooperative Services,

please indicate that you are requesting

an application kit for Fiscal Year 1998

(FY 1998) Research on Rural

Cooperative Opportunities and

Problems (RRCOP). The application kit

may also be requested via Internet by

sending a message with your name,

mailing address (not E-mail) and phone

number to ‘‘thomas.stafford@usda.gov’’

which requests an application kit for FY

1998 funding for research on rural

cooperatives. The application kit will be

mailed to you (not e-mailed or faxed) as

quickly as possible.

Use of Funds

Funds may be used to pay up to 75

percent of the costs for carrying out

relevant projects. Applicants’

contribution may be in cash or in-kind

contribution and must be from

nonfederal funds. Funds may not be

used to: (1) Pay more than 75 percent of

relevant project or administrative costs;

(2) pay costs of preparing the

application package; (3) fund political

activities; or (4) pay costs incurred prior

to the effective date of the cooperative

agreement. Indirect costs may not

exceed current negotiated rates. If no

rate has been negotiated, an indirect

cost rate proposal must be submitted for

approval.

Available Funds and Award

Limitations

The amount of funds available for

cooperative agreements in FY 1998 is

approximately $1.9 million. Up to onequarter of the total funds awarded will

be allocated to research on

nonagricultural cooperatives serving

rural areas. Nonagricultural

cooperatives include, but are not limited

to housing, child care, health care,

shared services, wholesale or retail

consumer cooperatives, and credit

unions. Agricultural cooperatives are

grower-owned and controlled

businesses which purchase farm inputs,

market farm products, or provide other

services to their members. The actual

number of cooperative agreements

funded will depend on the quality of

proposals received and the amount of

funding requested. Maximum amount of

Federal funds awarded for any one

proposal will be $100,000. It is

anticipated that a typical award would

range from $25,000 to $50,000.

Eligible Applicants

Proposals may be submitted by public

or private colleges or universities,

research foundations maintained by a

college or university, or private

nonprofit organizations. Under the

Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, an

organization described in section

501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code

of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(4)) which

engages in lobbying activities, is not

eligible to apply.

Methods for Evaluating and Ranking

Applications

Applications will be evaluated by a

panel of RBS technical experts.

Applications will be evaluated

competitively and points awarded as

specified in the Evaluation Criteria and

Weights section of this notice. After

assigning points upon those criteria,

applications will be listed in rank order

and presented, along with funding level

recommendations, to the Administrator

of RBS, who will make the final

decision on awarding of agreements.

Applications will then be funded in

rank order until all available funds have

been expended.

RBS reserves the right to make

selections out of rank order to provide

for a geographic distribution of funded

projects. With respect to any approved

proposal, the amount of funding and the

project period during which the project

may be funded and will be completed,

are subject to negotiation prior to

finalization of the cooperative

agreement.

Evaluation Criteria and Weights

RBS will initially determine whether

the submitting organization is eligible

and whether the application contains

the information required by this notice.

Prior to technical examination, each

proposal will be reviewed for

responsiveness to the funding

solicitation. Submissions which do not

fall within the guidelines as stated in

the solicitation will be eliminated from

the competition and will be returned to

the applicant.

After this initial screening, RBS will

use the following criteria to rate and

rank proposals received in response to

this notice of funding availability. The

maximum number of points is 100. Zero

points on any criteria will disqualify the

proposal.

(1) Relevance: Focuses on an

agricultural or nonagricultural

cooperatives serving rural areas and

demonstrates a clear relationship with

the research topics contained in this

notice (maximum 20 points);

(2) Demonstrates potential to

contribute innovative ideas or solutions

to identified problems or issues

(maximum 20 points);

(3) Shows capacity for broad

applicability in facilitating new or

improved cooperative development or

new or improved cooperative

approaches (maximum 15 points);

(4) Outlines a sound plan of work and

appropriate methodology to accomplish

the stated objective of the research

(maximum 15 points);

(5) Adequately documents the need

for and clearly defines the objectives of

the research (maximum 10 points);

(6) Demonstrates cost effectiveness

(maximum 10 points);

(7) Identifies qualified resources and

personnel, including a demonstrated

track-record of similar research

(maximum 10 points).

Deliverables

Upon completion of the project,

recipients will deliver the results of the

research to RBS, in the form of a

document of publishable quality,

accompanied by all applicable

supporting data. Publishable documents

include, but are not limited to,

manuscripts, videotapes, or software, or

other media, as may be identified in

approved proposals. RBS retains

publishing rights to such documents, as

well as rights to any raw or preliminary

data collected as part of the project.

Content of a Proposal

A proposal should contain the

following:

(1) Form SF–424, ‘‘Application for

Federal Assistance.’’

(2) Form SF–424A, ‘‘Budget

Information—Non-Construction

Programs.’’

(3) Form SF–424B, ‘‘Assurances—

Non-Construction Programs.’’
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 91 /Tuesday, May 12, 1998 / Notices 26141

(4) Form AD–1047, ‘‘Certification

Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and

Other Responsibility Matters.’’

(5) Form AD–1049, ‘‘Certification

Regarding Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements.’’

(6) Table of Contents: For ease of

locating information, each proposal

must contain a detailed Table of

Contents immediately following the

required forms. The Table of Contents

should include page numbers for each

component of the proposal. Pagination

should begin immediately following the

Table of Contents.

(7) Project Summary. A summary of

the Project Proposal, not to exceed onepage should include the following: title

of the project; names of principal

investigators and applicant

organization; and a description of the

overall goals and relevance of the

project.

(8) Project Proposal: The application

must contain a narrative statement

describing the nature of the proposed

research. The Proposal must include at

least the following:

(i) Project Title. The title of the

proposed project must be brief, yet

represent the major thrust of the project.

(ii) Project Leaders. List the names

and contact information for the

principal investigators. Minor

collaborators or consultants should be

so designated and not listed as principal

investigators.

(iii) Need for the Project. A concisely

worded rationale for the research must

be presented. Included should be a

summarization of the body of

knowledge (literature review) which

substantiates the need for the research.

The need for the proposed research

must be clearly and directly related to

the facilitation of new or improved

cooperative development or new or

improved cooperative approaches.

(iv) Objectives of the Project. Discuss

the specific objectives of the project and

the impact of the research on end-users.

(v) Procedures. Discuss the

hypotheses or questions being asked

and the methodology or approach to be

used in carrying out the proposed

research and accomplishing the

objectives. A description of any

subcontracting arrangements to be used

in carrying out the project must be

included.

(vi) Time Table. A tentative schedule

for conducting the major steps of the

research must be included.

(vii) Expected Output. Describe how

the results will be presented and

disseminated.

(viii) Coordination and Management

Plan. Describe how the project will be

coordinated among various participants

and the nature of the collaborations.

Describe plans for management of the

project to ensure its proper and efficient

administration. Describe scope of RBS

involvement in the project.

(9) Personnel Support. To assist

reviewers in assessing the competence

and experience of proposed principal

investigators, the following must be

included for each:

(i) estimated time commitment to the

project;

(ii) a one-page curriculum-vitae;

(iii) a chronological list of all

publications during the past five years.

What To Submit

An original and two copies must be

submitted in one package.

When and Where To Submit

Proposals must be received by close of

business on June 30, 1998. Proposals

must be sent to Dr. Thomas H. Stafford,

Director, Cooperative Marketing

Division, Rural Business-Cooperative

Service, USDA, Stop 3252, Room 4204,

1400 Independence Avenue SW,

Washington, D.C. 20250–3252.

Other Federal Statutes and Regulations

That Apply

Several other Federal statutes and

regulations apply to proposals

considered for review and to

cooperative agreements awarded. These

include but are not limited to:

7 CFR part 15, subpart A—USDA

implementation of Title VI of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

7 CFR part 3015—USDA Uniform

Federal Assistance Regulations.

7 CFR part 3018—USDA

implementation of New Restrictions on

Lobbying.

7 CFR part 3019—Uniform

Administrative Requirements for Grant

Agreements with Institutions of Higher

Education, Hospitals, and Other

Nonprofit Organizations.

7 CFR part 3051—Audits of

Institutions of Higher Education and

Other Nonprofit Institutions.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Agency

announces its intention to seek Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

approval of new reporting and

recordkeeping requirements. These

requirements have been approved by

emergency clearance by OMB under

OMB Control Number 0570–0028.

Approximately $1.9 million in

cooperative agreement funds has been

allocated from FY 1998 appropriations

for programs administered by USDA’s

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

(RBS) to encourage research related to

rural cooperatives. The funds will be

available to institutions of higher

education or nonprofit organizations for

research on critical issues vital to the

development and sustainability of

cooperatives as a means of improving

the quality of life in America’s rural

communities. Among others, these

issues include:

(1) The appropriate role of

cooperatives in fostering rural

development;

(2) The role of cooperatives in filling

the farm income safety net ‘‘void’’

created by the reduction or elimination

of price support programs;

(3) The role of cooperatives in an

increasingly global environment;

(4) The role of cooperatives in highly

integrated agricultural industries;

(5) Effective structures and operations

for agricultural bargaining associations;

(6) The role of cooperatives in lowresource areas.

(7) Barriers to small and new farmer

membership in agricultural marketing

cooperatives.

(8) Cooperation as a tool for smallfarmer use of farmers markets.

(9) Models for shared or

cooperatively-owned agricultural

production inputs.

The funds will be awarded on a

competitive basis using specific

selection criteria.

Public Burden in this Notice

At this time, the Agency is requesting

OMB clearance of the following burden:

Form SF–424, ‘‘Application for Federal

Assistance.’’

This application is used by applicants

as a required face sheet for applications

for federal funding.

Form SF–424A, ‘‘Budget Information—

Non Construction Programs’’

This form must be completed by

applicants to show the project’s

anticipated budget breakdown in terms

of expense categories and division of

Federal and non-Federal sources of

funds.

Form SF–424B, ‘‘Assurances NonConstruction Programs’’

This form must be completed by the

applicant to provide the Federal

government certain assurances of the

applicant’s legal authority to apply for

Federal assistance and financial

capability to pay the non-Federal share

of project costs. The applicant also

assures compliance with various legal

and regulatory requirements as

described in the form.
26142 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 91 /Tuesday, May 12, 1998 / Notices

Project Proposal

The applicant must submit a project

proposal containing the elements

described in the notice and in the

format prescribed. The elements of the

proposal are:

(1) Table of Contents: For ease of

locating information, each proposal

must contain a detailed Table of

Contents immediately following the

required forms. The Table of Contents

should include page numbers for each

component of the proposal. Pagination

should begin immediately following the

Table of Contents.

(2) Project Summary. A summary of

the Project Proposal, not to exceed onepage should include the following: title

of the project; names of principal

investigators and applicant

organization; and a description of the

overall goals and relevance of the

project.

(3) Project Proposal: The application

must contain a narrative statement

describing the nature of the proposed

research. The Proposal must include at

least the following:

(i) Project Title. The title of the

proposed project must be brief, yet

represent the major thrust of the project.

(ii) Project Leaders. List the names

and contact information for the

principal investigators. Minor

collaborators or consultants should be

so designated and not listed as principal

investigators.

(iii) Need for the Project. A concisely

worded rationale for the research must

be presented. Included should be a

summarization of the body of

knowledge (literature review) which

substantiates the need for the research.

The need for the proposed research

must be clearly and directly related to

the facilitation of new or improved

cooperative development or new or

improved cooperative approaches.

(iv) Objectives of the Project. Discuss

the specific objectives of the project and

the impact of the research on end-users.

(v) Procedures. Discuss the

hypotheses or questions being asked

and the methodology or approach to be

used in carrying out the proposed

research and accomplishing the

objectives. A description of any

subcontracting arrangements to be used

in carrying out the project must be

included.

(vi) Time Table. A tentative schedule

for conducting the major steps of the

research must be included.

(vii) Expected Output. Describe how

the results will be presented and

disseminated.

(viii) Coordination and Management

Plan. Describe how the project will be

coordinated among various participants

and the nature of the collaborations.

Describe plans for management of the

project to ensure its proper and efficient

administration. Describe scope of RBS

involvement in the project.

(4) Personnel Support. To assist

reviewers in assessing the competence

and experience of proposed principal

investigators, the following must be

included for each:

(i) estimated time commitment to the

project;

(ii) a one-page curriculum-vitae;

(iii) a chronological list of all

publications during the past five years.

Use of Funds

Changes in approved goals and

objectives, project leadership, or project

time line must be submitted to the

Deputy Administrator of Cooperative

Services and approved in writing.

Reporting Requirements

Funding recipients will be required to

submit written project performance

reports on a quarterly basis. The project

performance reports will include, but

are not limited to: (1) A comparison of

actual accomplishments to established

objectives; (2) reasons established

objectives were not met; (3) problems,

delays, or adverse conditions which will

materially affect attainment of planned

project objectives; (4) objectives for the

next reporting period; and (5) status of

compliance with an special conditions

on the use of awarded funds.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection is estimated to

range from 15 minutes to 15 hours per

response.

Respondents: Not-for-profit

institutions.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

100.

Estimated Number of Responses per

Respondent: 5.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 2,280 hours.

Copies of this information collection

can be obtained from Michele Brooks,

Regulations and Paperwork

Management Branch, Support Services

Division, at (202) 720–3158.

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 to

collect the required 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 other forms of information

technology.

All responses to this notice will be

summarized, included in the request for

OMB approval, and will become a

matter of public record. Comments may

be sent to the Desk Officer for

Agriculture, Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Washington,

D.C. 20503, and to Michele Brooks,

Regulations and Paperwork

Management Branch, U.S. Department

of Agriculture, Rural Housing Service,

Stop 0743, Room 6345–S, 1400

Independence Avenue S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20250–0743.

Dated: April 28, 1998.

Dayton J. Watkins,

Administrator, Rural Business—Cooperative

Service.

[FR Doc. 98–12463 Filed 5–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Information Collection Activity;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the

Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) invites

comments on these information

collections for which RUS intends to

request approval from the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by July 13, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: F.

Lamont Heppe, Jr., Director, Program

Development Regulatory Analysis, Rural

Utilities Service, 1400 Independence

Ave., SW., STOP 1522, Room 4036

South Building, Washington, DC 20250–

1522. Telephone: (202) 720–9550. FAX:

(202) 720–4120.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Management and Budget’s (OMB)

regulation (5 CFR 1320) implementing

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13) require that

interested members of the public and

affected agencies have an opportunity to

comment on information collection and