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

28345

Vol. 63, No. 99

Friday, May 22, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

May 18, 1998.

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, Pub.

L. 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),

Washington, DC 20503 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) 720–6746.

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.

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Title: Respondent Information

Evaluation.

OMB Control Number: 0535–New.

Summary of Collection: The National

Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS)

primary function is to prepare and issue

state and national estimates of crop and

livestock production. Preparation of

these estimates requires voluntary

cooperation from thousands of crop and

livestock producers regarding their

operations each year. A serious threat to

NASS data quality is nonresponse to

surveys. NASS is initiating a

coordinated effort to increase voluntary

survey cooperation. This effort requires

the collection of information on how

NASS data is used and what data and

services would be helpful in the future.

Need and Use of The Information:

Information about the many uses of

NASS reports will be used to enlist the

cooperation of producers whose

information the reports are based on.

Public forums with producers will be

used to develop potential educational

material for use in conjunction with

ongoing NASS survey programs. These

materials will be tested in a variety of

formats suited to different channels of

communications with respondents

including interviewers, State Statistical

Office personnel, survey questionnaires,

releases and publications, print and

broadcast media, and educational

settings.

Description of Respondents: Business

or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents: 11,717.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

Quarterly; annually.

Total Burden Hours: 572.

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Title: ‘‘Clear Title’’ Regulations to

Implement Section 1324 of the Food

Security Act of 1985.

OMB Control Number: 0580–0016.

Summary of Collection: In

conjunction with Section 1324 of the

Food Security Act of 1985, the Grain

Inspection, Packers and Stockyards

Administration (GIPSA), on behalf of

the Secretary of Agriculture, is

authorized to certify State central filing

systems. The central filing systems are

necessary in certain states to notify

buyers of farm products of any

mortgages or liens on the products.

Information is collected from State

agencies describing their proposed

central filing systems.

Need and Use of the Information:

GIPSA uses the information supplied by

State agencies to carry out the

Secretary’s responsibility for

determining whether a State’s central

filing system for notification of buyers

of farm products of any mortgages or

liens on the products meets certification

requirements under Section 1324 of the

Food Security Act of 1985.

Description of Respondents: State,

Local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 1.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

On occasion.

Total Burden hours: 12.

Food and Nutrition Service

Title: Issuance Reconciliation Report:

FNS–46.

OMB Control Number: 0584–0080.

Summary of Collection: The Food and

Nutrition Service (FNS), on behalf of the

Secretary of Agriculture, administers the

Food Stamp Program through State

agencies. These State agencies are

accountable for issuance and control of

food stamp coupons. Accordingly,

States are liable to USDA for any

financial losses involved in the

acceptance, storage, and issuance of

food stamp coupons. Information is

required from State agencies on

wrongfully issued benefits including

undocumented issuances, and returned

benefits, stolen and transacted

accountable issuance documents,

replacement benefits, and obligations

from the exchange of food stamp

coupons for any reason.

Need and Use of the Information: FNS

provides the FNS–46 form, Issuance

Reconciliation Report, for State agencies

to use in reporting reconciliation results

from analyzes of the benefit issuances

for all issuance systems with the recordfor-issuance file. FNS uses this

information to assess liability and to

determine billing amounts.

Description of Respondents: State,

Local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 388.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

Monthly.

Total Burden hours: 37,248.

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Title: Beef Cattle Pesticide Use.

OMB Control Number: 0535–NEW.
28346 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 99 / Friday, May 22, 1998 / Notices

Summary of Collection: The National

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

has been asked by Colorado State

University (CSU) to conduct a Beef

Cattle Pesticide Use Survey in 12

Western States. The survey is designed

to provide information on insecticides

applied to beef cattle, insecticides used

for cattle facilities, and non-pesticide

insect management practices. Data

collected will help provide quality

information to fulfill certain

requirements of the food Quality

Protection Act of 1996. In order to do an

effective risk assessment, accurate

pesticide use information is essential.

CSU will use the results from this

survey to produce a Pesticide Benefit

Assessments report for the

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA). Information from this report will

aid the EPA in evaluating the risks and

the benefits of pesticide use.

Need and Use of the Information:

NASS will collect data to develop a

uniform survey system to determine the

amount of active ingredients from

insecticides applied to beef cattle and

beef cattle facilities and to measure pest

management practices on beef cattle.

Data from the survey will provide the

necessary insecticide use data needed

by EPA. The data will provide factual

information on the level of insecticide

use and types of pest prevention

measures being implemented.

Description of Respondents: Farm.

Number of Respondents: 2,000.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

Other (One-time).

Total Burden hours: 467

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Title: Agricultural Prices.

OMB Control Number: 0535–0003.

Summary of Collection: Estimates of

prices received by farmers and prices

paid for production goods and services

are needed by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture, National Agricultural

Statistics Service (NASS), to compute

Parity Prices in accordance with

requirements of the Agricultural

Adjustment Act of 1938 as amended

(Title III, Subtitle A, Section 301a) and

estimate value of production, inventory

values, and cash receipts from farming.

In addition, NASS provides

commodity product prices used in the

calculation of the Basic Formula Prices

for Milk, determines the level for farmer

owned reserves and provides guidelines

for Risk Management Agency price

selection options and determines

Federal disaster prices to be paid and

the grazing fee on Federal lands.

General authority for these data

collection activities is granted under

U.S. Code Title 7, Section 2204. This

status specifies that ‘‘The Secretary of

Agriculture shall procure and preserve

all information concerning agriculture

which he can obtain by the collection of

statistics * * * and shall distribute

them among agriculturalists’’.

Need and Use of the Information: The

NASS price program has undergone

significant modifications including the

updating of weights and changing the

construction of prices and paid by

farmers indexes. The indexes are used

in computing the parity prices that

NASS is required by statute to publish

monthly. Parity prices are used to

establish and maintain Federal Market

Orders. Currently, there are 41 market

orders that use these prices.

Description of Respondents: Business

or other for-profit; farm.

Number of Respondents: 19,387.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

On occasion; monthly; annually.

Total Burden Hours: 14,484.

Animal Plant and Health Inspection

Service

Title: Exotic Newcastle Disease in

Birds and Poultry; Chlamydiosis in

Poultry.

OMB Control Number: 0579–0016.

Summary of Collection: Title 21,

U.S.C. authorizes the United States

Department of Agriculture and the

Animal Plant and Health Inspection

Service (APHIS) to take necessary

actions to prevent, control and eliminate

domestic diseases, as well as to prevent

and to manage non-domestic diseases

such as exotic Newcastle disease (END)

and Chlamydiosis. Disease prevention is

the most effective method for

maintaining a healthy animal

population and for enhancing our

ability to compete in the world market

of animals and animal product trade.

Need and Use of the Information:

APHIS will collect information through

the use of documents attesting to the

health status of the birds or poultry

being moved, the number and types of

birds or poultry being moved in a

particular shipment, the shipment’s

point of origin, the shipment’s

destination, and the reason for the

interstate movement. These documents

also provide useful ‘‘traceback’’

information in the event an infected

bird or chicken is discovered and an

investigation must be launched to

determine where the bird or chicken

originated. The information provided by

these documents is critical to APHIS’

ability to prevent the interstate spread of

Exotic Newcastle Disease, which is

highly contagious and capable of

causing significant economic harm to

the U.S. poultry industry.

Description of Respondents: Business

or other for-profit; Individuals or

households; farms; State, Local or Tribal

Government.

Number of Respondents: 45.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

On occasion.

Total Burden Hours: 21.

Food and Nutrition Service

Title: Study of WIC Participants and

Program Characteristics: 1998 and 2000.

OMB Control Number: 0584–New.

Summary of Collection: Section

17(g)(5) of the Child Nutrition Act of

1996 as amended through Public Law

105–24, July 3, 1997, authorizes the

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to

manage the Special Supplement

Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,

and Children (WIC) which was created

by the Congress in 1972 as an adjunct

to health care for low-income pregnant,

postpartum, and breastfeeding women

as well as for low-income infants and

children (up to age five) who are at

nutritional risk. The WIC Program

provides nutritious food, nutritional

needs of these individuals and to

prevent health problems associated with

poor nutrition during pregnancy and

early childhood. The purpose of the

1998 and 2000 studies of WIC

participant and program characteristics

(PC98 and PC2000) are to collect data,

to prepare a report, and to develop a set

of analysis files on the characteristics of

WIC participants and programs. The

data collected for the study will be used

by FNS to manage the WIC Program,

prepare WIC budgets, answer specific

analytic questions, and guide future

research.

Need and Use of the Information: FNS

will collect information through the use

of questionnaires, surveys, and

applications on the income and

nutritional risk characteristics of WIC

participants; data on WIC program

participation for migrant farm worker

families; and other information on WIC

participation that is deemed appropriate

by the Secretary of Agriculture. The

information collected in the study will

be used by FNS for general program

monitoring such as reviewing State

budget submissions and fiscal reports.

Access to current data is crucial to

meeting other management information

needs such as preparing federal budget

estimates, responding to congressional

inquiries, and developing appropriate

research initiatives for the WIC Program.

Description of Respondents: State,

Local, or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents: 447.

Frequency of Responses: Reporting:

Biennially.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 99 / Friday, May 22, 1998 / Notices 28347

Total Burden Hours: 105.

Nancy Sternberg,

Departmental Information Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–13694 Filed 5–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Research Service

Notice of Intent to Request an

Extension of a Currently Approved

Information Collection

AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.

L. 104–13) and Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR

Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29,

1995), this notice announces the

Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS)

intention to request an extension of a

currently approved information

collection, Form AD–761, USDA Patent

License Application for Government

Invention that expires August 31, 1998.

DATES: Comments must be received by

July 27, 1998 to be assured of

consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:

Contact June Blalock, USDA, ARS,

Office of Technology Transfer, Room

415, Building 005, BARC-West,

Beltsville, Maryland 20705–2350;

Telephone Number 301–504–5989.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: USDA Patent License

Application for Government Invention.

OMB Number: 0518–0003.

Expiration Date of Approval: August

31, 1998.

Type of Request: To extend a

currently approved information

collection.

Abstract: The USDA patent licensing

program grants patent licenses to

qualified businesses and individuals

who wish to commercialize inventions

arising from federally supported

research. The objective of the program is

to use the patent system to promote the

utilization of inventions arising from

such research. The licensing of federally

owned inventions must be done in

accordance with the terms, conditions

and procedures prescribed under 37

CFR Part 404. Application for a license

must be addressed to the Federal agency

having custody of the invention.

Licenses may be granted but only if the

license applicant has supplied the

Federal agency with a satisfactory plan

for the development and marketing of

the invention and with information

about the applicant’s capability to fulfill

the plan. 37 CFR 404.8 sets forth the

information which must be provided by

a license applicant. For the convenience

of the applicant, USDA has itemized the

information needed on Form AD–761,

and instructions for completing the form

are provided to the applicant. The

information submitted is used to

determine whether the applicant has

both a complete and sufficient plan for

developing and marketing the invention

and the necessary manufacturing,

marketing, technical and financial

resources to carry out the submitted

plan.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 3 hours per

response.

Description of Respondents:

Businesses or other for profit

individuals.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

150.

Frequency of Responses: One time per

invention.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 450 hours.

Copies of this information collection

and related instructions can be obtained

without charge from June Blalock,

USDA, ARS, Office of Technology

Transfer by calling 301–504–5989.

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

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, such as

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. Comments may be sent to:

June Blalock, USDA, ARS, Office of

Technology Transfer, Room 415, Bldg.

005, BARC-West, Beltsville, Maryland

20705–2350. 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.

Richard M. Parry, Jr.,

Assistant Administrator.

[FR Doc. 98–13770 Filed 5–21–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–03–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

[Docket No. 98–039–1]

Notice of Request for Extension of

Approval of an Information Collection

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of approval of an

information collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service’s intention to

request an extension of approval of an

information collection in support of the

regulations for the importation of logs,

lumber, and other unmanufactured

wood articles.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by July 21, 1998 to be assured

of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding

the accuracy of burden estimate, ways to

minimize the burden (such as through

the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology), or any other aspect of this

collection of information to: Docket No.

98–039–1, Regulatory Analysis and

Development, PPD, APHIS, suite 3C03,

4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale,

MD 20737–1238. Please send an original

and three copies, and state that your

comments refer to Docket No. 98–039–

1. Comments received may be inspected

at USDA, room 1141, South Building,

14th Street and Independence Avenue

SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing to

inspect comments are requested to call

ahead on (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

information regarding the regulations

for the importation of logs, lumber, and

other unmanufactured wood articles,

contact Mr. Ronald C. Campbell, Staff

Officer, Phytosanitary Issues

Management, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River

Road, Unit 139, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1236, (301) 734–6799. For copies of

more detailed information on the

information collection, contact Ms.

Cheryl Groves, APHIS, Information

Collection Coordinator, at (301) 734–

5086.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Foreign Quarantine Notices,

Logs and Lumber.

OMB Number: 0579–0119.

Expiration Date of Approval:

September 30, 1998.