41224 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices

as possible. It is also helpful if

comments refer to specific pages or

chapters of the draft statement.

Comments may also address the

adequacy of the draft environmental

impact statement or the merits of the

alternatives formulated and discussed in

the statement. Reviewers may wish to

refer to the Council on Environmental

Quality Regulations for implementing

the procedural provisions of the

National Environmental Policy Act at 40

CFR 1503.3 in addressing these points.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest

Supervisor is the responsible official

who will make the decision. She will

decide on this proposal after

considering comments and responses,

environmental consequences discussed

in the Final EIS, and applicable laws,

regulations, and policies. The decision

and reasons for the decision will be

documented in a Record of Decision.

Dated: July 22, 1998.

Thomas W. Heintz,

Acting Forest Supervisor, BeaverheadDeerlodge National Forest.

[FR Doc. 98–20567 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Opportunity for Designation in the

Alton (IL), Columbus (OH), and Farwell

(TX) Areas, and Request for Comments

on the Alton, Columbus, and Farwell

Agencies

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The United States Grain

Standards Act, as amended (Act),

provides that official agency

designations will end not later than

triennially and may be renewed. The

designations of Alton Grain Inspection

Department (Alton), Columbus Grain

Inspection, Inc. (Columbus), and

Farwell Grain Inspection, Inc. (Farwell),

will end January 31, 1999, according to

the Act. GIPSA is asking persons

interested in providing official services

in the Alton, Columbus, and Farwell

areas to submit an application for

designation. GIPSA is also asking for

comments on the services provided by

Alton, Columbus, and Farwell.

DATES: Applications must be

postmarked or sent by telecopier (FAX)

on or before September 1, 1998.

Comments are due by October 31, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Applications and comments

must be submitted to USDA, GIPSA,

Janet M. Hart, Chief, Review Branch,

Compliance Division, STOP 3604, Room

1647–S, 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20250–3604.

Applications and comments may be

submitted by FAX on 202–690–2755. If

an application is submitted by FAX,

GIPSA reserves the right to request an

original application. All applications

and comments will be made available

for public inspection at this address

located at 1400 Independence Avenue,

SW, during regular business hours.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet M. Hart, at 202–720–8525.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

Action has been reviewed and

determined not to be a rule or regulation

as defined in Executive Order 12866

and Departmental Regulation 1512–1;

therefore, the Executive Order and

Departmental Regulation do not apply

to this Action.

Section 7(f)(1) of the Act authorizes

GIPSA’s Administrator to designate a

qualified applicant to provide official

services in a specified area after

determining that the applicant is better

able than any other applicant to provide

such official services. GIPSA designated

Alton, main office located in St. Paul,

Missouri, Columbus, main office located

in Circleville, Ohio, and Farwell, main

office located in Farwell, Texas, to

provide official inspection services

under the Act on February 1, 1996.

Section 7(g)(1) of the Act provides

that designations of official agencies

shall end not later than triennially and

may be renewed according to the

criteria and procedures prescribed in

Section 7(f) of the Act. The designations

of Alton, Columbus, and Farwell end on

January 31, 1999, according to the Act.

Pursuant to Section 7(f)(2) of the Act,

the following geographic area, in the

State of Illinois, is assigned to Alton.

Calhoun, Jersey, and Madison (West

of State Route 4 and North of Interstate

70 and 270) Counties.

Pursuant to Section 7(f)(2) of the Act,

the following geographic area, in the

States of Michigan and Ohio, is assigned

to Columbus.

In Ohio: Bounded on the North by the

northern Lucas County line east to Lake

Erie; the Lake Erie shoreline east to the

Ohio-Pennsylvania State line;

Bounded on the East by the OhioPennsylvania State line south to the

Ohio River;

Bounded on the South by the Ohio

River south-southwest to the western

Scioto County line; and

Bounded on the West by the western

Scioto County line north to State Route

73; State Route 73 northwest to U.S.

Route 22; U.S. Route 22 west to U.S.

Route 68; U.S. Route 68 north to Clark

County; the northern Clark County line

west to State Route 560; State Route 560

north to State Route 296; State Route

296 west to Interstate 75; Interstate 75

north to State Route 47; State Route 47

northeast to U.S. Route 68 (including all

of Sidney, Ohio); U.S. Route 68 north to

U.S. Route 30; U.S. Route 30 east to

State Route 19; State Route 19 north to

Seneca County; the southern Seneca

County line west to State Route 53; State

Route 53 north to Sandusky County; the

southern Sandusky County line west to

State Route 590; State Route 590 north

to Ottawa County; the southern and

western Ottawa and Lucas County lines.

In Michigan: those sections of

Jackson, Lenawee, and Monroe Counties

which are east of State Route 127 and

south of State Route 50.

Columbus’ assigned geographic area

does not include the export port

locations inside Columbus’ area which

are serviced by GIPSA.

Pursuant to Section 7(f)(2) of the Act,

the following geographic area, in the

States of Arizona, New Mexico and

Texas, is assigned to Farwell.

Maricopa, Pinal, and Yuma Counties,

Arizona.

Bernalillo, Chaves, Curry, DeBaca,

Eddy, Guadalupe, Lea, Quay, Roosevelt,

San Miguel, Santa Fe, Torrance, and

Union Counties, New Mexico.

Bailey, Cochran, Deaf Smith (west of

State Route 214), Hockley, Lamb (south

of a line bounded by U.S. Route 70, FM

303, U.S. Route 84, and FM 37), and

Parmer Counties, Texas.

Interested persons, including Alton,

Columbus, and Farwell are hereby given

the opportunity to apply for designation

to provide official services in the

geographic areas specified above under

the provisions of Section 7(f) of the Act

and section 800.196(d) of the

regulations issued thereunder.

Designation in the Alton, Columbus,

and Farwell areas is for the period

beginning February 1, 1999, and ending

January 31, 2002. Persons wishing to

apply for designation should contact the

Compliance Division at the address

listed above for forms and information.

GIPSA also is publishing this notice

to provide interested persons the

opportunity to present comments on the

Alton, Columbus, and Farwell official

agencies. Commentors are encouraged to

submit pertinent data concerning the

Alton, Columbus, and Farwell official

agencies including information on the

timeliness, cost, quality, and scope of

services provided. All comments must

be submitted to the Compliance

Division at the above address.

Applications, comments, and other

available information will be considered
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 148 / Monday, August 3, 1998 / Notices 41225

in determining which applicant will be

designated.

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.).

Dated: July 17, 1998.

Neil E. Porter,

Director, Compliance Division.

[FR Doc. 98–20071 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration

Designation for the Fremont (NE) and

Titus (IN) Areas

AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and

Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: GIPSA announces the

designation of Fremont Grain Inspection

Department, Inc. (Fremont) and Titus

Grain Inspection, Inc. (Titus) to provide

official services under the United States

Grain Standards Act, as amended (Act).

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 1998.

ADDRESSES: USDA, GIPSA, Janet M.

Hart, Chief, Review Branch, Compliance

Division, STOP 3604, Room 1647–S,

1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.,

Washington, DC 20250–3604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet M. Hart, at 202–720–8525.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

action has been reviewed and

determined not to be a rule or regulation

as defined in Executive Order 12866

and Departmental Regulation 1512–1;

therefore, the Executive Order and

Departmental Regulation do not apply

to this action.

In the March 2, 1998, Federal Register

(63 FR 10187), GIPSA asked persons

interested in providing official services

in the geographic areas assigned to

Fremont and Titus to submit an

application for designation.

Applications were due by March 31,

1998. Fremont and Titus, the only

applicants, each applied for designation

to provide official services in the entire

area currently assigned to them.

Since Fremont and Titus were the

only applicants, GIPSA did not ask for

comments on them.

GIPSA evaluated all available

information regarding the designation

criteria in Section 7(f)(1)(A) of the Act

and, according to Section 7(f)(1)(B),

determined that Fremont and Titus are

able to provide official services in the

geographic areas for which they applied.

Effective September 1, 1998, and ending

August 31, 2001, Fremont and Titus are

designated to provide official services in

the geographic area specified in the

March 2, 1998 Federal Register.

Interested persons may obtain official

services by contacting Fremont at 402–

721–1270 and Titus at 765–497–2202.

Authority: Pub. L. 94–582, 90 Stat. 2867,

as amended (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.).

Dated: July 17, 1998.

Neil E. Porter,

Director, Compliance Division.

[FR Doc. 98–20072 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–EN–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Agricultural Statistics Service

Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To

Conduct an Information Collection

AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.

L. No. 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 intent of the National

Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to

request approval for a new information

collection, the Wildlife Damage Survey.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by October 7, 1998 to be

assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:

Contact Rich Allen, Associate

Administrator, National Agricultural

Statistics Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Room 4117 South

Building, Washington, DC 20250–2000,

(202) 720–4333.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Wildlife Damage Survey.

Type of Request: Intent to seek

Approval to Conduct an Information

Collection.

Abstract: The Animal Health Plant

Inspection Service has contracted with

NASS to survey a sample of U.S.

producers of selected agricultural

commodities. The primary goal of the

survey is the collection and

development of valid statistical data

reflecting the percentage of U.S.

producers experiencing loss of product

or resources caused by vertebrate

wildlife. An accurate measurement of

dollar losses to vertebrate wildlife will

be obtained. Additional goals are to

evaluate the Wildlife Services Program

name recognition and test the efficacy of

the Program in reducing crop and

livestock losses. NASS intends to

request that the survey be approved for

a 3 year period. These data will be

collected under the authority of 7 U.S.C.

2204(a). Individually identifiable data

collected under this authority are

governed by Section 1770 of the Food

Security Act of 1985, 7 U.S.C. 2276,

which requires USDA to afford strict

confidentiality to non-aggregated data

provided by respondents.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 13 minutes per

response.

Respondents: Agricultural

Commodity Growers.

Estimated number of Respondents:

32,000.

Estimated total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 6,933 hours.

Copies of this information collection

and related instructions can be obtained

without charge from Larry Gambrell, the

Agency OMB Clearance Officer, at (202)

720–5778.

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, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. Comments may be sent to:

Larry Gambrell, Agency OMB Clearance

Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Room

4162 South Building, Washington, DC

20250–2000.

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.

Signed at Washington, DC, July 16, 1998.

Rich Allen,

Associate Administrator, National

Agricultural Statistics Service.

[FR Doc. 98–20561 Filed 7–31–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–20–P