103774 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Notices 

Requests should be emailed to 

michael.mcfarlane@usda.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Bryon Lake, National Technology and 

Development Program, (406) 829–6814 

or by email at bryon.lake@usda.gov, or 

Michael McFarlane, National 

Interagency Fire Center, (208) 860–7334 

or by email at michael.mcfarlane@

usda.gov. Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

and hard of hearing may call 711 to 

reach the Telecommunications Relay 

Service, 24 hours a day, every day of the 

year, including holidays. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Qualified Products List for 

Wildland Fire Chemicals. 

OMB Number: 0596–0182. 

Expiration Date of Approval: January 

31, 2025. 

Type of Request: Reapproval or 

reinstatement without revision of an 

approved ICR. 

Abstract: The Forest Service and 

cooperating wildland firefighting 

agencies need adequate types and 

quantities of qualified fire chemical 

products to accomplish fire 

management activities as safely and 

effectively as possible. To accomplish 

this objective, the Agency evaluates and 

prequalifies commercial wildland 

firefighting chemical products. The 

Agency is required to submit the 

formulations to the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service and National Marine 

Fisheries Service during the evaluation 

process. All commercial wildland 

firefighting chemical products must 

meet the qualification requirements 

identified in the specifications 

maintained by the Wildland Fire 

Chemical Systems staff for the National 

Technology and Development Program. 

After a determination has been made 

that a chemical product meets the 

qualification requirements, the chemical 

product is added to the qualified 

products list for the appropriate product 

type. All federal procurements of 

wildland fire chemical products are 

made from these qualified product lists. 

To initiate an evaluation, chemical 

product manufacturers or authorized 

suppliers enter into an agreement with 

the Forest Service and pay all costs 

associated with the submission and 

evaluation of the chemical product. 

Once the agreement is in place and 

funds are deposited to cover the 

associated costs, the manufacturer or 

supplier submits the following 

information to Wildland Fire Chemical 

Systems staff: 

1. A list of the specific ingredients 

and quantity used to prepare the 

chemical product; 

2. Identification of a specific company 

as the source of supply for each 

ingredient; 

3. Copies of the safety data sheet for 

the chemical product and for each 

ingredient used to prepare the chemical 

product from the company that supplies 

that chemical; and 

4. Specific mixing requirements and 

performance information. 

Review of the submitted information 

assures that the chemical product does 

not contain ingredients meeting the 

criteria for chemicals of concern. 

Chemicals of concern are defined as 

chemicals appearing on one or more of 

the following lists: 

• Agency list of unacceptable 

ingredients. 

• National Toxicology Program 

Annual Report on Carcinogens. 

• International Agency for Research 

on Cancer Monographs for Potential 

Carcinogens. 

• Comprehensive Environmental 

Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act List of Extremely Hazardous 

Substances and Their Threshold 

Planning Quantities. 

• Resources Conservation and 

Recovery Act, Acutely Hazardous and 

Toxic Wastes. 

• Emergency Planning and 

Community Right to Know Toxic 

Release Inventory. 

A risk assessment is required and is 

performed at the manufacturer’s 

expense by a third party selected by the 

Forest Service. The risk assessment 

assesses the chemical product and 

levels of ingredients found in typical 

applications of the chemical product 

relative to human and environmental 

impact. 

Each chemical product submitted is 

tested to determine its mammalian and 

aquatic toxicity. Each chemical product 

must meet specific levels of 

performance to minimize potential risk 

during firefighting operations and 

cannot exceed established thresholds. 

Additional tests are performed to 

determine the effectiveness of the 

chemical product to reduce a fire’s rate 

of spread, flame length, and intensity by 

application of the chemical product 

directly on or near the fire. Several 

characteristics of the chemical product 

are measured over its operational range 

to ensure that the chemical product 

meets the needs of firefighters in the 

field. 

The information collection request for 

each chemical product is necessary due 

to the length of time (16 to 18 months) 

needed to test the chemical product and 

the need to ensure that it does not pose 

a hazard for laboratory personnel during 

the evaluation process or for field 

personnel who mix and load the 

chemical product prior to its purchase 

and use. The information collection 

request and the chemical product 

evaluation must be conducted on an 

ongoing basis to ensure the Forest 

Service can solicit and award contracts 

in a timely manner to provide 

firefighters with safe and effective 

wildland fire chemical products. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 4.5 hours 

per response. 

Type of Respondents: Manufacturers 

and suppliers of fire chemical products 

for wildland fire management. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents: 5. 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Responses per Respondent: 3. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 69 hours. 

Comment is requested on: 

1. Whether this collection of 

information is necessary for the stated 

purposes and the proper performance of 

the functions of the Forest Service, 

including whether the information will 

have practical or scientific utility; 

2. The accuracy of the Agency’s 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

3. Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and 

4. Ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. 

All comments received in response to 

this notice, including names and 

addresses when provided, will be a 

matter of public record. Comments will 

be summarized and included in the 

package submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget for reapproval 

or reinstatement of the ICR. 

JoLynn Anderson, 

Branch Lead, Directives, Clearances, and 

Information Collection Requests. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30207 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket #: RBS–24–CO–OP–0018] 

60-Day Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection: Rural Development 

Cooperative Agreements (RDCA) 

Program; OMB Control No.: 0570–0074 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 244 / Thursday, December 19, 2024 / Notices 103775 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

(RBCS or Agency), an agency within the 

United States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), Rural Development (RD), 

announces its intention to request a 

revision to a currently approved 

information collection package for Rural 

Development Cooperative Agreements 

(RDCA) Program. The Agency invites 

comments on this information 

collection for which it intends to 

request approval from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by February 18, 2025 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted electronically through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal, 

regulations.gov. In the ‘‘Search for 

dockets and documents on agency 

actions’’ box, enter the docket number 

‘‘RBS–24–CO–OP–0018,’’ and click the 

‘‘Search’’ button. From the search 

results: click on or locate the document 

title: ‘‘60-Day Notice of Proposed 

Information Collection: ‘‘Rural 

Development Cooperative Agreements 

(RDCA) Program’’ and select the 

‘‘Comment’’ button. Before inputting 

comments, commenters may review the 

‘‘Commenter’s Checklist’’ (optional). To 

submit a comment: Insert comments 

under the ‘‘Comment’’ title, click 

‘‘Browse’’ to attach files (if available), 

input email address, select box to opt to 

receive email confirmation of 

submission and tracking (optional), 

select the box ‘‘I’m not a robot,’’ and 

then select ‘‘Submit Comment.’’ 

Information on using Regulations.gov, 

including instructions for accessing 

documents, submitting comments, and 

viewing the docket after the close of the 

comment period, is available through 

the site’s ‘‘FAQ’’ link. 

All comments will be available for 

public inspection online at the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal (https://

www.regulations.gov). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

MaryPat Daskal, Rural Development 

Innovation Center-Regulations 

Management Division, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Room 4227, 

South Building, Washington, DC 20250– 

1522. Telephone: (202) 720–7853. 

Email: MaryPat.Daskal@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OMB 

regulation (5 CFR part 1320) 

implementing provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–13) requires that interested 

members of the public and affected 

agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an 

information collection that the Agency 

is submitting to OMB for a revision. 

Title: Rural Development Cooperative 

Agreements (RDCA) Program. 

OMB Control Number: 0570–0074. 

Expiration Date of Approval: May 31, 

2025. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 1.65 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Regional consortia of 

higher education, academic health and 

research institutes, or economic 

development entities. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

64. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Number of 

Responses: 640. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 1,056 hours. 

Abstract: Pursuant to the Federal 

Agricultural Improvement Act of 1996 

(Pub. L. 104–127), the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture (USDA) received 

authorization from Congress under 7 

U.S.C. 2204b(b)(4) to enter into 

cooperative agreements for the purpose 

of improving the coordination and 

effectiveness of programs that benefit 

rural areas. This authority is referred to 

as the Rural Development Cooperative 

Agreement (RDCA) program. There are 

three agencies within USDA that 

administer programs that specifically 

target rural areas: The Rural BusinessCooperative Service (RB–CS), the Rural 

Housing Service (RHS), and the Rural 

Utilities Service (RUS). 

Each year, USDA receives proposals 

from the public that are not in response 

to a specific program announcement. 

These proposals are called unsolicited 

proposals. If a proposal is related to one 

or more programs, it will be routed to 

the appropriated RD agency for review 

and possible consideration for a 

cooperative agreement using the RDCA 

authority. If the proposal is unique or 

innovative, then RD has authority to 

enter into a cooperative agreement 

without competition (see 2 CFR 

415.1(d)(6)). Alternatively, USDA may 

issue an invitation to submit 

applications for a cooperative agreement 

using the RDCA authority. These 

proposals are called solicited proposals. 

Solicited proposals would typically be 

announced via a Federal Register 

Notice. 

Information will be collected by the 

field offices from applicants. The 

collection of information is considered 

the minimum necessary to effectively 

evaluate the overall scope of the project. 

Failure to collect information could 

have an adverse impact on effectively 

carrying out the mission, 

administration, processing, and program 

requirements. 

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 

respondents, 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 and 

included in the request for OMB 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Lisa Day, 

Innovation Center—Regulations 

Management Division, at (971) 

313.4750. Email: Lisa.Day@USDA.GOV. 

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. 

Jacqueline Ponti-Lazaruk, 

Chief Innovation Officer, Innovation Center, 

USDA Rural Development. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30210 Filed 12–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

[Docket #: RBS–24–Business–0019] 

Notice of Revision of a Currently 

Approved Information Collection 

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 the 

Rural Business-Cooperative Service 

(RBCS or Agency), an agency within the 

United States Department of Agriculture 


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