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

23877

Vol. 66, No. 91

Thursday, May 10, 2001

1All the petitions and comments we received are

a part of the rulemaking record for Docket No. 98–

085–1. You may read the petitions and comments

in our reading room. The reading room is located

in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8

a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,

please call (202) 690–2817 before coming.

2All the petitions and comments we received are

a part of the rulemaking record for Docket No. 98–

085–1. You may read the petitions and comments

in our reading room. The reading room is located

in room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 14th

Street and Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC. Normal reading room hours are 8

a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except

holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,

please call (202) 690–2817 before coming.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

[Docket No. 98–085–5]

Aquaculture; Public Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: We are issuing this notice to

inform the aquaculture industries,

interested parties, and the general

public that a public meeting will be

held to discuss how and to what extent

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service should regulate aquatic species

and to discuss any other issues

concerning possible regulation of

aquaculture by the Agency.

DATES: The public meeting will be held

on Friday, June 8, 2001, from 2 p.m. to

5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held in the Community Meeting Room

of the Twin Falls County Office

Building, 246 Third Avenue East, Twin

Falls, ID, in conjunction with the annual

meeting of the Idaho Aquaculture

Association.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

information about the APHIS public

meeting, contact Dr. Otis Miller, Jr.,

National Aquaculture Coordinator,

Center for Planning, Certification, and

Monitoring, VS, APHIS, 4700 River

Road Unit 46, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1231, (301) 734–6188.

For information regarding the annual

meeting of the Idaho Aquaculture

Association, call Mr. Dave Bruhn,

Executive Secretary, Idaho Aquaculture

Association, (208) 543–4898.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 4,

1999, the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service (APHIS) published

an advance notice of proposed

rulemaking (ANPR) titled ‘‘Aquaculture:

Farm-Raised Fin Fish’’ in the Federal

Register (64 FR 23795–23796, Docket

No. 98–085–1). We published this

ANPR after receiving petitions 1 asking

us to regulate aquaculture in various

ways. Many petitioners asked us to

define farmed aquatic animals as

livestock. In general, the petitioners

seemed to be interested in receiving the

same services that domestic producers

of livestock receive for animals moving

in interstate and foreign commerce.

However, based on the petitions alone,

it was difficult for us to determine what

segments of the industry want services

and exactly what services they want. It

was also difficult to determine the

objectives sought by the petitioners who

were requesting Federal regulation. We

published the ANPR in an attempt to

clarify the industry’s needs, the nature

of the services sought, and the concerns

the petitioners had with regard to such

regulations.

We received 55 comments 2 in

response to the ANPR. A majority of the

commenters supported the idea of

APHIS regulation of cultured fin fish.

Unfortunately, the commenters

generally did not clearly distinguish

between fin fish raised for food and

ornamental fin fish. Commenters who

wanted regulation were, however, very

clear that they want programs to prevent

and control disease and to support

increased commerce, both domestic and

export.

The commenters also suggested that

any rulemaking initiated by APHIS be a

negotiated rulemaking. In negotiated

rulemaking, industry representatives

and other interested persons meet with

APHIS officials and draft proposed

regulations together. The proposed

regulations are then published for

public comment. Negotiated rulemaking

is designed to ensure that all interested

persons are involved together from the

start in the development of regulations.

Unfortunately, negotiated rulemaking

is not suitable for all situations. It works

well when there is a small number of

interested parties and the parties are

easy to identify. This is not the case

with aquaculture. Because the

aquaculture industry is large and

diverse, we would have difficulty

identifying everyone who should be

represented in a negotiated rulemaking.

In addition, many parties outside of

aquaculture would have a substantial

interest in such a rulemaking. In our

view, the number of people who would

need to participate in a negotiated

rulemaking would be too large and

would suggest that negotiated

rulemaking is not appropriate.

Furthermore, a negotiated rulemaking

would be expensive, and APHIS does

not have adequate funds. Therefore, we

have concluded that it would not be

appropriate to pursue an aquaculture

negotiated rulemaking.

However, we have not decided

whether to pursue aquaculture

rulemaking by other means. Before we

make that decision, we want to have as

much information as possible from all

interested persons, and we want to

provide you with as much opportunity

as possible to discuss with us and

inform us regarding the relevant issues.

Therefore, we are holding a series of

public meetings. Public meetings allow

all interested parties—industry

representatives, producers, consumers,

and others—to present their views and

to exchange information among

themselves and with APHIS.

There are no set agendas for the

meetings. Any issues and concerns

related to aquaculture and possible

APHIS regulatory action can be

discussed. However, we would like

more information on three specific

issues. These are issues that the people

and organizations who commented on

our ANPR either did not address or

were unclear about. Specifically, if

APHIS does propose regulations: (1)

Should our program be mandatory or

voluntary; (2) should we cover shell

fish; and (3) should we cover

ornamental fin fish?

Information elicited at the meetings

could result in a new APHIS regulatory

program or in changes to aquacultureVerDate 11<MAY>2000 11:52 May 09, 2001 Jkt 194001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\10MYN1.SGM pfrm01 PsN: 10MYN1
23878 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 91 / Thursday, May 10, 2001 / Notices

related services currently provided by

APHIS.

We have scheduled this public

meeting, the fourth meeting in our

series, for Friday, June 8, 2001, in the

Community Meeting Room of the Twin

Falls County Office Building, Twin

Falls, ID. If you wish to speak at the

meeting, please register in advance by

calling the Regulatory Analysis and

Development voice mail at (301) 734–

4339. Leave a message with your name,

telephone number, organization, if any,

and an estimate of the time you need to

speak. You may also register at the

meeting by following the instructions

provided by an APHIS representative at

the beginning of the meeting. Starting

with the advance registrants, we will

call speakers in the order in which they

registered.

The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. and

is scheduled to end at 5 p.m. We may

end the meeting early if all the

registered speakers have had a chance to

speak and if no one else wants to speak.

We may also extend the meeting or limit

the time allowed for each speaker, if

necessary, so all interested persons have

an opportunity to participate.

An APHIS representative will preside

at the meeting. The meeting will be

recorded. We encourage speakers to

present written statements, though it is

not required. If you choose to present a

written statement, please provide the

chairperson with a copy. The complete

record, including the transcript and all

written comments, will be available to

the public.

This meeting is the fourth in our

series of public meetings. The first

public meeting was held on January 25,

2001, in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The

second public meeting was held on

February 16, 2001, in Hebron, KY, and

the third public meeting was held on

April 5, 2001, in Machias, ME. We plan

to hold additional meetings in

Washington (September 2001, in

conjunction with the Pacific Coast

Shellfish Growers Association Annual

Conference), Pennsylvania (October

2001, in conjunction with the

Pennsylvania Aquaculture Advisory

Committee and Pennsylvania

Aquaculture Association Annual

Meeting), Mississippi (October 2001, in

conjunction with a meeting of the

Catfish Farmers of America), and

Arkansas (October 2001, in conjunction

with a meeting of the Catfish Farmers of

Arkansas). We will publish a notice or

notices in the Federal Register

announcing the dates, times, and

locations of the meetings.

Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of

May 2001.

Chester A. Gipson,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 01–11816 Filed 5–9–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–D

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service

Notice of Intent To Revise and Request

an Extension of a Currently Approved

Information Collection

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research,

Education, and Extension Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) implementing regulations, this

notice announces the Cooperative State

Research, Education, and Extension

Service’s (CSREES) intention to revise

and extend a currently approved

information collection, Form CSREES–

667 ‘‘Proposal Cover Sheet,’’ and Form

CSREES–668, ‘‘Project Summary.’’

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received on or before July 16, 2001 to be

assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments

regarding this notice to Sally J. Rockey,

Deputy Administrator, Competitive

Research Grants and Awards

Management, CSREES, USDA, STOP

2240, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–2240. E-mail:

OEP@reeusda.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Sally J. Rockey, (202) 401–1761.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Grant Application Forms for the

Small Business Innovation Research

Grants Program.

OMB Number: 0524–0025.

Expiration Date of Approval: July 31,

2001.

Type of Request: Intent to revise and

extend a currently approved

information collection for three years.

Abstract: In 1982, the Small Business

Innovation Research (SBIR) Program

was authorized by Pub. L. 97–219, and

in 1992 reauthorized through October 1,

2000, by Pub. L. 102–564. In 2000, the

SBIR program was reauthorized through

September 30, 2008, by Pub. L. 106–554.

This legislation requires each Federal

agency with a research and research and

development budget in excess of $100

million to establish an SBIR program.

The objectives of the SBIR Program are

to stimulate technological innovation in

the private sector, strengthen the role of

small businesses in meeting Federal

research and development needs,

increase private sector

commercialization of innovations

derived from USDA-supported research

and development efforts, and foster and

encourage participation by womenowned and socially and economically

disadvantaged small business firms in

technological innovation. The Program

is carried out in three separate phases.

The purpose of Phase I is to determine

the scientific or technical feasibility of

ideas; Phase II is the principal research

or research and development effort; and

Phase III is to stimulate technological

innovation and the national return on

investment from research through the

pursuit of commercial objectives

resulting from work carried out in

Phases I and II.

USDA conducts its SBIR program

through the use of grants awards and

these grants are administered by the

Agreements and Special Projects Branch

and the Grants Management Branch,

Office of Extramural Programs,

Competitive Research Grants and

Awards Management, CSREES. Each

year, USDA issues an SBIR program

solicitation requesting Phase I

proposals. These proposals are

evaluated by peer review panels and

awarded on a competitive basis. The

SBIR Program Solicitation requests that

applicants submit proposals following

the format outlined in the Small

Business Administration (SBA) Policy

Directive. This simplified and

standardized proposal format is used by

all of the Federal agencies participating

in the SBIR Program in order to reduce

the application burden of the small

business firms that wish to apply to

more than one agency.

Before awards can be made, certain

information is required from applicants

as part of an overall proposal package.

In addition to project summaries,

descriptions of the research or teaching

efforts, literature reviews, curricula

vitae of principal investigators, and

other, relevant technical aspects of the

proposed project, supporting

documentation of an administrative and

budgetary nature also must be provided.

Because of the nature of the

competitive, peer-reviewed process, it is

important that information from

applicants be available in a

standardized format to ensure equitable

treatment.

This program also uses forms

approved in the OMB-approved

collection of information package 0524–

0039. These forms include Form