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

1885 

Vol. 80, No. 9 

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

January 8, 2015. 

The Department of Agriculture has 

submitted the following information 

collection requirement(s) to Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 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, New 

Executive Office Building, 725—17th 

Street NW., Washington, DC 20502. 

Commenters are encouraged to submit 

their comments to OMB via email to: 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov or fax 

(202) 395–5806 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) 720–8681. 

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. 

Rural Utilities Service 

Title: 7 CFR 1726, Electric System 

Construction Policies and Procedures— 

Electric. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0107. 

Summary of Collection: The Rural 

Electrification Act of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901 

et seq., as amended, (RE ACT) in Sec. 

4 (7 U.S.C. 904) authorizes and 

empowers the Administrator of the 

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to make 

loans in the several States and 

Territories of the United States for rural 

electrification and the furnishing and 

improving of electric energy to persons 

in rural areas. These loans are for a term 

of up to 35 years and are secured by a 

first mortgage on the borrower’s electric 

system. In the interest of protecting loan 

security and accomplishing the 

statutory objective of a sound program 

of rural electrification, Section 4 of the 

RE Act further requires that RUS make 

or guarantee a loan only if there is 

reasonable assurance that the loan, 

together with all outstanding loans and 

obligations of the borrower, will be 

repaid in full within the time agreed. 

RUS will collect information using 

various RUS forms. 

Need and Use of the Information: 

RUS will collect information to 

implement certain provisions of the 

RUS standard form of loan documents 

regarding the borrower’s purchase of 

materials and equipment and the 

construction of its electric system by 

contract or force account. The use of 

standard forms and procurement 

procedures helps assure RUS that 

appropriate standards and specifications 

are maintained; agency loan security is 

not adversely affected; and loan and 

loan guarantee funds are used 

effectively and for the intended 

purposes. The information will be used 

by RUS electric borrowers, their 

contractors and by RUS. If standard 

forms were not used, borrowers would 

need to prepare their own documents at 

a significant expense; and each 

document submitted by a borrower 

would require extensive and costly 

review by both RUS and the Office of 

the General Counsel. 

Description of Respondents: Not-forprofit institutions; Business or other forprofit. 

Number of Respondents: 1,161. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

On occasion. 

Total Burden Hours: 98. 

Rural Utilities Service 

Title: 7 CFR part 1724 and part 1738 

Electric Engineering, Architectural 

Services and Design Policies and 

Procedures; and Rural Broadband 

Access Loans and Loan Guarantees. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0118. 

Summary of Collection: The Rural 

Electrification Act of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901 

et seq., as amended, authorizes Rural 

Utilities Service (RUS) to make loans in 

several States and Territories of the 

United States for broadband access and 

rural electrification and the furnishing 

and improving of electric energy to 

persons in rural areas. Title 7 CFR 1724 

requires each borrower to select a 

qualified architect to perform certain 

architectural services and to use the 

designated form that provides for these 

services. The agency has developed 

standardized contractual forms used by 

borrowers to contract for services. 

Need and Use of the Information: The 

information collected stipulates the 

parties to the agreement, contain certain 

information relating to the approved 

loan or loan guarantee, and provide 

detailed contractual obligations and 

services to be provided and performed 

relating to construction, project design, 

construction management, 

compensation, and related information. 

The contractual forms provide 

standardized contract agreements 

between the electric or broadband 

borrower and the engineering or 

architectural firm providing services to 

the borrower. This has resulted in 

substantial savings to borrowers by 

reducing preparation of the 

documentation and the costly review by 

the government. 

Description of Respondents: Business 

or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 

institutions. 

Number of Respondents: 59. 

Frequency of Responses: Reporting: 

On occasion. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

1886 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 9 / Wednesday, January 14, 2015 / Notices 

1FSIS can bill basetime, overtime, and holiday 

rates on the quarter hour. Accordingly, the 2015 

overtime and holiday rates were rounded down so 

that rates can equally be divided by 4 (to 2 decimal 

places). 

2 Ibid. 

Total Burden Hours: 63. 

Charlene Parker, 

Departmental Information Collection 

Clearance Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00408 Filed 1–13–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket Number FSIS–2014–0038] 

RIN 0583–AD40 

2015 Rate Changes for the Basetime, 

Overtime, Holiday, and Laboratory 

Services Rates 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

the 2015 rates that it will charge meat 

and poultry establishments, egg 

products plants, and importers and 

exporters for providing voluntary, 

overtime, and holiday inspection and 

identification, certification, and 

laboratory services. The 2015 basetime, 

overtime, holiday, and laboratory 

services rates will be applied beginning 

the first FSIS pay period approximately 

30 days after the publication of this 

notice. This pay period begins on 

February 22, 2015. 

DATES: FSIS will charge the rates 

announced in this notice beginning 

February 22, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information contact Michael 

Toner, Director, Budget Division, Office 

of Management, FSIS, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Room 2159, South 

Building, 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20250–3700; 

Telephone: (202) 690–8398, Fax: (202) 

690–4155. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On April 12, 2011, FSIS published a 

final rule amending its regulations to 

establish formulas for calculating the 

rates it charges meat and poultry 

establishments, egg products plants, and 

importers and exporters for providing 

voluntary, overtime, and holiday 

inspection and identification, 

certification, and laboratory services (76 

FR 20220). 

In the final rule, FSIS stated that it 

would use the formulas to calculate the 

annual rates, publish the rates in a 

Federal Register notice before the start 

of each calendar year and apply the 

rates on the first FSIS pay period at the 

beginning of the calendar year. 

This notice announces the 2015 rates, 

which will be applied starting on 

February 22, 2015. 

2015 Rates and Calculations 

The following table lists the 2015 

Rates per hour, per employee, by type 

of service: 

Service 

2015 Rate 

(estimates 

rounded to 

reflect billable 

quarters) 

Basetime ............................... $55.60 

Overtime ............................... 70.28 

Holiday .................................. 85.00 

Laboratory ............................. 70.52 

The regulations state that FSIS will 

calculate the rates using formulas that 

include the Office of Field Operations 

(OFO) and Office of International Affairs 

(OIA) inspection program personnel’s 

previous fiscal year’s regular direct pay 

and regular hours (9 CFR 391.2, 391.3, 

391.4, 590.126, 590.128, 592.510, 

592.520, and 592.530). In 2013, an 

Agency reorganization eliminated the 

OIA program office and transferred all 

of its inspection program personnel to 

OFO. Therefore, pay and hours of 

inspection program personnel are 

identified in the calculations as ‘‘OFO 

inspection program personnel’s’’ pay 

and hours. 

FSIS determined the 2015 rates using 

the following calculations: 

Basetime Rate = The quotient of 

dividing the OFO inspection program 

personnel’s previous fiscal year’s 

regular direct pay by the previous fiscal 

year’s regular hours, plus the quotient 

multiplied by the calendar year’s 

percentage of cost of living increase, 

plus the benefits rate, plus the travel 

and operating rate, plus the overhead 

rate, plus the allowance for bad debt 

rate. 

The calculation for the 2015 basetime 

rate per hour per program employee is: 

[FY 2014 OFO Regular Direct Pay 

divided by the previous fiscal year’s 

Regular Hours ($396,361,959/

13,707,069)] = $28.91 + ($28.91 * 1.7% 

(calendar year 2015 Cost of Living 

Increase)) = $29.41 + $8.78 (benefits 

rate) + $.79 (travel and operating rate) + 

$16.61 (overhead rate) + $.02 (bad debt 

allowance rate) = $55.60. 

Overtime Rate = The quotient of 

dividing the Office OFO inspection 

program personnel’s previous fiscal 

year’s regular direct pay by the previous 

fiscal year’s regular hours, plus that 

quotient multiplied by the calendar 

year’s percentage of cost of living 

increase, multiplied by 1.5 (for 

overtime), plus the benefits rate, plus 

the travel and operating rate, plus the 

overhead rate, plus the allowance for 

bad debt rate. 

The calculation for the 2015 overtime 

rate per hour per program employee is: 

[FY 2014 OFO Regular Direct Pay 

divided by previous fiscal year’s Regular 

Hours ($396,361,959/13,707,069)]= 

$28.91 + ($28.91 * 1.7% (calendar year 

2015 Cost of Living Increase)) = $29.41 

* 1.5 = $44.11 + $8.78 (benefits rate) + 

$.79 (travel and operating rate) + $16.61 

(overhead rate) + $.02 (bad debt 

allowance rate) = $70.30 (rounded to 

$70.28).1

Holiday Rate = The quotient of 

dividing the OFO inspection program 

personnel’s previous fiscal year’s 

regular direct pay by the previous fiscal 

year’s regular hours, plus that quotient 

multiplied by the calendar year’s 

percentage of cost of living increase, 

multiplied by 2 (for holiday pay), plus 

the benefits rate, plus the travel and 

operating rate, plus the overhead rate, 

plus the allowance for bad debt rate. 

The calculation for the 2015 holiday 

rate per hour per program employee 

calculation is: 

[FY 2014 OFO Regular Direct Pay 

divided by Regular Hours 

($396,361,959/13,707,069)] = $28.91 + 

($28.91 * 1.7% (calendar year 2015 Cost 

of Living Increase)) = $29.41 * 2 = 

$58.82 + $8.78 (benefits rate) + $.79 

(travel and operating rate) + $16.61 

(overhead rate) + $.02 (bad debt 

allowance rate) = $85.00.2

Laboratory Services Rate = The 

quotient of dividing the Office of Public 

Health Science (OPHS) previous fiscal 

year’s regular direct pay by the OPHS 

previous fiscal year’s regular hours, plus 

the quotient multiplied by the calendar 

year’s percentage cost of living increase, 

plus the benefits rate, plus the travel 

and operating rate, plus the overhead 

rate, plus the allowance for bad debt 

rate. 

The calculation for the 2015 

laboratory services rate per hour per 

program employee is: 

[FY 2014 OPHS Regular Direct Pay/

OPHS Regular hours ($24,061,554/

551,995)] = $43.59 + ($43.59 * 1.7% 

(calendar year 2015 Cost of Living 

Increase)) = $44.33 + $8.78 (benefits 

rate) + $.79 (travel and operating rate) + 

$16.61 (overhead rate) + $.02 (bad debt 

allowance rate) = $70.52. 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES