Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

                    See the                                          Document Drafting Handbook                                        for more details.                  

###### Department of Agriculture

      ( print page 35155)    
                    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, 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 (OMB),                     *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:*                     Request for Approval to Sell Capital Assets.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     0572-0020.                

*Summary of Collection:*                     The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is a credit agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It makes mortgage loans and loan guarantees to finance electric, telecommunications, and water and waste facilities in rural areas. In addition to providing loans and loan guarantees, one of RUS' main objectives is to safeguard loan security until the loan is repaid. Accordingly, RUS manages loan programs in accordance with the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901*et seq.,*                     as amended, (RE ACT) and as prescribed by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-129, Policies for Federal Credit Programs and Non-Tax Receivables, which states that agencies must, based on a review of a loan application, determine that an applicant complies with statutory, regulatory, and administrative eligibility requirements for loan assistance.                

*Need and Use of the Information:*                     RUS borrower will use form 369,                     *Request for Approval to sell capital assets,*                     to seek agency permission to sell some of its assets. The form is used to collect detailed information regarding the proposed sale of a portion of the borrower's systems. RUS will collect information to determine whether or not the agency should approve a sale and also to keep track of what property exists to secure the loan. If the information in Form 369 is not collected when capital assets are sold, the capital assets securing the Government's loans could be liquidated and the Government's security either eliminated entirely or diluted to an undesirable level.                

*Description of Respondents:*                     Not-for-profit institutions; Business or other for-profit.                

*Number of Respondents:*                     5.                

*Frequency of Responses:*                     Recordkeeping; Reporting: On occasion.                

*Total Burden Hours:*                     15.                

## Rural Utilities Service

*Title:*                     Certification of Authority.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     0572-0074.                

*Summary of Collection:*                     The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is a credit agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It makes mortgage loans and loan guarantees to finance electric, telecommunications, and water and waste facilities in rural areas. Rural Electrification Act of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901*et seq,*                     as amended, (RE ACT) and as prescribed by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-129, Policies for Federal Credit Programs and Non-Tax Receivables, which states that agencies must, based on a review of a loan application, determine that an applicant complies with statutory, regulatory, and administrative eligibility requirements for loan assistance. A major factor in managing loan programs is controlling the advancement of funds. RUS Form 675 allows this control to be achieved by providing a list of authorized signatures against which signatures requesting funds are compared.                

*Need and Use of the Information:*                     RUS will collect information to ensure that only authorized representatives of the borrower sign the lending requisition form. Without the information RUS would not know if the request for a loan advance was legitimate or not and so the potential for waste, loss, unauthorized use, and misappropriation would be increased.                

*Description of Respondents:*                     Not-for-profit institutions; Business or other for-profit.                

*Number of Respondents:*                     250.                

*Frequency of Responses:**Reporting:*                     On occasion.                

*Total Burden Hours:*                     25.                

## Rural Utilities Service

*Title:*7 CFR 1717 subpart D, Mergers and Consolidations of Electric Borrowers.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     0572-0114.                

*Summary of Collection:*                     The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is a credit agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It makes mortgage loans and loan guarantees to finance electric, telecommunications, water and waste and water facilities in rural areas. Loan programs are managed in accordance with the Rural Electrification Act (RE Act) of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901*et seq.,*                     as amended and as prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-129, Policies for Federal Credit Programs and Non-tax Receivables, which  states that agencies                           ( print page 35156)                        must, based on a review of a loan application, determine that an applicant complies with statutory, regulatory, and administrative eligibility requirements for loan assistance.                

*Need and Use of the Information:*                     RUS will collect information to streamline procedures and allow borrowers the flexibility to meet new business challenges and opportunities. The information is necessary for RUS to conduct business with successor entity while protecting the security of Government loans and avoiding defaults and to grant merger approval when required.                

*Description of Respondents:*                     Business or other for-profit.                

*Number of Respondents:*                     12.                

*Frequency of Responses:*                     Reporting: On occasion.                

*Total Burden Hours:*                     170.                

## Rural Utility Service

*Title:*7 CFR part 1755, Telecommunications Standards and Specifications.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     0572-0132.                

*Summary of Collection:*7 CFR part 1755 establishes Agency policy that materials and equipment purchased by telecommunications borrowers or accepted as contractor-furnished material must conform to performance specifications where they have been established and, if included in IP 344-02, “List of Materials Acceptable for Use on Telecommunications Systems of RUS Borrowers”, must be selected from that list or must have received technical acceptance from the Rural Utility Service (RUS). To protect the security of loans and to ensure that the telecommunications services provided to rural Americans are comparable to those offered in urban and suburban areas, RUS establishes the minimum acceptable performance criteria for materials and equipment to be employed on telecommunications system financed by the Telecommunications Program. Manufacturers, wishing to sell their products to Telecommunications borrowers, request consideration for acceptance of their products and submit data demonstrating their products' compliance with—Telecommunications performance specifications or—selected industry specifications.                

*Need and Use of the Information:*                     RUS will evaluate the data to determine that the quality of the products is acceptable and that their use will not jeopardize loan security. The information is closely reviewed to be certain that test data, product dimensions and product material compositions fully comply with RUS performance specifications or that have been established for the particular product.                

*Description of Respondents:*                     Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions.                

*Number of Respondents:*                     47.                

*Frequency of Response:*                     Reporting: On occasion.                

*Total Burden Hours:*                     1,700.                

## Rural Utility Service

*Title:*                     Telecommunications Field Trials.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     0572-0133.                

*Summary of Collection:*Title 7 CFR part 1755.3 prescribes the conditions and provision of a field trial. Field trials are contractual obligations that a manufacturer and Rural Utility Service (RUS) telecommunications borrower enter into. They consist of limited field installation of a qualifying product in closely monitored situations designed to determine, to RUS' satisfaction, the products' effectiveness under actual field conditions. RUS will use field trials as a means for determining the operational effectiveness of a new or revised product where such experience does not already exist. Field trial process allows: Manufacturers a means of immediate access to the RUS borrower market, RUS borrowers opportunity to immediately utilize advance products, and provides for RUS a means to safely obtain necessary information on technically advanced products which will address the products' suitability for use in the harsh environment of rural America.                

*Need and Use of the Information:*                     RUS will use various forms to enter into contractual obligations, to establish an agreement by RUS, the manufacturer and a borrower, or identify the product(s) that are under field trial. Telecommunication borrowers who participate in field trials do so on a voluntary basis. The information is closely reviewed to determine that the products comply with the established RUS standards and specifications and that the products are otherwise acceptable for use on rural telecommunications systems. Without this information, RUS has no means of determining the acceptability of advanced technology in a manner that is timely enough for RUS borrowers to take advantage of the improved benefits and promise that such products may provide for rural America.                

*Description of Respondents:*                     Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit institutions.                

*Number of Respondent:*                     14.                

*Frequency of Responses:*                     Reporting: On occasion.                

*Total Burden Hours:*                     378.                

Charlene Parker,

Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. E9-17114 Filed 7-17-09; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-15-P