Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 164 / Friday, August 25, 2017 / Notices 40539 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Notice of Request for an Extension or 

Renewal of a Currently Approved 

Information Collection 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, Department of 

Agriculture. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the intention of the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights (OASCR) to request a 

renewal of a currently approved 

information collection. OASCR will use 

the information collected to process 

Respondents’ discrimination complaints 

about programs conducted or assisted 

by USDA. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by October 24, 2017 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights/Office of 

Compliance, Policy, and Training 

invites interested persons to submit 

comments on this notice. Comments 

may be submitted by one of the 

following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

Web site provides the ability to type 

short comments directly into the 

comment field on this Web page or 

attach a file for lengthier comments. Go 

to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

Mail, including CD–ROMs, etc.: Send 

to Docket Clerk, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250– 

3700, Mailstop 9401. 

Hand- or courier-delivered submittals: 

Deliver to 1400 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20250–3700, 

Mailstop 9401. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights/Office of Compliance, 

Policy, and Training, Docket No. 0508– 

0002, Comments received in response to 

this docket will be made available for 

public inspection and posted without 

change, including any personal 

information, to http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, go to 

the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights/Office of Compliance, 

Policy, and Training, Docket Room at 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–3700, Mailstop 

9401, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Contact Anna G. Stroman, Deputy 

Director, Office of Compliance, Policy, 

and Training, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250, (202) 205–5953 

or Anna.Stroman@ascr.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: USDA Program Discrimination 

Complaint Form. 

OMB Number: OMB No. 0508–0002. 

Expiration Date of Approval: 

December 31, 2017. 

Type of Request: Extension or renewal 

of the USDA Program Discrimination 

Complaint Form. 

Abstract: Under 7 CFR 15.6, ‘‘Any 

person who believes himself/herself or 

any specific class of individuals to be 

subjected to discrimination [in any 

USDA assisted program or activity] 

* * * may by himself/herself or by an 

authorized representative file * * * a 

written complaint.’’ Under 7 CFR 15d.4, 

‘‘Any person who believes that he or she 

(or any specific class of individuals) has 

been, or is being, subjected to 

[discrimination in any USDA conducted 

program or activity] * * * may file on 

his or her own, or through an authorized 

representative, a written complaint 

alleging such discrimination.’’ The 

collection of this information is an 

avenue by which the individual or his 

representative may file such a program 

discrimination complaint. 

The requested information, which can 

be submitted by filling out a form or by 

submitting a letter, is necessary in order 

for USDA OASCR to address the alleged 

discriminatory action. The Respondent 

is asked to state his/her name, mailing 

address, property address (if different 

from mailing address), telephone 

number, email address (if any) and to 

provide a name and contact information 

for the Respondent’s representative (if 

any). A brief description of who was 

involved with the alleged 

discriminatory action, what occurred 

and when, is requested. In the event that 

the Respondent is filing the program 

discrimination complaint more than 180 

days after the alleged discrimination 

occurred, the Respondent is asked to 

provide the reason for the delay. 

Finally, the Respondent is asked to 

identify which bases are alleged to have 

motivated the discriminatory action. 

The form explains that laws and 

regulations prohibit on the bases of race, 

color, national origin, age, sex, gender 

identity (including gender expression), 

disability, religion, sexual orientation, 

marital or familial status, or because all 

or part of the individual’s income is 

derived from any public assistance 

program, but that not all bases apply to 

all programs. 

The program discrimination 

complaint filing information, which is 

voluntarily provided by the Respondent, 

will be used by the staff of USDA 

OASCR to intake, investigate, resolve, 

and/or adjudicate the Respondent’s 

complaint. The program discrimination 

complaint form will enable OASCR to 

better collect information from 

complainants in a timely manner, 

therefore, reducing delays and errors in 

determining USDA jurisdiction. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average one hour per 

response. 

Respondents: Producers, applicants, 

and USDA customers. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

141. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 141 hours. 

Comments are invited on: (1) 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; (2) 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; (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 those who are to respond, including 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments may be sent to Anna G. 

Stroman, Deputy Director, Office of 

Compliance, Policy, and Training, 

Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights. All comments received will 

be available for public inspection during 

regular business hours at the same 

address. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for Office of Management and Budget 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. 

Winona Lake Scott, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil 

Rights, Office of the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18021 Filed 8–24–17; 8:45 am] 

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