42270 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 

oral statement should request in writing 

by September 12, 2017, to be scheduled 

on the agenda. Anyone who would like 

to bring related matters to the attention 

of the committee may file written 

statements with the committee staff 

before or after the meeting. Written 

comments and requests for time to make 

oral comments must be sent to Brad 

Bolton, Designated Federal Officer, 107 

McKinley Road, Mio, Michigan 48647; 

by email to blbolton@fs.fed.us, or via 

facsimile to 989–826–6073. 

Meeting Accommodations: If you are 

a person requiring reasonable 

accommodation, please make requests 

in advance for sign language 

interpreting, assistive listening devices, 

or other reasonable accommodation. For 

access to the facility or proceedings, 

please contact the person listed in the 

section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. All reasonable 

accommodation requests are managed 

on a case by case basis. 

Dated: July 5, 2017. 

Glenn Casamassa, 

Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 

System. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18949 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Nevada and Placer Counties Resource 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Nevada and Placer 

Counties Resource Advisory Committee 

(RAC) will meet in Truckee, California. 

The committee is authorized under the 

Secure Rural Schools and Community 

Self-Determination Act of 2000 (the Act) 

as reauthorized by Public Law 114–10 

and operates in compliance with the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act. The 

purpose of the committee is to improve 

collaborative relationships and to 

provide advice and recommendations to 

the Forest Service concerning projects 

and funding consistent with Title II of 

the Act. RAC information can be found 

at the following Web site: http://

cloudapps-usda-gov.force.com/FSSRS/ 

RAC_Page?id=001t0000002JcwUAAS. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Monday, September 25, 2017, at 9:00 

a.m. 

All RAC meetings are subject to 

cancellation. For status of meeting prior 

to attendance, please contact the person 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the Truckee Ranger Station, Conference 

Room, 10811 Stockrest Springs Road, 

Truckee, California. 

Written comments may be submitted 

as described under SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. All comments, including 

names and addresses when provided, 

are placed in the record and are 

available for public inspection and 

copying. The public may inspect 

comments received at Truckee Ranger 

Station. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Woodbridge, RAC Coordinator, 

by phone at 530–478–6205 or via email 

at mjwoodbridge@fs.fed.us. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., 

Eastern Standard Time, Monday 

through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

purpose of the meeting is to: 

1. Welcome and oriententation of 

members, 

2. Federal Advisory Committee Act 

overview, 

3. Development of project ranking 

citeria and voting process, 

4. Elect a RAC chairperson, 

5. Project proponent presentations, 

and 

6. Review and selection of project 

proposals. 

The meeting is open to the public. 

The agenda will include time for people 

to make oral statements of three minutes 

or less. Individuals wishing to make an 

oral statement should submit a request 

in writing at least one week prior to the 

meeting to be scheduled on the agenda. 

Anyone who would like to bring related 

matters to the attention of the committee 

may file written statements with the 

committee staff before or after the 

meeting. Written comments and 

requests for time to make oral comments 

must be sent to Michael Woodbridge, 

RAC Coordinator, 631 Coyote Street, 

Nevada City, California 95959; by email 

to mjwoodbridge@fs.fed.us, or via 

facsimile to 530–478–6109. 

Meeting Accommodations: If you are 

a person requiring reasonable 

accommodation, please make requests 

in advance for sign language 

interpreting, assistive listening devices, 

or other reasonable accommodation. For 

access to the facility or proceedings, 

please contact the person listed in the 

section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. All reasonable 

accommodation requests are managed 

on a case by case basis. 

Dated: July 17, 2017. 

Jeanne M. Higgins, 

Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National 

Forest System. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18948 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture 

Solicitation of Veterinary Shortage 

Situation Nominations for the 

Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 

Program (VMLRP) 

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and solicitation for 

nominations. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food 

and Agriculture (NIFA) is soliciting 

nominations of veterinary service 

shortage situations for the Veterinary 

Medicine Loan Repayment Program 

(VMLRP) for fiscal year (FY) 2018, as 

authorized under the National 

Veterinary Medical Services Act 

(NVMSA). This notice initiates the 

nomination period and prescribes the 

procedures and criteria to be used by 

eligible nominating officials (State, 

Insular Area, DC and Federal Lands) to 

nominate veterinary shortage situations. 

Each year all eligible nominating 

officials may submit nominations, up to 

the maximum indicated for each entity 

in this notice. NIFA is conducting this 

solicitation of veterinary shortage 

situation nominations under an 

approved information collection (OMB 

Control Number 0524–0050). 

DATES: Shortage situation nominations 

must be submitted on or before October 

20, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: Submissions must be made 

by clicking the submit button on the 

Veterinarian Shortage Situation 

nomination form provided in the 

VMLRP Shortage Situations section of 

the NIFA Web site at 

www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp. 

This form is sent as a data file directly 

to the Veterinary Medicine Loan 

Repayment Program; National Institute 

of Food and Agriculture; U.S. 

Department of Agriculture. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Robinson; National Program 

Leader; National Institute of Food and 

Agriculture; U.S. Department of 

Agriculture; Stop 2240; 1400 

Independence Avenue SW.; 

Washington, DC 20250–2220; Voice: 

202–401–1990; Fax: 202–401–6156; 

Email: vmlrp@nifa.usda.gov. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 42271 

1 Government Accountability Office, Veterinary 

Workforce: Actions Are Needed to Ensure Sufficient 

Capacity for Protecting Public and Animal Health, 

GAO–09–178: Feb 18, 2009). 

2National Academies of Science, Workforce 

Needs in Veterinary Medicine, 2013. 

3Andrus DM, Gwinner KP, Prince, JB. Food 

Supply Veterinary Medicine Coalition Report: 

Estimating FSM Demand and Maintaining the 

Availability of Veterinarians in Food Supply 

Related Disciplines in the United States and 

Canada, 2016. https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/ 

Reference/Pages/Food-Supply-Veterinary-MedicineCoalition-Report.aspx. 

4Andrus DM, Gwinner KP, Prince, JB. Future 

demand, probable shortages and strategies for 

creating a better future in food supply veterinary 

medicine. 2006, JAVMA 229(1):57–69. 

5Andrus DM, Gwinner KP, Prince, JB. Attracting 

students to careers in food supply veterinary 

medicine. 2006, JAVMA 228(1):16931704. 

6Andrus DM, Gwinner KP, Prince, JB. Job 

satisfaction, changes in occupational area and 

commitment to a career in food supply veterinary 

medicine. 2006, JAVMA 228(12):1884–1893. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Purpose 

Food supply veterinary medicine 

embraces a broad array of veterinary 

professional activities, specialties and 

responsibilities, and is defined as all 

aspects of veterinary medicine’s 

involvement in food supply systems, 

from traditional agricultural production 

to consumption. A series of studies and 

reports 123456 have drawn attention to 

maldistributions in the veterinary 

workforce leaving some communities, 

especially rural areas, with insufficient 

access to food supply veterinary 

services. 

Two programs, born out of this 

concern, aim to mitigate the 

maldistribution of the veterinary 

workforce: The Veterinary Medicine 

Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) and 

Veterinary Services Grant Program 

(VSGP), both administered by USDA– 

NIFA. VMLRP addresses increasing 

veterinary school debt by offering 

veterinary school debt payments in 

exchange for service in shortage 

situations, while VSGP addresses other 

factors contributing to the 

maldistribution of veterinarians serving 

the agricultural sector. Specifically, the 

VSGP promotes availability and access 

to (1) specialized education and training 

which will enable veterinarians and 

veterinary technicians to provide 

services in designated veterinarian 

shortage situations, and (2) practiceenhancing equipment and personnel 

resources to enable veterinary practices 

to expand or improve access to 

veterinary services. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

regulations (5 CFR part 1320) that 

implement the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), the 

information collection and 

recordkeeping requirements imposed by 

the implementation of these guidelines 

have been approved by OMB Control 

Number 0524–0050. 

Table of Contents in Guidelines for 

Veterinary Shortage Situation 

Nominations 

I. Preface and Authority 

II. Nomination of Veterinary Shortage 

Situations 

A. General 

1. Eligible Shortage Situations 

2. Authorized Respondents and Use of 

Consultation 

3. State Allocation of Nominations 

4. FY 2018 Shortage Situation Nomination 

Process 

5. Submission and Due Date 

6. Period Covered 

7. Definitions 

B. Nomination Form 

C. NIFA Review of Shortage Situation 

Nominations 

1. Review Panel Composition and Process 

2. Review Criteria 

Guidelines for Veterinary Shortage 

Situation Nominations 

I. Preface and Authority 

In January 2003, the National 

Veterinary Medical Service Act 

(NVMSA) was passed into law adding 

section 1415A to the National 

Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

Teaching Policy Act of 1997 

(NARETPA). This law established a new 

Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 

Program (7 U.S.C. 3151a) authorizing 

the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out 

a program of entering into agreements 

with veterinarians under which they 

agree to provide veterinary services in 

veterinarian shortage situations. In FY 

2010, NIFA announced the first funding 

opportunity for the VMLRP. 

Section 7104 of the 2014 Farm Bill 

(Pub. L. 113–79) added section 1415B to 

NARETPA, as amended, (7 U.S.C. 

3151b) to establish the Veterinary 

Services Grant Program (VSGP). This 

amendment authorizes the Secretary of 

Agriculture to make competitive grants 

to qualified entities and individual 

veterinarians that carry out programs in 

veterinarian shortage situations and for 

the purpose of developing, 

implementing, and sustaining veterinary 

services. Funding for the VSGP was first 

appropriated in FY 2016 through the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 

(Pub. L. 114–113). 

Pursuant to the requirements enacted 

in the NVMSA of 2004 (as revised), and 

the implementing regulation for this 

Act, part 3431 subpart A of the VMLRP 

Final Rule [75 FR 20239–20248], NIFA 

hereby implements guidelines for 

eligible nominating officials to nominate 

veterinary shortage situations for the FY 

2018 program cycle. 

II. Nomination of Veterinary Shortage 

Situations 

A. General 

1. Eligible Shortage Situations 

Section 1415A of NARETPA, as 

amended and revised by section 7105 of 

the Food, Conservation and Energy Act, 

directs determination of veterinarian 

shortage situations for the VMLRP to 

consider (1) geographical areas that the 

Secretary determines have a shortage of 

veterinarians; and (2) areas of veterinary 

practice that the Secretary determines 

have a shortage of veterinarians, such as 

food animal medicine, public health, 

epidemiology, and food safety. This 

section also added that priority should 

be given to agreements with 

veterinarians for the practice of food 

animal medicine in veterinarian 

shortage situations. 

While the NVMSA (as amended) 

specifies priority be given to food 

animal medicine shortage situations, 

and that consideration also be given to 

specialty areas such as public health, 

epidemiology and food safety, the Act 

does not identify any areas of veterinary 

practice as ineligible. Accordingly, all 

nominated veterinary shortage 

situations will be considered eligible for 

submission. 

A subset of the shortages designated 

for VMLRP applicants are also available 

to satisfy requirements, as applicable, 

for VSGP applicants. In addition, a 

shortage situation under the VSGP must 

also be designated rural as defined in 

section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm 

and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

1991(a)). 

Nominations describing either public 

or private practice veterinary shortage 

situations are eligible for submission. 

2. State Respondents and Use of 

Consultation 

The only authorized respondent on 

behalf of each State is the chief State 

Animal Health Official (SAHO), as duly 

authorized by the Governor or the 

Governor’s designee in each State. The 

eligible nominating official must submit 

nominations using the instructions 

provided in section A.4, FY 2018 

Shortage Situation Nomination Process. 

NIFA strongly encourages the SAHO to 

involve leading health animal experts in 

the State in the identification and 

prioritization of shortage situation 

nominations. 

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42272 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 

3. State Allocation of Nominations 

NIFA will accept the number of 

nominations equivalent to the 

maximum number of designated 

shortage areas for each State. For 

historical background and more 

information on the rationale for capping 

nominations and State allocation 

method, visit https://nifa.usda.gov/ 

vmlrp-nomination-and-designationveterinary-shortage-situations. 

The maximum number of 

nominations (and potential 

designations) is based on data from the 

2012 Agricultural Census conducted by 

the USDA National Agricultural 

Statistics Service (NASS). Awards from 

previous years have no bearing on a 

State’s maximum number of allowable 

shortage nomination submissions or 

designations in any given year, or 

number of nominations or designations 

allowed for subsequent years. NIFA 

reserves the right in the future to 

proportionally adjust the maximum 

number of designated shortage 

situations per State to ensure a balance 

between available funds and the 

requirement to ensure that priority is 

given to mitigating veterinary shortages 

corresponding to situations of greatest 

need. Nomination Allocation tables for 

FY 2018 are available under the VMLRP 

Shortage Situations section of the 

VMLRP Web site at https://

nifa.usda.gov/resource/vmlrp-shortageallocations. 

Table I lists the maximum nomination 

allocations by State. Table II lists 

‘‘Special Consideration Areas’’ which 

include any State or Insular Area not 

reporting data to NASS, reporting less 

than $1,000,000 in annual Livestock and 

Livestock Products Total Sales ($), and/ 

or possessing less than 500,000 acres. 

One nomination is allocated to any State 

or Insular Area classified as a Special 

Consideration Area. 

Table III shows the values and 

quartile ranks of States for two variables 

broadly correlated with demand for food 

supply veterinary services: ‘‘Livestock 

and Livestock Products Total Sales ($)’’ 

(LPTS) and ‘‘Land Area (acres)’’ (LA). 

The maximum number of NIFAdesignated shortage situations per State 

is based on the sum of quartile rankings 

for LPTS and LA for each State and can 

be found in Table IV. 

While Federal Lands are widely 

dispersed within States and Insular 

Areas across the country, they constitute 

a composite total land area over twice 

the size of Alaska. If the 200-mile limit 

U.S. coastal waters and associated 

fishery areas are included, Federal Land 

total acreage would exceed 1 billion. 

Both State and Federal Animal Health 

officials have responsibilities for matters 

relating to terrestrial and aquatic food 

animal health on Federal Lands. 

Interaction between wildlife and 

domestic livestock, such as sheep and 

cattle, is particularly common in the 

plains States where significant portions 

of Federal lands are leased for grazing. 

Therefore, both SAHOs and the Chief 

Federal Animal Health Officer (Deputy 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service or designee) 

may submit nominations to address 

shortage situations on or related to 

Federal Lands. 

NIFA emphasizes that the shortage 

nomination allocation is set to broadly 

balance the number of designated 

shortage situations across States prior to 

the nomination and award phases of the 

VMLRP and VSGP. Awards will be 

made based strictly on the peer review 

panels’ assessment according to each 

program’s review criteria; thus no State 

will be given a preference for placement 

of awardees. Additionally, each 

designated shortage situation will be 

limited to one award per program. 

4. FY 2018 Shortage Situation 

Nomination Process 

For the FY 2018 program cycle, all 

eligible nominating officials submitting 

may: (1) Request to retain designated 

status for any shortage situation 

successfully designated in FY 2017 and/ 

or (2) submit new nominations. Any 

shortage from FY 2017 not retained or 

submitted as a new nomination will not 

be considered a shortage situation in FY 

2018. The total number of new 

nominations plus designated 

nominations retained (carried over) may 

not exceed the maximum number of 

nominations each eligible nominating 

official is permitted. 

The following process is the 

mechanism for retaining a designated 

nomination: Each SAHO should review 

the map of VMLRP designated shortage 

situations for FY 2017 (https://

go.usa.gov/xRP2U) and download a PDF 

copy of the nomination form for each 

designated area that remains open (not 

awarded) in FY 2017. If the SAHO 

wishes to retain (carry over) one or more 

designated nomination(s), the SAHO 

shall copy and paste the prior year 

information into the current year’s 

nomination form and select ‘‘SUBMIT’’. 

Both new and retained nominations 

must be submitted on the Veterinary 

Shortage Situation Nomination form 

provided in the VMLRP Shortage 

Situations section at https://

nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-shortage-situations. 

Nominations retained (carried over) 

will be designated without review 

unless major changes in content are 

identified during administrative 

processing or the shortage has been 

retained for three years. Major changes 

in content or shortages already retained 

for three consecutive years will be 

treated as new submissions and undergo 

merit review. 

5. Submission and Due Date 

Submissions must be made by 

clicking the submit button on the 

Veterinarian Shortage Situation 

nomination form provided in the 

VMLRP Shortage Situations section at 

https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-shortagesituations. 

This form is sent as a data file directly 

to the Veterinary Medicine Loan 

Repayment Program; National Institute 

of Food and Agriculture; U.S. 

Department of Agriculture; Shortage 

situation nominations. Both new and 

retained (carry-over) nominations must 

be submitted on or before October 20, 

2017. 

6. Period Covered 

Each shortage situation is approved 

for one program year cycle only. 

However, any previously approved 

shortage situation not filled in a given 

program year may be resubmitted as a 

retained (carry-over) nomination. 

Retained (carry-over) shortage 

nominations (without any revisions) 

will be automatically approved for up to 

three years before requiring another 

merit review. By resubmitting a carryover nomination, the SAHO is affirming 

that in his or her professional judgment 

the original case made for shortage 

status, and the original description of 

needs, remain current and accurate. 

7. Definitions 

For the purpose of implementing the 

solicitation for veterinary shortage 

situations, the definitions provided in 7 

CFR part 3431 are applicable. 

B. Nomination Form 

The VMLRP Shortage Nomination 

Form must be used to nominate 

veterinarian shortage situations. Once 

designated as a shortage situation, 

VMLRP applicants will use the 

information to select shortage situations 

they are willing and qualified to fill, and 

to guide the preparation of their 

applications. NIFA will use the 

information to assess contractual 

compliance of awardees. The form is 

available in the VMLRP Shortage 

Situations section at https://

nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-shortage-situations. 

See Part II A. 5. for submission 

information. Detailed directions for each 

field can be found at https://

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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 172 / Thursday, September 7, 2017 / Notices 42273 

veterinarian-shortage-situationnomination-form-form-nifa-2009-0001. 

C. NIFA Review of Shortage Situation 

Nominations 

1. Review Panel Composition and 

Process 

NIFA will convene a panel of food 

supply veterinary medicine experts 

from Federal and State agencies, as well 

as institutions receiving Animal Health 

and Disease Research Program funds 

under section 1433 of NARETPA, to 

review the nominations and make 

recommendations to the NIFA Program 

Manager. NIFA will review the panel’s 

recommendations and designate the 

VMLRP shortage situations. The list of 

approved shortage situations will be 

made available on the VMLRP Web site 

at www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp. 

2. Review Criteria 

Criteria used by the shortage situation 

nomination review panel and NIFA for 

certifying a veterinary shortage situation 

will be consistent with the information 

requested in the shortage situations 

nomination form. NIFA understands the 

process for defining the risk landscape 

associated veterinary service shortages 

within a State may require 

consideration of many qualitative and 

quantitative factors. In addition, each 

shortage situation will be characterized 

by a different array of subjective and 

objective supportive information that 

must be developed into a cogent case 

identifying, characterizing, and 

justifying a given geographic or 

disciplinary area as deficient in certain 

types of veterinary capacity or service. 

To accommodate the uniqueness of each 

shortage situation, the nomination form 

provides opportunities to present a case 

using both supportive metrics and 

narrative explanations to define and 

explain the proposed need. 

While NIFA anticipates some 

arguments made in support of a given 

shortage situation will be qualitative, 

respondents are encouraged to present 

verifiable quantitative and qualitative 

evidentiary information wherever 

possible. Absence of quantitative data 

such as animal and veterinarian census 

data for the proposed shortage area(s) 

may lead the panel to recommend 

disapproval of the shortage nomination. 

The maximum point value that 

panelists may award for each element is 

as follows: 

20 points: Describe the objectives of a 

veterinarian to meet the needs of the 

shortage situation in the community, 

area, State/insular area, or position 

requested above. 

20 points: Describe the activities 

required of a veterinarian to meet the 

needs of the shortage situation located 

in the community, area, State/insular 

area, or position requested above. 

5 points: Describe any past efforts to 

recruit and retain a veterinarian to 

achieve the objectives and activities in 

the shortage situation identified above. 

35 points: Describe the risk of this 

veterinarian position not being filled or 

retained. Include the risk(s) to the 

production of a safe and wholesome 

food supply and/or to animal, human, 

and environmental health not only in 

the community but in the region, State/ 

insular area, nation, and/or 

international community. 

An additional 20 points will be used 

to evaluate overall merit/quality of the 

case made for each nomination. 

Done in Washington, DC, this day of 

August 31, 2017. 

Robert Holland, 

Associate Director for Operations, National 

Institute of Food and Agriculture. 

[FR Doc. 2017–18927 Filed 9–6–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Housing Service 

Notice of Request for Extension of a 

Currently Approved Information 

Collection 

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed collection; comments 

requested. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the Rural Housing 

Service’s intention to request an 

extension for a currently approved 

information collection in support of the 

program for Fire and Rescue Loans. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by November 6, 2017 to be 

assured of consideration. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anita Outen, Community Programs 

Division, RHS, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Stop 0787, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0787. 

Telephone (202) 690–5273. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Fire and Rescue Loans. 

OMB Number: 0575–0120. 

Expiration Date of Approval: January 

31, 2018. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Abstract: The Fire and Rescue Loan 

program is authorized by Section 306 of 

the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926) to 

make loans to public entities, nonprofit 

corporations, and Indian tribes for the 

development of community facilities for 

public use in rural areas and is covered 

by 7 CFR 1942–C. The primary 

regulation for administering the 

Community Facilities program is 7 CFR 

1942–A (OMB Number 0575–0015) that 

outlines eligibility, project feasibility, 

security, and monitoring requirements. 

The Community Facilities fire and 

rescue program has been in existence for 

many years. This program has financed 

a wide range of fire and rescue projects 

varying in size and complexity from 

construction of a fire station with fire 

fighting and rescue equipment to 

financing a 911 emergency system. 

These facilities are designed to provide 

fire protection and emergency rescue 

services to rural communities. 

Information will be collected by the 

field offices from applicants, borrowers, 

and consultants. This information will 

be used to determine applicant/ 

borrower eligibility, project feasibility, 

and to ensure borrowers operate on a 

sound basis and use funds for 

authorized purposes. Failure to collect 

proper information could result in 

improper determination of eligibility, 

improper use of funds, and/or unsound 

loans. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 2.15 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Not-for-profit 

institutions, State, local, or tribal 

governments. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

2,970. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 4.06. 

Estimated Number of Responses: 

12,058. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 25,925 hours. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from Jeanne Jacobs, 

Regulations and Paperwork 

Management Branch, (202) 692–0040. 

Comments 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Rural Housing 

Service (RHS), including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of RHS’ 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 those who are to respond, including 

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