Federal Register Privitization Notice

28945

Notices

Federal Register
Vol. 72, No. 99
Wednesday, May 23, 2007

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.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Office of the Secretary
Solicitation for Members To Fill
Vacancies to the National Agricultural
Research, Extension, Education, and
Economics Advisory Board
Research, Education, and
Economics, USDA.
ACTION: Solicitation for membership.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5
U.S.C. App., the United States
Department of Agriculture announces
solicitation for nominations to fill 10
vacancies on the National Agricultural
Research, Extension, Education, and
Economics Advisory Board.
DATES: Deadline for Advisory Board
member nominations is July 20, 2007.
ADDRESSES: The nominee’s name,
resume, and completed Form AD–755
must be sent to the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, National Agricultural
Research, Extension, Education, and
Economics Advisory Board Office, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW.; Room 344–
A, Whitten Building; Washington, DC
20250–2255.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Shirley Morgan-Jordan, Program
Support Coordinator; National
Agricultural Research, Extension,
Education, and Economics Advisory
Board; telephone: 202–720–3684; fax:
202–720–6199; e-mail:
smorgan@csrees.usda.gov.

Section
1408 of the National Agricultural
Research, Extension, and Teaching
Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3123) was
amended by the Farm Security and
Rural Investment Act of 2002 by adding
one additional member to the National
Agricultural Research, Extension,
Education, and Economics Advisory
Board, which totals 31 members. Since
the Advisory Board’s inception by

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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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congressional legislation in 1996, each
member has represented a specific
category related to farming or ranching,
food production and processing, forestry
research, crop and animal science, landgrant institutions, non-land-grant
colleges or universities with a historic
commitment to research in the food and
agricultural sciences, food retailing and
marketing, rural economic development,
and natural resource and consumer
interest groups, among many others.
The Board was first appointed by the
Secretary of Agriculture in September
1996 and one-third of its members were
appointed for a one-, two-, and threeyear term, respectively. The terms for 10
of the 31 members who represent the
specific categories to be filled will
expire September 30, 2010.
Nominations for a 3-year appointment
for these 10 vacant categories are
sought. All nominees will be carefully
reviewed for their expertise, leadership,
and relevance to each category.
The 10 categories to be filled are:
Category H. National Food Animal
Science Society.
Category I. National Crop, Soil,
Agronomy, Horticulture or Weed
Science Societies.
Category N. 1890 Land-Grant Colleges
and Universities.
Category O. 1994 Equity in Education
Land-Grant Institutions.
Category Q. American Colleges of
Veterinary Medicine.
Category U. Food Retailing and
Marketing Interests.
Category W. Rural Economic
Development.
Category X. National Consumer
Interest Group.
Category Y. National Forestry Group.
Category Z. National Conservation or
Natural Resource Group.
Nominations are being solicited from
organizations, associations, societies,
councils, federations, groups, and
companies that represent a wide variety
of food and agricultural interests
throughout the country. Nominations
for one individual who fits several of
the categories listed above, or for more
than one person who fits one category,
will be accepted. In your nomination
letter, please indicate the specific
membership category for each nominee.
Each nominee must fill out a form AD–
755, ‘‘Advisory Committee Membership
Background Information’’ (which can be
obtained from the contact person above

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or from the following Web site: http://
www.ree.usda.gov/nareeeab/downloads/
forms/AD–755.pdf. All nominees will be
vetted before selection.
Nominations are open to all
individuals without regard to race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
mental or physical handicap, marital
status, or sexual orientation. To ensure
that recommendations of the Advisory
Board take into account the needs of the
diverse groups served by the
Department, membership shall include,
to the extent practicable, individuals
with demonstrated ability to represent
minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities.
Appointments to the National
Agricultural Research, Extension,
Education, and Economics Advisory
Board will be made by the Secretary of
Agriculture.
Done at Washington, DC this 10th day of
May 2007.
Gale Buchanan,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and
Economics.
[FR Doc. E7–9891 Filed 5–22–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Development; Notice of
Privatization of the National Sheep
Industry Improvement Center
AGENCY:
ACTION:

Rural Development, USDA.

Notice.

SUMMARY: The Secretary of Agriculture
approved the Transition Plan to
privatize the National Sheep Industry
Improvement Center. The American
Sheep and Goat Center, a Utah nonprofit corporation, became the successor
to the National Sheep Industry
Improvement Center on October 1, 2006.

Privatization was effective
Midnight, September 30, 2006.

DATES:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas C. Dorr, Under Secretary, USDA
Rural Development, Room 205-W, Mail
Stop 0107, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250–0107,
telephone: 202–720–4581, TTY: 800–
877–8339 (Federal Information Relay
Service).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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28946

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 99 / Wednesday, May 23, 2007 / Notices

Background
Section 375 of the Consolidated Farm
and Rural Development Act, 7 U.S.C.
2008j, created the National Sheep
Industry Improvement Center (NSIIC) to
strengthen the infrastructure of the
sheep and goat industry. The NSIIC
provided loans and grants for business
ventures where normal commercial
credit or funding was not available.
Section 375(j) of the Farm Bill
legislation required the privatization of
the NSIIC to occur on the earlier of its
receiving a certain level of Federal
funding or September 30, 2006. The
legislation required a transition plan, to
be approved by the Secretary of
Agriculture, that provides for a private
successor entity that would have the
same purposes and be able to continue
the activities of the NSIIC. The Secretary
of Agriculture has approved a
privatization plan that was triggered by
the September 30, 2006 deadline. The
NSIIC ceased operations on September
30, 2006. The American Sheep and Goat
Center became the successor private
organization on October 1, 2006. All
assets and liabilities of the NSIIC have
now been transferred to the private
American Sheep and Goat Center. The
transition plan is completed as of May
23, 2007.
Dated: May 16, 2007.
Douglas Faulkner,
Acting Under Secretary, Rural Development.
[FR Doc. E7–9932 Filed 5–22–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2007–0047]

Notice of Request for Extension of
Approval of an Information Collection;
Bees and Related Articles
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Extension of approval of an
information collection; comment
request.

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AGENCY:

SUMMARY: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service’s intention to
request an extension of approval of an
information collection associated with
regulations for the importation of bees
and related articles.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before July 23,
2007.

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You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
http://www.regulations.gov, select
‘‘Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service’’ from the agency drop-down
menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the
Docket ID column, select APHIS–2007–
0047 to submit or view public
comments and to view supporting and
related materials available
electronically. Information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions
for accessing documents, submitting
comments, and viewing the docket after
the close of the comment period, is
available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’
link.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Please send four copies of your
comment (an original and three copies)
to Docket No. APHIS–2007–0047,
Regulatory Analysis and Development,
PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD
20737–1238. Please state that your
comment refers to Docket No. APHIS–
2007–0047.
Reading Room: You may read any
comments that we receive on this
docket 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.
Other Information: Additional
information about APHIS and its
programs is available on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on an information
collection associated with regulations
for the importation of bees and related
articles, contact Dr. Wayne Wehling,
Entomologist, Pest Permit Evaluations,
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133,
Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734–8757.
For copies of more detailed information
on the information collection, contact
Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS’
Information Collection Coordinator, at
(301) 734–7477.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Bees and Related Articles.
OMB Number: 0579–0207.
Type of Request: Extension of
approval of an information collection.
Abstract: Under the Honeybee Act (7
U.S.C. 281–286), the Secretary is
authorized to prohibit or restrict the
importation of honeybees and honeybee
semen to prevent the introduction into
the United States of diseases and
ADDRESSES:

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parasites harmful to honeybees and of
undesirable species such as the African
honeybee. This authority has been
delegated to the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Further, the Plant Protection Act
(PPA) (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) authorizes
the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit
or restrict the importation, entry, or
interstate movement of plants, plant
products, and other articles to prevent
the introduction of plant pests into the
United States or their dissemination
within the United States. As with the
Honeybee Act, APHIS has delegated
authority for the PPA.
The establishment of certain bee
diseases, parasites, or undesirable
species and subspecies of honeybees in
the United States could cause
substantial reductions in pollination by
bees. These reductions could cause
serious damage to crops and other
plants and result in substantial financial
losses to American agriculture.
Regulations for the importation of
honeybees and honeybee semen and
regulations to prevent the introduction
of exotic bee diseases and parasites
through the importation of bees other
than honeybees, certain beekeeping
products, and used beekeeping
equipment are contained in 7 CFR part
322, ‘‘Bees, Beekeeping Byproducts, and
Beekeeping Equipment.’’ These
regulations require the use of certain
information collection activities,
including: An application for permit,
appeals for denial of permit application
and cancellation of permit, request for
risk assessment, inspection report of
containment facilities, request for
release of containment, transit
documentation, export certificate, notice
of arrival, packaging and labeling, and
recordkeeping by containment facilities.
We are asking the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) to
approve our use of these information
collection activities for an additional 3
years.
The purpose of this notice is to solicit
comments from the public (as well as
affected agencies) concerning our
information collection. These comments
will help us:
(1) Evaluate 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;
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our
estimate of the burden of the
information collection, including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and

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