Attachment B - 60-day FRN

Attachment B
60-day Federal Register Notice

48793

Notices

Federal Register
Vol. 83, No. 188
Thursday, September 27, 2018

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
Economic Research Service
Notice of Intent To Request Renewal of
a Currently Approved Information
Collection
Economic Research Service,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this
notice announces the intention of the
Economic Research Service (ERS) to
request extension of a currently
approved information collection, the
Generic Clearance for Survey Research
Studies.

SUMMARY:

Comments on this notice must be
received by November 26, 2018 to be
assured of consideration.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments
concerning this notice to Pheny
Weidman, ERS Clearance Officer,
Economic Research Service, Room 4–
163B, 1400 Independence Ave. SW,
Mail Stop 1800, Washington, DC 20050–
1800. Submit electronic comments to
pweidman@ers.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Pheny Weidman at the address in the
preamble. Tel. 202–694–5013.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Generic Clearance for Survey
Research Studies.
OMB Number: 0536–0073.
Expiration Date of Approval: Three
years from the date of approval.
Type of Request: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Abstract: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(Pub. L. 104–13) and OMB regulations at
5 CFR part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August
29, 1995), this notice announces the
ERS’ intention to request renewal of
approval from the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for a generic

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clearance that will allow ERS to
rigorously develop, test, and evaluate its
survey methodologies, instruments, and
administration. The mission of ERS is to
provide economic and other social
science information and analysis for
public and private decisions on
agriculture, food, natural resources, and
rural America. This request is part of an
on-going initiative to improve ERS data
product quality, as recommended by
both its own guidelines and those of
OMB.
The purpose of this generic clearance
is to allow ERS to evaluate, adopt, and
use state-of-the-art and multidisciplinary research to improve and
enhance the quality of its current data
collections. This clearance will also be
used to aid in the development of new
surveys. It will help to ensure that
requested data can be provided in the
desired format, reporting burden (time
and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly
understood, and the impact of collection
requirements on respondents can be
properly assessed.
ERS envisions using a variety of
survey improvement techniques, as
appropriate to the individual project
under investigation. These include
focus groups, market analysis, cognitive
and usability laboratory and field
techniques, exploratory interviews,
behavior coding, and respondent
debriefing.
Following standard OMB
requirements, ERS will inform OMB
individually in writing of the purpose,
scope, time frame, and number of
burden hours used for each survey
improvement or development project it
undertakes under this generic clearance.
ERS will also provide OMB with a copy
of the data collection instrument (if
applicable), and all other materials
describing the project.
Authority: These data will be
collected under the authority of 7 U.S.C.
2204(a).
ERS intends to protect respondent
information under the Privacy Act of
1974, Section 1770 of the Food Security
Act of 1985, and 7 U.S.C. 2276. ERS has
decided not to invoke the Confidential
Information Protection and Statistical
Efficiency Act of 2002 (CIPSEA). The
complexity and cost necessary to invoke
CIPSEA is not justified given the nature
of the collection; the collections would
generally be conducted by ERS’

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contractors and designed to be hosted in
non-government owned computer
systems, where CIPSEA compliance
could not be assured.
Specific details regarding information
handling will be specified in individual
submissions under this generic
clearance.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting
burden for these collections of
information is estimated to average from
.5 to 1.5 hours per respondent,
depending upon the information
collection and the technique used to test
for that particular collection.
Respondents: Individuals or
households, farms, and businesses or
other for-profits.
Estimated Total Number of
Respondents: 3,630.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 1,820 hours. Public
reporting burden for these collections of
information is estimated to average from
.5 to 1.5 hours per respondent,
dependent upon the survey and the
technique used to test for that particular
survey.
Copies of this information collection
can be obtained from Pheny Weidman at
the address in the preamble.
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(a) 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;
(b) 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; (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. Comments
should be sent to the address in the
preamble. All responses to this notice
will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All
comments will also become a matter of
public record.

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48794

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 188 / Thursday, September 27, 2018 / Notices

Dated: September 19, 2018.
Chris Hartley,
Interim Administrator, Economic Research
Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–21051 Filed 9–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection: Post-Hurricane
Research and Assessment of
Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural
Communities in the U.S. Caribbean
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice; request for comments.

AGENCY:
ACTION:

In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service is seeking comments
from all interested individuals and
organizations on the renewal of the
currently approved information
collection, Post-Hurricane Research and
Assessment of Agriculture, Forestry, and
Rural Communities in the U.S.
Caribbean.

SUMMARY:

Comments concerning this
notice must be received in writing on or
before November 26, 2018 to be assured
of consideration. Comments received
after that date will be considered to the
extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this
information collection should be
addressed to Kathleen McGinley, Social
Scientist, USDA Forest Service,
International Institute of Tropical
Forestry (IITF), 1201 Calle Ceiba, Rio
Piedras, PR 00926. Comments also may
be submitted via facsimile to 787–766–
6302, or by email to kmcginley@
fs.fed.us. Please put ‘‘Comments re:
Post-Hurricane Research’’ in the subject
line.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice may be made available to the
public through relevant websites and
upon request. For this reason, please do
not include in your comments
information of a confidential nature,
such as sensitive personal information
or proprietary information. If you send
an email comment, your email address
will be automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made
available on the internet. Please note
that responses to this public comment
request containing any routine notice
about the confidentiality of the
communication will be treated as public
comments that may be made available to
the public notwithstanding the
inclusion of the routine notice.

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The public may inspect the draft
supporting statement and/or comments
received at IITF, 1201 Calle Ceiba, Rı´o
Piedras, PR 00926 during normal
business hours. Visitors are encouraged
to call ahead to 787–764–7790 to
facilitate entry to the building. The
public may request an electronic copy of
the draft supporting statement and/or
any comments received be sent via
return email. Requests should be
emailed to kmcginley@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information
should be made to Kathleen McGinley,
Social Scientist, USDA Forest Service,
by electronic mail to kmcginley@
fs.fed.us or phone 919–600–3108.
Individuals who use telecommunication
devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800–
877–8339 twenty-four hours a day,
every day of the year, including
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Post-Hurricane Research and
Assessment of Agriculture, Forestry,
and Rural Communities in the U.S.
Caribbean.
OMB Number: 0596–0246.
Expiration Date of Approval:
12/31/2018.
Type of Request: Renewal.
Abstract: In September 2017, two
major hurricanes passed through the
Caribbean, causing catastrophic damage
to communities, infrastructure, farms,
and forests across Puerto Rico, U.S.
Virgin Islands, and many neighboring
islands, significantly compromising
local livelihoods, food security, and
economic stability throughout the
region. To date, there is limited
information on the impacts of
Hurricanes Irma and Maria, particularly
in terms of agricultural and forestry
systems and the people who depend on
them, and likewise, limited information
about the effectiveness of related
conservation practices or mitigation and
adaptation strategies. Such information
is critical to the design and
implementation of ongoing recovery
work and to longer-term resilience
efforts in the U.S. Caribbean and in
other regions affected by hurricanes or
other major disturbances.
Building on the initial data collection
under the emergency approval, USDA
Forest Service seeks this renewal to
continue to collect information about
the effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria
on agriculture, forestry, and rural
communities in the U.S. Caribbean and
the internal and external factors that
affected their vulnerabilities or
resilience. This renewal also will permit
the investigation of vulnerabilities,

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resilience, and effects associated with
future hurricanes or major storms that
may occur within the three year time
period for this requested approval. This
information is essential to the
Department of Agriculture mandate to
support agriculture and natural
resources that are productive,
sustainable, and provide benefits for the
American public under the Rural
Development Policy Act of 1980, and to
the Forest Service mandate to provide
expert advice and conduct research on
the management of forests outside the
National Forest System through the
Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of
1978. Additionally, the importance of
gathering, analyzing, and sharing this
type of information is reflected in the
National Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of
1977, as amended, and the Forest and
Rangeland Renewable Resources
Research Act of 1978.
Information will be collected through
focus groups and interviews with
participants selected purposively in line
with the collection objectives. This
collection will generate scientificallybased, up-to-date information that can
be used to inform ongoing and any
future recovery efforts and related risk
reduction and mitigation and adaptation
strategies by USDA, Forest Service,
other Federal agencies, local
government, civil society, and the
private sector.
Affected Public: Individuals and
Households, Private Sector Businesses,
Non-Profit and Non-Governmental
Organizations, State or Local
Government.
Estimate of Annual Burden per
Response: 45 minutes for interviews, 90
minutes for focus groups.
Estimated Annual Number of
Respondents: 550.
Estimated Annual Number of
Responses per Respondent: 1 response/
respondent.
Estimated Total Annual Burden
Hours on Respondents: 266 hours.
Comment Is Invited
Comment is invited on: (1) Whether
this collection of information is
necessary for the stated purposes and
the proper performance of the functions
of the Agency, including whether the
information will have practical or
scientific utility; (2) the accuracy of the
Agency’s estimate of the burden of the
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

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