Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request, 45862-45863 [2020-16493]
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45862
Notices
Federal Register
Vol. 85, No. 147
Thursday, July 30, 2020
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
Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
July 27, 2020.
The Department of Agriculture will
submit the following information
collection requirement(s) to OMB for
review and clearance under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13 on or after the date
of publication of this notice. Comments
are requested regarding: 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; the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of burden including
the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; ways to enhance the
quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; and 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 regarding these
information collections are best assured
of having their full effect if received by
August 31, 2020. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function.
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:38 Jul 29, 2020
Jkt 250001
persons are not required to respond to
the collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Title: Census of Agriculture Content
Test.
OMB Control Number: 0535–0243.
Summary of Collection: The purpose
of the content test is to evaluate factors
impacting the National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) Census of
Agriculture program. The factors
include, but are not limited to,
respondent burden, questionnaire
format and design, internet instrument
performance, new items, changes in
question wording and location, ease of
completion, and processing
methodology such as edit and summary.
The proposed forms and letters will be
used in several tests in 2020–2021 in
preparation for conducting the 2022
Census of Agriculture. NASS is
responsible for conducting the Census
of Agriculture under the authority of the
Census of Agriculture Act of 1997,
Public Law 105–113 (U.S.C. 2204g).
This is a reinstatement of the Census
of Agriculture Content Test, which is
conducted every five years prior to the
full Census of Agriculture. The last
content test was done in 2015–2016 in
preparation for the 2017 Census of
Agriculture.
Need and Use of the Information: The
Census of Agriculture Content Test is
designed to evaluate a number of factors
affecting the Census of Agriculture
program. It is critical to NASS’ ability to
design a successful census survey. The
actual Census of Agriculture is required
by law every five years and serves as the
basis for many agriculturally-based
decisions. Less frequent content test
collections would hinder NASS’ ability
to adequately evaluate changes needed
to improve census data collection and
therefore recognize changing trends in
agriculture.
Description of Respondents: Farmers
and Ranchers.
Number of Respondents: 51,200.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting:
Other (every 5 years).
Total Burden Hours: 29,788.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Title: Local Food Marketing Practices
Survey.
OMB Control Number: 0535–0259.
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Summary of Collection: Data will be
collected under the authority of 7 U.S.C.
2204(a). Section 10016(a)(1)(A) of the
2014 Farm Bill (Pub. L. 113–79) directs
the Department of Agriculture (USDA)
to collect data on ‘‘the production and
marketing of locally or regionally
produced agricultural food products,’’
while Section 10016(b)(2) requires
USDA to ‘‘conduct surveys and analysis
and publish reports relating to the
production, handling, distribution,
retail sales, and trend studies . . . of or
on locally or regionally produced
agricultural food products.’’
This is a reinstatement of the survey
that was conducted in 2016, referencing
the calendar year 2015. The 2018 Farm
Bill has provided funding for the
continuation of the Local Food
programs through 2023. The Local
Foods Marketing Practices Survey will
be a Census follow-on-survey.
Need and Use of the Information: The
Local Food Marketing Practices Survey
(LFMPS) is valuable because local farms
have different business models than
conventional farms, and the LFMPS is
able to discern important data that are
otherwise unavailable from pre-existing
farmer surveys. This includes details on
different types of market channels used,
information about on-farm value-added
processing, and outreach and
advertising directly to community
members and shoppers. Food and
agriculture economists and other
researchers in university, government,
and nonprofit sectors analyze and rely
on the data in this survey to understand
local food marketing practices, make
programmatic decisions, and support
farms and related food production,
aggregation, and distribution businesses.
Because the survey gathers data on
production, risk management, and
marketing practices, it will be used by
a number of USDA agencies and federal
policymakers to inform their policies
and programs. Just some of the USDA
agencies that will benefit from this data
are Farm Service Agency (FSA), Risk
Management Agency (RMA), Rural
Development (RD), Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS), and Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS). Farms in all 50
states will be asked to provide these
data. Statistics from this survey will be
used by state agencies to better
understand, support, and promote their
local food markets, as well as by
researchers studying local foods.
E:\FR\FM\30JYN1.SGM
30JYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 147 / Thursday, July 30, 2020 / Notices
Description of Respondents: Farmers
and Ranchers.
Number of Respondents: 36,550.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting:
Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 20,428.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020–16493 Filed 7–29–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–20–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Jefferson National Forest; Monroe
County, West Virginia; Giles and
Montgomery County, Virginia;
Mountain Valley Pipeline and Equitrans
Expansion Project Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of intent to prepare a
supplemental environmental impact
statement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The USDA Forest Service (FS)
is preparing a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)
to the 2017 Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)
and Equitrans Expansion Project. The
MVP project proposed action that is
specific to National Forest System (NFS)
lands is to construct and operate a
buried 42-inch natural gas pipeline
across approximately 3.5 miles of the
Jefferson National Forest (JNF). The FS,
as the lead agency, and the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM), as the Federal
cooperating agency, have decisions to be
made based on a review of the 2017
FERC FEIS and this supplemental
analysis.
SUMMARY:
The Draft SEIS is expected to be
available by September 2020 and the
Final SEIS is anticipated later in 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
media inquiries or to leave a message
about the project on the JNF, please
contact Nadine Siak via email at
SM.FS.GWJNF-PA@usda.gov or leave a
voicemail at 1–888–603–0261.
Individuals who use telecommunication
devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the
Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 between 8
a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday
through Friday. For inquiries for the
BLM, contact Francis Piccoli by email
at: Fpiccoli@blm.gov or by phone at
(209) 912–7717.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
DATES:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:38 Jul 29, 2020
Jkt 250001
Background and History
The MVP is a proposed 303.5 mile
interstate natural gas pipeline that
crosses about 3.5 miles of the JNF, in
Monroe County, West Virginia and Giles
and Montgomery County, Virginia. The
FS and the BLM participated as
cooperating agencies with the FERC in
the preparation of the MVP EIS. On June
29, 2017, the Notice of Availability for
the FERC FEIS and the FS Draft Record
of Decision (ROD) for the Mountain
Valley Project Land and Resource
Management Plan Amendment was
published in the Federal Register.
On December 1, 2017, the FS adopted
the FEIS and a ROD was signed by the
JNF Forest Supervisor. The ROD
amended the JNF Land and Resource
Management Plan (Forest Plan) to allow
the project to be consistent with the
Forest Plan. The ROD included resource
protection terms and conditions for the
BLM to include should their decision be
to grant a right-of-way (ROW).
Therefore, both BLM and the FS have
overlapping jurisdiction concerning the
issuance of the terms and conditions, or
stipulations included within the ROW
grant.
Under the Mineral Leasing Act (30
U.S.C. 185 et seq.) (MLA), the BLM is
the Federal agency responsible for
issuing ROW grants for natural gas
pipeline across Federal lands under the
jurisdiction of two or more Federal
agencies. The BLM is, therefore,
responsible for considering the issuance
of a ROW grant for the MVP for pipeline
construction and operation across the
lands under the jurisdiction of the FS
and the United States Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE). In 2017, the BLM
received written concurrence to proceed
from both federal agencies and on
December 20, 2017 issued a ROD
approving the MLA ROW grant to
construct and operate the MVP pipeline
across federal lands. The BLM ROD
included a temporary use authorization.
Project implementation began in
December 2017 and continued until July
27, 2018 when the Fourth Circuit Court
of Appeals vacated and remanded the
FS’s decision approving the JNF plan
amendment and BLM’s MLA ROW
decision. However, the Court vacated
the BLM’s MLA ROW decision only as
it related to the portion through FS
lands; the ROW across USACE lands
was not affected and that decision
remains in place. The Fourth Circuit
concluded that aspects of the FS
decision failed to comply with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and the National Forest
Management Act (NFMA). The Court
upheld the BLM’s adoption of and
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45863
reliance on FERC’s FEIS as satisfying
the requirements of NEPA in support of
the MLA ROW decision across federal
lands. The Court, however, vacated
BLM’s decision approving the MLA
ROW across the JNF, concluding that
the BLM did not analyze and determine
whether the proposed route utilized
rights-of-way in common to the extent
practical, as required by the MLA, 30
U.S.C. 185(p).
On May 1, 2020, Mountain Valley
Pipeline, LLC (Mountain Valley)
submitted a revised MLA ROW
application to the BLM seeking to
construct and operate the natural gas
pipeline across the JNF. Mountain
Valley also requested that the FS amend
the JNF Forest Plan consistent with the
issues identified by the Fourth Circuit
Court. On May 28, 2020, the BLM
deemed Mountain Valley’s revised
application complete. For more detailed
information on the background and
history of the MVP project, see the
project website at: https://
www.fs.usda.gov/detail/gwj/
landmanagement/projects/
?cid=stelprd3827827.
Purpose and Need for Action
The FS’s purpose and need for the
proposed action is to respond to a
proposal from Mountain Valley to
construct and operate a buried 42-inch
interstate natural gas pipeline that
would cross NFS lands on the JNF along
a proposed 3.5-mile corridor. A FS
decision is needed because the project
would not be consistent with several
JNF Forest Plan standards including
utility corridors, soil, riparian, old
growth, the Appalachian National
Scenic Trail (ANST), and scenic
integrity without a project-specific
amendment. Relatedly, there is a need
to determine what terms and conditions,
or stipulations should be provided to
the BLM in order to protect resources
and the public interest consistent with
the MLA, 30 U.S.C. 185(h).
For the FS, a supplemental analysis
and new decision are needed because
the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
vacated the FS ROD. The Court
identified both NFMA and NEPA issues.
To resolve the Court’s NFMA issues,
there is a need, at a minimum, to apply
FS Planning Rule requirements to soil
and riparian resources and evaluate
both the purpose and the effects of the
amendment to threatened and
endangered aquatic species, consistent
with 36 CFR 219.13(b)(5). To ensure all
resources potentially affected by the
amendment receive equal consideration,
there is a need to apply the Planning
Rule requirements to resources
including water; terrestrial and
E:\FR\FM\30JYN1.SGM
30JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 147 (Thursday, July 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45862-45863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16493]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
========================================================================
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 147 / Thursday, July 30, 2020 /
Notices
[[Page 45862]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
July 27, 2020.
The Department of Agriculture will submit the following information
collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 on or after the date
of publication of this notice. Comments are requested regarding:
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; the accuracy of the agency's
estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of
the information to be collected; and 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 regarding these information collections are best assured
of having their full effect if received by August 31, 2020. Written
comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection
should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on
the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
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.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Title: Census of Agriculture Content Test.
OMB Control Number: 0535-0243.
Summary of Collection: The purpose of the content test is to
evaluate factors impacting the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS) Census of Agriculture program. The factors include, but are not
limited to, respondent burden, questionnaire format and design,
internet instrument performance, new items, changes in question wording
and location, ease of completion, and processing methodology such as
edit and summary. The proposed forms and letters will be used in
several tests in 2020-2021 in preparation for conducting the 2022
Census of Agriculture. NASS is responsible for conducting the Census of
Agriculture under the authority of the Census of Agriculture Act of
1997, Public Law 105-113 (U.S.C. 2204g).
This is a reinstatement of the Census of Agriculture Content Test,
which is conducted every five years prior to the full Census of
Agriculture. The last content test was done in 2015-2016 in preparation
for the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
Need and Use of the Information: The Census of Agriculture Content
Test is designed to evaluate a number of factors affecting the Census
of Agriculture program. It is critical to NASS' ability to design a
successful census survey. The actual Census of Agriculture is required
by law every five years and serves as the basis for many
agriculturally-based decisions. Less frequent content test collections
would hinder NASS' ability to adequately evaluate changes needed to
improve census data collection and therefore recognize changing trends
in agriculture.
Description of Respondents: Farmers and Ranchers.
Number of Respondents: 51,200.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Other (every 5 years).
Total Burden Hours: 29,788.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Title: Local Food Marketing Practices Survey.
OMB Control Number: 0535-0259.
Summary of Collection: Data will be collected under the authority
of 7 U.S.C. 2204(a). Section 10016(a)(1)(A) of the 2014 Farm Bill (Pub.
L. 113-79) directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to collect data
on ``the production and marketing of locally or regionally produced
agricultural food products,'' while Section 10016(b)(2) requires USDA
to ``conduct surveys and analysis and publish reports relating to the
production, handling, distribution, retail sales, and trend studies . .
. of or on locally or regionally produced agricultural food products.''
This is a reinstatement of the survey that was conducted in 2016,
referencing the calendar year 2015. The 2018 Farm Bill has provided
funding for the continuation of the Local Food programs through 2023.
The Local Foods Marketing Practices Survey will be a Census follow-on-
survey.
Need and Use of the Information: The Local Food Marketing Practices
Survey (LFMPS) is valuable because local farms have different business
models than conventional farms, and the LFMPS is able to discern
important data that are otherwise unavailable from pre-existing farmer
surveys. This includes details on different types of market channels
used, information about on-farm value-added processing, and outreach
and advertising directly to community members and shoppers. Food and
agriculture economists and other researchers in university, government,
and nonprofit sectors analyze and rely on the data in this survey to
understand local food marketing practices, make programmatic decisions,
and support farms and related food production, aggregation, and
distribution businesses.
Because the survey gathers data on production, risk management, and
marketing practices, it will be used by a number of USDA agencies and
federal policymakers to inform their policies and programs. Just some
of the USDA agencies that will benefit from this data are Farm Service
Agency (FSA), Risk Management Agency (RMA), Rural Development (RD),
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and Food and Nutrition Service
(FNS). Farms in all 50 states will be asked to provide these data.
Statistics from this survey will be used by state agencies to better
understand, support, and promote their local food markets, as well as
by researchers studying local foods.
[[Page 45863]]
Description of Respondents: Farmers and Ranchers.
Number of Respondents: 36,550.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 20,428.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020-16493 Filed 7-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-20-P
