Notice of an Extension to a Currently Approved Information Collection, 18891-18892 [2024-05471]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 52 / Friday, March 15, 2024 / Notices monitor market conditions to determine if additional relief measures may be needed in the future. khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES deficit will not be offset with positive value species and the rates for pulpwood will be base rates with no change to rates for positive value species. Chief’s Determination of Substantial Overriding Public Interest The Government benefits if timber contract defaults, mill closures, and bankruptcies can be avoided by granting rate redeterminations and extensions. The forest products industry is critical to addressing the wildfire crisis and meeting forest management and climate change objectives nationally, while supporting hundreds of thousands of meaningful jobs throughout the country. Having numerous economically viable timber purchasers increases competition for National Forest System timber contracts, results in higher prices paid for such timber, and allows the Forest Service to provide a continuous supply of timber to the public in accordance with the Organic Administration Act. In addition, by extending contracts and avoiding defaults, closures, and bankruptcies, the Government avoids the difficult, lengthy, expensive, and sometimes impossible process of collecting default damages. By preventing defaults, better utilization of various forest resources (consistent with the provisions of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960) will result if contracts can be extended beyond 10 years because of this finding. Therefore, pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 472a(c), and subject to specific conditions and exceptions, I have determined that it is in the substantial overriding public interest to redetermine pulpwood rates and extend, up to two years, certain National Forest System timber sale and sale of property stewardship contracts that were awarded before March 13, 2024, or had a bid opening date prior to March 13, 2024, but have not yet been awarded. Total contract length may exceed 10 years because of an extension under this SOPI determination. Downpayment amounts will be recalculated and any periodic payment due dates that have not been reached, as of the date the Contracting Officer receives a written request for a SOPI extension, shall be adjusted one day for each day of additional contract time granted. To receive an extension and periodic payment deferral pursuant to this SOPI, purchasers must make a written request and agree to release the Forest Service from all claims and liability during the extension period if a contract extended pursuant to this finding is suspended, modified, or terminated in the future. The Forest Service shall continue to VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:17 Mar 14, 2024 Jkt 262001 Dated: March 8, 2024. Randy Moore, Chief, Forest Service. [FR Doc. 2024–05286 Filed 3–14–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3411–15–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Utilities Service [Docket No. RUS–24–ELECTRIC–0005] Notice of an Extension to a Currently Approved Information Collection Rural Utilities Service, USDA. Notice and request for comments. AGENCY: ACTION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS or Agency), an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, intention to request an extension to a currently approved information collection package for the High Energy Costs Grants Rural Communities Program (HECG). In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Agency invites comments on this information collection for which it intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by May 14, 2024 to be assured of consideration. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Bennett, Rural Development Innovation Center—Regulations Management Division, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, STOP 1522, South Building, Washington, DC 20250– 1522. Telephone: (202) 720–9639. Email pamela.bennett@usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OMB regulation (5 CFR part 1320) implementing provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13) requires that interested members of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an information collection that RUS is submitting to OMB for extension of an existing collection. 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 SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 18891 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; and (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 may be sent by the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https:// www.regulations.gov and, in the ‘‘Search’’ box, type in the Docket No. RUS–24–ELECTRIC–0005. A link to the Notice will appear. You may submit a comment here by selecting the ‘‘Comment’’ button or you can access the ‘‘Docket’’ tab, select the ‘‘Notice,’’ and go to the ‘‘Browse & Comment on Documents’’ Tab. Here you may view comments that have been submitted as well as submit a comment. To submit a comment, select the ‘‘Comment’’ button, complete the required information, and select the ‘‘Submit Comment’’ button at the bottom. 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 ‘‘FAQ’’ link at the bottom. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. Data furnished by the applicants will be used to determine eligibility for program benefits. Furnishing the data is voluntary; however, failure to provide data could result in program benefits being withheld or denied. Title: High Energy Costs Grants Rural Communities. OMB Control Number: 0572–0136. Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information collection. Abstract: The HECG Program is authorized under section 19 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended (the RE Act) (7 U.S.C. 918a), and implemented by 7 CFR part 1709. The Agency, through the HECG program, provides grant funds to qualified types of applicants to acquire, construct, extend, upgrade, or otherwise improve energy generation, transmission, or E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM 15MRN1 18892 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 52 / Friday, March 15, 2024 / Notices distribution facilities serving communities in which the average residential expenditure for home energy is at least 275 percent of the national average. Grants may also be used for programs that install on-grid and offgrid renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements in eligible communities. Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 3.41 hours per response. Respondents: For profit and nonprofit entities, State and local governments, Indian Tribes, other Tribal entities, Alaskan Native Corporations and Individuals. See 7 CFR 1709.106. Estimated Number of Respondents: 60. Estimated Total Annual Responses: 344. Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 5.73. Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,172 hours. Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Pamela Bennett, Rural Development Innovation Center— Regulations Management Division, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, South Building, Washington, DC 20250– 1522. Telephone: (202) 720–9639. Email: pamela.bennett@usda.gov. 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. Andrew Berke, Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. [FR Doc. 2024–05471 Filed 3–14–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–15–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Census Bureau khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Survey of Children’s Health. The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:17 Mar 14, 2024 Jkt 262001 the public’s reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on November 14, 2023 during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments. Agency: U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce. Title: National Survey of Children’s Health. OMB Control Number: 0607–0990 Form Number(s): NSCH–S1 (English Screener), NSCH–T1 (English Topical for 0- to 5-year-old children), NSCH–T2 (English Topical for 6- to 11-year-old children), NSCH–T3 (English Topical for 12- to 17-year-old children), NSCH– S–S1 (Spanish Screener), NSCH–S–T1 (Spanish Topical for 0- to 5-year-old children), NSCH–S–T2 (Spanish Topical for 6- to 11-year-old children), and NSCH–S–T3 (Spanish Topical for 12- to 17-year-old children). Type of Request: Regular submission, Request for a Revision of a Currently Approved Collection. Number of Respondents: 73,641 for the screener only and 56,649 for the combined screener and topical, for a total of 130,290 respondents. Average Hours per Response: 5 minutes per screener response and 35– 36 minutes per topical response, which in total is approximately 40–41 minutes for households with eligible children. Burden Hours: 44,270. Needs and Uses: The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) enables the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) along with supplemental sponsoring agencies, states, and other data users to produce national and statebased estimates on the health and wellbeing of children, their families, and their communities as well as estimates of the prevalence and impact of children with special health care needs. Data will be collected using one of two modes. The first mode is a web instrument (Centurion) survey that contains the screener and topical instruments. The web instrument first will take the respondent through the screener questions. If the household screens into the study, the respondent will be taken directly into one of the three age-based topical sets of questions. The second mode is a mailout/mailback of a self-administered paper-and-pencil interviewing (PAPI) screener instrument followed by a separate mailout/mailback of a PAPI age-based topical instrument. The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) is a large-scale (sample size is approximately 375,000 addresses) national survey with PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 approximately 292,500 addresses included in the base production survey and approximately 82,500 addresses included as part of fourteen separate state-based or region-based oversamples. As in prior cycles of the NSCH, there remain two key, non-experimental design elements. The first nonexperimental design element is the use of an unconditional incentive ($5) in the initial screener and topical invitations. For the initial screener invitation, 90% of sampled addresses receive the cash incentive; the remaining 10% (the control) do not receive an incentive. This approach is used to consistently monitor the effectiveness of the cash incentive each cycle. The second nonexperimental design element is a data collection procedure based on the block group-level paper-only response probability used to identify households (30% of the sample) that would be more likely to respond by paper and send them a paper questionnaire in the initial mailing and every nonresponse followup mailing. The 2024 NSCH will also include a targeted secondary unconditional incentive test to encourage response from a subset of the sample that started the web questionnaire but did not finish. Prior cycles of the survey have included a $5 unconditional cash incentive with both the initial screener mailing as well as the initial paper topical mailing as outlined in the paragraph above. The incentive has proven to be a cost-effective intervention for increasing survey response and reducing nonresponse bias. Affected Public: Individuals or households. Frequency: The 2024 collection is the ninth administration of the NSCH. It is an annual survey, with a new sample drawn for each administration. Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. Legal Authority: Census Authority: Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), section 8(b) (13 U.S.C. 8(b)). HRSA MCHB Authority: Section 501(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701). United States Department of Agriculture Authority: Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, Public Law 115–334. United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Authority: Public Health Service Act, Section 301, 42 U.S.C. 241. United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, E:\FR\FM\15MRN1.SGM 15MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 52 (Friday, March 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18891-18892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05471]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

[Docket No. RUS-24-ELECTRIC-0005]


Notice of an Extension to a Currently Approved Information 
Collection

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 
notice announces the Rural Utilities Service's (RUS or Agency), an 
agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural 
Development, intention to request an extension to a currently approved 
information collection package for the High Energy Costs Grants Rural 
Communities Program (HECG). In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Agency invites comments on this information collection 
for which it intends to request approval from the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB).

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by May 14, 2024 to be 
assured of consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Bennett, Rural Development 
Innovation Center--Regulations Management Division, USDA, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, STOP 1522, South Building, Washington, DC 
20250-1522. Telephone: (202) 720-9639. Email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OMB regulation (5 CFR part 1320) 
implementing provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 
104-13) requires that interested members of the public and affected 
agencies have an opportunity to comment on information collection and 
recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). This notice identifies 
an information collection that RUS is submitting to OMB for extension 
of an existing collection.
    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; and (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 may be sent by the Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 
https://www.regulations.gov and, in the ``Search'' box, type in the 
Docket No. RUS-24-ELECTRIC-0005. A link to the Notice will appear. You 
may submit a comment here by selecting the ``Comment'' button or you 
can access the ``Docket'' tab, select the ``Notice,'' and go to the 
``Browse & Comment on Documents'' Tab. Here you may view comments that 
have been submitted as well as submit a comment. To submit a comment, 
select the ``Comment'' button, complete the required information, and 
select the ``Submit Comment'' button at the bottom. 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 ``FAQ'' link at the 
bottom.
    A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for 
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of 
information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. Data 
furnished by the applicants will be used to determine eligibility for 
program benefits. Furnishing the data is voluntary; however, failure to 
provide data could result in program benefits being withheld or denied.
    Title: High Energy Costs Grants Rural Communities.
    OMB Control Number: 0572-0136.
    Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: The HECG Program is authorized under section 19 of the 
Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended (the RE Act) (7 U.S.C. 
918a), and implemented by 7 CFR part 1709. The Agency, through the HECG 
program, provides grant funds to qualified types of applicants to 
acquire, construct, extend, upgrade, or otherwise improve energy 
generation, transmission, or

[[Page 18892]]

distribution facilities serving communities in which the average 
residential expenditure for home energy is at least 275 percent of the 
national average. Grants may also be used for programs that install on-
grid and off-grid renewable energy systems and energy efficiency 
improvements in eligible communities.
    Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of 
information is estimated to average 3.41 hours per response.
    Respondents: For profit and non-profit entities, State and local 
governments, Indian Tribes, other Tribal entities, Alaskan Native 
Corporations and Individuals. See 7 CFR 1709.106.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 60.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 344.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 5.73.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 1,172 hours.
    Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Pamela 
Bennett, Rural Development Innovation Center--Regulations Management 
Division, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, South Building, 
Washington, DC 20250-1522. Telephone: (202) 720-9639. Email: 
[email protected].
    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.

Andrew Berke,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-05471 Filed 3-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P


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