Information Collection: Federal and Non-Federal Financial Assistance Instruments
| Published date | 14 September 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 56575 |
| Record Number | 2020-20195 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Agriculture Department,Forest Service |
56575
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 178 / Monday, September 14, 2020 / Notices
(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the FSA’s
estimate of burden including the
validity of the methodology and
assumptions used;
(3) Enhance the quality, utility and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
(4) 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.
All comments received in response to
this document, including names and
addresses when provided, will be a
matter of public record. Comments will
be summarized and included in the
submission for Office of Management
and Budget approval.
Environmental Review
The environmental impacts for STRP
have been considered in a manner
consistent with the provisions of the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), the
regulations of the Council on
Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts
1500–1508), and the FSA regulation for
compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part
799).
As previously stated, the intent of
STRP is to provide financial assistance
to commercial fishermen for expanding
or aiding in the expansion of domestic
markets for U.S. commercially caught
and sold seafood, because seafood
commodities have been impacted by
trade actions of foreign governments
resulting in the loss of exports. The
limited discretionary aspects of STRP
(for example, determining AGI and
payment limitations) were designed to
be consistent with established FSA and
CCC programs, but also take into
account certain differences associated
with seafood production from crop
production. These discretionary aspects
do not have the potential to impact the
human environment as they are
administrative. Accordingly, the
following Categorical Exclusions in 7
CFR part 799.31 apply:
•§ 799.31(b)(6)(iii) applies to
financial assistance to supplement
income, manage the supply of
agricultural commodities, or influence
the cost and supply of such
commodities; and
•§ 799.31(b)(6)(iv) applies to
individual farm participation in FSA
programs where no ground disturbance
or change in land use occurs as a result
of the proposed action or participation.
No Extraordinary Circumstances
(§ 799.33) exist. As such, the
implementation of STRP and the
participation in STRP do not constitute
major Federal actions that would
significantly affect the quality of the
human environment, individually or
cumulatively. Therefore, CCC will not
prepare an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement for this
action and this document serves as
documentation of the programmatic
environmental compliance decision for
this federal action.
Federal Assistance Programs
The title and number of the Federal
assistance programs, as found in the
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance,
to which this document applies is
10.131—Seafood Trade Relief Program.
Richard Fordyce,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
Robert Stephenson,
Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit
Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2020–20143 Filed 9–9–20; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection: Federal and
Non-Federal Financial Assistance
Instruments
AGENCY
: Forest Service, Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION
: Notice; request for comment.
SUMMARY
: In accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service is seeking comments
from all interested individuals and
organizations on the adoption of a new
form to replace multiple versions of a
currently approved information
collection, OMB 0596–0217, Federal
and Non-Federal Financial Assistance
Instruments.
DATES
: Comments must be received in
writing on or before November 13, 2020
to be assured of consideration.
Comments received after that date will
be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES
: Comments concerning this
notice should be addressed to
Jacqueline Henry, USDA Forest Service,
Director for Office of Grants and
Agreements, 1400 Independence Ave.
SW, Mailstop 1138, Washington, DC
20250.
Comments also may be submitted via
facsimile to 703–605–4776 or by email
to: jacqueline.henry@usda.gov.
The public may inspect comments
received at USDA Forest Service, 1400
Independence Ave. SW, Washington,
DC 20250, during normal business
hours. Visitors are encouraged to call
ahead to 703–605–4776 to facilitate
entry to the building.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Jacqueline Henry, Director for Office of
Grants and Agreements, telephone 703–
605–4776.
Individuals who use
telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339, 24
hours a day, 7 days a week, including
holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
Title: Federal and Non-Federal
Financial Assistant Instruments.
OMB Number: 0596–0217.
Expiration Date of Approval: 11/30/
2017.
Type of Request: Renewal with
change.
Abstract: In order to perform specific
Forest Service activities, Congress
created several authorities to assist the
Agency in carrying out its mission. The
Forest Service issues partnership
agreements under specific authorities
exempt from the Federal Grants and
Cooperative Agreements Act (FGCAA).
This collection is for a new form that
will be used to enter into the following
agreement types by the Forest Service:
(1) Participating Agreements (replaces
FS–1500–16 and 16A through 16G),
(2) Cost-Reimbursable Agreement
(replaces FS–1500–12),
(3) Joint Venture Agreement (replaces
FS–1500–14 and 14A),
(4) Cooperative Research and
Development Agreements (replaces
FS1500–13 through 13B); and,
(5) Challenge Cost-Share Agreement
(replaces FS–1500–10 and 10A through
10C).
In addition to Federal Financial
Assistance (FFA), Congress created
specific authorizations for acts outside
the scope of the FGCAA. Appropriations
language was developed to convey
authority for the Forest Service to enter
into relationships that are outside the
scope of the FGCAA. The Forest Service
implements these authorizations using
instruments such as collection
agreements, FGCAA exempted
agreements, memorandums of
understanding, and other agreements
which mutually benefit participating
parties. These instruments fall outside
the scope of the Federal Acquisition
Regulations (FAR) and often require
financial plans and statements of work.
Forest Service employees collect
information from cooperating parties
from the pre-award to the closeout stage
via telephone calls, emails, postal mail,
and person-to-person meetings to create,
develop, and administer these funded
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56576
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 178 / Monday, September 14, 2020 / Notices
and non-funded agreements. The
multiple means for respondents to
communicate their responses include
forms, non-forms, electronic documents,
face-to-face, telephone, and internet.
The scope of information collected
varies; however, it typically includes
the project type, project scope, financial
plan, statement of work, and
cooperator’s business information.
The Forest Service would not be able
to create, develop, and administer these
funded and non-funded agreements
without the collected information. The
Agency would also be unable to develop
or monitor projects, make or receive
payments, or identify financial and
accounting errors.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 1 to 4
hours annually per person.
Type of Respondents: Non-profit and
for profit institutions; institutions of
higher education; State, local, and
Native American tribal governments,
individuals; foreign governments; and
organizations.
Estimated Annual Number of
Respondents for New Form: 1,875.
Estimated Annual Number of
Responses per Respondent: 1 to 4.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 7,500 hours.
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
respondents, including the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or
other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology.
All comments received in response to
this notice, including names and
addresses when provided, will be a
matter of public record. Comments will
be summarized and included in the
submission for Office of Management
and Budget approval.
Jacqueline Henry,
Director, Grants and Agreements Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020–20195 Filed 9–11–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Tongass National Forest, Thorne Bay
Ranger District; Alaska; Twin Mountain
II Timber Sale
AGENCY
: Forest Service, Agriculture
(USDA).
ACTION
: Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement.
SUMMARY
: The Forest Service will
prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Twin Mountain
II Timber Sale, which proposes to offer
timber for harvest in the Staney and Red
Bay areas within the Thorne Bay Ranger
District, Tongass National Forest. The
Proposed Action would offer for harvest
about 42 million board feet of timber
from approximately 3,000 acres. In
addition, transportation management
activities such as road construction,
reconstruction, maintenance and
decommissioning are proposed.
DATES
: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis must be received by
[October 14, 2020. The draft EIS is
expected December 2020 and the final
EIS is expected May 2021.
ADDRESSES
: Send written comments to
the Thorne Bay Ranger District, Attn:
Twin Mountain II Timber Sale, P.O. Box
19001, Thorne Bay, Alaska, 99919.
Comments may also be sent
electronically to https://cara.ecosystem
management.org/Public/
CommentInput?Project=58626, or via
facsimile to 907–828–3309. In all
correspondence, include your name,
address, and organization name if you
are commenting as a representative of
an organization.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Lucy Maldonado, Planning Staff,
Thorne Bay Ranger District, P.O. Box
19001, Thorne Bay, Alaska 99919 or by
phone at 907–828–3250.
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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
: This EIS
will tier to and incorporate by reference
the 2016 Tongass Land and Resource
Management Plan (Forest Plan)
Amendment Final EIS. The project area
is located on Prince of Wales Island,
approximately 75 to 100 miles west of
Ketchikan, Alaska, within the Staney
and Red Bay areas of the Thorne Bay
Ranger District, Tongass National.
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose of the Twin Mountain II
Timber Sale is to implement the 2016
Forest Plan direction to move the
project area toward the desired future
conditions described in the plan. More
specifically, the purpose is to manage
the timber resource for production of
sawtimber and other wood products and
to meet multiple resource objectives.
There is a need to provide a sustainable
level of forest products to contribute to
the economic sustainability of the
region. Providing old-growth timber
would preserve a viable timber industry
by providing timber volume in an
economically efficient manner while
providing jobs and opportunities for
Southeast Alaska residents.
Proposed Action
The Forest Service proposes to make
approximately 42 million board feet
(MMBF) of old growth timber available
to offer for harvest and construct and
reconstruct roads in the Staney and Red
Bay areas within the Thorne Bay Ranger
District. Timber would be made
available to offer for harvest up to 3,000
acres of old-growth forest in the
Modified Landscape and Timber
Production land use designation areas,
using one or more timber sales that
would be implemented over the course
of 5 to 10 years. The proposed action
includes about 1,800 acres of even-aged
management and about 1,200 acres of
uneven-aged management, with
estimated volume for even-aged
management being 32.4 MMBF and 9.6
MMBF for uneven-aged management.
The proposed action includes
approximately 3 miles of new National
Forest System road construction, 11
miles of new temporary road
construction, and the reconditioning of
approximately 35 miles of existing
roads. Existing rock quarries would be
used as available or new quarries would
be developed as necessary to provide
materials for road construction. Existing
log transfer facilities at El Capitan,
Exchange Cove, Lab Bay, Naukati, and
Winter Harbor could be used. Under the
proposed action, no young growth
timber is proposed to be made available
for harvest and no activities would
occur within designated roadless areas.
No special timber cutting prescriptions
around communities are included in the
proposed action.
Responsible Official
The Responsible Official for this
project is the Tongass Forest Supervisor,
Earl Stewart.
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