Notice2024-03839
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Agriculture Department
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14040-14041]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03839]
========================================================================
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. 89, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2024 /
Notices
[[Page 14040]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following
information collection requirement(s) to Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995, Public Law 104-13. 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; 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 this information collection received by March
27, 2024 will be considered. 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
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. 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.
Rural Utilities Service
Title: RUS Specification for Quality Control and Inspection of
Timber Products.
OMB Control Number: 0572-0076.
Summary of Collection: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is a
credit agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is
authorized to manage loan programs in accordance with the Rural
Electrification Act (RE Act) of 1936, 7 U.S.C. 901 et seq., as amended.
It makes mortgage loans and loan guarantees to finance
telecommunications, electric, and water and waste facilities in rural
areas. To ensure the security of loan funds, adequate quality control
of timber products is vital to loan security on electric power systems
where hundreds of thousands of wood-poles and cross-arms are used.
Prior to receiving loan funds, a RUS borrower must enter into a loan
contract with RUS. In accordance with article V, section 5.14 of the
loan contract, ``the borrower shall use design standards, construction
standards and lists of acceptable materials in conformance with RUS
regulations.
Need and Use of the Information: The purchaser or treating company
may obtain the services of an inspection agency or third-party
oversight organization to perform certain inspection services to insure
that the specifications for wood poles and cross-arms are being met. As
required by 7 CFR 1728.202(i) copies of test reports on various
preservatives must accompany each charge (a charge being a load of
poles treated at the same time in a pressure cylinder). Test reports
are needed so that the purchaser, the inspectors, and RUS will be able
to spot-check the general accuracy of the tests. RUS will use the
information in verifying acceptability of poles and cross-arms
purchased by RUS borrowers.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-
profit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 25.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 20,333.
Rural Utilities Service
Title: 7 CFR part 1744, subpart B, Lien Accommodations and
Subordination Policy.
OMB Control Number: 0572-0126.
Summary of Collection: The information collected in this
information collection package is received from RUS telecommunications
borrowers. The policy of considering Lien Accommodations will continue
to facilitate funding from non-agency sources in order to meet the
growing capital needs of rural Local Exchange Carriers (LECs).
Depending on the purposes for which a lien accommodation is sought, RUS
will utilize the information to provide an expedited approval for
borrowers that meet the financial tests described in this rule. RUS
believes that borrowers that are financially sound should be afforded
more flexibility with regard to financial arrangements with outside
lenders for the purpose of promoting rural telecommunications. The
tests are designed to ensure that the financial strength of the
borrower is more than sufficient to protect the government's loan
security interests; hence, the lien accommodations will not adversely
affect the government's financial interests.
Need and Use of the Information: In order to facilitate
supplemental financing for telecommunications services projects, RUS
provides fast track lien accommodations to private lenders who propose
to lend to RUS borrowers who meet certain financial strength
evaluations. Depending on the purposes for which a lien accommodation
is sought, RUS will use the information to provide expedited approval
for borrowers that meet the financial tests. The tests are designed to
ensure that the financial strength of the borrower is more than
sufficient to protect the government's loan security interests; hence,
the lien accommodations will not adversely affect the government's
financial interests.
Description of Respondents: Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 12.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting: On occasion.
[[Page 14041]]
Total Burden Hours: 18.
Levi S. Harrell,
Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-03839 Filed 2-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 26, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.