Notice of Intent to Extend a Currently Approved Information Collection

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

Notice of Intent to Extend a Currently Approved Information

Collection

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Cooperative State Research, Education, and

Extension Service's (CSREES) intention to request an extension for

three years for a currently approved information collection in support

of the CSREES Buildings and Facilities Grants Program.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by June 27, 1997, to be

assured of consideration.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS: Contact Sally J. Rockey, Deputy

Administrator, Competitive Research Grants and Awards Management,

CSREES, USDA, STOP 2240, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington,

D.C. 20250-2240, (202) 401-1766. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: CSREES/Buildings and Facilities Grants Program, Program

Guidelines and Forms Package.

OMB Number: 0524-0029.

Expiration Date of Current Approval: August 31, 1997.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved information

collection.

Abstract: The enabling legislation for the Research Facilities

Program is contained in Pub. L. No. 88-74 (7 U.S.C. 390 et seq.) and

the annual Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug

Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides

funding to the CSREES for the support of construction grant projects.

Project recipients (and funding levels for each) are identified in the

annual House and Senate Conference Reports. Due to the high cost of

constructing facilities, funding for each project normally is provided

by Congress on an incremental basis over a period of several years.

Prior to the actual award of funds, targeted recipients are

contacted and asked to submit information to CSREES relating to their

projects. In the first year, the information collected from each

prospective recipient is used by a team of subject-matter experts to

conduct an on-site visit to determine the need for the proposed

facility; results of the study are reported to Congress. Where funding

is provided by Congress in subsequent years, applicants are not

required to repeat information provided in a previous year--instead,

CSREES requests updated information, focusing on any changes in

construction plans, progress made in completing the facility, problems

encountered, and current financial data. This information is used to

determine grantee compliance with the purposes of the original grant

award (or to approve minor changes necessitated by altered

circumstances), determine whether the project is on schedule and within

budget, and provide a means to justify further financial support. On a

one-time basis, each grantee also is required to submit environmental

information and a certificate of facility completion, both of which are

included in the Program Guidelines or Forms Package.

The fundamental purposes of the forms included in the Forms Package

are to facilitate the submission of proposals by applicant

institutions; to ensure that information is supplied in an informative

manner to enhance understanding by CSREES officials so that proposals

can be processed more quickly; and to see that parallel information is

received for each project to ensure equitable treatment for all

recipients. The information is used by CSREES officials and outside

reviewers to evaluate the technical, financial, and administrative

merit of proposals and to respond to inquiries from Congress, the

Department, and the grantee community. However, the forms are not

designed to be statistical surveys or data collection instruments. The

completion of the forms by potential recipients is a normal part of

applying to CSREES for financial support. Without this information,

CSREES would not be able to award these grant projects. This

information collection is due to expire on August 31, 1997. CSREES

intends to request an extension of three years. Upon approval, the

following information will continue to be collected:

Table of Contents: A table of contents is optional; it is requested

only for proposals of unusual length or complexity and provided at the

discretion of the institution. It is used to facilitate the location of

information by merit reviewers and CSREES officials.

Project Summary: This is a short summary of the project that

focuses on the broad goals associated with the construction effort. It

is required to enable CSREES to provide project-related information to

Congress, the Department, and the general public in a timely fashion.

Project Description: Applicants are asked to provide brief

information on the scope of the proposed project, factors that led to a

need for the construction, ways in which financial assistance from

CSREES will enhance programmatic activities to be carried out in the

facility, benefits to be gained from commencing the project during the

current fiscal year, a general description of the physical site upon

which it is planned to erect the facility, a description of any

preliminary work that has been performed to date, an outline of plans

to obtain any required licenses or permits, a description of the

facility as it is envisioned to be completed, capacity of existing

utility systems to service the new space, an outline of any problems

that could delay the start or completion of the project, procedures to

be used in accomplishing project objectives, and a tentative schedule

for completing major activities associated with the effort. This

information provides merit reviewers and agency officials with an

understanding of the applicant's need for undertaking the project and

establishes a basis for possible Federal financial support. In

addition, it is used to respond to Congressional requests for specific

project information and to assist CSREES program officials in

familiarizing themselves with the project prior to making pre-and post-

award site visits.

Program Description: Information is requested on the programs that

are proposed to be housed in the completed space, including new or

enhanced programs, and the relevance of these programs to research and

allied work in the food and agricultural sciences. This information is

required to ensure compliance with Conference Report language, which

requires that programs to be carried out in these facilities be

complementary to overall Departmental programs. This information also

is required to be sure that the proposed programs do not unnecessarily

duplicate programs being conducted elsewhere within the institution's

State or region.

Management Structure: This calls for description of the

organizational management structure that is planned for the completed

facility. The purpose of requesting such information is to ensure that

viable management, integrated with the rest of the institution, will be

in place so that the facility and the programs it is intended to house

will function properly after the facility becomes operational. It also

demonstrates the level of institutional

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thought that has gone into planning the facility, thereby helping to

justify Federal financial support to assist in constructing the

facility.

Alternative: Applicants are asked to outline alternatives to the

proposed facility that were considered by the institution prior to

settling upon the one at hand. This information is used by merit

reviewers and CSREES officials to determine whether or not the project

being considered for funding is the best alternative vis-a-vis other

options.

Contingency Plan: This is an outline of the institution's fallback

plan to fund the facility from other sources in the event Federal

funding is delayed, is reduced significantly, or is not forthcoming. It

provides merit reviewers and CSREES officials with important

information relating to the priority of the facility on the

institution's master plan. (Is the facility of such high priority that

the institution is committed to constructing it regardless of funding

source, or will it abandon the project unless Federal funds are

provided?)

Operating Costs: Applicants are asked to describe their plans for

operating and maintaining the facility after construction has been

completed, including the source(s) of operating funds. This is required

in response to Congressional language requiring that recipients be

willing and able to operate and maintain the facility with non-Federal

funds after occupancy.

Biographical Information: A brief biographical sketch (or

curriculum vitae) is required for key institutional personnel who are

expected to be involved in the project. This information is needed to

persuade merit reviewers and CSREES officials that institutional

personnel assigned to planning and overseeing completion of the

facility are qualified to do so. This sketch normally does not have to

be written for the proposal being submitted--all project leaders

develop and keep curricula vitae on file to be used as the need arises.

Administrative Certifications: Applicants are required by law or

regulation to complete administrative certifications to assist in

determining their eligibility for Federal funds.

Environmental Assessment: This information is requested, on a one-

time basis, of all grantees prior to their being authorized to take

irreversible action on a project (e.g., site clearing or

groundbreaking). The information is necessary to assist CSREES in

complying with the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act

of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and implementing regulations

promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality at 40 CFR Parts

1500-1508, as adopted and supplemented by USDA at 7 CFR 1b and by

CSREES at 7 CFR Part 3407. While there is no prescribed format that

must be used in submitting this information, CSREES developed a

suggested format to assist in focusing grantees' attention on salient

issues that need to be addressed.

CSREES-850--Grant Application--Facilities Project: This form is the

cover sheet of each application and provides base-line information

relating to the applicant institution and the construction project for

which funding is targeted. This information serves as part of CSREES'

statistical data base for the dissemination of information to Congress,

the Department, and other interested parties. In addition, the

signatures at the bottom of the page provide legal assurance that the

proposed project is sanctioned by top-level officials of the

institution.

CSREES-851--Budget--Facilities Project: This form provides a

breakdown of planning and construction funds requested from CSREES, as

well as those that are intended to be provided from non-Federal funds.

This information permits CSREES officials to review the applicant's

proposed financial expenditure plan to evaluate the reasonableness and

allowability of costs being proposed.

CSREES-852--Current and Pending Support--Facilities Project: This

form requests a listing of all recent, current, and/or pending support

for the construction or renovation of program facilities from a source

external to the applicant institution. This information allows CSREES

officials to determine whether or not the construction funding being

requested duplicates (or overlaps with) similar construction projects

funded by one or more other sponsors.

CSREES-853--Program Certification--Facilities Project: This form

collects minimal information to ensure applicant compliance with the

Food Disaster Protection Act of 1973, Pub. L. No. 93-234 (42 U.S.C.

4001-4128) and implementing regulations established by the Federal

Emergency Management Agency (44 CFR Part 75); and the Coastal Barrier

Resources Act, Pub. L. No. 97-348 (16 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), as amended.

This information is required by Federal Law. However, this form is not

required for follow-on applications unless the construction site has

changed.

CSREES-854--Data Sheet--Facilities Project: This form requests

statistical information about the project (its purpose, size, cost,

level of matching funds, schedule, and future funding needs). It is

used to provide information to Congress and the Department, to

facilitate monitoring efforts, and to determine project growth.

CSREES-860--Certificate of Facility Completion: This is a two-sided

form that is required on a one-time basis but it is not submitted as

part of the actual grant application. The first side is a certificate,

prepared and signed by the design team, attesting to physical

attributes of the facility; and the reverse of the form, completed by

the grantee, is a certification of occupancy and list of programs to be

housed in the new space. This information is required to provide a

record of final inspection and acceptance of the facility by the owner

and also to ensure that the programs for which the facility was

constructed will actually occupy the facility during the period of

Federal financial interest.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for: an initial grant

proposal is estimated to average 22 hours per response; a follow-on

application is estimated to average 10 hours per response; an

environmental assessment is estimated to average 10 hours per response;

and Form CSREES-860, Certification of Facility Completion, is estimated

to average 2 hours per response.

Respondents: Organizations identified in the annual House and

Senate Conference Reports.

Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: The FY 1998 estimate

on the number of responses per respondent is based on numbers

associated with FY 1997 funding. As such, the estimated number of

respondents are one initial proposal, 19 follow-on applications, 42

environmental assessments, and 14 for Form CSREES-860.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 300 hours, broken

down by: 22 hours for the initial proposal (22 hours per one

respondent); 190 hours for follow-on applications (10 hours per 19

respondents); 420 hours for the environmental assessment (10 hours per

42 respondents); and 28 hours for the Form CSREES-860 (two hours per 14

respondents).

Copies of this information collection can be obtained from Melanie

Krizmanich, Policy and Program Liaison Staff, CSREES, (202) 401-1762.

E-mail: [email protected].

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;

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(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 to: Sally J. Rockey, Deputy

Administrator, Competitive Research Grants and Awards Management,

CSREES, USDA, STOP 2240, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington,

D.C. 20250-2240, (202) 401-1766. E-mail: [email protected].

All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the

request for OMB approval. All comments also will become a matter of

public record.

Done at Washington, DC, on this 15th day of April 1997.

B.H. Robinson,

Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension

Service.

[FR Doc. 97-10448 Filed 4-22-97; 8:45 am]

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