Federal Register Vol. 82, No.178,

The science priority-setting process at NIFA involves soliciting stakeholder input on agricultural research, education and extension needs, obtaining input from NIFA's science staff who are informed through interactions with scientific communities, and evaluating existing programs to identify critical gaps in the current portfolio of programs in order to address challenges in U.S. agriculture.

This listening effort will focus on answers to the following questions, “What is your top priority in food and agricultural research, extension or education that NIFA should address?” and “What are the most promising science opportunities for advancement of food and agricultural sciences?”

NIFA welcomes stakeholder input from any group or individual interested in agricultural research, extension or education priorities for NIFA. NIFA is eager to listen to stakeholder's comments on the priorities, solutions and opportunities that will facilitate long-term sustainable agricultural production, research, education and extension. This listening effort will focus on the agricultural science that NIFA invests in, but not on NIFA processes or procedures.

All parties interested in attending an in-person listening session must RSVP no later than October 12, 2017. Abstracts from in-person speakers can be submitted upon registration via https://nifa.usda.gov/nifalistens.

Written comments by all interested stakeholders are welcomed through 5 p.m. Eastern time, December 1, 2017. All input will become a part of the official record and available on the NIFA Web site, https://nifa.usda.gov/nifalistens.

Members of the public can listen to the discussion. This meeting is available to the public through the following toll-free call-in number: 1-877-719-9795, conference ID: 9658974. Any interested member of the public may call this number and listen to the meeting. Callers can expect to incur charges for calls they initiate over wireless lines, and the Commission will not refund any incurred charges. Callers will incur no charge for calls they initiate over land-line connections to the toll-free telephone number. Persons with hearing impairments may also follow the proceedings by first calling the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-977-8339 and providing the Service with the conference call number and conference ID number.

Members of the public are also entitled to submit written comments; the comments must be received in the regional office by October 6, 2017. Written comments may be mailed to the Southern Regional Office, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 61 Forsyth Street, Suite 16T126, Atlanta, GA 30303. They may also be faxed to the Commission at (404) 562-7005, or emailed to Regional Director, Jeffrey Hinton at [email protected]. Persons who desire additional information may contact the Southern Regional Office at (404) 562-7000.

Records generated from this meeting may be inspected and reproduced at the Southern Regional Office, as they become available, both before and after the meeting. Records of the meeting will be available via www.facadatabase.gov under the Commission on Civil Rights, South Carolina Advisory Committee link. Persons interested in the work of this Committee are directed to the Commission's Web site, http://www.usccr.gov, or may contact the Southern Regional Office at the above email or street address.

Members of the public can listen to the discussion. This meeting is available to the public through the following toll-free call-in number: 888-287-5563, conference ID: 4247572. Any interested member of the public may call this number and listen to the meeting. An open comment period will be provided to allow members of the public to make a statement as time allows. The conference call operator will ask callers to identify themselves, the organization they are affiliated with (if any), and an email address prior to placing callers into the conference room. Callers can expect to incur regular charges for calls they initiate over wireless lines, according to their wireless plan. The Commission will not refund any incurred charges. Callers will incur no charge for calls they initiate over land-line connections to the toll-free telephone number. Persons with hearing impairments may also follow the proceedings by first calling the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-977-8339 and providing the Service with the conference call number and conference ID number.

Members of the public are also entitled to submit written comments; the comments must be received in the regional office within 30 days following the meeting. Written comments may be mailed to the Midwestern Regional Office, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 55 W. Monroe St., Suite 410, Chicago, IL 60615. They may also be faxed to the Commission at (312) 353-8324, or emailed to Carolyn Allen at [email protected]. Persons who desire additional information may contact the Midwestern Regional Office at (312) 353-8311.

Records generated from this meeting may be inspected and reproduced at the Midwestern Regional Office, as they become available, both before and after the meeting. Records of the meeting will be available via www.facadatabase.gov under the Commission on Civil Rights, Alabama Advisory Committee link (http://www.facadatabase.gov/committee/committee.aspx?cid=233&aid=17). Persons interested in the work of this Committee are directed to the Commission's Web site, http://www.usccr.gov, or may contact the Midwestern Regional Office at the above email or street address.

List of Petitions Received by EDA for Certification Eligibility To Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance [9/1/2017 through 9/8/2017] Firm name Firm address Date

Any party having a substantial interest in these proceedings may request a public hearing on the matter. A written request for a hearing must be submitted to the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms Division, Room 71030, Economic Development Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, no later than ten (10) calendar days following publication of this notice. These petitions are received pursuant to section 251 of the Trade Act 1974, as amended.

Please follow the requirements set forth in EDA's regulations at 13 CFR 315.9 for procedures to request a public hearing. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance official number and title for the program under which these petitions are submitted is 11.313, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms.

On April 3, 2017, the Department published in the Federal Register a notice of “Opportunity to Request Administrative Review” of the antidumping duty order on drawn stainless steel sinks from the PRC for the POR (AD order).1

In April 2017, the Department received multiple timely requests to conduct an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on drawn stainless steel sinks from the PRC.

On June 7, 2017, in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), the Department published in the Federal Register a notice of initiation of an administrative review of the AD order.2 The administrative review was initiated with respect to 31 companies, and covers the period April 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017. Subsequent to the initiation of the administrative review, the requesting parties timely withdrew their review requests for 19 of these companies, as discussed below.

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), the Department will rescind an administrative review, in whole or in part, if a party that requested a review withdraws its request within 90 days of the date of publication of notice of initiation of the requested review. All requesting parties withdrew their respective requests for an administrative review of the following companies within 90 days of the date of publication of the Initiation Notice: 3 Elkay (China) Kitchen Solutions, Co., Ltd.; Foshan Shunde MingHao Kitchen Utensils Co., Ltd.; Franke Asia Sourcing Ltd.; Grand Hill Work Company; Guandong Dongyuan Kitchenware Industrial Co., Ltd.; Guangdong G-Top Import & Export Co., Ltd.; Guandong Yingao Kitchen Utensils Co., Ltd.; Hangzhou Heng's Industries Co., Ltd.; Hubei Foshan Success Imp & Exp Co. Ltd.; J&C Industries Enterprise Limited; Jiangmen Pioneer Import & Export Co., Ltd.; Jiangxi Zoje Kitchen & Bath Industry Co., Ltd.; Ningbo Oulin Kitchen Utensils Co., Ltd.; Primy Cooperation Limited; Shenzhen Kehuaxing Industrial Ltd.; Shunde Foodstuffs Import & Export Company Limited of Guangdong; Shunde Native Produce Import and Export Co., Ltd. of Guangdong; Zhongshan Newecan Enterprise Development Corporation; and Zhongshan Silk Imp. & Exp. Group Co., Ltd. of Guangdong. Accordingly, the Department is rescinding this review, in part, with respect to these companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 353.213(d)(1).4

The instant review will continue with respect to the following companies: B&R Industries Limited; Feidong Import and Export Co., Ltd.; Foshan Zhaoshun Trade Co., Ltd.; Guangdong New Shichu Import & Export Company Limited; Jiangmen Hongmao Trading Co., Ltd.; Jiangmen New Star Hi-Tech Enterprise Ltd.; KaiPing Dawn Plumbing Products, Inc.; Ningbo Afa Kitchen and Bath Co., Ltd.; Jiangmen Xinhe Stainless Steel Products Co., Ltd.; Yuyao Afa Kitchenware Co., Ltd.; Zhongshan Superte Kitchenware Co., Ltd./Zhongshan Superte Kitchenware Co., Ltd. invoiced as Foshan Zhaoshun Trade Co., Ltd; and Zhuhai Kohler Kitchen & Bathroom Products Co., Ltd.

The Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. For the companies for which this review is rescinded, antidumping duties shall be assessed at rates equal to the cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i). The Department intends to issue appropriate assessment instructions directly to CBP 15 days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

This notice serves as the only reminder to importers whose entries will be liquidated as a result of this rescission notice, of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties and/or countervailing duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties and/or countervailing duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

This notice is published in accordance with section 751 of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(d)(4).

The Department published the notice of initiation of this administrative review on February 13, 2017.1 On March 10, 2017, Wah Yuen submitted a separate rate certification and on March 15, 2017, Ningbo Homey submitted a separate rate application.2 On March 17, 2017, Orient withdrew its request for an administrative review.3 On March 30, 2017, we selected Ningbo Homey as the mandatory respondent in this review.4 On April 3, 2017, we issued Ningbo Homey the AD questionnaire,5 however, Ningbo Homey did not respond. On April 5, 2017, the petitioner withdrew its request for an administrative review of Rongxin.6 On May 22, 2017, and July 13, 2017, Wah Yuen submitted supplemental separate rate information.7

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.8 A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an appendix to this notice.

The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via the Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov and in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

The merchandise subject to the order includes certain cased pencils from the PRC. The subject merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 9609.1010. Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written product description is dispositive. A full description of the scope of the order is contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), the Department will rescind an administrative review, “in whole or in part, if a party that requested a review withdraws the request within 90 days of the date of publication of notice of initiation of the requested review.” The requests for review of Orient and Rongxin were withdrawn within the 90-day limit. Because we received no other requests for review of these companies, we are rescinding the administrative review of Orient and Rongxin.

Based on an analysis of CBP information 9 and Wah Yuen's Separate Rate Addendum, the Department preliminarily determines that the Wah Yuen entity 10 had no shipments during the POR. For additional information regarding this determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Consistent with our practice in non-market economy (NME) cases, we are not rescinding this review, in part, but we intend to complete the review with respect to the Wah Yuen entity, and issue appropriate instructions to CBP based on the final results of the review.11

The Department is conducting this review in accordance with sections 751(a)(1)(B) and 751(a)(2)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Tianjin Tonghe did not submit a separate rate application and, therefore has not demonstrated its eligibility for a separate rate. Accordingly, we are preliminarily treating Tianjin Tonghe as part of the PRC-wide entity.12 In addition, because Ningbo Homey did not respond to our AD questionnaire, we preliminarily determine that Ningbo Homey has also not demonstrated its eligibility for a separate rate and we are therefore preliminarily treating Ningbo Homey as part of the PRC-wide entity.

The Department's policy regarding conditional review of the PRC-wide entity applies to this administrative review.13 Under this policy, the PRC-wide entity will not be under review unless a party specifically requests, or the Department self-initiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested a review of the PRC-wide entity in this review, the entity is not under review and the entity's current rate, i.e., 114.90 percent,14 is not subject to change.

For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Normally, the Department will disclose the calculations used in its analysis to parties in this review within five days of the date of publication of the notice of preliminary results in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, in this case, there are no calculations on this record to disclose.

Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 days after the publication of these preliminary result, unless the Secretary alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.15 Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this review are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

The Department intends to issue the final results of this administrative review, which will include the results of our analysis of the issues raised in the case briefs, within 120 days of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, unless the deadline is extended.

Upon issuance of the final results, the Department will determine, and CBP shall assess, AD duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.16 The Department intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the publication date of the final results of this review. If the Department continues to find Ningbo Homey and Tianjin Tonghe as part of the PRC-wide entity in the final results, the Department will instruct CBP to liquidate POR entries of subject merchandise from these companies at the PRC-wide rate of 114.90 percent. Moreover, if the Department continues to make a no-shipment finding for Wah Yuen in the final results, any suspended entries of subject merchandise from Wah Yuen will also be liquidated at the PRC-wide rate.17 Finally, with respect to entries from Orient and Rongxin, antidumping duties shall be assessed at rates equal to the cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i).

The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the final results of this administrative review for shipments of the subject merchandise from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For any companies listed above that have a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be that established in the final results of review (except, if the rate is zero or de minimis, then zero cash deposit will be required); (2) for previously investigated or reviewed PRC and non-PRC exporters not listed above that received a separate rate in a prior segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the existing exporter-specific rate; (3) for all PRC exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be that for the PRC-wide entity; and (4) for all non-PRC exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the PRC exporter that supplied that non-PRC exporter. These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the Department's presumption that reimbursement of AD duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double AD duties.

We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213.

This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The Department published the notice of initiation of this investigation on May 9, 2017.1 On June 12, 2017, the Department postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now September 8, 2017.2 For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

The products covered by this investigation are tool chests from the PRC. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

In accordance with the preamble to the Department's regulations,4 the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).5 Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this preliminary determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.6 The Department is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See revised scope in Appendix I.

The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, the Department preliminarily determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an “authority” that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.7

The Department notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond to the Department's requests for information, it drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.8 For further information, see “Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences” in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the preliminary determination, the Department shall determine an estimated all-others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates established for those companies individually examined, excluding any zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section 776 of the Act.

In this investigation, the Department calculated individual estimated countervailable subsidy rates for Jiangsu Tongrun Equipment Technology Co., Ltd. (Tongrun) and Zhongshan Geelong Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Geelong) that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. The Department calculated the all-others' rate using a weighted average of the individual estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the merchandise under consideration.9

The Department preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:

In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, the Department will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), the Department will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates indicated above.

The Department intends to disclose its calculations and analysis performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, the Department intends to verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.11 Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, the Department will notify the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination.

This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Performance Review Board (NIST PRB or Board) reviews performance appraisals, agreements, and recommended actions pertaining to employees in the Senior Executive Service and ST-3104 employees. The Board makes recommendations to the appropriate appointing authority concerning such matters so as to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of these individuals.

This notice lists the membership of the NIST PRB and supersedes the list published in the Federal Register on September 8, 2016 (81 FR 62099).

The Gulf SEDAR Management Committee will review the SEDAR Steering Committee Summary and the SEDAR schedule. The Spiny Lobster Management Committee will review a draft Options Paper of Spiny Lobster Amendment 13. The Joint Coral/Habitat Protection & Restoration Management Committee will review a summary of the Southeast Deep-Sea Coral Initiative and review a Public Hearing draft of Coral Amendment 9. The Sustainable Fisheries Management Committee will review Options Paper—Draft Modifications to the Sea Turtle Release Protocol and Gear for the Reef Fish Fishery and review Options Paper—Framework Action to Require either Descending Devices or Venting Tools on board Vessels Possessing Reef Fish. The Committee will have a discussion on Dead Zone Regarding the RESTORE Act Activities and receive a presentation on Proposed Lionfish Gear and Modification to the List of Allowable Gears. At 4:15 p.m. a CLOSED SESSION of the Full Council will convene to discuss appointments to the Ad Hoc Red Snapper and Grouper-Tilefish Advisory Panel.

The Reef Fish Management Committee will take final action on Framework Action—Greater Amberjack Fishing Year and Recreational Closed Season. The Committee will review draft Amendment 41—Allocation-based Management for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels and Final Action on Referendum Eligibility Requirements; review draft Amendment 42—Reef Fish Management for Headboat Survey Vessels and Final Action Referendum Eligibility Requirements; and, review draft papers for State Management of Recreational Red Snapper. The Committee will discuss the joint SAFMC/GMFMC Management of Yellowtail Snapper. The Reef Fish Management Committee will receive NMFS response regarding referendum requirements for auctions; and discuss for-hire Reef Fish Permit transfers. The Committee will review Grouper-Tilefish IFQ Program 5-Year Review Surveys.

The Full Council will convene with Call to Order, Announcements, and Introductions; Adoption of Agenda and Approval of Minutes; Induction of New Council Members; Announcement of 2016 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award; and review of Exempted Fishing Permit (EFPs) Applications, if any. The Council will receive a presentation from Mississippi Law Enforcement and a presentation on Gulf of Mexico Annual Catch Limits Landings. After lunch the Council will receive public testimony from 12:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Agenda Testimony items: Final Action on Framework Action: Greater Amberjack Fishing Year and Recreational Closed Season, Final Action on Referendum Eligibility Requirements for Reef Fish Amendment 41, Final Action on Referendum Eligibility Requirements for Reef Fish Amendment 42; and, hold an open public testimony period regarding any other fishery issues or concern. Anyone wishing to speak during public comment should sign in at the registration station located at the entrance to the meeting room.

Full Council will receive committee reports from Gulf SEDAR, Spiny Lobster, Sustainable Fisheries, Joint Coral/Habitat Protection & Restoration Management Committees, and Reef Fish; and, vote on Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) applications, if any. The Council will receive updates from the following supporting agencies: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and, the Department of State. The Council will conduct the election of Chair and Vice-Chair.

Lastly, the Council will discuss any Other Business items.

The timing and order in which agenda items are addressed may change as required to effectively address the issue. The latest version will be posted on the Council's file server, which can be accessed by going to the Council's Web site at http://www.gulfcouncil.org and clicking on FTP Server under Quick Links. For meeting materials, go to the Gulf Council Web site or Gulf Council file server and select the “Briefing Books/Briefing Book 2017-10” folder. The username and password are both “gulfguest”. The meetings will be webcast over the internet. A link to the webcast is available here, https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7940774515962140419.

Although other non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this Council for discussion, those issues may not be the subjects of formal action during this meeting. Council action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided that the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency.

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Kathy Pereira (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days prior to the meeting date.

The Habitat Committee will be briefed on offshore wind projects in various stages of planning and development. This agenda item will include presentations from various companies as well as BOEM staff, and time for questions and discussion. The committee plans to discuss 2018 Council priorities related to habitat and recommend specific priorities to the Council. They will also review recent Plan Development Team (PDT) activity related to the Deep-Sea Coral Amendment, with a focus on development and analysis of broad zone Option 7 as discussed at the June 2017 Council meeting. Provide guidance for additional work. The committee will review recent PDT activity related to the Clam Dredge Framework. Provide guidance for development of management alternatives using updated habitat and clam survey data. They also plan to discuss if there are any habitat-related fishery regulations that could be eliminated, improved, or streamlined. Several recent Executive Orders have been issued about streamlining current regulations, and NOAA is seeking public input on the efficiency and effectiveness of current regulations and whether they can be improved. Other business may be discussed as necessary.

Although non-emergency issues not contained in this agenda may come before this group for discussion, those issues may not be the subject of formal action during these meetings. Action will be restricted to those issues specifically listed in this notice and any issues arising after publication of this notice that require emergency action under section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided the public has been notified of the Council's intent to take final action to address the emergency.

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, at 978-465-0492, at least 5 days prior to the meeting date. Consistent with 16 U.S.C. 1852, a copy of the recording is available upon request.

In February 2012, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (Act) was enacted.1 The Act meets a long-standing national priority and infrastructure need to create a single, interoperable, nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN) that allows law enforcement officers, fire fighters, emergency medical service professionals, and other public safety officials to effectively communicate with each other across agencies and jurisdictions. Public safety responders have long been hindered in their ability to respond in a crisis situation because of incompatible communications networks and often outdated communications equipment. Therefore, the design and deployment of this NPSBN established by the Act is critical to provide emergency responders the ability to communicate on a secure, reliable, and dedicated interoperable network during emergencies and to use technology to improve response time, keep communities safe, and save lives.

The Act established the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) as an independent authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and authorized it to take all actions necessary to ensure the design, construction, and operation of a nationwide NPSBN, based on a single, national network architecture.2 FirstNet's responsibilities are, at a minimum, to ensure nationwide standards for the use of and access to the network; issue open, transparent, and competitive requests for proposals (RFPs) to build, operate, and maintain the network; encourage these RFPs to leverage, to the maximum extent economically desirable, existing commercial wireless infrastructure to speed deployment of the network; and oversee contracts with non-federal entities to build, operate, and maintain the network.3

The Act also charged NTIA with establishing a grant program, the State and Local Implementation Grant Program (SLIGP), to assist state, regional, tribal, and local jurisdictions with identifying, planning, and implementing the most efficient and effective means to use and integrate the infrastructure, equipment, and other architecture associated with the NPSBN to satisfy the wireless broadband and data services needs of their jurisdictions.4 NTIA awarded an initial $116.5 million in grant funds to 54 state and territorial recipients between July 2013 and June 2014.

The Act's framework contemplates that FirstNet closely coordinates its activities with state, regional, tribal, and local governments and imposed a statutory requirement that FirstNet consult with these entities as it takes all actions necessary to build, deploy, and operate the NPSBN.5 Specifically, the Act requires FirstNet to consult with state, regional, tribal, and local governments about the distribution and expenditure of any amounts required to carry out its responsibilities to plan, build, operate, and maintain the NPSBN.

Additionally, the Act specifies that these required consultations occur between FirstNet and the single point of contact (SPOC) that the state designated in its original SLIGP grant application.6 The original SLIGP award provided recipients needed funding to support their engagement in consultations as required of FirstNet under the Act.

With an available balance of up to $43.4 million from the original SLIGP fund of $116.5 million, NTIA will continue to provide funding through SLIGP 2.0 grants to assist State, regional, tribal, and local jurisdictions to engage effectively with FirstNet and provide it with information needed to continue with planning the NPSBN and the deployment of the Radio Access Network (RAN) in an effective and timely manner, as required by the Act.

To ensure effective grant oversight and management, SLIGP developed a quarterly performance progress report (PPR) form for recipients to complete as part of post-award monitoring throughout the period of performance of the SLIGP 2.0 grant. The PPRs are critical to the success of the program and provide key insights into how grant funds are being used. Recipients are asked to report on progress toward program priority areas, which include, individuals sent to broadband conferences, staff hired, contracts executed, governance meetings held, and stakeholder events convened, as well as financial expenditures by cost category. NTIA seeks Office of Management Budget (OMB) approval of this form. NTIA will use the collection of information to ensure that SLIGP 2.0 grant recipients are effectively monitored and evaluated against the core purposes of the program established by the Act.

Paper format.

OMB Control Number: None.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Review: Regular submission.

Affected Public: State, regional, local and tribal government organizations.

Frequency: Quarterly.

Number of Respondents: 56.

Average Time per Response: 12.5 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 2,800.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $121,212.

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 shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (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 respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they will also become a matter of public record.

On 5/26/2017 (82 FR 24308-24309) and 6/30/2017 (82 FR 29852), the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notices of proposed additions to the Procurement List.

After consideration of the material presented to it concerning capability of qualified nonprofit agencies to provide the services and impact of the additions on the current or most recent contractors, the Committee has determined that the services listed below are suitable for procurement by the Federal Government under 41 U.S.C. 8501-8506 and 41 CFR 51-2.4.

I certify that the following action will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The major factors considered for this certification were:

1. The action will not result in any additional reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements for small entities other than the small organizations that will provide the services to the Government.

2. The action will result in authorizing small entities to provide the services to the Government.

3. There are no known regulatory alternatives which would accomplish the objectives of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (41 U.S.C. 8501-8506) in connection with the services proposed for addition to the Procurement List.

Accordingly, the following services are added to the Procurement List:

On 8/11/2017 (83 FR 37577), the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled published notice of proposed deletions from the Procurement List.

After consideration of the relevant matter presented, the Committee has determined that the products and service listed below are no longer suitable for procurement by the Federal Government under 41 U.S.C. 8501-8506 and 41 CFR 51-2.4.

I certify that the following action will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The major factors considered for this certification were:

1. The action will not result in additional reporting, recordkeeping or other compliance requirements for small entities.

2. The action may result in authorizing small entities to furnish the products and service to the Government.

3. There are no known regulatory alternatives which would accomplish the objectives of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (41 U.S.C. 8501-8506) in connection with the products and service deleted from the Procurement List.

Accordingly, the following products and service are deleted from the Procurement List:

Section 342(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 1995, Public Law (Pub. L.) 103-337, as amended by section 1109 of the NDAA for FY 2000, Public Law 106-65, section 1114 of the NDAA for FY 2001, Public Law 106-398, and section 211 of the NDAA for FY 2017, Public Law 114.328, authorizes the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF), through the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (ASD (R&E)), to conduct personnel demonstration projects at DoD laboratories designated as science and technology reinvention laboratories (STRLs). All STRLs authorized by section 1105 of the NDAA for FY 2010, Public Law 111-84, as well as any newly designated STRLs authorized by SECDEF or future legislation may use the provisions described in this Federal Register Notice (FRN). STRLs implementing this flexibility must have an approved personnel management demonstration project plan published in a FRN and shall fulfill any collective bargaining obligations. Each STRL shall establish internal operating procedures as appropriate. The 15 current STRLs are:

Section 1109 of the NDAA for FY 2016 establishes a workforce shaping pilot program for the STRLs. The purpose of the pilot program authority is to provide a suite of dynamic workforce shaping tools that allow the STRL lab directors to shape the mix of technical skills and expertise in the workforce to achieve one or more of the following strategic goals:

(1) To meet organizational and Department-designated missions in the most cost-effective and efficient manner.

(2) To upgrade and enhance the scientific quality of the workforces of such laboratories.

(3) To shape such workforces to better respond to such missions.

(4) To reduce the average unit cost of such workforces.

Section 1109 of the NDAA for FY 2016 waived Sections 8336(d)(2)(D), 8414(b)(1)(B), clause (iv) and (v), 3522, 3523(b)(1) and (3) of title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.). Appendix A lists the laws, rules, and regulations that require waivers to implement this workforce shaping pilot program.

The workforce shaping pilot program is expected to streamline and enhance the STRLs' ability to manage, plan, and structure their workforces, in accordance with the goals of the pilot program. Pilot program flexibilities will allow lab directors to enhance and align the technical capabilities of the laboratories with organizational and Departmental missions, and to best respond to missions in a cost-efficient manner.

All DoD laboratories designated as STRLs under section 1105(a) of the NDAA for FY 2010 and section 1103 of the NDAA for FY 2015 (including any newly designated STRLs authorized by SECDEF or by future legislation) with approved personnel management demonstration project plans published in FRNs may use the provisions described in this FRN.

All current and future STRL demonstration project plans are hereby amended to add the following:

a. STRLs may use the Flexible Length and Renewable Term Technical Appointments workforce shaping tool authorized by section 1109(b)(1) of the NDAA for FY 2016 to appoint qualified candidates who are not currently Department of Defense civilian employees into any scientific, technical, engineering, and mathematic positions, including technicians, for a period of more than one year but not more than six years. The appointment of any individual under this authority may be extended without limit in up to six year increments at any time during any term of service under conditions set forth by the STRL Director.

b. Civilian Personnel Management. As prescribed by Section 1109(b)(1)(D) of the NDAA for FY 2016, for the purposes of determining the workforce size of a laboratory for compliance with section 955 of the NDAA for FY 2013, any individual serving in an appointment under this paragraph will be considered a fractional employee of the laboratory, which the fraction is:

• The current term of the appointment of the individual under this paragraph; divided by:

• The average length of tenure of a career employee at the laboratory, as calculated at the end of the last fiscal year before the date of the most recent appointment or extension of the individual under this paragraph.

a. Qualified candidates are defined as individuals who meet the minimum qualification standards for the position as published in the OPM Qualification Standard or the STRLs' demonstration project qualification standards specific to the position to be filled.

b. Scientific, engineering, technical, mathematic, and technician (STEM) positions are those positions described in the STRL FRN (Appendix B) or Internal Operating Procedures in the Scientist and Engineer and/or Technician/Technical Career Paths, or positions not classified under the broad-banding structure as defined in the applicable FRN utilized by the STRLs, that directly support science and engineering activities. Non-broad-banded positions will be identified in individual STRL internal operating procedures.

c. Term appointments, for the purposes of this authority, are non-status appointments to a position in the competitive service for a specific period of more than one year; however, incumbents may compete as “status candidates” for the purpose of eligibility for positions in the Federal service.

a. Use of the Flexible Length and Renewable Term Technical Appointment authority must be consistent with merit system principles.

b. Current DoD employees may not be appointed to positions under this authority.

c. Initial appointments must be more than one year, but not to exceed six years in duration.

d. Individuals appointed under this authority may be eligible for noncompetitive conversion to a permanent appointment if the job opportunity announcement clearly stated the possibility of being made permanent in addition to any other provision in the STRL's existing modified term appointment authority.

e. Unless otherwise eligible for a noncompetitive hiring authority, positions filled under this authority must be competed. Job opportunity announcements must clearly identify the type of appointment and the expected duration of initial appointment (up to six years). It is advisable to include a statement that the position may be extended, without limit, in up to six year increments, to enable extensions beyond the initial term of appointment.

f. Appointees will be afforded equal eligibility for employee programs and benefits comparable to those provided to similar employees on Term appointments at each STRL, to include opportunities for professional development and eligibility for award programs.

g. In accordance with Section 1109(b)(1)(B) of the NDAA for FY 2016 and part 1.3, Subpart A, of title 5 CFR, appointees will be afforded the opportunity to apply for vacancies that are otherwise limited to “status” candidates. Appointees applying to other Federal service positions utilizing this authority must submit a copy of their Flexible Length and Renewable Term Technical appointment SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, which will contain a remark identifying this provision, with their application/resume for the vacancy to which they are applying. The SF-50 will serve as notification to the servicing Human Resources Office for the vacancy that the individual is eligible for consideration as a status candidate.

h. Promotions. Individuals appointed under this hiring authority may be promoted while serving on a term appointment provided they meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements for the higher level to which they will be promoted.

i. Extension of appointments. The appointment of an individual appointed to a term appointment under this authority may be extended, without limit, in up to six year increments. Job opportunity announcements must have identified the opportunity for extension beyond the initial term of appointment. Extensions will be documented via a personnel action using nature of action code 765/Extension of Term Appt NTE and the same legal authority code used for the appointment that is being extended.

j. Expiration. Term appointments expire upon the not-to-exceed date, unless extended.

k. Reduction in Force (RIF). Appointees under 2.II.A. are covered by the RIF rules outlined in each STRL's FRN. Tenure for term appointments will be in accordance with the STRL's FRN. If STRL RIF procedures do not comport with 10 U.S.C. 1597(f), RIF will be conducted in accordance with DEPSECDEF Memo, Policies and Procedures for Reductions in Force in the Civilian Workforce, dated January 19, 2017, until the STRL develops USD (P&R) approved policies and procedures that comport with 10 U.S.C. 1597(f).

l. Documenting Personnel Actions. Personnel actions for the appointments under 2.II.A. are documented citing the first legal authority code (LAC)/legal authority as Z2U/Public Law 103-337, if appointed to a broad-banded position. Public Law 114.92 (with appropriate LAC, once assigned) will also be cited on all personnel actions. The personnel action will also contain the following remark: This appointment is designated as a “status” appointment for the purposes of eligibility for applying for positions in the federal service in accordance with section 1109(b)(1)(B) of the NDAA for FY 2016.

STRLs will use the authorities provided by 9902(g) of title 5, U.S.C. to appoint reemployed annuitants, as appropriate and in keeping with the goals of the workforce shaping pilot program stated in 2.I.A., except that section 1109(b)(2) of the NDAA for FY 2016 authorizes the director of any STRL to:

a. Approve the appointment of reemployed annuitants; and

b. Determine the salary of an annuitant reemployed under this authority, to include whether or not the annuitant's salary will be reduced by any portion of the annuity received, up to the amount of the full annuity, as a condition of reemployment.

a. Reemployed annuitant is defined as an individual who is receiving an annuity from a federal retirement system based on creditable federal civilian service or who meets all requirements for entitlement to an annuity based upon creditable federal civilian service and has submitted a claim for retirement, and is subsequently reappointed as a federal civilian employee.

b. Period of actual employment is defined as the duration of an appointment under this authority, as determined by the initial appointment date and continuing until the date the appointment terminates or expires, and prorated based on the assigned work schedule. An annuitant so reemployed under this authority serves at the will of the appointing authority.

a. STRL lab directors will apply the authority to appoint annuitants in accordance with 9902(g) of title 5, U.S.C. and Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 1400.25-V300, except as stated in 2.II.B.1. Use of the authority must be consistent with merit system principles.

b. Documenting Personnel Actions. Personnel actions for the appointments under 2.II.B. are documented citing the first legal authority code (LAC)/legal authority as Z2U/Public Law 103-337 if appointed to a broad-banded position. Public Law 114.92 (with appropriate LAC, once assigned) will also be cited on all personnel actions.

c. STRL lab directors, or their delegate, will establish implementing guidance and procedures on the use of this reemployed annuitant flexibility.

d. Annuitants retired under Section 8336(d)(1) or Section 8414(b)(1)(A) of title 5, U.S.C. who are reemployed will retain the rights provided in accordance with Section 9902(g)(2)(A) of title 5, U.S.C.

a. Section 1109(b)(3) and (4) of the NDAA for FY 2016 pilots the use of VERA and VSIP whenever such incentives will help the STRLs to achieve one or more of the objectives in Section 1109(a). STRLs will use the authorities provided by 9902(f) of title 5, U.S.C. to offer VERA and VSIP, as appropriate, except that section 1109 of the NDAA for FY 2016 authorizes the director of any STRL to:

i. Approve the use of voluntary early retirement and separation pay incentives;

ii. Determine which employees should be offered such incentives; and

iii. Determine the amount of voluntary separation incentive payments.

b. STRL will validate and document that VSIP is fully warranted and will judiciously ensure that eligibility factors specified in DoDI 1400.25, Volume 1702, other than those waived in this FRN, are applied.

a. Voluntary early retirement (VERA) is defined as a reduction in the age and service requirements for retirement as an incentive for employees to voluntarily retire and thereby facilitate workforce downsizing or restructuring.

b. Voluntary separation incentive pay (VSIP) is defined as a cash incentive for employees to voluntarily resign or to retire, via either optional or early retirement or resignation, in order to facilitate workforce downsizing or restructuring.

c. Reduction in force (RIF) is defined as a force shaping or reduction mechanism used for releasing STRL employees assigned to positions in designated competitive areas in order of their retention standing.

a. VERA and VSIP may be used upon a written determination by the STRL director that such incentives are necessary to shape the laboratory workforce to better fulfill mission requirements and achieve the optimum workforce balance. If the laboratory workforce is being downsized, incentives may be used to minimize the need for involuntary separations under reduction in force (RIF) procedures. In this downsizing scenario, early retirement and/or separation incentive pay may be offered to surplus employees who would otherwise be separated through RIF or to non-surplus employees whose positions could then be used to avert the involuntary RIF separation of surplus employees.

b. VERA and VSIP may also be used to restructure the laboratory workforce without reducing the number of assigned personnel. In this restructuring scenario, incentives may be offered for the purpose of creating vacancies that will be reshaped to align with mission objectives. Restructuring incentives are helpful in situations such as correcting an imbalance of skills or for delayering an organization.

c. For the purposes of this pilot, STRL Directors will administer VERA and VSIP in accordance with DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 1702, “DoD Civilian Personnel Management System: Voluntary Separation Programs” with the following exceptions to Enclosure 3, “Guidance and Procedures:”

i. Par. 2.a.(6)(b) is waived to the extent that the STRL director may utilize the vacancy to correct a skills mismatch without restructuring the position.

ii. Par. 2.a.(7) is waived to the extent that the STRL director may offer VSIP in amounts not to exceed $40,000 without regard to the amount of severance pay employees would receive under section 5595(c) of title 5 U.S.C. if the employees were entitled to severance pay. STRLs will document their rationale for determining payment amounts.

iii. Par. 2.g.(1) is waived to the extent that STRLs may pay up to $40,000 for VSIP from appropriations or accounts available for such purposes to avoid an involuntary separation or to effect a restructuring action.

iv. Par. 2.b.(3)(d) is waived to the extent that a waiver is not required for employees occupying positions defined as “hard to fill.”

a. The workforce shaping pilot program authorities established by Section 1109 of the NDAA for FY 2016 will expire on December 31, 2023. Appointments/renewal of appointments made prior to December 31, 2023 may continue to expiration even if the expiration date is beyond December 31, 2023.

b. These authorities may be amended by future legislation.

c. STRL lab directors, or their delegate, will establish implementing guidance and procedures on the use of the workforce shaping pilot program authorities.

STRLs will provide information and data on the use of the workforce shaping pilot program authorities including, but not limited to, hires made, declinations, veterans hired, separation incentives paid, VERAs approved, difficulties encountered, and/or recognized efficiencies, when requested by the SECDEF, head of the Military Department, DASD(R&E), or DASD(CPP).

STATUS:

Open.

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: E-Complaint Form.

OMB Control Number: 1880-0544.

Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 500.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 500.

Abstract: The Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) reviews, investigates, and processes complaints of alleged violations of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) filed by parents and eligible students. FPCO's authority to investigate, review, and process complaints extends to allegations of violations of FERPA by any recipient of the United States Department of Education's funds under a program administered by the Secretary. Recipients of departmental funds include schools, school districts, postsecondary institutions, state educational agencies, and other third parties.

Title 5, U.S.C. Section 4314(c)(4) of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Public Law 95-454, requires that the appointment of Performance Review Board members be published in the Federal Register. The following persons may be named to serve on the Performance Review Board:

DOE seeks stakeholder input on information or existing studies (2012-present) assessing the costs and benefits involved in net energy metering (NEM), and the availability of data that can be used in conducting such studies. DOE expects to use this input to help inform its report on net metering cost-benefit analyses.

DOE is interested in several specific types of information related to NEM cost-benefit studies, including:

1. Motivations and the policy context for conducting NEM cost-benefit studies, including the role of cost-benefit analysis in driving policy decisions around NEM and related policies; descriptions of other considerations for policymakers considering NEM and related policies.

2. Categories of costs and benefits—describe relevant categories of costs and benefits and reasons for inclusion or exclusion of these categories in NEM studies.

3. Methodological issues—identify key methodological elements that can vary significantly when quantifying factors considered in the benefit-cost analysis. Key drivers that might be considered include, but are not limited to, local policy objectives and local electricity system fundamentals.

4. Fundamental drivers and underlying market conditions—identify key drivers that establish the context for the values and cause differing outcomes among studies of cost/benefit results in a particular category, such as differing levels of excess generation capacity, transmission, or distribution system capacity, projected demand growth, level of penetration and location of distributed generation, retail prices, etc.

5. Are there specific emerging issues related to net metering cost-benefit analyses that are improving or complicating the application of benefit-cost analysis?

The following items are considered out of scope of the report and information on these items should not be included in the responses:

1. Costs and benefits of distributed solar generation beyond distributed solar's impact on net metering;

2. Indirect cost/benefits (e.g., societal impacts, network effects) that go beyond what is included in existing analyses;

3. Recommendations on

a. How to conduct cost/benefit analysis,

b. NEM design options,

c. Transitions to alternative forms of compensation.

All interested parties are invited to submit in writing by the date specified in the DATES section of this RFI, comments and information on all elements listed in this SUPPLEMENTARY section. Please submit comments only and cite docket number EERE-2017-OT-0056, in all correspondence related to this case. All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business confidential information provided.

Do not submit to the RFI information for which disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or financial information (hereinafter referred to as Confidential Business Information (CBI)). Comments submitted to the RFI email address cannot be claimed as CBI. Comments received through the RFI address will waive any CBI claims for the information submitted. DOE plans to publish all information received in response to this RFI.

You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. The following list of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. Potentially affected entities may include:

• Crop production (NAICS code 111).

• Animal production (NAICS code 112).

• Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).

• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT for the division listed at the end of the pesticide petition summary of interest.

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to achieve environmental justice, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of any group, including minority and/or low-income populations, in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. To help address potential environmental justice issues, the Agency seeks information on any groups or segments of the population who, as a result of their location, cultural practices, or other factors, may have atypical or disproportionately high and adverse human health impacts or environmental effects from exposure to the pesticides discussed in this document, compared to the general population.

EPA is announcing its receipt of several pesticide petitions filed under section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), 21 U.S.C. 346a, requesting the establishment or modification of regulations in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of pesticide chemicals in or on various food commodities. The Agency is taking public comment on the requests before responding to the petitioners. EPA is not proposing any particular action at this time. EPA has determined that the pesticide petitions described in this document contain the data or information prescribed in FFDCA section 408(d)(2), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(2); however, EPA has not fully evaluated the sufficiency of the submitted data at this time or whether the data support granting of the pesticide petitions. After considering the public comments, EPA intends to evaluate whether and what action may be warranted. Additional data may be needed before EPA can make a final determination on these pesticide petitions.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 180.7(f), a summary of each of the petitions that are the subject of this document, prepared by the petitioner, is included in a docket EPA has created for each rulemaking. The docket for each of the petitions is available at http://www.regulations.gov.

As specified in FFDCA section 408(d)(3), 21 U.S.C. 346a(d)(3), EPA is publishing notice of the petition so that the public has an opportunity to comment on this request for the establishment or modification of regulations for residues of pesticides in or on food commodities. Further information on the petition may be obtained through the petition summary referenced in this unit.

PP 6F8512 (EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0649). Nisso America Inc., on behalf of Nippon Soda Co., Ltd., 88 Pine Street, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10005, requests to amend the tolerance in 40 CFR part 180.667 for residues of the fungicide, cyflufenamid in or on the following raw agricultural commodities: Vegetable cucurbit (crop group 9), from 0.07 ppm to 0.1 ppm. A method was developed using solvent extraction of cyflufenamid from crops and analyzing sample extracts by LC/MS/MS. Contact: RD.

1. PP IN-11010. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0257). Arkion Life Sciences, LLC, 551 Mews Drive, Suite J, New Castle, DE, 19720, requests to amend an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR 180.1195 for residues of titanium dioxide (CAS Reg. No. 13463-67-7) when used as an inert ingredient in pesticide formulations to include use as an inert ingredient (colorant) at a concentration not to exceed 45 % by weight in pesticide formulations containing the active ingredient anthraquinone for use in pre-harvest foliar applications. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

2. PP 7F8548. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0283). Valent BioSciences LLC, 870 Technology Way, Libertyville, IL 60048, requests to amend an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR 180.1150 for residues of the plant regulator 6-benzyladenine in or on fruiting vegetables (tomatoes and peppers) and cucurbits (cucumbers, melons, and squash). The analytical method liquid chromatography with mass-selective (MS/MS) detection is available to EPA for the detection and measurement of the pesticide residues. Contact: BPPD.

1. PP IN-11015. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0179). SciReg, Inc., 12733 Director's Loop, Woodbridge, VA 22192, on behalf of Holly Frontier Refining & Marketing LLC, 401 Plymouth Road, Suite 350, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462 requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of distillates, petroleum, solvent-dewaxed paraffinic (CAS Reg. No. 64742-65-0) when used as an inert ingredient (carrier) in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops and raw agricultural commodities, and to animals 40 CFR 180.910 and 40 CFR 180.930, respectively. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

2. PP IN-11042. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0363). Eco Verde Technologies Inc., 400 NW. 172 Avenue, Pembroke Pines, FL 33029, requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of formaldehyde, polymer with 1,3-benzenediol, ethers with polyethylene glycol mono-Me ether (CAS Reg. No. 1998118-32-3) when used as an inert ingredient in pesticide formulations under 40 CFR 180.960. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

3. PP IN-11043. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0362). Eco Verde Technologies Inc., 400 NW. 172 Avenue, Pembroke Pines, FL 33029, requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance in 40 CFR 180.960 for residues of formaldehyde, polymer with 1,3-benzenediol, 2-methyloxirane and oxirane, ethers with polyethylene glycol mono-Me ether (CAS Reg. No. 1998118-31-2) when used as an inert ingredient in pesticide formulations under 40 CFR 180.960. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

4. PP IN-11044. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0248). BASF Corporation, 100 Park Avenue, Florham Park, NJ 07932, requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the amine salt of styrene acrylic polymer, ammonium salt when used as an inert ingredient in pesticide formulations under 40 CFR 180.960. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

5. PP IN-11045. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0258). Spring Trading Company, 203 Dogwood Trail, Magnolia, TX, 77453 on behalf of Ashland, Inc., 1005 Rt. 202/206, Bridgewater, NJ 08807 requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 2-propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, dodecyl ester, polymer with 1-ethenyl-2-pyrrolidinone and α-(2-methyl-1-oxo-2-propen-1-yl)-ω-methoxypoly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) (CAS Reg. No. 193743-10-1) when used as an inert ingredient in pesticide formulations under 40 CFR 180.960. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

6. PP IN-11046. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0312). Spring Trading Company (203 Dogwood Trail, Magnolia, TX 77354) on behalf of Oxiteno USA, LLC, (9801 Bay Area Blvd., Pasadena, Texas 77507), requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of 1-octanamine, N,N-dimethyl-, N-oxide (CAS Reg. No. 2605-78-9) when used as an inert ingredient (surfactant) in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops and raw agricultural commodities after harvest under 40 CFR 180.910. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

7. PP IN-11048. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0249). Technology Sciences Group, 1150 18th Street NW., Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20035, on behalf of Attune Agriculture, LLC, 10552 Philadelphia Road, White Marsh, MD 21162, requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of konjac mannan (CAS Reg. No. 37220-17-0) when used as an inert ingredient (thickener) in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops only under 40 CFR 180.920. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirements of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

8. PP IN-11062. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0351). InvisiDex, Inc., 1129 Maricopa HWY #217, Ojai, CA 93023, requests to establish an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance for residues of the deoxyribonucleic acids (CAS No. 9006-49-2) when used as an inert ingredient (chemical identifier/molecular marker) at a concentration of not more than one part per million (ppm) by weight in pesticide formulations applied to growing crops and raw agricultural commodities after harvest under 40 CFR 180.910. The petitioner believes no analytical method is needed because it is not required for an exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. Contact: RD.

1. PP 6E8526. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0288). Valent BioSciences LLC, 870 Technology Way, Libertyville, IL 60048, requests to establish a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the plant regulator 6-benzyladenine in or on avocado at 0.05 parts per million (ppm). Liquid chromatography with mass-selective (MS/MS) detection is used to measure and evaluate the chemical 6-benzyladenine. Contact: BPPD.

2. PP 6E8529. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0194). E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, 974 Centre Road, Wilmington, Delaware 19805, requests to establish a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the herbicide sulfometuron-methyl, benzoic acid, 2-[[[[(4,6-dimethyl-2-pyrimidinyl)amino]carbonyl]amino]sulfonyl]-, methyl ester in or on sugarcane, cane; sugarcane, molasses; and sugarcane, sugar, refined at 0.01 parts per million (ppm). The liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method is used to measure and evaluate the chemical sulfometuron-methyl. Contact: RD.

3. PP 6F8519. EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0211. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, NC 27419, requests to establish a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the herbicide S-metolachlor in or on sugarcane at 0.4 parts per million (ppm) and sugarcane molasses at 1.5 ppm. A gas chromatography-nitrogen phosphorus detection (GC/NPD) method is used to measure and evaluate the chemical S-metolachlor. Contact: RD.

4. PP 6F853. EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0169. Makhteshim Agan of North America (d/b/a ADAMA, 3120 Highlands Blvd., Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27604), requests to establish a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the nematicide, fluensulfone, in or on fruit, pome, crop group 11-10 at 0.3 ppm; fruit, stone crop group 12-12 at 0.06 ppm; small fruit vine climbing subgroup 13-07D at 0.5 ppm; grape, raisin at 0.8 ppm; nut, tree, crop group 14-12 at 0.02 ppm; almond, hulls at 3.0 ppm; sugarcane at 0.03 ppm; sugarcane and molassess at 0.2 ppm, and inadvertent tolerance for residues of fluensulfone, including its metabolites and degradates, in or on (10-month plant-back interval): Grain, cereal, crop group 15 at 0.03 ppm; forage, fodder and straw of cereal grains, crop group 16 at 2 ppm; (90-day plant-back interval): Wheat, grain at 0.06 ppm; barley, grain at 0.06 ppm; buckwheat, grain at 0.06 ppm; oat, grain at 0.06 ppm; teosinte, grain at 0.06 ppm; wheat, bran at 0.10 ppm; barley, bran at 0.10 ppm; wheat, middlings at 0.07 ppm; wheat, shorts at 0.08 ppm; wheat, germ at 0.07 ppm; wheat, straw at 4 ppm; barley, straw at 4 ppm; oat, straw at 4 ppm; wheat, forage at 4 ppm; oat, forage at 4 ppm; wheat, hay at 8 ppm; barley hay at 8 ppm; and oat, hay at 8 ppm. The LC-MS/MS is used to measure and evaluate the chemical 3,4,4-trifluoro-but-3-ene-1-sulfonic acid. Contact: RD.

5. PP 7E8571. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2017-0291). Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC, P.O. Box 18300, Greensboro, NC 27419, requests to establish a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the herbicide, diquat-dibromide, in or on Crop Group 6C (Dried shelled pea and bean (except soybean)) at 0.08 parts per million (ppm). The Method GRM012.03A is used to measure and evaluate the chemical residues of diquat dibromide in commodities. Contact: RD.

6. PP 7E8578. (EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0971). Nichino America, Inc., 4550 Linden Hill Rd., Suite 501, Wilmington, DE 19808, requests to establish a tolerance in 40 CFR part 180 for residues of the insecticide pyrifluquinazon (1-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3-[(3-pyridylmethyl)amino]-6-[1,2,2,2-tetraflouro-1-(trifluoromethyl) ethyl]quinazolin-2-one) in or on imported tea at 20 parts per million (ppm). The analytical method HPLC-MS/MS is used to measure and evaluate the chemical pyrifluquinazon (1-acetyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-3-[(3-pyridylmethyl)amino]-6-[1,2,2,2-tetraflouro-1-(trifluoromethyl)ethyl]quinazolin-2-one) and IV-01 (3-[(pyridine-3-ylmethyl)amino]-6-[1,2,2,2-tetrafluoro-1-(trifluoromethyl) etyl]-3,4-dihydro-1H-quinaolin-2-one). Contact: RD.

As a part of the national primary drinking water regulation (NPDWR) development process for perchlorate, in accordance with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act, in 2012, EPA requested comment from EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) prior to proposing an MCLG and a NPDWR for perchlorate. EPA sought guidance on how best to consider and interpret life stage information, epidemiologic and biomonitoring data, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic analyses and the totality of perchlorate health related information to derive a perchlorate MCLG.

In 2013, the SAB recommended that, “. . . EPA derive a perchlorate MCLG that addresses sensitive life stages through physiologically-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) modeling based upon its mode of action rather than the default MCLG approach using the reference dose and specific chemical exposure parameters” (Advice on Approaches to Derive a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal for Perchlorate, EPA-SAB-13-004).

Based on the SAB's recommendations, EPA, with contributions from Food and Drug Administration scientists, developed a biologically based dose response (BBDR) (also known as a PBPK/PD) model, to predict the effects of perchlorate on serum thyroid hormone concentrations in pregnant and lactating women exposed to perchlorate in drinking water and in infants exposed via ingestion of perchlorate in formula or breast milk.

On January 10 and 11, 2017, EPA's contractor (Versar, Inc.) conducted an independent, scientific peer review of EPA's draft BBDR model and draft model report. The purpose of the peer review was to provide a documented, independent, and critical review of the draft BBDR model and draft model report and to identify any necessary improvements to the model prior to being finalized. On March 29, 2017, EPA received the final peer review report entitled, “External Peer Review for EPA's Draft Biologically Based Dose-Response (BBDR) Model and Draft BBDR Model Report for Perchlorate in Drinking Water,” which is available through the EPA docket at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0439.

In developing the draft MCLG Approaches Report, EPA revised the BBDR model to address those peer review recommendations that had the greatest influence on the scientific rigor of the model and modeling results. Those changes are described in the draft MCLG Approaches Report. EPA will consider other peer review recommendations and public comments in future revisions to the BBDR model and report.

The SAB also recommended that EPA, “utilize a mode of action (MOA) framework for developing the MCLG that links the steps in the proposed mechanism leading from perchlorate exposure through iodide uptake inhibition to thyroid hormone changes and finally neurodevelopmental impacts.”

EPA used the modeled thyroid hormone levels to predict potential adverse health effects based on published epidemiology data demonstrating a relationship between changes in thyroid hormone levels and neurodevelopmental effects. This approach involved a focused review of the literature connecting altered thyroid hormone levels to neurodevelopmental outcomes for women in early pregnancy. EPA focused on studies that provided a quantitative description of the relationship between free thyroxine and neurodevelopment in infants and children (e.g., intelligence quotient, verbal and problem solving skills and motor coordination).

EPA will present an array of approaches to inform the derivation of an MCLG for perchlorate for expert peer review. Using the revised BBDR model output, EPA linked statistical relationships derived from five studies to implement the MOA framework linking perchlorate exposure to neurodevelopmental impacts. All five studies assess the relationship between thyroid hormone levels in women in early pregnancy and various neurodevelopmental effects on children at various ages. Two studies assess the relationship on the IQ of children 5 to 10 years of age, two other studies assess the relationship on Bayley Scales of Infant Development of children 1 to 2 years of age, and a fifth study assesses the relationship on reaction time of children 5 to 6 years of age. An additional approach uses the revised BBDR model output to predict the percent change in the population of hypothyroxinemic (or the low-end of normal thyroid hormone levels) pregnant women due to perchlorate exposure.

EPA's draft report entitled “Draft Report: Proposed Approaches to Inform the Derivation of a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal for Perchlorate in Drinking Water” is available electronically and can be accessed using EPA's public docket at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0438. The revised BBDR model code files can be accessed at https://hero.epa.gov/hero/index.cfm/reference/details/reference_id/3352518. All written comments must be submitted during the public comment period.

Important: Anyone wishing to be considered as an expert peer reviewer must not submit comments during the public comment period. Candidates on the interim list not selected for the panel peer review (see companion Peer Review Federal Register notice, published on September 15, 2017) will be given a limited opportunity to submit public comments once the final peer reviewers are selected by Versar, Inc., the EPA contractor managing this peer review process.

You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. The following list of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. Potentially affected entities may include:

• Crop production (NAICS code 111).

• Animal production (NAICS code 112).

• Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).

• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

EPA has received applications to register new uses for pesticide products containing currently registered active ingredients. Pursuant to the provisions of FIFRA section 3(c)(4) (7 U.S.C. 136a(c)(4)), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications. Notice of receipt of these applications does not imply a decision by the Agency on these applications:

You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer. The following list of North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide to help readers determine whether this document applies to them. Potentially affected entities may include:

• Crop production (NAICS code 111).

• Animal production (NAICS code 112).

• Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).

• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.

2. Tips for preparing your comments. When preparing and submitting your comments, see the commenting tips at http://www.epa.gov/dockets/comments.html.

EPA has received applications to register pesticide products containing active ingredients not included in any currently registered pesticide products. Pursuant to the provisions of FIFRA section 3(c)(4) (7 U.S.C. 136a(c)(4)), EPA is hereby providing notice of receipt and opportunity to comment on these applications. Notice of receipt of these applications does not imply a decision by the Agency on these applications:

On February 6, 2006, the Agency published a final rule for the protection of human subjects in research (71 FR 24 6138) that called for creating a new, independent human studies review board (i.e., HSRB). The HSRB is a federal advisory committee operating in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) 5 U.S.C. App. 2 section 9 (Pub. L. 92-463). The HSRB provides advice, information, and recommendations to EPA on issues related to scientific and ethical aspects of human subjects research. The major objectives of the HSRB are to provide advice and recommendations on: (1) Research proposals and protocols that include human subjects; (2) reports of completed research with human subjects; and (3) how to strengthen EPA's programs for protection of human subjects of research. Typically, the HSRB reviews protocols and completed studies involving pesticide studies, such as worker exposure studies with agricultural handlers applying pesticides in field conditions; janitorial maintenance personnel applying antimicrobial pesticides in commercial settings; and field efficacy studies for skin applied insect repellent products. The HSRB reports to the EPA Administrator through EPA's Science Advisor. General information concerning the HSRB, including its charter, current membership, and activities can be found on the EPA Web site at https://www.epa.gov/osa/human-studies-review-board.

HSRB members serve as special government employees or regular government employees. Members are appointed by the EPA Administrator for either two or three year terms with the possibility of reappointment for additional terms, with a maximum of six years of service. The HSRB convenes up to four times a year, with most of the meetings being virtual. The average workload for HSRB members is approximately 20 hours per meeting, including the time spent at the meeting. Responsibilities of HSRB members include reviewing extensive background materials prior to meetings of the Board, preparing draft responses to Agency charge questions, attending Board meetings, participating in the discussion and deliberations at these meetings, drafting assigned sections of meeting reports, and assisting with the finalization of HSRB reports. EPA compensates special government employees for their time and provides reimbursement for travel and other incidental expenses associated with official government business related to the HSRB meetings. EPA values and welcomes diversity. In an effort to obtain nominations of diverse candidates, EPA encourages nominations of women and men of all racial and ethnic groups, as well as from a variety of backgrounds (e.g., industry, non-profit organizations, academia, and government).

Candidates not selected for HSRB membership at this time may be considered for HSRB membership as vacancies arise in the future or for service as consultants to the HSRB.

Members of the HSRB are subject to the provisions of 5 CFR part 2634, Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, as supplemented by the EPA in 5 CFR part 6401. In anticipation of this requirement, each nominee will be asked to submit confidential financial information that fully discloses, among other financial interests, the candidate's employment, stocks and bonds, and where applicable, sources of research support. The information provided is strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to the public. Before a candidate is considered further for service on the HSRB, EPA will evaluate each candidate to assess whether there is any conflict of financial interest, appearance of a lack of impartiality, or prior involvement with matters likely to be reviewed by the Board.

Nominations will be evaluated on the basis of several criteria, including: The professional background, expertise, and experience that would contribute to the diversity of perspectives of the committee; interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills and other attributes that would contribute to the HSRB's collaborative process; consensus building skills; absence of any financial conflicts of interest or the appearance of a lack of impartiality, or lack of independence, or bias; and the availability to participate in meetings and administrative sessions, participate in teleconferences, develop policy recommendations to the Administrator, and prepare recommendations and advice in reports.

Nominations should include a resume or curriculum vitae providing the nominee's educational background, qualifications, leadership positions in national associations or professional societies, relevant research experience and publications along with a short (one page) biography describing how the nominee meets the above criteria and other information that may be helpful in evaluating the nomination, as well as the nominee's current business address, email address, and daytime telephone number. Interested candidates may self-nominate.

To help the Agency in evaluating the effectiveness of its outreach efforts, nominees are requested to inform the Agency of how you learned of this opportunity.

Final selection of HSRB members is a discretionary function of the Agency and will be announced on the HSRB Web site at https://www.epa.gov/osa/human-studies-review-board as soon as selections are made.

Throughout this document whenever “we,” “us,” or “our” is used, we mean EPA.

CS#5 operates three stationary natural gas-fired turbines which drive three natural gas compressors. One natural gas-fired emergency generator provides electrical power for compressor station operations during periods of electrical power disruption. CS#5 is located approximately 8 miles west of Cloquet, Minnesota. CS#5 is owned and maintained by Great Lakes Gas on privately-owned fee land within the exterior boundaries of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation. EPA is responsible for issuing and enforcing any air quality permits for the source until such time that the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has EPA approval to do so.

On August 14, 2015, EPA received from Great Lakes Gas a permit application to renew its 2011 title V operating permit for CS#5. On September 30, 2016, EPA received supplemental information from Great Lakes Gas. On December 9, 2016, EPA published a draft title V permit for public comment. The public comment period ended on January 9, 2017, and EPA did not receive any comments. EPA issued the final permit for CS#5, permit number V-FDL-271300066-2016-03, on January 26, 2017. Pursuant to 40 CFR 71.11(i)(2)(iii), the permit became effective immediately upon issuance since EPA did not receive any comments requesting a change in the draft permit.

NRG Reliability Solutions, LLC, owns and operates four diesel-fired generators at the Treasure Island Resort & Casino in Red Wing, Minnesota. The generators are located on the Prairie Island Indian Community's reservation on lands held in trust by the Federal government. Since the generators are located on lands held in trust by the Federal government, EPA is primarily responsible for issuing permits for the source.

On October 12, 2016, EPA received from NRG Reliability Solutions, LLC, a permit application requesting to revise the carbon monoxide testing interval required pursuant to 40 CFR 63 subpart ZZZZ for limited use stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines. On December 13, 2016, EPA published a draft title V significant modification for public comment. The public comment period ended January 12, 2017. EPA did not receive any comments on this permit. EPA issued the final permit, permit number V-PI-2704900084-2012-13, on January 27, 2017. Pursuant to 40 CFR 71.11(i)(2)(iii), the permit became effective immediately upon issuance since EPA did not receive any comments on the permit.

Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures owns and operates three non-emergency internal combustion engines used for peak load management and backup power at the Grand Casino Hinckley, located in Hinckley, Minnesota. Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures also owns and operates two diesel-fired emergency internal combustion engines, used for backup power. All electricity generated is used onsite. The facility is located on land that is held in trust for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. EPA is responsible for issuing and enforcing any air quality permits for the source until such time that the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has EPA approval to do so.

On July 31, 2015, EPA received from Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures a permit application to renew its 2010 title V operating permit for Grand Casino Hinckley. On September 23, 2015, EPA requested additional information from Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, who submitted a response to the request on October 22, 2015. EPA found the application to be complete on December 22, 2015. On August 25, 2016, EPA published a draft title V permit for public comment. The public comment period ended on September 24, 2016. EPA received one comment from Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures requesting a change to the permit and responded to all comments. EPA issued the final permit for Grand Casino Hinckley, permit number V-ML-2711500031-2016-01, on October 20, 2016. Pursuant to 40 CFR 71.11(i)(2), the permit became effective on November 20, 2016.

On November 1, 2016, EPA received from Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures a significant permit modification application requesting a revision to the facility's annual oxides of nitrogen (NOX) compliance test requirements. On May 3, 2017, EPA published a draft title V permit and draft Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit for public comment. The public comment period ended on June 5, 2017. EPA did not receive any significant comments on the permits. EPA issued the final permits for Grand Casino Hinckley, title V permit number V-ML-2711500031-2016-02, and PSD permit number PSD-ML-2711500031-2017-03, on July 6, 2017. Pursuant to 40 CFR 71.11(i)(2)(iii) and 40 CFR 124.15(b)(3), the permits became effective immediately upon issuance since EPA did not receive any comments on the permits.

SMSC owns and operates 14 non-emergency internal combustion engines for peak load management and backup power at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, located in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Mystic Lake Casino Hotel is located on reservation land that is held in trust for SMSC. EPA is responsible for issuing and enforcing any air quality permits for the source until such time that SMSC has EPA approval to do so.

On February 23, 2016, EPA received from SMSC an initial title V permit application for Mystic Lake Casino Hotel. The application was deemed complete on April 22, 2016. On May 9, 2017, SMSC provided additional information to address title I construction permit requirements that had become applicable since the title V application was filed. On May 25, 2017, EPA published a draft title V permit for public comment. The public comment period ended on June 30, 2017, and EPA did not receive any significant comments. EPA issued the final permit for Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, permit number V-27139R0001-2016-01, on July 13, 2017. Pursuant to 40 CFR 71.11(i)(2)(iii), the permit became effective immediately upon issuance since EPA did not receive any comments requesting a change in the draft permit.

Pursuant to 40 CFR 71.11(l), any person who filed comments on the draft permit may petition for administrative review subject to the requirements of 40 CFR 71.11(l). If no one filed comments on the draft permit and the final permit is identical to the permit as proposed, any person may petition for administrative review of the permit only to the extent that grounds for a petition have arisen that were not reasonably foreseeable during the public comment period on the draft permit. For CS#5 permit number V-FDL-271300066-2016-03, the 30-day period during which a person may seek review under 40 CFR 71.11(l) began on January 30, 2017. For Treasure Island Resort & Casino permit number V-PI-2704900084-2012-13, the 30-day period during which a person may seek review under 40 CFR 71.11(l) began on January 31, 2017. For Grand Casino Hinckley permit number V-ML-2711500031-2016-01, the 30-day period during which a person may seek review under 40 CFR 71.11(1) began on October 20, 2016. For Grand Casino Hinckley permit number V-ML-2711500031-2016-02, the 30-day period during which a person may seek review under 40 CFR 71.11(1) began on July 14, 2017. For Mystic Lake Casino Hotel permit number V-27139R0001-2016-01, the 30-day period during which a person may seek review under 40 CFR 71.11(1) began on July 14, 2017.

Pursuant 40 CFR 124.19(2), any person who filed comments on the draft PSD permit may file a petition for review as provided in 40 CFR 124.19. Additionally, any person who failed to file comments may petition for administrative review of any permit conditions set forth in the final permit decision, but only to the extent that those final permit conditions reflect changes from the proposed draft permit. For Grand Casino Hinckley permit number PSD-ML-2711500031-2017-03, the 30-day period during which a person may seek review under 40 CFR 124.19 began on July 14, 2017.

EPA is notifying the public of the issuance of title V operating permits to Great Lakes Gas, NRG Reliability Solutions, LLC, Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures and SMSC. EPA is also notifying the public of the issuance of a title I construction permit to Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures.

EPA issued permit number V-FDL-2713700066-2016-03 to Great Lakes Gas on January 26, 2017, which became effective immediately upon issuance. EPA issued permit number V-PI-2704900084-2012-13 to NRG Reliability Solutions, LLC on January 27, 2017, which became effective immediately upon issuance. EPA issued permit number V-ML-2711500031-2016-01 on October 20, 2016 to Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, which became effective on November 20, 2016. EPA issued permit numbers V-ML-2711500031-2016-02 and PSD-ML-2711500031-2017-03 on July 6, 2017 to Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, which became effective immediately upon issuance. EPA issued permit number V-27139R0001-2016-01 on July 13, 2017 to SMSC, which became effective immediately upon issuance.

EPA announced a public nomination period from March 1, 2016, to March 31, 2016, in the Federal Register (81 FR 10617; March 1, 2016), during which members of the public were able to nominate scientific experts with knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas: (1) Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK), physiologically-based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) and/or biologically based dose-response (BBDR) modeling, (2) fetal and neonatal thyroid endocrinology (clinical and experimental), (3) iodide homeostasis, and (4) perchlorate toxicology and mode of action or adverse outcome pathway. On June 3, 2016, in the Federal Register (81 FR 35760), EPA invited the public to also nominate scientific experts with knowledge and experience in one or more of the following areas of human health risk assessment: (1) An understanding of thyroid function (preferably in the sensitive life stages of interest), (2) the importance of maternal thyroid hormone homeostasis in each stage of gestation, (3) hypothyroxinemia, (4) neurodevelopmental assessment indices for young children including the Bayley's Scale, (5) the toxicity of perchlorate, (6) epidemiological assessment techniques, and (7) statistics.

Versar, Inc., considered the nominated peer review candidates and also conducted an independent search for scientific experts to augment the list of publically-nominated candidates.

Selection Process: Versar, Inc., considered and screened all candidates against the selection criteria described in the March 1, 2016, and June 3, 2016, Federal Register notices (81 FR 10617 and 81 FR 35760, respectively), which included the candidates being free of any conflict of interest and being available to participate in-person in a two-day, public, peer review meeting in the Washington, DC, area. Versar, Inc., narrowed the list of potential reviewers for the second panel to 12 candidates. EPA is now soliciting comments on the interim list of 12 candidates.

EPA requests that the public provide relevant information or documentation on the experts that the contractor should consider in evaluating these candidates. Once the public comments on the interim list of candidates have been reviewed and considered, the contractor will select the final list of peer reviewers.

Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers: Peer reviewers will be charged with evaluating and preparing written comments on EPA's draft MCLG Approaches Report. Versar, Inc., will provide reviewers with a summary and compilation of public comments on the draft MCLG Approaches Report submitted to EPA's docket (ID number EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0438) during the 45-day public comment period, for their consideration. Reviewers will participate in a two-day meeting expected to be held in the Washington, DC, metro area, projected to occur in late fall of 2017 (exact date to be determined), to discuss the scientific basis supporting these materials. Following the meeting, Versar, Inc., will provide a report to EPA, summarizing the peer reviewers' evaluation of the scientific and technical merit of the draft MCLG Approaches Report and the peer reviewers' full responses to the charge questions. EPA will make the final peer review report available to the public (exact date to be determined). In preparing the final MCLG Approaches Report, EPA will consider the peer review report as well as the written public comments submitted to the docket.

Versar, Inc., is considering the following candidates for the peer review panel. Biosketches are available through the EPA docket at http://www.regulations.gov (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0439). After review and consideration of public comments and consultation with EPA's Scientific Integrity Official, Versar, Inc., will select from this list, the final list of peer reviewers, who will, collectively, best provide expertise spanning the previously mentioned areas of knowledge and experience and, to the extent feasible, best provide a balance of perspectives. EPA will announce the peer review panel meeting date, location and registration details, along with the final list of peer reviewers selected by Versar, Inc., at least 30 days prior to the meeting.

The draft peer review charge questions are available through the EPA docket at http://www.regulations.gov (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0439).

On August 29, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum 1 informing the EEOC that OMB was initiating a review and immediate stay of the effectiveness of a portion of the EEO-1 report that was initially approved on September 29, 2016.2 Specifically, OMB initiated a review and immediate stay of the portion of the EEO-1 report that required the reporting of aggregate W-2 (Box 1) income and hours-worked data by employers (including federal contractors) with 100 or more employees. (This is called EEO-1 “Component 2”.) OMB did not stay the portion of the EEO-1 report that requires filers to submit data on the race, ethnicity, and sex of their workers, by job category. (EEO-1 “Component 1”) The EEOC will continue to collect EEO-1 Component 1 data from all filers during OMB's review and stay.

Thus, pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.10(g), the EEOC hereby announces that, until further notice, filers subject to the EEO-1 reporting requirement should not submit aggregate W-2 income and hours worked data under Component 2 of the EEO-1, but that they should submit data about race, ethnicity, and sex, by job category, as required by Component 1 of the EEO-1. Filers should follow the EEO-1's new reporting schedule. The 2017 EEO-1 report should be submitted and certified by March 31, 2018. Filers should use a “workforce snapshot period” between October 1 and December 31, 2017.

Parts of this meeting of the Board will be open to the public (limited space available), and parts will be closed to the public. Please send an email to [email protected] at least 24 hours before the meeting. In your email include: Name, postal address, entity you are representing (if applicable), and telephone number. You will receive an email confirmation from us. Please be prepared to show a photo identification when you arrive. If you need assistance for accessibility reasons, or if you have any questions, contact Dale L. Aultman, Secretary to the Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation Board, at (703) 883-4009. The matters to be considered at the meeting are:

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

OMB Control Number: 3060-0573.

Title: Application for Franchise Authority Consent to Assignment or Transfer of Control of Cable Television Franchise, FCC Form 394.

Form Number: FCC Form 394.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business of other for-profit entities; State, Local or Tribal Government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 2,000 respondents; 1,000 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1-5 hours.

Frequency of Response: Third Party Disclosure Requirement.

Total Annual Burden: 7,000 hours.

Total Annual Costs: $750,000.

Privacy Impact Assessment(s): No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: FCC Form 394 is a standardized form that is completed by cable operators in connection with the assignment and transfer of control of cable television systems. On July 23, 1993, the Commission released a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in MM Docket No. 92-264, FCC 93-332, Implementation of Sections 11 and 13 of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Horizontal and Vertical Ownership Limits, Cross-Ownership Limitations and Anti-Trafficking Provisions. Among other things, this Report and Order established procedures for use of the FCC Form 394.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

OMB Control Number: 3060-0715.

Title: Telecommunications Carriers' Use of Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) and Other Customer Information, CC Docket No. 96-115.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities, and state, local, or tribal government.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 3,600 respondents; 79,243,541 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: .002 hours-50 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion, annual, and one-time reporting requirements; recordkeeping; and third party disclosure requirements.

Obligation to Respond: Mandatory. Statutory authority for these collections are contained in Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Section 222.

Total Annual Burden: 495,507 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $4,000,000.00.

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: The Commission is not requesting that the respondents submit confidential information to the FCC. Respondents may, however, request confidential treatment for information they believe to be confidential under 47 CFR 0.459 of the Commission's rules.

Needs and Uses: Section 222 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 222, establishes the duty of telecommunications carriers to protect the confidentiality of its customers' proprietary information. This Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) includes personally identifiable information derived from a customer's relationship with a provider of telecommunications services. This information collection implements the statutory obligations of Section 222. These regulations impose safeguards to protect customers' CPNI against unauthorized access and disclosure. In March 2007, the Commission adopted new rules that focused on the efforts of providers of telecommunications services to prevent pretexting. These rules require providers of telecommunications services to adopt additional privacy safeguards that, the Commission believes, will limit pretexters' ability to obtain unauthorized access to the type of personal customer information from carriers that the Commission regulates. In addition, in furtherance of the Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006, the Commission's rules help ensure that law enforcement will have necessary tools to investigate and enforce prohibitions on illegal access to customer records.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the PRA of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the FCC invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections.

Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

OMB Control No.: 3060-0768.

Title: 28 GHz Band Segmentation Plan Amending the Commission's Rules to Redesignate the 27.5-29.5 GHz Frequency Band, to Reallocate the 29.5 to 30.0 GHz Frequency Band and to Establish Rules and Policies.

Form No.: None.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit.

Number of Respondents/Responses: 17 respondents; 17 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 2 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; third-party disclosure requirement.

Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 154 and 303.

Total Annual Burden: 34 hours.

Annual Cost Burden: $4,950.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: In general, there is no need for confidentiality with this collection of information.

Needs and Uses: The Federal Communications Commission (“Commission”) is requesting a revision of the information collection titled, “28 GHz Band” under OMB Control No. 3060-0768 from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The purpose of the revision is to remove the information collection requirements that are contained under 47 CFR Sections 25.203, 25.250, 25.257 and 25.258 from OMB Control No. 3060-0768 because they were consolidated under OMB Control No. 3060-0678. The consolidation was approved by OMB on August 15, 2014.

The information collection requirements which remain in this collection require are as follows: (1) Local Multipoint Distribution Systems (LMDS) licensees to serve copies of their applications on all Non-Geostationary Mobile Satellite Service (NGSO/MSS) applicants (Section 101.147) and (2) NGSO/MSS feeder link earth stations must specify a set of geographic coordinates for location of these earth stations, 15 days after the release of a public notice announcing commencement of LMDS auctions (Section 101.147).

The information is used by the Commission and other applicants and/or licensees in the 28 GHz band to facilitate technical coordination of systems among applicants and/or licensees in the 28 GHz band. Without such information, the Commission could not implement the Commission's band plan.

Affected applicants and licensees are required to provide the requested information to the Commission and other third parties whenever they seek authority to provide service in the 28 GHz band. The frequency of filing is, in general, determined by the applicant or licensees. If this information is compiled less frequently or not filed in conjunction with our rules, applicants and licensees will not obtain the authorization necessary to provide telecommunications services. Furthermore, the Commission would not be able to carry out its mandate as required by statute and applicants and licensees would not be able to provide service effectively.

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.

OMB Control Number: 3060-1139.

Title: FCC Consumer Broadband Services Testing and Measurement.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Businesses or other for-profit and individuals or households.

Number of Respondents and Responses: 501,020 respondents and 501,020 responses.

Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour-200 hours.

Frequency of Response: Biennial reporting requirement and third party disclosure requirement.

Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. Statutory authority for this information collection is contained in the Broadband Data Improvement Act of 2008, Public Law 110-385, Stat 4096, 103(c)(1).

Total Annual Burden: 46,667 hours.

Total Annual Costs: No Cost.

Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: All participation in the Measuring Broadband America Program is voluntary and any participant can decline to participate at any time. No volunteers' personally identifying information (PII) such as name, phone number, or street addresses will be transmitted to the Commission from the contractor as a matter of vendor policy and agency privacy policy. SamKnows maintains a series of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect against the transmission of PII. At point of registration, individuals will be given full disclosure in a “privacy statement” highlighting what information will be collected. Fixed Broadband ISP Partners receive PII about volunteers to confirm the validity of the information against their subscription records, but will be bound by a non-disclosure agreement that will maintain various administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect the information and limit its use. Mobile Broadband ISP Partners have access to five kinds of information, including location and time of data collection, device type and operating system version, cellular performance and characteristics, and download, upload speed and other broadband performance, also restricted by a non-disclosure agreement that will maintain various administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect the information and limit its use. ISP Partners providing support to the testing program will likewise be bound to the same series of administrative, technical and physical safeguards developed by SamKnows. In addition all third parties supporting the program directly will be bound by a “Code of Conduct” to ensure all participate and act in good faith and with other legally enforceable documents such as non-disclosure agreements.

Privacy Act Impact Assessment: This information collection effects individuals or households. However, personally identifiable information (PII) such as name, phone number, or street addresses is not being collected by, made available to or made accessible by the Commission but instead by third parties including SamKnows, a third party contractor, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) Partners.

Needs and Uses: The Commission will submit this expiring collection after this 60-day comment period to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to obtain the full three-year clearance.

This study's collection of information on actual speeds and performance of fixed and mobile broadband connections delivered to consumers by ISPs has been reported to be of great value to academic researchers, manufacturers and technology providers, broadband providers, public interest groups and other diverse stakeholders. Validation of fixed broadband subscribed speeds as opposed to actual speeds by participating ISPs remains unique to this program and provides a context for measured speeds. Mobile broadband performance information is measured using the FCC Speed Test app for Android and iPhone devices to test the upload and download speed, latency and packet loss, as well as the wireless performance characteristics of the broadband connection and the kind of handsets and versions of operating systems tested. Information the FCC Speed Test App (“Application”) collects is limited to information used to measure volunteers' mobile broadband service and no personally identifiable information, such as subscribers' name, phone number or unique identifiers associated with a device is collected. Software-based tools and online tools exist that can test consumer's broadband connections, including a set of consumer tools launched by the FCC in conjunction with the National Broadband Plan. However, these tools track speeds experienced by consumers, rather than speeds delivered directly to a consumer by an ISP. The distinction is important for supporting Agency broadband policy analysis, as ISPs advertise speeds and performance delivered rather than speeds experienced, which suffers from degradation outside of an ISP's control.

No other dedicated panel of direct fixed and mobile broadband performance measurement using publicly documented methodologies using free and add-free technologies exists today in the country. The program will continue to support existing software-based tools and online tools but the focus of the program will remain the direct measurement of broadband performance delivered to the consumer. The collection effort also has specific elements focused on further network performance statistics, time of day parameters, and other elements affecting consumers' broadband experience that are not tracked elsewhere. The information to be confirmed by ISP Partners about their subscribers or technical and market data regarding the broadband services they provide is unavailable from other sources.

On July 18, 2017, the Federal Reserve requested comment on two proposals. The first proposed to (1) extend for three years the FR Y-9 family of reports (FR Y-9C, FR Y-9LP, FR Y-9SP, FR Y-9ES, and FR Y-9CS), the FR Y-7N family of reports (FR Y-7N, FR Y-7NS, and FR Y-7Q), and the FR 2886b report; 1 (2) delete certain existing data items and make other targeted revisions to the FR Y-9C report; (3) remove from the FR Y-9LP, the FR Y-7N, and the FR 2886b reports the term “extraordinary items” and replace it with “discontinued operations” to be consistent with recent accounting changes; (4) reclassify and clarify the reporting for certain tax benefits on all applicable reports; (5) add one new data item to the FR Y-9SP report; and (6) replace references to “loans net of unearned income” with “loans held for investment” on all applicable reports.2 The second proposal would (1) extend for three years the FR Y-11 family of reports (FR Y-11 and the FR Y-11S) and the FR 2314 family of reports (FR 2314 and the FR 2314S); 3 (2) remove from these reports the term “extraordinary items” and replace it with “discontinued operations” to be consistent with recent accounting changes and (3) replace references to “loans net of unearned income” with “loans held for investment” on all applicable reports.4 As originally proposed, both proposals would be effective for reports submitted on or after October 1, 2017, beginning with the reports reflecting the September 30, 2017, report date. The comment period for both proposals ends September 18, 2017.

The Federal Reserve received a comment letter from a banking association that, while expressing support for the FR Y-9C proposed changes, urged the Federal Reserve to have the FR Y-9C revisions incorporated into the March 31, 2018, report date (rather than the September 30, 2017, report date) to harmonize the proposed changes with the proposed changes to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Reports) (FFIEC 031 & 041; OMB No. 7100-0036) that are filed by insured depository institutions.

The Federal Reserve agrees with the commenter's suggestion. The Federal Reserve also believes that making the proposed changes effective with the reports reflecting the March 31, 2018, report date, which are submitted on or after April 1, 2018, would give institutions ample notice to prepare for the revisions and would minimize burden by allowing institutions to prepare their systems once for these proposed changes and any future burden reducing changes targeted for that report date. Finally, the Federal Reserve believes that notifying the public of this deferral prior to the end of the comment period would minimize the burden on institutions associated with system changes and other processes necessary to implement the reporting changes.

Consequently, in order to avoid any undue hardships to holding companies in meeting the October 1, 2017, implementation date, the Federal Reserve recommends amending the proposals to extend, with revision, the FR Y-9 family of reports, the FR Y-7N family of reports, and the FR 2886b report to make the proposed changes effective for reports submitted on or after April 1, 2018, beginning with the reports reflecting the March 31, 2018, report date. Because the proposed revisions to the FR Y-11 family of reports and the FR 2314 family of reports align with the FR Y-9C reporting changes, the Federal Reserve also recommends deferring the proposed implementation date for these revisions. These modifications also would be effective for reports reflecting the March 31, 2018, report date, which are submitted on or after April 1, 2018. Amending the proposals would not require an extension of the proposals' comment period, the end of which would continue to be September 18, 2017.

Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page (for September 8, 2017), on the World Wide Web, at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.

You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 10, 2017. Write “In the Matter of Md7, LLC, File No. 172 3172” on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.

Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/md7consent by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site.

If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write “In the Matter of Md7, LLC, File No. 172 3172” on your comment and on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.

Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC Web site at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment should not include any sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential”—as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled “Confidential,” and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has been posted on the public FTC Web site—as legally required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)—we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC Web site, unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request.

Visit the FTC Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before October 10, 2017. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has accepted, subject to final approval, a consent agreement applicable to Md7, LLC (“Md7”).

The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final the agreement's proposed order.

This matter concerns alleged false or misleading representations that Md7 made to consumers concerning its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework agreed upon by the U.S. and the European Union (“EU”). The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework allows U.S. companies to transfer data outside the EU consistent with EU law. To join the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, a company must self-certify to the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) that it complies with a set of principles and related requirements that have been deemed by the European Commission as providing “adequate” privacy protection. These principles include notice; choice; accountability for onward transfer; security; data integrity and purpose limitation; access; and recourse, enforcement, and liability. Commerce maintains a public Web site, https://www.privacyshield.gov/list, where it posts the names of companies that have self-certified to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. The listing of companies indicates whether their self-certification is current. Companies are required to re-certify every year in order to retain their status as current members of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Md7 assists wireless operators in managing real estate-related issues. According to the Commission's complaint, Md7 has set forth on its Web site, www.md7.com/privacy-policy/, privacy policies and statements about its practices, including statements related to its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

The Commission's complaint alleges that Md7 falsely represented that it was certified to participate in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework when, in fact, Md7 never completed the necessary steps to finalize its application and thus, was not certified to participate in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Part I of the proposed order prohibits Md7 from making misrepresentations about its membership in any privacy or security program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or standard-setting organization, including, but not limited to, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Parts II through VI of the proposed order are reporting and compliance provisions. Part II requires acknowledgement of the order and dissemination of the order now and in the future to persons with responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order. Part III ensures notification to the FTC of changes in corporate status and mandates that Md7 submit an initial compliance report to the FTC. Part IV requires Md7 to retain documents relating to its compliance with the order for a five-year period.

Part V mandates that Md7 make available to the FTC information or subsequent compliance reports, as requested. Part VI is a provision “sunsetting” the order after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions.

The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official interpretation of the proposed complaint or order or to modify the order's terms in any way.

Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page (for September 8, 2017), on the World Wide Web, at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.

You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 10, 2017. Write “In the Matter of Decusoft, LLC, File No. 172 3173” on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.

Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/decusoftconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site.

If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write “In the Matter of Decusoft, LLC, File No. 172 3173” on your comment and on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.

Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC Web site at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment should not include any sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential”—as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled “Confidential,” and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has been posted on the public FTC Web site—as legally required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)—we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC Web site, unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request.

Visit the FTC Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before October 10, 2017. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has accepted, subject to final approval, a consent agreement applicable to Decusoft, LLC (“Decusoft”).

The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final the agreement's proposed order.

This matter concerns alleged false or misleading representations that Decusoft made to consumers concerning its participation in the Privacy Shield frameworks agreed upon by the U.S. and the European Union (“EU”) and the U.S. and Switzerland (collectively, “Privacy Shield frameworks”). The Privacy Shield frameworks allow U.S. companies to transfer data outside the EU and Switzerland consistent with EU and Swiss law. To join the Privacy Shield frameworks, a company must self-certify to the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) that it complies with a set of principles and related requirements that have been deemed by the European Commission and Switzerland as providing “adequate” privacy protection. These principles include notice; choice; accountability for onward transfer; security; data integrity and purpose limitation; access; and recourse, enforcement, and liability. Commerce maintains a public Web site, https://www.privacyshield.gov/list, where it posts the names of companies that have self-certified to the Privacy Shield frameworks. The listing of companies indicates whether their self-certification is current. Companies are required to re-certify every year in order to retain their status as current members of the Privacy Shield frameworks.

Decusoft develops software for use in human resources applications.

According to the Commission's complaint, Decusoft has set forth on its Web site, www.decusoft.com/privacy-policy, privacy policies and statements about its practices, including statements related to its participation in the EU-U.S. and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield frameworks.

The Commission's complaint alleges that Decusoft falsely represented that it was certified to participate in the Privacy Shield frameworks when, in fact, Decusoft never completed the necessary steps to finalize its applications, and thus, was not certified to participate in either the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework or the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Part I of the proposed order prohibits Decusoft from making misrepresentations about its membership in any privacy or security program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or standard-setting organization, including, but not limited to, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework and the Swiss-U.S. Safe Privacy Shield framework.

Parts II through VI of the proposed order are reporting and compliance provisions. Part II requires acknowledgement of the order and dissemination of the order now and in the future to persons with responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order. Part III ensures notification to the FTC of changes in corporate status and mandates that Decusoft submit an initial compliance report to the FTC. Part IV requires Decusoft to retain documents relating to its compliance with the order for a five-year period.

Part V mandates that Decusoft make available to the FTC information or subsequent compliance reports, as requested. Part VI is a provision “sunsetting” the order after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions.

The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official interpretation of the proposed complaint or order or to modify the order's terms in any way.

Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 2.34, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page (for September 8, 2017), on the World Wide Web, at https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/commission-actions.

You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before October 10, 2017. Write “In the Matter of Tru Communication, Inc., File No. 172 3171” on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/policy/public-comments.

Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/trucommunicationconsent by following the instructions on the web-based form. If this Notice appears at http://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site.

If you prefer to file your comment on paper, write “In the Matter of Tru Communication, Inc., File No. 172 3171” on your comment and on the envelope, and mail your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite CC-5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC 20580, or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Constitution Center, 400 7th Street SW., 5th Floor, Suite 5610 (Annex D), Washington, DC. 20024. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service.

Because your comment will be placed on the publicly accessible FTC Web site at https://www.ftc.gov, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive or confidential information. In particular, your comment should not include any sensitive personal information, such as your or anyone else's Social Security number; date of birth; driver's license number or other state identification number, or foreign country equivalent; passport number; financial account number; or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, such as medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, your comment should not include any “trade secret or any commercial or financial information which . . . is privileged or confidential”—as provided by Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2)—including in particular competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names.

Comments containing material for which confidential treatment is requested must be filed in paper form, must be clearly labeled “Confidential,” and must comply with FTC Rule 4.9(c). In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c). Your comment will be kept confidential only if the General Counsel grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Once your comment has been posted on the public FTC Web site—as legally required by FTC Rule 4.9(b)—we cannot redact or remove your comment from the FTC Web site, unless you submit a confidentiality request that meets the requirements for such treatment under FTC Rule 4.9(c), and the General Counsel grants that request.

Visit the FTC Web site at http://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding, as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before October 10, 2017. For information on the Commission's privacy policy, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, see https://www.ftc.gov/site-information/privacy-policy.

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) has accepted, subject to final approval, a consent agreement applicable to Tru Communication, Inc. dba TCPrinting.net (“TCP”).

The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final the agreement's proposed order.

This matter concerns alleged false or misleading representations that TCP made to consumers concerning its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework agreed upon by the U.S. and the European Union (“EU”). The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework allows U.S. companies to transfer data outside the EU consistent with EU law. To join the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework, a company must self-certify to the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) that it complies with a set of principles and related requirements that have been deemed by the European Commission as providing “adequate” privacy protection. These principles include notice; choice; accountability for onward transfer; security; data integrity and purpose limitation; access; and recourse, enforcement, and liability. Commerce maintains a public Web site, https://www.privacyshield.gov/list, where it posts the names of companies that have self-certified to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework. The listing of companies indicates whether their self-certification is current. Companies are required to re-certify every year in order to retain their status as current members of the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

TCP provides printing services such as copying, binding and scanning of documents. According to the Commission's complaint, TCP has set forth on its Web site, www.tcprinting.net/info/lpi-privacy-policy.php, privacy policies and statements about its practices, including statements related to its participation in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

The Commission's complaint alleges that TCP falsely represented that it was certified to participate in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework when, in fact, TCP never completed the necessary steps to finalize its application and thus, was not certified to participate in the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Part I of the proposed order prohibits TCP from making misrepresentations about its membership in any privacy or security program sponsored by the government or any other self-regulatory or standard-setting organization, including, but not limited to, the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework.

Parts II through VI of the proposed order are reporting and compliance provisions. Part II requires acknowledgement of the order and dissemination of the order now and in the future to persons with responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order. Part III ensures notification to the FTC of changes in corporate status and mandates that TCP submit an initial compliance report to the FTC. Part IV requires TCP to retain documents relating to its compliance with the order for a five-year period.

Part V mandates that TCP make available to the FTC information or subsequent compliance reports, as requested. Part VI is a provision “sunsetting” the order after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions.

The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official interpretation of the proposed complaint or order or to modify the order's terms in any way.

These meetings will be closed to the public in accordance with 5 U.S.C. App. 2 section 10(d), 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4), and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6). In accordance with section 10 (a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2), AHRQ announces meetings of the above-listed scientific peer review groups, which are subcommittees of AHRQ's Health Services Research Initial Review Group Committees. Each subcommittee meeting will commence in open session before closing to the public for the duration of the meeting. The subcommittee meetings will be closed to the public in accordance with the provisions set forth in 5 U.S.C. App. 2 section 10(d), 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4), and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(6). The grant applications and the discussions could disclose confidential trade secrets or commercial property such as patentable material, and personal information concerning individuals associated with the grant applications, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Agenda items for these meetings are subject to change as priorities dictate.

AHRQ has submitted a Generic Information Collection Request (Generic ICR): “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Service Delivery” to OMB for approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.). The information collection activity will gather qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with the Administration's commitment to improving service delivery.

Qualitative feedback is information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions, but is not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of study. This feedback will provide insights into customer or stakeholder perceptions, experiences and expectations, provide an early warning of issues with service, or focus attention on areas where communication, training or changes in operations might improve delivery of products or services. These collections will allow for ongoing, collaborative and actionable communications between the Agency and its customers and stakeholders. The feedback will contribute directly to the improvement of program management. The current clearance was approved on November 11, 2014 (OMB Control Number 0935-0179) and will expire on November 30, 2017.

Below we provide AHRQ's projected average annual estimates for the next three years:

Current Actions: New collection of information.

Type of Review: New Collection.

Affected Public: Individuals and Households, Businesses and Organizations, State, Local or Tribal Government.

Average Expected Annual Number of activities: 10.

Respondents: 10,900.

Annual responses: 10,900.

Frequency of Response: Once per request.

The total number of respondents across all 10 activities in a given year is 10,900.

Average minutes per response: 19.

Burden hours: 3,452.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on AHRQ's information collection are requested with regard to any of the following: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of AHRQ healthcare research and healthcare information dissemination functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of AHRQ's estimate of burden (including hours and costs) of the proposed collection(s) of information; (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 upon the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of public record.

Proposed Project Voluntary Customer Survey Generic Clearance for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501-3520, AHRQ invites the public to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a request for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to re-approve for an additional 3 years, under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the generic clearance for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to survey the users of AHRQ's work products and services, OMB control number 0935-0106.

AHRQ will undertake customer surveys to assess its work products and services provided to its customers, to identify problem areas, and to determine how they can be improved. Surveys conducted under this generic clearance are not required by regulation and will not be used by AHRQ to regulate or sanction its customers. Surveys will be entirely voluntary, and information provided by respondents will be combined and summarized so that no individually identifiable information will be released. Proposed information collections submitted under this generic clearance will be reviewed and acted upon by OMB within 14 days of submission.

The information collected through focus groups and voluntary customer surveys will be used by AHRQ to identify strengths and weaknesses in products and services to make improvements that are practical and feasible. Information from these customer surveys will be used to plan and redirect resources and efforts to improve or maintain a high quality of service to the lay and health professional public.

Exhibit 1 shows the estimated total burden hours for the respondents. Mail surveys are estimated to average 15 minutes, telephone surveys 40 minutes, web-based surveys 10 minutes, focus groups two hours, and in-person interviews are estimated to average 50 minutes. Mail surveys may also be sent to respondents via email, and may include a telephone non-response follow-up. Telephone non-response follow-up for mailed surveys does not count as a telephone survey. The total burden hours for the 3 years of the clearance is estimated to be 10,150 hours.

Exhibit 2 shows the estimated cost burden for the respondents. The total cost burden for the 3 years of the clearance is estimated to be $340,127.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, comments on AHRQ's information collection are requested with regard to any of the following: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of AHRQ healthcare research and healthcare information dissemination functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of AHRQ's estimate of burden (including hours and costs) of the proposed collection(s) of information; (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 upon the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and included in the Agency's subsequent request for OMB approval of the proposed information collection. All comments will become a matter of public record.