7 CFR part 1970 - Environmental Policies and Procedures

OMB Control No: 0575-0197	ICR Reference No: 201902-0575-003
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201508-0575-001
Agency/Subagency: USDA/RHS	Agency Tracking No:
Title: 7 CFR part 1970 - Environmental Policies and Procedures
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 12/03/2019
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 04/29/2019
Terms of Clearance: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three years.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	12/31/2022	36 Months From Approved	12/31/2019
Responses	2,807	0	3,712
Time Burden (Hours)	192,700	0	410,050
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: 7 CFR part 1970 covers all the rules and procedures that deal with environmental review and environmental law. It is necessary to obtain information from applicants regarding their proposals and to determine whether these proposals have the potential to affect environmental resources and historic properties either at the project site or in the project vicinity.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 42 USC 4321 - 4346 Name of Law: National Enivronmental Policy Act of 1969

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	84 FR 3140	02/11/2019
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	84 FR 17996	04/29/2019
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 3

IC Title Form No. Form Name Individuals - 7 CFR part 1970 Business - 7 CFR 1970 Government/Tribal - 7 CFR 1970

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ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	2,807	3,712	0	-851	-54	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	192,700	410,050	0	-204,309	-13,041	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Reduction Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Short Statement: This is a package related to the combined environmental policies and procedures of RBS/RHS and RUS. Under the new regulation, levels have changed, with more Categorical Exclusions and fewer Environmental Assessments, which changes the burden. As categorical exclusions include both those with environmental reports and those without, our numbers have changed greatly, so we are doing a magnitude more reviews now than in previous years. That caused our costs in this report to increase exponentially. We also had multiple EIS in active status which caused our costs to increase greatly. Prior calculations did not include categorical exclusions without environmental reports, which does not substantially change applicant burden but does greatly change the accuracy of the agency costs. The number of reviews jumped from roughly 2,000 categorical exclusions last year to over 92,000 this year because now we are including categorical exclusions without environmental reports. Both submittals had roughly 2,000 categorical exclusions with environmental reports. Environmental Assessments dropped significantly as more categorical exclusions were used instead. And Environmental Impact Statements increased as more are occurring, which greatly increases the cost to the agency.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $63,884,961

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Diane Berger 715 619-3124 [email protected]

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
		(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;
		(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;
		(c) It reduces burden on small entities;
		(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;
		(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;
		(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;
		(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:
			(i) Why the information is being collected;
			(ii) Use of information;
			(iii) Burden estimate;
			(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
			(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
			(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
		(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.
		(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and
		(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Certification Date: 04/29/2019

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