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which no oral hearing is requested (onbrief appeals). Hearings in ex parte
appeals accorded fast-track status under
the pilot program will be conducted
according to the ordinary PTAB hearing
procedures. Appellants seeking an oral
hearing should submit with the request
for oral hearing any preferences as to the
time, date, or location of the hearing.
The PTAB will make its best efforts to
schedule a hearing in accordance with
such preferences, consistent with the
goals of the pilot program. If the PTAB
is unable to accommodate an appellant’s
preferences, the PTAB will schedule the
hearing in an available hearing room at
any office, including a regional office,
and at a time and date best suited to
meeting the goals of the pilot program.
If no such hearing room is available, the
PTAB will schedule a hearing to be
conducted by videoconference or
telephone.
Because an appellant seeks a faster
decision and hearing room availability
is limited, an appellant in an ex parte
appeal accorded fast-track status may
not seek to relocate (to a different office)
the hearing after receiving a Notice of
Hearing. An appellant who does not
wish to attend the hearing at the
designated location may, however,
request to attend the hearing by
videoconference or telephone, in
accordance with current PTAB hearing
procedures. An appellant may also
waive the hearing and continue under
the Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19 for
consideration and decision on the
briefs.
An appellant may not reschedule the
date or time of a hearing and remain in
the Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19. If an
appellant in an ex parte appeal accorded
fast-track status must reschedule the
date or time of a hearing and is not
willing to waive the oral hearing, then
the appellant may opt out of the FastTrack Pilot Program for Appeals Related
to COVID–19, thereby regaining the
ability to reschedule or relocate the
hearing as per ordinary PTAB hearing
procedures.
(4) Termination of Fast-Track Status
Under the Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19
Fast-track status will be maintained in
an ex parte appeal from the date at
which the petition for inclusion in the
Fast-Track Pilot Program for Appeals
Related to COVID–19 is granted until
the PTAB’s jurisdiction ends under 37
CFR 41.35(b). Activities subsequent to
an appellant’s withdrawal from the pilot
program or the PTAB’s decision,
including any reopened prosecution,

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will not be treated as subject to fasttrack status, nor will filing a petition for
inclusion in the Fast-Track Pilot
Program for Appeals Related to COVID–
19 cause an application to be accorded
fast-track status outside the jurisdiction
of the PTAB. Additionally, any request
by an appellant that causes a delay in
the conduct of the appeal, such as for an
extension of time under 37 CFR
1.136(b), or for additional briefing, will
be cause for the removal of fast-track
status.
Status of the Pilot Program
The Fast-Track Pilot Program for
Appeals Related to COVID–19 is being
adopted on a temporary basis until 500
appeals have been accorded fast-track
status under the program. The USPTO
may extend the Fast-Track Pilot
Program for Appeals Related to COVID–
19 (with or without modification) or
may discontinue the pilot program
depending on the workload and
resources needed to administer the
program, feedback from the public, and
the effectiveness of the program.
The USPTO will notify the public
when the threshold of 500 granted
petitions for the Fast-Track Pilot
Program for Appeals Related to COVID–
19 is about to be reached, and with any
further relevant information, on the
PTAB web page at www.uspto.gov/
PTABCOVIDFastTrack.
Andrew Hirshfeld,
Commissioner for Patents, Performing the
Functions and Duties of the Under Secretary
of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and
Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2021–07704 Filed 4–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–16–P

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. CPSC–2020–0027]

Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Warning
Label Comprehension and
Interpretation by Consumers for
Children’s Sleep Environments
Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:

As required under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA), the Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC or Commission)
announces that CPSC has submitted to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) a new proposed collection of

SUMMARY:

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information for a survey that will
evaluate consumer awareness of infant
sleep product warning labels. On
December 21, 2020, the CPSC published
a notice in the Federal Register
announcing the agency’s intent to seek
approval of this collection of
information. After reviewing and
considering the comments, the
Commission announces that it has
submitted to the OMB a request for
approval of this collection of
information. A copy of the proposed
survey, ‘‘Revised Supporting Statement’’
titled Consumer Product Safety
Commission: Warning Label
Comprehension and Interpretation by
Consumers for Children’s Sleep
Environments, is available at:
www.regulations.gov under Docket No.
CPSC–2020–0027, Supporting and
Related Material.
DATES: Submit written or electronic
comments on the collection of
information by May 17, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection within 30 days of
publication of this notice to:
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.
Find this particular information
collection by selecting, ‘‘Currently
under 30-day Review—Open for Public
Comments,’’ or by using the search
function. In addition, written comments
that are sent to OMB also should be
submitted electronically at: http://
www.regulations.gov, under Docket No.
CPSC–2020–0027.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia Gillham, Consumer Product
Safety Commission, 4330 East-West
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301)
504–7991, or by email to: cgillham@
cpsc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Background
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520),
federal agencies must obtain approval
from OMB for each collection of
information they conduct or sponsor.
‘‘Collection of information’’ is defined
in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR
1320.3(c) and includes agency datacollection studies. The PRA establishes
procedures agencies must follow to
obtain OMB approval of a collection of
information, including notice and a
review of comments, among other
procedures. Agencies must provide
notice of the proposed collection of
information in the Federal Register, and
provide a 60-day comment period,
before submitting the collection to OMB
for approval. 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
Agencies then must evaluate any public

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 71 / Thursday, April 15, 2021 / Notices

comments and publish another notice in
the Federal Register. Id. 3507(a)(1).
In accordance with these procedures,
on December 21, 2020, CPSC published
a notice in the Federal Register
announcing the agency’s intent to seek
approval of a new collection of
information on a survey on Warning
Label Comprehension and Interpretation
by Consumers for Children’s Sleep
Environments. 85 FR 83066. Section D.
Comments, below, summarizes and
addresses the comments CPSC received.

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B. Warning Label Comprehension
Survey
CPSC is authorized under section 5(a)
of the Consumer Product Safety Act
(CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 2054(a), to conduct
studies and investigations relating to the
causes and prevention of deaths,
accidents, injuries, illnesses, other
health impairments, and economic
losses associated with consumer
products. Section 5(b) of the CPSA, 15
U.S.C. 2054(b), further provides that
CPSC may conduct research, studies,
and investigations on the safety of
consumer products, or test consumer
products and develop product safety
test methods and testing devices.
In 2019, the CPSC published the 2019
Nursery Product Annual Report, which
reported injuries and deaths associated
with nursery products among children
younger than age 5.1 That report
identified 320 deaths related to nursery
products from 2014 through 2016. Infant
sleep products were associated with the
most deaths: Cribs/mattresses (33%),
cradles/bassinets (18%), and playpens/
play yards (20%). Also, in 2019, CPSC
conducted a focus group of 48
participants to gather feedback from
parents and grandparents (caregivers) on
their beliefs, experience, and
perceptions about infant sleeping
practices and caregivers’ compliance
with safety messaging on nursery
products. Caregiver responses in the
focus group study indicated limited
adherence to infant sleep safety warning
messaging.2 Some of the reasons for lack
of adherence to safety warnings include
caregiver perceptions that warning
labels contain repetitive, non-specific
information that fails to target the safety
hazard. Additionally, caregivers are
inundated with safety messaging that
changes constantly, resulting in
ambiguity about what messages are most
relevant and current. Product marketing
1 https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/
Nursery%20Products%20Annual%20Report
%20Dec2019_2.pdf? TkU_cVyVv69sq6Lpx
0aSRjoLomqXWxRq.
2 https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/
PRAViewIC?ref_nbr=201909-3041-002&icID=
234760.

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and the proliferation of new products
may confuse caregivers as well.
Caregivers often end up listening to
friends and family, or relying on past
experience, to decide what behaviors
are safe for their child, rather than
follow the current guidelines
recommended by experts. If caregivers
are not attuned to the safety messaging
on new products, they are more likely
to use the products incorrectly.
Accordingly, CPSC seeks to learn
more about consumers’ understanding
of specific warning labels related to
products that may be used as a sleeping
environment for infants and how those
labels influence caregivers’ behavior. In
the proposed information collection,
CPSC seeks to survey 650 caregivers to
obtain information regarding the gap in
consumer knowledge about product
warning labels and consumer adherence
to, and behaviors associated with,
warning labels. The online survey will
be conducted with caregivers age 18 and
above, who are a parent or a
grandparent with a child/grandchild
from 2 months to 11 months old.
CPSC has contracted with Fors Marsh
Group, LLC, to develop and execute this
project for CPSC. If CPSC can obtain
information through the survey about
caregiver perceptions and
comprehension of warning label
language, CPSC will be able to identify
better the types of safety warning labels
and safety messaging that are unclear to
the target audience, and that potentially
serve as a barrier to safe sleep.
Information obtained through this
survey is not intended to be nationally
representative. CPSC intends to use
findings from this survey, in
conjunction with findings from other
research and activities, to assist with
providing recommendations for refining
and enhancing warning labels in the
future.
C. Burden Hours
We estimate the number of
respondents to the survey to be 650. The
online survey for the proposed study
will take approximately 15 minutes
(0.25 hours) to complete. We estimate
the total annual burden hours for
respondents to be 162.50 hours. The
monetized hourly cost is $36.22, as
defined by total compensation for all
civilian workers, U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee
Compensation, as of March 2020.
Accordingly, we estimate the total cost
burden to be $5,885.75 (162.50 hours ×
$36.22). The total cost to the federal
government for the contract to design
and conduct the proposed survey is
$150,987.

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D. Comments
CPSC received three comments in
response to the notice of December 21,
2020. All three commenters supported
the information collection and made
additional suggestions regarding the
survey.
One commenter recommended
ensuring that ‘‘at-risk populations’’ will
be included in the survey. This
commenter also recommended that the
pool of eligible responders be broadened
to include other family members and
childcare providers. The survey
currently is designed to obtain a mix
demographics of responders, including
members of at-risk populations, but it
does not have specific percentages of
groups allocated. Since the information
obtained through this project is not
intended to be nationally representative,
but rather, designed generally to inform
CPSC about caregiver perceptions and
comprehension of warning label
language, CPSC believes the current
design of mixed demographics is
sufficient.
The same commenter also
recommended that the survey be
conducted in multiple languages, use
easy-to-understand language, and use
pictures. The survey is already designed
using clear, easy-to-understand
language; however, pictograms are not
used or contemplated in this survey.
The use of pictograms would require a
different type of survey, due to the need
to test and verify the pictograms for
understandability, and that is outside
the scope of this survey. However, the
CPSC may consider future surveys, with
targeted audiences of interest, to obtain
information that will help CPSC refine
and optimize labels.
Another commenter recommended
that the messaging in the warnings
should align with the American
Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) evidencebased safe sleep recommendations that
babies should be placed alone to sleep
in a crib, bassinet, or play yard that
meets current federal standards; on a
firm, flat surface in their own space; and
with no restraints or extra bedding.
CPSC staff seeks to identify ways to
increase caregiver understanding and
adherence to infant product warning
labels, which, in turn, may potentially
reduce the incidence of infant sleeprelated deaths in the future. Therefore,
the warning messages on the example
labels do not contradict AAP infant safe
sleep recommendations. This
commenter also stated that warning
labels should not be used as substitutes
for safe product design. CPSC staff
agrees that in the hierarchy of safety,
warnings are not a substitute for safe

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 71 / Thursday, April 15, 2021 / Notices
product design, but when attached to
infant products, warnings are useful,
because they can serve to remind
caregivers of the safety warnings while
caregivers are using the products.
A third commenter requested that the
information provided in the survey
clearly distinguish between products
intended for overnight and unattended
sleep, and those designed for other
activities, including napping. CPSC
agrees this distinction will help clarify
the question for caregivers. Accordingly,
CPSC has revised the following question
in the survey: ‘‘Which of the following
product(s) do you use to put your infant
to sleep’’ into two separate questions:
(1) Which of the following products do
you use to put your infant to sleep
overnight?; and (2) Which of the
following products do you use to put
your infant in for supervised use,
including napping? In addition, CPSC
has changed the references throughout
the survey from: ‘‘Warnings on Infant
Sleep Products,’’ to: ‘‘Warnings on
Infant Products,’’ to cover warning
labels that might be intended for
overnight and unattended sleep, as well
as infant products designed for other
activities.
This commenter also stated that
asking responders a question about
whether they ‘‘like’’ or ‘‘dislike’’ a
warning label is inappropriate, and they
suggested that it is more appropriate to
ask about effectiveness of warning
labels. CPSC agrees that seeking a
response on the ‘‘likeability’’ of the
warning label may not elicit a
meaningful response. Accordingly, this
question has been deleted from the
survey. A copy of the proposed survey,
‘‘Revised Supporting Statement’’ titled
Consumer Product Safety Commission:
Warning Label Comprehension and
Interpretation by Consumers for
Children’s Sleep Environments, is
available at: www.regulations.gov under
Docket No. CPSC–2020–0027,
Supporting and Related Material.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety
Commission.
[FR Doc. 2021–07707 Filed 4–14–21; 8:45 am]

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BILLING CODE 6355–01–P

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Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Project No. 3273–024]

Chittenden Falls Hydropower, Inc.;
Notice of Waiver Period for Water
Quality Certification Application
On March 24, 2021, Chittenden Falls
Hydropower, Inc. notified the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission that on
March 8, 2021, it submitted a pre-filing
meeting request, pursuant to 40 CFR
121.4, together with an application for
a Clean Water Act section 401(a)(1)
water quality certification to the New
York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (New York
DEC), in conjunction with the above
captioned project. Pursuant to 40 CFR
121.6, we hereby notify New York DEC
of the following:
Date of Receipt of the Certification
Request: April 7, 2021.1
Reasonable Period of Time to Act on
the Certification Request: One year.
Date Waiver Occurs for Failure to Act:
April 7, 2022.
If New York DEC fails or refuses to act
on the water quality certification request
by the above waiver date, then the
agency certifying authority is deemed
waived pursuant to section 401(a)(1) of
the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C.
1341(a)(1).
Dated: April 8, 2021.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–07684 Filed 4–14–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
Boulder Canyon Project
Western Area Power
Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of proposed fiscal year
2022 Boulder Canyon Project base
charge and rates for electric service.
AGENCY:

1 40 CFR 121.4(a) requires that a project
proponent request a meeting with the state
certifying authority to discuss the project at least 30
days prior to submitting a certification request.
Here, Chittenden Falls Hydropower, Inc. submitted
its request for a pre-filing meeting on March 8,
2021, which was the same date it submitted its
section 401 application to New York DEC. To
account for the 30-day period associated with the
pre-filing meeting request and to render the
certification request compliant with 40 CFR
121.5(b), the date of receipt of the certification
request is 30 days after the pre-filing meeting was
requested, i.e., April 7, 2021.

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The Desert Southwest Region
(DSW) of the Western Area Power
Administration (WAPA) is proposing an
adjustment to the base charge and rates
for fiscal year (FY) 2022 Boulder
Canyon Project (BCP) electric service
under Rate Schedule BCP–F10. The
proposal would increase the base charge
9 percent from $65.4 million in FY 2021
to $71.3 million in FY 2022. The change
is primarily the result of an increase in
Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation)
replacement costs, an increase in
WAPA’s operations and maintenance
expenses and replacement costs, and a
decrease in prior year carryover funds
from FY 2021. The proposed base
charge and rates would go into effect on
October 1, 2021 and remain in effect
through September 30, 2022.
Publication of this Federal Register
notice will initiate the public process.
DATES: The consultation and comment
period begins today and will end July
14, 2021. DSW will present a detailed
explanation of the proposed FY 2022
base charge and rates at a public
information forum that will be held on
May 17, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Mountain Standard Time. DSW will
also host a public comment forum that
will be held on June 14, 2021, from 10
a.m. to 12 p.m. Mountain Standard
Time. DSW will conduct both the public
information forum and the public
comment forum via Webex. Instructions
for participating in the forums will be
posted on DSW’s website at least 14
days prior to the public information and
comment forums at https://
www.wapa.gov/regions/DSW/Rates/
Pages/boulder-canyon-rates.aspx. DSW
will accept written comments any time
during the consultation and comment
period.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to
Mr. Jack D. Murray, Acting Regional
Manager, Desert Southwest Region,
Western Area Power Administration,
P.O. Box 6457, Phoenix, Arizona 85005–
6457, or [email protected]. DSW
will post information concerning the
rate process and written comments
received on its website at https://
www.wapa.gov/regions/DSW/Rates/
Pages/boulder-canyon-rates.aspx.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.
Tina Ramsey, Rates Manager, Desert
Southwest Region, Western Area Power
Administration, P.O. Box 6457,
Phoenix, Arizona 85005–6457, (602)
605–2565, or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Hoover
Dam,1 authorized by the Boulder
SUMMARY:

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

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1 Hoover Dam was known as Boulder Dam from
1933 to 1947, but was renamed Hoover Dam by an

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