[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 174-175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34379]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Reclamation
Notice of Proposed Revisions to a Currently Approved Information
Collection
AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (we, our, or us) intends to submit
the following proposed revised information collection to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.): Certification Summary Form,
Reporting Summary Form for Acreage Limitation, 43 CFR Part 426, OMB
Control Number: 1006-0006. This information collection is required
under the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (RRA), Acreage Limitation
Rules and Regulations, 43 CFR Part 426, and a proposed rulemaking
entitled: Information Requirements for Certain Farm Operations In
Excess of 960 Acres and the Eligibility of Certain Formerly Excess
Land, 43 CFR Part 428. We request your comments on the revised RRA
forms and specific aspects of the information collection.
DATES: Your written comments must be received on or before March 5,
1999.
ADDRESSES: You may send written comments to the Bureau of Reclamation,
Attention: D-5200, PO Box 25007, Denver, CO 80225-0007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may request copies of the proposed
revised forms by writing to the above address or by contacting Marilyn
Rehfeld at: (303) 445-2899.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Changes to the RRA Forms and the Instructions to Those Forms
We made a few changes to the current Form 7-21SUMM-C and Form 7-
[[Page 175]]
21SUMM-R and rewrote the instructions to those forms in ``plain
language'' to meet the requirements of the President's June 1, 1998,
memorandum. Other changes to the forms and the instructions to the
forms are editorial in nature and are designed to increase the
respondents' understanding of the forms, instructions to the forms, and
what information is required to be submitted with the forms to the
districts. The proposed revisions to the RRA forms will be effective in
the 2000 water year.
Draft of a New RRA Form
We published a proposed rulemaking, 43 CFR Part 428, in the Federal
Register on November 18, 1998 (63 FR 64154, Nov. 18, 1998), and
requested comments on the proposed rule and the information collection
to be submitted to us by January 19, 1999. The proposed rulemaking
requires farm operators who provide services to more than 960 nonexempt
acres westwide, held by a single trust or legal entity or any
combination of trusts and legal entities to submit RRA forms to the
district(s) where such land is located. We requested comments from the
public on whether to revise an existing RRA form or create a new form
for farm operators to prepare.
We anticipate that if the rule is finalized, the districts will be
required to provide specific information about declaring farm operators
to us annually. We have developed a new Tabulation G to be used with
Form 7-21SUMM-C and Form 7-21SUMM-R, and instructions on how to
complete the tabulation sheets to accommodate this requirement. We do
not believe the estimated burden hours will increase by requiring
districts to complete these tabulation sheets since only a few
districts should have farm operators in this category. Nevertheless,
the tabulation sheets will not be used until after the proposed rule is
published as a final rule in the Federal Register.
Title: Certification Summary Form, Reporting Summary Form for
Acreage Limitation, 43 CFR Part 426.
Abstract: These forms are to be used by district offices to
summarize individual landholder (direct or indirect landowner or
lessee) certification and reporting forms as required by the RRA, 43
CFR Part 426, and proposed regulation 43 CFR Part 428. This information
allows us to establish water user compliance with Federal reclamation
law.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondents: Contracting entities that are subject to the acreage
limitation provisions of Federal reclamation law.
Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 276.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.25.
Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 345.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 13,800 hours.
Estimate of Burden for Each Form:
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Burden
estimate per Number of Annual number Annual burden
Form No. form (in respondents of responses on respondents
hours) (in hours)
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7-21SUMM-C and associated tabulation sheets..... 40 222 278 11,120
7-21SUMM-R and associated tabulation sheets..... 40 54 67 2,680
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Comments
Comments are invited on:
(a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of our functions, including whether the
information will have practical use;
(b) The accuracy of our burden estimate for the proposed collection
of information;
(c) Ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(d) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
We will summarize all comments received to this notice and any
comments regarding this information collection received during the
comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking. We will publish
that summary in the Federal Register when the information collection
request is submitted to OMB for review and approval.
Dated: December 18, 1998.
Alonzo D. Knapp,
Acting Director, Program Analysis Office.
[FR Doc. 98-34379 Filed 12-31-98; 8:45 am]
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