[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 175-176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34380]


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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.): Individual Landholder's 
Certification and Reporting Forms for Acreage Limitation, 43 CFR Part 
426, OMB Control Number: 1006-0005. 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 RRA forms 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 included starting in the 2000 water year.

Draft of a new RRA form.

    We published a proposed rulemaking, 43 CFR Part 428, in the Federal 
Register

[[Page 176]]

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.
    Just in case, if the rule is finalized and it is determined that 
farm operators will be required to submit a separate form, we have 
prepared a draft of this form for review and comment (see FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT). We have included the estimated burden for the 
draft farm operator form (Form 7-21FARMOP) in this notice. Farm 
operators are not required to submit an RRA form to their district 
until the proposed rulemaking is published as a final rule in the 
Federal Register.
    Title: Individual Landholder's Certification and Reporting Forms 
for Acreage Limitation, 43 CFR Part 426.
    Abstract: This information collection requires certain landholders 
to complete forms demonstrating their compliance with the acreage 
limitation provisions of Federal reclamation law. These forms are 
submitted to districts who use the information to establish each 
landholder's status with respect to landownership limitations, full-
cost pricing thresholds, lease requirements, and other provisions of 
Federal reclamation law. All landholders whose entire westwide 
landholdings total 40 acres or less are exempt from the requirement to 
submit RRA forms. Landholders who are ``qualified recipients'' have RRA 
forms submittal thresholds of 80 acres or 240 acres depending on the 
district's RRA forms submittal threshold caregory where the land is 
held.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondents: Landholders (direct or indirect landowners or lessees) 
and farm operators of certain lands in Bureau of Reclamation projects, 
whose landholdings exceed specified RRA forms submittal thresholds.
    Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 19,202.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.02.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 19,586.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 14,829 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
                                                     minutes)                                        (in hours)
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Form 7-2180.....................................              60           5,358           5,465           5,465
Form 7-2180EZ...................................              45             537             548             411
Form 7-2181.....................................              78           1,758           1,793           2,331
Form 7-2184.....................................              45              40              41              31
Form 7-2190.....................................              60           1,910           1,948           1,948
Form 7-2190EZ...................................              45             113             115              86
Form 7-2191.....................................              78             891             909           1,182
Form 7-2194.....................................              45               4               4               3
Form 7-21PE.....................................              66             205             209             230
Form 7-21TRUST..................................              60           1,331           1,358           1,358
Form 7-21VERIFY.................................              12           6,452           6,581           1,316
Form 7-21FC.....................................              30             243             248             124
Form 7-21XS.....................................              30             164             167              84
Form 7-21FARMOP.................................              78             196             200             260
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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. 98-34380 Filed 12-31-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-94-M