[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 150 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42638-42639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20178]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 150 / Thursday, August 5, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 42638]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Request for Comments; Forest Industries 
Data Collection System

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the 
Forest Service announces its intention to request a reinstatement of a 
previously approved information collection. The Forest Service will 
survey wood-using mills to determine the volume of logs (roundwood) and 
wood chips the mills received. This information will enable the agency 
to assess the trends in the use of logs and wood chips as required by 
statute.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before October 4, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to: Eric Wharton, Forest 
Inventory and Analysis, Northeastern Research Station, 5 Radnor 
Corporate Center, Suite 200, Forest Service, USDA, Radnor, PA 19087-
4585.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (610) 975-4200 or 
by email to: ewharton/[email protected].
    The public may inspect comments received at the Northeastern 
Research Station, 5 Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 200, Radnor, 
Pennsylvania.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Wharton, Northeastern Research 
Station, at (610) 975-4052; or Bruce Hansen, Northeastern Research 
Station, at (304) 431-2727.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Forest and Range Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 and 
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 
require the Forest Service to evaluate trends in the use of logs and 
wood chips, to forecast anticipated levels of logs and wood chips, and 
to analyze changes in the harvest of these resources. The information 
will be collected by Forest Service personnel at the following Forest 
Service research stations: Northeastern Research Station (Radnor, PA), 
North Central Research Station (St. Paul, MN), Southern Research 
Station (Asheville, NC), Rocky Mountain Research Station (Ogden, UT), 
and Pacific Northwest Research Station (Portland, OR).
    Upon reinstatement of this information collection, the Forest 
Service will collect information from primary wood-using mills, which 
includes small, part-time mills, as well as large corporate entities. 
Primary wood-using mills are facilities that use harvested wood in log 
or chip form, such as sawlogs, veneer logs, pulpwood, and pulp chips, 
to manufacture a secondary product, such as lumber or paper.
    To collect the information, Forest Service personnel will use the 
following questionnaires: Pulpwood Received, [State, Year] and Logs and 
Other Roundwood Received, [State, Year]. The questionnaires will be 
mailed to mills in a number of different States. The title of each 
questionnaire includes the State and the calendar year for which 
information will be collected. Respondents will return the completed 
questionnaires by mail in self-addressed, postage-paid envelopes.
    Respondents will answer questions that include the type of logs or 
wood chips that have been harvested, the volume of logs or wood chips 
that have been received by the mill, the geographic locations from 
which the logs or wood chips have been harvested, the variety of tree 
species that have been harvested and received by the mill, the prices 
the mill has paid for the logs or wood chips, and the volume of 
byproducts that have been produced as a result of the manufacturing 
process, such as bark, sawdust, and slabs.

Description of Information Collection

    The following describes the information collection to be 
reinstated:
    Title: Pulpwood Received.
    OMB Number: 0596-0010.
    Expiration Date of Approval: December 31, 1998.
    Type of Request: Request for reinstatement of a previously approved 
information collection.
    Abstract: Questionnaires will be mailed to large paper companies, 
as well as to a few smaller pulping companies. Forest Service personnel 
will evaluate the information collected from the pulp mills to monitor 
the volume, types, species, sources, and prices of timber products 
harvested throughout the Nation. The data collected will be used to 
provide essential information about the current drain on the Nation's 
timber resources for pulpwood industrial products.
    Data from this collection of information is not available from 
other sources.
    Estimate of Burden: 0.5 hours.
    Type of Respondents: Primary users of industrial pulpwood and wood 
chips.
    Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 222.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 111 hours.

Description of Information Collection

    The following describes the information collection to be 
reinstated:
    Title: Logs and Other Roundwood Received.
    OMB Number: 0596-0010.
    Expiration Date of Approval: December 31, 1998.
    Type of Request: Request for reinstatement of a previously approved 
information collection.
    Abstract: Questionnaires will be mailed to primary wood-using 
mills, which include small, part-time mills as well as large corporate 
entities. The collected information will be evaluated by Forest Service 
personnel to monitor the volume, types, species, sources, and prices of 
timber products harvested throughout the Nation. The data collected is 
used to provide essential information about the current drain on the 
Nation's timber resources for use as industrial products, other than 
pulpwood products.
    Data from this collection of information is not available from 
other sources.
    Estimate of Burden: .84 hour.
    Type of Respondents: Primary users of industrial roundwood 
products.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,687.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,257 hours.

[[Page 42639]]

Comment Is Invited

    The agency invites comments on the following: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the stated purposes 
or the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical or scientific utility; (b) 
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (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 
the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Use of Comments

    All comments, including names and addresses when provided, will 
become a matter of public record. Comments received in response to this 
notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of 
Management and Budget approval.

    Dated: July 23, 1999.
Robert Lewis, Jr.,
Deputy Chief for Research & Development.
[FR Doc. 99-20178 Filed 8-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P