[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 121 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38852-38853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15801]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of new information collection survey.

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SUMMARY: To comply with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (PRA), we are inviting comments on an information collection 
request (ICR) to conduct a new survey on ``Labor Migration and the 
Deepwater Oil Industry.'' We are preparing an ICR, which we will submit 
to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

DATES: Submit written comments by August 21, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior; Minerals Management Service; Attention: Rules Processing 
Team; Mail Stop 4024; 381 Elden Street; Herndon, Virginia 20170-4817. 
Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of 
respondents, available for public review during regular business hours. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address 
from the rulemaking record, which we will honor to the extent allowable 
by law. There may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the 
record a respondent's identity, as allowable by the law. If you wish us 
to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently 
at the beginning of your comment. However, we will not consider 
anonymous comments. We will make all submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available 
for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexis London, Rules Processing Team, 
telephone (703) 787-1600. You may also contact Alexis London to obtain 
a copy of the collection of information at no cost.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Survey-Labor Migration and the Deepwater Oil Industry.
    OMB Control Number: 1010-NEW.
    Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 
1331 et seq., requires the Secretary of the Interior to preserve, 
protect, and develop oil and gas resources in the OCS; make such 
resources available to meet the Nation's energy needs as rapidly as 
possible; balance orderly energy resources development with protection 
of the human, marine, and coastal environment; ensure the public a fair 
and equitable return on the resources offshore; and preserve and 
maintain free enterprise competition.
    The OCS Lands Act (at 43 U.S.C. 1346, Environmental Studies) 
instructs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct studies to establish 
environmental information as he deems necessary and to monitor the 
human, marine, and coastal environments. The purpose of the studies is 
to provide time-series and data trend information which can be used to 
identify any significant changes in the quality and productivity of 
such environments, to establish trends in the areas studied and 
monitored, and to design experiments to identify the causes of such 
changes. This authority and responsibility are among those delegated to 
MMS.
    MMS proposes to conduct a survey to examine the consequences of 
international labor on four port communities in southern Louisiana. The 
information collected will aid MMS in understanding the impact of 
foreign labor on the well-being of communities in southern Louisiana. 
The scientific information is needed to understand the concerns, fears, 
and desires of communities with respect to OCS activities, and it is 
necessary for successful operation of the OCS oil and gas program in 
the region.
    Questions in the survey will address the respondent's historical 
ties to the oil and gas industry; current views about his/her 
community, impact of the presence of foreign-born immigrants in the 
four communities, and background and household information.
    Responses are voluntary. No proprietary or items of a sensitive 
nature will be collected.
    Frequency: This will be a one-time data collection activity.
    Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 200 
randomly selected households in each of the four communities (800 
respondents).
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Hour'' Burden: 
Approximately 25 minutes per survey for the primary data collection 
effort. Follow-up discussions, when held, will average approximately 20 
minutes. The total annual burden is estimated at 340 hours (333 hours 
for primary survey + 7 hours for follow-up conversations).
    Estimated Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' 
Burden: We have identified no non-hour cost burdens to the respondents.
    Comments: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an agency 
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, 
a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB 
control number. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA requires each agency 
``* * * to provide

[[Page 38853]]

notice * * * and otherwise consult with members of the public and 
affected agencies concerning each proposed collection of information * 
* *''
    Agencies must specifically solicit comments to: (a) evaluate 
whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the 
agency to perform its duties, including whether the information is 
useful; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; 
and (d) minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them 
in our submission for OMB approval. As a result of your comments, we 
will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in our submission to 
OMB.

    Dated: June 12, 2000.
John V. Mirabella,
Acting Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.
[FR Doc. 00-15801 Filed 6-21-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P