[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42981-42982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17580]


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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. 65, No. 134 / Wednesday, July 12, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 42981]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Information Collection; Request for Comments; Disposal of Mineral 
Materials

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 extend an approved 
information collection with change. The following two forms are 
authorized under Office of Management and Budget number 0596-0081: R1-
FS-2850-1-Application/Permit and FS-2800-9-Contract for the Sale of 
Mineral Materials. The agency is requesting an authorization extension 
for FS-2800-9 only.
    The information collected using the form, FS-2800-9, enables the 
Forest Service to ensure that individuals, organizations, companies, or 
corporations conducting mining operations on National Forest System 
lands, conduct the operations in a manner consistent with all 
applicable land management laws and regulations in an environmentally 
responsible manner and are financially accountable.

DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before September 11, 
2000.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Director, Minerals and Geology 
Management Staff, (Mail Stop 1126), Forest Service, USDA, PO Box 96090, 
Washington, DC 20090-6090.
    Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (202) 205-1243 or 
by e-mail to [email protected].
    The public may inspect comments in the Office of the Director, 
Minerals and Geology Management Staff, Forest Service, USDA, 201 14th 
Street, SW, Washington, D.C. To facilitate entrance into the building, 
visitors are encouraged to call (202) 205-1042.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mike Greeley, Minerals and Geology 
Management, at (202) 205-1237.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mineral Materials Act of 1947, as amended, and the Multiple Use 
Mining Act of 1955, as amended, authorize the Secretary of Agriculture 
to dispose of petrified wood and common varieties of sand, stone, 
gravel, pumice, pumicite, cinders, clay, and other similar materials on 
lands administered by the Forest Service. Individuals, organizations, 
companies, or corporations may apply for a permit to mine these mineral 
materials using the form, FS-2800-9-Contract for the Sale of Mineral 
Materials.
    In past years, the Forest Service requested authorization for two 
forms for prospecting or mining mineral materials using Office of 
Management and Budget number 0596-0081: R1-FS-2850-1-Application/Permit 
and FS-2800-9-Contract for the Sale of Mineral Materials. R-1-FS-2850-
1-Application/Permit is a Forest Service regional form; the agency is 
not requesting an authorization extension for this form. FS-2800-9-
Contract for the Sale of Mineral Materials is a Forest Service national 
form; the agency is requesting an authorization extension for this 
form.

Description of Information Collection

    The following describes the information collection to be extended:
    Title: FS-2800-9, Contract for the Sale of Mineral Materials.
    OMB Number: 0596-0081.
    Expiration Date of Approval: August 2000.
    Type of Request: Extension of an information collection approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget.
    Abstract: The collected information enables the Forest Service to 
document planned operations, to prescribe the terms and conditions the 
agency deems necessary to protect surface resources, and to effect a 
binding contract agreement.
    Forest Service employees also will evaluate the collected 
information to ensure that entities, applying to mine petrified wood 
and common varieties of sand, stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, cinders, 
clay, and other similar materials on lands administered by the Forest 
Service, are financially accountable and conduct their activities in 
accordance with the mineral regulations at part 228, subpart C, of 
title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
    Individuals, organizations, companies, or corporations, interested 
in mining mineral materials on National Forest System lands, may 
contact their local Forest Service office to inquire about 
opportunities and to learn about areas on which such activities are 
permitted. Interested parties also may request the form, FS-2800-9, at 
this time.
    Individuals, organizations, companies, or corporations are asked to 
provide information that includes the purchaser's name and address, the 
location and dimensions of the area to be mined, the kind of material 
that will be mined, the quantity of material that will be mined, the 
sales price of the mined material, the payment schedule, the amount of 
the bond, and the period of the contract.
    Data collected in this information collection are not available 
from other sources.
    Estimate of Burden: 2.5 hours.
    Type of Respondents: Mineral materials operators.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 1,000.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,500 hours.

Comment is Invited

    The agency invites comments on the following: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the 
information will have practical 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.

[[Page 42982]]

Use of Comments

    All comments, including name and address 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 6, 2000.
James R. Furnish,
Deputy Chief for National Forest System.
[FR Doc. 00-17580 Filed 7-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-U