[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8617-8618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2322]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Revisions to a 
Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of renewal of a currently approved collection (OMB No. 
1006-0001).

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces the following Information 
Collection Request (ICR) has been forwarded to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for review and approval: Crop Acreage and Yields and 
Water Distribution (Water User Crop Census Report [Form 7-332], and 
Crop and Water Data [Form 7-2045]), OMB Control Number: 1006-0001. The 
ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected 
cost burden.

DATES: Your written comments must be received on or before March 20, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any 
other aspect of the information collection, including suggestions for 
reducing the burden, to the Desk Officer for the Department of the 
Interior at the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs, via facsimile to (202) 395-6566 or e-mail to 
[email protected]. A copy of your comments should also be 
directed to the Bureau of Reclamation, Attention: D-5300, PO Box 25007, 
Denver, CO 80225-0007. You may request copies of the proposed forms by 
writing to the above address or by contacting Stephanie McPhee at: 
(303) 445-2897.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or a copy of 
the proposed forms contact Stephanie McPhee at: (303) 445-2897.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are currently in the process of 
collaborating with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop 
a way to utilize USDA's existing information collection(s) to gather 
the data required for our purposes. However, this collaboration effort 
will not be completed before the expiration of the crop census forms in 
this information collection. Consequently, this information collection 
is being renewed as an interim measure to ensure a means exists for 
collection of the crop data necessary to perform our functions. We 
anticipate that the collaboration process with the USDA will be 
complete before further renewal of this information collection is 
required.
    Title: Crop Acreage and Yields and Water Distribution.
    Abstract: The annual crop census is taken on certain Reclamation 
projects primarily for use as a tool in administering, managing, and 
evaluating various aspects of the Federal reclamation program. The 
census is used to assist in the administration of repayment and water 
service contracts, which are used to repay the irrigators' obligation 
to the Federal government. The census will provide data to facilitate 
the required 5-year review of ability-to-pay analysis, which is being 
incorporated into new repayment and water service contracts. The basis 
for these reviews is an audit by the Office of the Inspector General, 
Department of the Interior.
    Data from the census are utilized to determine class 1 equivalency 
computation; i.e., determining the number of acres of class 2 and class 
3 land that are required to be equivalent in productivity to class 1 
land.
    In recent years, the census has provided data which are used to 
administer international trade agreements, such as the North American 
Free Trade Agreement. Data from the census are also used by the Office 
of the Inspector General, Government Accountability Office, and the 
Congressional Research Service to independently evaluate our program 
and to estimate the impacts of proposed legislation. These data are 
supplied to other Federal and State agencies to evaluate the program 
and provide data for research.
    The required 60-day comment period was initiated by a notice 
published in the Federal Register on September 19, 2005 (70 FR 54960, 
Sept. 19, 2005). No comments were received in response to the 60-day 
comment period.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Respondents: Irrigators and water user entities in the 17 Western 
states who receive irrigation water service from Bureau of Reclamation 
facilities. Also included are entities who receive other water 
services, such as municipal and industrial water through Bureau of 
Reclamation facilities.
    Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 1,325.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.0.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 1,325.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,075 hours.

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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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Water User Crop Census Report (Form 7-332)......            0.25           1,100           1,100             275
Crop and Water Data (Form 7-2045)...............            8.00             225             225           1,800
                                                 -----------------
    Total: Estimate of Burden for Each Form.....  ..............           1,325           1,325           2,075
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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, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (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.

[[Page 8618]]

    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. Reclamation will display a valid 
OMB control number on the crop census forms.
    OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove this information 
collection, but may respond after 30 days; therefore, public comment 
should be submitted to OMB within 30 days in order to assure maximum 
consideration.
    Department of the Interior practice is to make comments, including 
names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review. 
Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address 
from public disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by 
law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a 
respondent's identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If 
you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. 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 disclosure in their entirety.

Roseann Gonzales,
Director, Office of Program and Policy Services, Denver Office.
 [FR Doc. E6-2322 Filed 2-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P