[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 144 (Thursday, July 27, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42664-42665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-6502]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


30-Day Notice of Request for Clearance of Collection of 
Information to the Office of Management and Budget; Opportunity for 
Public Comment

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Under provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 5 
CFR part 1320, Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements, the National 
Park Service invites comments on a proposed new collection of 
information (1024-xxxx).

DATES: Public comments on the proposed Information Collection Request 
(ICR) will be accepted on or before thirty days from the date of 
publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments directly to the Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior (OMB 1024-xxxx), Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, by 
fax at 202-395-6566, or by electronic mail to [email protected]. 
Please also send, mail, or hand carry a copy of your comments and your 
request for a copy of the draft ``Application'' to James H. Charleton, 
Office of International Affairs, National Park Service, 1201 Eye 
Street, NW., (0050) Washington, DC 20005. E-mail: [email protected]. Phone: 202-354-1802. Fax 202-371-1446. 
All comments will be a matter of public record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James H. Charleton, 202-354-1802 or 
April Brooks, 202-354-1808. You are entitled to a copy of the entire 
ICR package free-of-charge.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Application for Inclusion of a Property in the U.S. World 
Heritage Tentative List.
    Bureau Form #: None.
    OMB Number: To be requested.
    Expiration Date: To be requested.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Description of Need: The primary purpose of the ICR is to gather 
the information necessary to evaluate the potential of properties for 
possible nomination by the United States to the World Heritage List by 
preparing a Tentative List of candidate sites. The World Heritage List 
is an international list of cultural and natural properties nominated 
by the signatories of the World Heritage Convention (1972). In 1973, 
the United States was the first nation to ratify the treaty. U.S. 
participation and the roles of the Department of the Interior and the 
National Park Service are authorized by Title IV of the Historic 
Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 and conducted in accordance with 36 
CFR part 73--World Heritage Convention.
    A Tentative List is a national list of natural and cultural 
properties appearing to meet the eligibility criteria for nomination to 
the World Heritage List. It is an annotated list of candidate sites 
which a country intends to nominate within a given time period.
    The World Heritage Committee has issued Operational Guidelines 
asking participating nations to provide Tentative Lists, which aid in 
evaluating properties for the World Heritage List on a comparative 
international basis and help the Committee to schedule its work over 
the long term. The Guidelines recommend that a nation review its 
Tentative List at least once every decade. The current U.S. Tentative 
List (formerly Indicative Inventory) dates to 1982.
    The new U.S. Tentative List will serve as a guide for at least the 
next decade 2009-2019) of U.S. nominations to the World Heritage List, 
commencing with nominations expected to be submitted in final form to 
the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO on or before February 1, 2009. The 
Tentative List will be structured so as to meet the World Heritage 
Committee's December 2004 request that the Tentative List allow for the 
nomination of no more than two sites per year by any one nation, at 
least one of which must be a natural site (excluding potential 
emergency nominations not at present foreseen).
    The National Park Service Office of International Affairs (NPS-OIA) 
and the George Wright Society (GWS) are working together under a 
cooperative agreement to prepare the new U.S. Tentative List. After 
various reviews and approvals and an opportunity for owners and the 
public to comment on the Tentative List and the accompanying 
explanatory essay, the Secretary of the Interior, through the Assistant 
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, will determine the 
composition of the new Tentative List and will submit it through the 
U.S. Department of State to the World Heritage Committee.
    The proposed ``Application'' invites owners and other preparers to 
document properties proposed for inclusion in the Tentative List and 
for potential nomination by the United States to the

[[Page 42665]]

World Heritage List. It is intended to demonstrate that the properties 
meet the World Heritage criteria established for inclusion by the World 
Heritage Committee and the other requirements, including those of U.S. 
domestic law (16 U.S.C. 470a-1, a-2, d) and the program regulations (36 
CFR part 73--World Heritage Convention). The documentation will be used 
directly to develop the Tentative List, to assist the completion of 
U.S. World Heritage nominations, and indirectly to assist in the 
conservation of the properties and for heritage education and 
interpretation.
    NPS specifically requests comments on: (1) The need for the 
information, including whether the information has practical utility; 
(2) the accuracy of the reporting burden hour estimate; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information being 
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of information 
collection on respondents, including the use of automated techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    Automated data collection: The ``Application'' can be submitted 
electronically by e-mail to the staff in the Office of International 
Affairs who are drafting the Tentative List and preparing the 
accompanying explanatory essay. Those without access to electronic 
means will be able to obtain copies of the ``Application'' and return 
them by mail.
    Description of respondents: Individual private property owners and 
groups of property owners and local, State, and Federal agency 
representatives/owners. Participation will be strictly voluntary and 
only respondent owners who submit, or who authorize to have submitted 
on their behalf, a completed ``Application * * *'' will have their 
sites fully considered for inclusion in the U.S. Tentative List.
    Estimated Annual Reporting Burden: (This is a one-time report that 
is not expected to be repeated for a number of years.) A total of 2000-
6000 hours depending on the balance between less complex sites and more 
complex ones. If, for example, 50 individual completed ``Applications'' 
are received, of which 35 are of single buildings (estimated at 40 
hours/per ``Application'') and 15 of more complex sites (at 120 hours 
each), the total burden hours would be 3200.
    Estimated Average Burden Hours per Response: Depending on the 
complexity of the site for which the ``Application'' for inclusion in 
the Tentative List is being prepared, the average burden hours per 
response may vary considerably because of many complex factors. In 
general, to fulfill minimum program requirements describing the 
property and demonstrating its ``outstanding universal value'' under 
the World Heritage criteria, the average burden hours will likely range 
from 40 hours for a single building ``Application'' to upward of 120 
hours for a more complex group of buildings or a natural area, such as 
a major national or state park unit or wildlife refuge.
    Estimated Average Number of Respondents: 50.
    Frequency of Response: 1 time per respondent.

    Dated: July 13, 2006.
Leonard E. Stowe,
NPS Information Collection Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 06-6502 Filed 7-26-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-M