[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 207 (Friday, October 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63507-63508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25429]



[[Page 63507]]

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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. 
1006-0023).

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Bureau of Reclamation (we, our, or us) 
intends to submit a request for renewal (with revisions) of an existing 
approved information collection to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB): Forms to Determine Compliance by Certain Landholders, 43 CFR 
part 426, OMB Control Number: 1006-0023. We request your comments on 
the proposed Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (RRA) forms and specific 
aspects of the information collection.

DATES: Your written comments must be received on or before December 23, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: You may send written comments to the Bureau of Reclamation, 
Attention: 84-53000, P.O. 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: Stephanie McPhee at: (303) 445-2897.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Forms to Determine Compliance by Certain Landholders, 43 CFR 
part 426.
    Abstract: Identification of limited recipients--Some entities that 
receive Reclamation irrigation water may believe that they are under 
the RRA forms submittal threshold and, consequently, may not submit the 
appropriate RRA form(s). However, some of these entities may in fact 
have a different RRA forms submittal threshold than what they believe 
it to be due to the number of natural persons benefiting from each 
entity and the location of the land held by each entity. In addition, 
some entities that are exempt from the requirement to submit RRA forms 
due to the size of their landholdings (directly and indirectly owned 
and leased land) may in fact be receiving Reclamation irrigation water 
for which the full-cost rate must be paid because the start of 
Reclamation irrigation water deliveries occurred after October 1, 1981 
[43 CFR 426.6(b)(2)]. The information obtained through completion of 
the Limited Recipient Identification Sheet (Form 7-2536) allows us to 
establish entities' compliance with Federal reclamation law. The 
Limited Recipient Identification Sheet is disbursed at our discretion. 
The proposed revisions to the Limited Recipient Identification Sheet 
will be included starting in the 2010 water year, and are designed to 
facilitate ease of completion.
    Trust review--We are required to review and approve all trusts [43 
CFR 426.7(b)(2)] in order to ensure trusts meet the regulatory criteria 
specified in 43 CFR 426.7. Land held in trust generally will be 
attributed to the beneficiaries of the trust rather than the trustee if 
the criteria are met. When we become aware of trusts with a relatively 
small landholding (40 acres or less), we may extend to those trusts the 
option to complete and submit for our review the Trust Information 
Sheet (Form 7-2537) instead of actual trust documents. If we find 
nothing on the completed Trust Information Sheet that would warrant the 
further investigation of a particular trust, that trustee will not be 
burdened with submitting trust documents to us for in-depth review. The 
Trust Information Sheet is disbursed at our discretion. The proposed 
revisions to the Trust Information Sheet will be included starting in 
the 2010 water year, and are designed to facilitate ease of completion.
    Acreage limitation provisions applicable to public entities--Land 
farmed by a public entity can be considered exempt from the application 
of the acreage limitation provisions provided the public entity meets 
certain criteria pertaining to the revenue generated through the 
entity's farming activities (43 CFR 426.10 and the Act of July 7, 1970, 
Pub. L. 91-310). We are required to ascertain whether or not public 
entities that receive Reclamation irrigation water meet such revenue 
criteria regardless of how much land the public entities hold (directly 
or indirectly own or lease) [43 CFR 426.10(a)]. In order to minimize 
the burden on public entities, standard RRA forms are submitted by a 
public entity only when the public entity holds more than 40 acres 
subject to the acreage limitation provisions westwide, which makes it 
difficult to apply the revenue criteria as required to those public 
entities that hold less than 40 acres. When we become aware of such 
public entities, we may extend to those public entities the option to 
complete and submit for our review the Public Entity Information Sheet 
(Form 7-2565), which allows us to establish compliance with Federal 
reclamation law for those public entities that hold 40 acres or less 
and thus do not submit a standard RRA form because they are below the 
RRA forms submittal threshold. In addition, for those public entities 
that do not meet the exemption criteria, we must determine the proper 
rate to charge for Reclamation irrigation water deliveries. The Public 
Entity Information Sheet is disbursed at our discretion. The proposed 
revisions to the Public Entity Information Sheet will be effective 
starting in the 2010 water year and are designed to facilitate ease of 
completion.
    Acreage limitation provisions applicable to religious or charitable 
organizations--Some religious or charitable organizations that receive 
Reclamation irrigation water may believe that they are under the RRA 
forms submittal threshold and, consequently, may not submit the 
appropriate RRA form(s). However, some of these organizations may in 
fact have a different RRA forms submittal threshold than what they 
believe it to be depending on whether these organizations meet all of 
the required criteria for full special application of the acreage 
limitations provisions to religious or charitable organizations [43 CFR 
426.9(b)]. In addition, some organizations that (1) do not meet the 
criteria to be treated as a religious or charitable organization under 
the acreage limitation provisions, and (2) are exempt from the 
requirement to submit RRA forms due to the size of their landholdings 
(directly and indirectly owned and leased land), may in fact be 
receiving Reclamation irrigation water for which the full-cost rate 
must be paid because the start of Reclamation irrigation water 
deliveries occurred after October 1, 1981 [43 CFR 426.6(b)(2)]. The 
Religious or Charitable Organization Identification Sheet (Form 7-2578) 
allows us to establish certain religious or charitable organizations' 
compliance with Federal reclamation law. The Religious or Charitable 
Organization Identification Sheet is disbursed at our discretion. The 
proposed revisions to the Religious or Charitable Organization Sheet 
will be effective starting in the 2010 water year and are designed to 
facilitate ease of completion.
    Frequency: Generally, these forms will be submitted once per 
identified entity, trust, public entity, or religious or charitable 
organization. Each year, we expect new responses in accordance with the 
following numbers.

[[Page 63508]]

    Respondents: Entity landholders, trusts, public entities, and 
religious or charitable organizations identified by Reclamation that 
are subject to the acreage limitation provisions of Federal reclamation 
law.
    Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 500.
    Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.0.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 500.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 72 hours.

                                        Estimate of Burden for Each Form
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                                                                 Burden
                                                                estimate                   Annual       Annual
                          Form No.                              per form    Number of    number of    burden on
                                                                  (in      respondents   responses   respondents
                                                                minutes)                              (in hours)
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Limited Recipient Identification Sheet......................            5          175          175           15
Trust Information Sheet.....................................            5          150          150           13
Public Entity Information Sheet.............................           15          100          100           25
Religious or Charitable Identification Sheet................           15           75           75           19
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
    Total...................................................  ...........          500          500           72
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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;
    (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, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology.
    We will summarize all comments received regarding this notice. We 
will publish that summary in the Federal Register when the information 
collection request is submitted to OMB for review and approval.
    Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Dated: September 26, 2008.
Roseann Gonzales,
Director, Policy and Program Services, Denver Office.
 [FR Doc. E8-25429 Filed 10-23-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P