[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27340-27341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13376]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary


Office of Policy Analysis; Proposed Information Collection; Non-
use Valuation Survey, Klamath Basin

AGENCY: U.S. Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (The Department of the Interior) will ask the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the Information Collection (IC) 
described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 
as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take 
this opportunity to comment on this IC. We 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.

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry comments to the Department of the 
Interior, Office of Policy Analysis, Attention: Don Bieniewicz, Mail 
Stop 3530; 1849 C Street, NW., Washington,

[[Page 27341]]

DC 20240. If you wish to e-mail comments, the e-mail address is 
[email protected]. Reference ``Klamath non-use value 
survey'' in your e-mail subject line. Include your name and return 
address in your e-mail message and mark your message for return 
receipt.

DATES: Public comments will be accepted on or before August 10, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Benjamin Simon, Acting Director, 
Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department of the Interior telephone at 
202-208-5978 or by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The Klamath River provides habitat for fall and spring run Chinook 
salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), 
steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), green sturgeon (Acipenser 
medirostris), Pacific lamprey (Lampetra tridentate), and Pacific 
eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus). Some of these species are important 
components of non-tribal harvest (e.g., fall Chinook, steelhead), some 
have important subsistence and cultural value to Klamath Basin tribes 
(e.g., salmon, sturgeon, lamprey, eulachon), and some are at low levels 
of abundance or ESA-listed (e.g., spring Chinook, lamprey, coho, 
eulachon). In addition to its importance as fish habitat, the Klamath 
River also provides water to agriculture through the Bureau of 
Reclamation's Klamath Irrigation Project. Oversubscription of Klamath 
water has thwarted recovery of depressed fish stocks and led to 
economic hardship for farming and fishing communities--prompting 
federal disaster relief for farmers in 2001 and for fishermen in 2006.
    In November 2008 the U.S. Government, the States of Oregon and 
California, and the utility company PacifiCorp signed an agreement in 
principle (AIP) to remove four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River 
by 2020. Dam removal is being considered a viable alternative to 
volitional fish passage (ladders and screens), which was being 
considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as a 
condition for relicensing of PacifiCorp's hydroelectric project. 
Parties to the AIP are working with stakeholders (including tribes, 
fishers, farmers, conservation groups, and local governments) to reach 
a final agreement that would result in the largest dam removal project 
in U.S. history. If achieved, this agreement will be part of a 
comprehensive solution to species recovery, water allocation, and water 
quality problems in the Klamath Basin.
    In October 2011 the Secretary of the Interior is expected to make a 
final determination regarding dam removal, contingent on results of an 
economic analysis that will address benefits, costs, and distributional 
effects of dam removal relative to volitional fish passage.
    Dam removal is expected to have positive long-term effects on the 
viability of fish populations and other aspects of the Klamath Basin 
ecosystem. Benefits of these environmental improvements include ``non-
use values,'' which accrue to members of the public who value such 
improvements regardless of whether they ever consume Klamath fish or 
visit the Klamath Basin. An information collection is planned in order 
to implement a state-of-the-art non-use valuation survey of the U.S. 
public that addresses the incremental environmental improvements of dam 
removal relative to volitional fish passage. This data collection is 
intended to address one component of an economic analysis that will 
include all costs and benefits of dam removal relative to volitional 
fish passage.

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                                             Estimated
                                             number of       Responses
                                           burden hours
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Klamath non-use value survey............          3,000           6,000
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II. Data

    OMB Control Number: None. This is a new collection.
    Title: Non-Use Valuation Survey, Klamath River Dam Removal.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Request: New.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: One time.
    Estimate Annual Number of Respondents: 6,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 6,000.
    Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 3,000.

III. Request for Comments

    We invite comments concerning this IC on: (1) Whether or not the 
collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the 
information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of our 
estimate of the burden for this collection of information; (3) ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be 
collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents. Comments that you submit in response to 
this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize 
each comment in our request to OMB to approve this IC. Before including 
your address, phone 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: June 3, 2009.
Benjamin M. Simon,
Acting Director, Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department of the 
Interior.
[FR Doc. E9-13376 Filed 6-8-09; 8:45 am]
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