[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 181 (Tuesday, September 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57586-57587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-22940]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Agency Information Collection; Proposed Revisions to a Currently 
Approved Information Collection

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of revisions.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation 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.

DATES: Submit written comments on the revised information collection on 
or before November 19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to or requests for copies of the 
proposed revised forms to the Bureau of Reclamation, Attention: 84-
53000, P.O. Box 25007, Denver, CO 80225-0007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie McPhee at (303) 445-2897.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    Identification of limited recipients--Some entities that receive 
Reclamation irrigation water may believe that they are under the 
Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (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.
    Trust review--In order to administer section 214 of the RRA and 43 
CFR 426.7, we are required to review and approve all trusts. Land held 
in trust generally will be attributed to the beneficiaries of the trust 
rather than the trustee if the criteria specified in the RRA and 43 CFR 
426.7 are met. We may extend the option to complete and submit for our 
review the Trust Information Sheet (Form 7-2537) instead of actual 
trust documents when we become aware of trusts with a relatively small 
landholding (40 acres or less in districts subject to the prior law 
provisions of Federal reclamation law, 240 acres or less in districts 
subject to the discretionary provisions of Federal reclamation law). 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.
    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 request those public entities 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.
    Acreage limitation provisions applicable to religious or charitable 
organizations--Some religious or charitable organizations that receive 
Reclamation irrigation water may

[[Page 57587]]

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.

II. Changes to the RRA Forms and Their Instructions

    The changes made to the currently approved RRA forms and the 
corresponding instructions are of an editorial nature, and are designed 
to assist the respondents by increasing their understanding of the 
forms, clarifying the instructions for completing the forms, and 
clarifying the information that is required to be on the forms. The 
proposed revisions to the Trust Information Sheet also include 
clarification of the 40-acre and 240-acre thresholds applicable to 
prior law districts and discretionary provisions districts, 
respectively. The proposed revisions to the RRA forms will be effective 
in the 2014 water year.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1006-0023.
    Title: Forms to Determine Compliance by Certain Landholders, 43 CFR 
part 426.
    Form Number: Form 7-2536, Form 7-2537, Form 7-2565, and Form 7-
2578.
    Frequency: Generally, these forms will be submitted only once per 
identified entity, trust, public entity, or religious or charitable 
organization. Each year, we expect new responses in accordance with the 
following numbers.
    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 Annual 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.
    Estimated Completion Time per Respondent: See table below.

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                                                      Burden                                      Annual  burden
                                                   estimate per      Number of    Annual  number        on
                    Form No.                         form (in       respondents    of  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
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    Totals......................................  ..............             500             500              72
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IV. Request for Comments

    We invite your comments 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 information collection 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.

V. Public Disclosure

    Before including your address, phone number, email 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 7, 2012.
Roseann Gonzales,
Director, Policy and Administration, Denver Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-22940 Filed 9-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P