Notice of Proposed Revisions to a Currently Approved Information Collection

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 175-176]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34380]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Notice of Proposed Revisions to a Currently Approved Information
Collection

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Reclamation (we, our, or us) intends to submit
the following proposed revised information collection to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.): Individual Landholder's
Certification and Reporting Forms for Acreage Limitation, 43 CFR Part
426, OMB Control Number: 1006-0005. This information collection is
required under the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982 (RRA), Acreage
Limitation Rules and Regulations, 43 CFR Part 426, and a proposed
rulemaking entitled: Information Requirements for Certain Farm
Operations In Excess of 960 Acres and the Eligibility of Certain
Formerly Excess Land, 43 CFR Part 428. We request your comments on the
revised RRA forms and specific aspects of the information collection.

DATES: Your written comments must be received on or before March 5,
1999.

ADDRESSES: You may send written comments to the Bureau of Reclamation,
Attention: D-5200, PO Box 25007, Denver, CO 80225-0007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
You may request copies of the proposed revised forms by writing to the
above address or by contacting Marilyn Rehfeld at: (303) 445-2899.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Changes to the RRA forms and the instructions to those forms.

We made a few changes to the current RRA forms and rewrote the
instructions to those forms in ``plain language'' to meet the
requirements of the President's June 1, 1998, memorandum. Other changes
to the forms and the instructions to the forms are editorial in nature
and are designed to increase the respondents' understanding of the
forms, instructions to the forms, and what information is required to
be submitted with the forms to the districts. The proposed revisions to
the RRA forms will be included starting in the 2000 water year.

Draft of a new RRA form.

We published a proposed rulemaking, 43 CFR Part 428, in the Federal
Register

[[Page 176]]

on November 18, 1998 (63 FR 64154, Nov. 18, 1998), and requested
comments on the proposed rule and the information collection to be
submitted to us by January 19, 1999. The proposed rulemaking requires
farm operators who provide services to more than 960 nonexempt acres
westwide, held by a single trust or legal entity or any combination of
trusts and legal entities to submit RRA forms to the district(s) where
such land is located. We requested comments from the public on whether
to revise an existing RRA form or create a new form for farm operators
to prepare.
Just in case, if the rule is finalized and it is determined that
farm operators will be required to submit a separate form, we have
prepared a draft of this form for review and comment (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT). We have included the estimated burden for the
draft farm operator form (Form 7-21FARMOP) in this notice. Farm
operators are not required to submit an RRA form to their district
until the proposed rulemaking is published as a final rule in the
Federal Register.
Title: Individual Landholder's Certification and Reporting Forms
for Acreage Limitation, 43 CFR Part 426.
Abstract: This information collection requires certain landholders
to complete forms demonstrating their compliance with the acreage
limitation provisions of Federal reclamation law. These forms are
submitted to districts who use the information to establish each
landholder's status with respect to landownership limitations, full-
cost pricing thresholds, lease requirements, and other provisions of
Federal reclamation law. All landholders whose entire westwide
landholdings total 40 acres or less are exempt from the requirement to
submit RRA forms. Landholders who are ``qualified recipients'' have RRA
forms submittal thresholds of 80 acres or 240 acres depending on the
district's RRA forms submittal threshold caregory where the land is
held.
Frequency: Annually.
Respondents: Landholders (direct or indirect landowners or lessees)
and farm operators of certain lands in Bureau of Reclamation projects,
whose landholdings exceed specified RRA forms submittal thresholds.
Estimated Total Number of Respondents: 19,202.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.02.
Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 19,586.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 14,829 hours.
Estimate of Burden for Each Form:

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Burden
estimate per Number of Annual number Annual burden
Form no. form (in respondents of responses on respondents
minutes) (in hours)
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Form 7-2180..................................... 60 5,358 5,465 5,465
Form 7-2180EZ................................... 45 537 548 411
Form 7-2181..................................... 78 1,758 1,793 2,331
Form 7-2184..................................... 45 40 41 31
Form 7-2190..................................... 60 1,910 1,948 1,948
Form 7-2190EZ................................... 45 113 115 86
Form 7-2191..................................... 78 891 909 1,182
Form 7-2194..................................... 45 4 4 3
Form 7-21PE..................................... 66 205 209 230
Form 7-21TRUST.................................. 60 1,331 1,358 1,358
Form 7-21VERIFY................................. 12 6,452 6,581 1,316
Form 7-21FC..................................... 30 243 248 124
Form 7-21XS..................................... 30 164 167 84
Form 7-21FARMOP................................. 78 196 200 260
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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 to this notice and any
comments regarding this information collection received during the
comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking. We will publish
that summary in the Federal Register when the information collection
request is submitted to OMB for review and approval.

Dated: December 18, 1998.
Alonzo D. Knapp,
Acting Director, Program Analysis Office.
[FR Doc. 98-34380 Filed 12-31-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-94-M

Notice of Proposed Revisions to a Currently Approved Information Collection

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