Federal Register: February 26, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 38)NoticesPage 9857-9858From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr26fe98-80

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

OR-938-6330-01 24 1AExtension of Currently Approved Information Collection; OMB Approval Number: 1004-0173

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces its intention to request extension of approval to collect information from those contractors who are awarded contracts under the Jobs-in-the-Woods Program. This program was created through the President's Northwest Economic Adjustment Initiative to create jobs in the timber-impacted communities of Washington State, Oregon and northern California. BLM collects this information to gauge the effectiveness of the Jobs-in-the-Woods Program in achieving its intent of employing workers displaced by severe reductions in timber harvests in the northwestern United States in recent years.

DATES: Submit comments on the proposed information collection by April 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to: Bureau of Land Management, Oregon State Office (OR-910), 1515 SW Th Ave., Portland, Oregon 97201, or by way of Internet to brheiner@or.blm.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Rheiner, Jr., (503) 952-6015.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320.12(a), B.M. is required to provide 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning an approved collection of information to solicit comments on: (1) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of collecting the information, including the validity of methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collecting the information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. BLM will receive and analyze any comments sent in response to this notice and include them with its request for approval from the Office of Management and Budget under 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

The Jobs-in-the-Woods Program is a result of the President's Northwest Initiative to provide funding for assisting workers displaced by reduced logging activities on public lands in the Pacific northwest. The funding is intended for jobs which would restore forest ecosystems in the region. The Jobs-in-the-Woods Employment Evaluation, which is the subject of this information collection, consists of four items of information to be requested in each Jobs-in-the-Woods contract issued. The BLM Contracting Officer supplies the contractors with these four items before each Jobs-in-the-Woods contract is signed. The four items are: (1) The number of workers employed on the contract, including managers, supervisors and support personnel; (2) the number of days these workers worked on the contract, the total being based on an 8- hour work day; (3) the total amount of wages and benefits paid to these workers; and (4) the number of workers, if any, considered to be displaced timber workers. Each contractor must submit responses to these items to BLM's Contracting Officer, along with the final invoice, before being paid the final contract amount.

BLM and other Federal land management agencies, as well as Administration officials and Congress,

[Page 9858]use this information to gauge the effectiveness of the Jobs-in-the- Woods Program in employing displaced timber workers and in restoring damaged forest ecosystems.

Based on past experience, BLM estimates that approximately 125 contractors will spend 8 hours each reading the instructions, collecting the data and reporting the data to BLM. The total estimated information burden is 1,000 hours. The frequency of response is once, as a condition of receiving final payment on each contract.

Dated: February 23, 1998. Carole J. Smith, Information Collection Officer.

FR Doc. 98-4913Filed2-25-98; 8:45 amBILLING CODE 4310-84-M