Agency information collection activities: Submission for OMB review; comment request,

[Federal Register: December 21, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 244)]

[Notices]

[Page 71492-71493]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr21de99-104]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, comment, and approval. The ICR describes the nature of the information collection and its expected cost and burden.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before January 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the information collection to the following addresses: Mr. Larry Schluntz, Bureau of Reclamation, Reclamation Law and Revenues Office, D-5200, P.O. Box 25007, Denver, CO 80225, and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior, 725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20503.

Our practice is to make comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public review. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address from pubic disclosure, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold a respondent's identity from public disclosure, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public disclosure in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or a copy of the forms contact Larry Schluntz, Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 25007, Denver, CO 80225; telephone: (303) 445-2901.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Crop Acreage and Yields and Water Distribution (OMB Control No. 1006-0001). This is a request for a reinstatement of a previous data collection with changes. The titles of the forms and the form numbers associated with this information collection are: Form 7-332, Water User Crop Census Report, and Form 7-2045, Crop and Water Data. Since this is a request for reinstatement of a previously approved collection of information, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) decided it would be less confusing for the public to use the earlier titles for these forms.

Abstract: The annual crop census is taken on all Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) projects, along with collection of related statistics, primarily for use as a tool in administering, managing, and evaluating the Federal reclamation program. The census is used to assist in the administration of repayment and water service contracts which are used to repay the irrigators obligation to the Federal Government. Data from the census also are utilized to determine Class 1 equivalency computations, i.e., determining the number of acres of Class 2 and 3 land that are required to be equivalent in productivity to Class 1 land. Crop production data are also used to analyze the double subsidy occurring on Reclamation project lands. Double subsidies occur when an irrigator receives interest-free irrigation water and is also eligible for farm program payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In recent years, the census has provided data which are used to administer international trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. Data from the census are also used by the Office of the Inspector General, General Accounting Office, and the Congressional Research Service to independently evaluate the Reclamation program and to estimate the impacts of proposed legislation. These data are also supplied to other Federal and State agencies to evaluate the program and provide data for research. The census will provide data to provide the required 5-year review of ability-to-pay analysis which is being incorporated into new repayment and water service contracts. The basis for these reviews is an audit by the Office of the Inspector General, Department of the Interior.

Burden: The respondent burden is estimated at 6,250 hours for farmers and 1,800 for irrigation districts. These estimates are derived as follows. There are an estimated 50,000 farm operators in the sampling universe and if a 50 percent sampling rate is assumed there will be 25,000 respondents in any given year. It is estimated that each respondent will require 15 minutes to complete the form. In most cases, the individual irrigators will have the requested data of crop production and yields in their own records and it only takes a few minutes to transfer these data to the respondent form. This yields an estimated 6,250 hours. In addition, the irrigation districts compile the individual responses into a district-wide response which is submitted to Reclamation. It is estimated that each of the 225 districts will require 8 hours to complete this compilation, which is a total of 1,800 burden hours for the districts. The overall total is estimated at 8,050 burden hours.

Respondents/Affected entities: Irrigators who receive irrigation water from Bureau of Reclamation projects and irrigation districts.

[[Page 71493]]

Estimated number of respondents: Estimated 50,000 irrigators in the universe; reporting burden estimate based on a 50 percent sample or 25,000 respondents annually. Approximately 225 districts will consolidate the respondent data and provide a summarized report annually to Reclamation.

Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 6,250 hours for irrigators and 1,800 hours for irrigation districts.

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

An agency 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. Reclamation will display a valid OMB control number on the survey forms. A Federal Register notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of information was published in the Federal Register (63 FR 10243, Mar. 2, 1998). Reclamation did not receive any comments on this collection of information during the comment period.

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.

OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove this information collection, but may respond after 30 days; therefore, public comment should be submitted to OMB within 30 days in order to assure maximize consideration. Murlin Coffey, Manager, Property and Office Services.

[FR Doc. 99-32981Filed12-20-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310-94-M