Notice of Proposed Revisions to a Currently Approved Information Collection

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

Notice of Proposed Revisions to a Currently Approved Information

Collection

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Burden

estimate per Number of Annual number Annual burden

Form no. form (in respondents of responses on respondents

minutes) (in hours)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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