Agency Information Collection; Activities Under OMB Review; Comment Request, 28059-28061 [E9-13844]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Reclamation
• Reclamation Bureau

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 112 (Friday, June 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28059-28061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13844]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation


Agency Information Collection; Activities Under OMB Review; 
Comment Request

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of renewal of a currently approved collection (OMB No. 
1006-0023).

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces the Bureau of Reclamation 
(we, our, or us) has forwarded the following Information Collection 
Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval: Forms to Determine Compliance by Certain Landholders, 43 
CFR part 426, OMB Control Number: 1006-0023.

DATES: OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove this information 
collection, but may respond after 30 days; therefore, public comments 
must be received on or before July 13, 2009 to assure maximum 
consideration.

ADDRESSES: You may send written comments regarding the burden estimate, 
or any other aspect of the information collection, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Desk Officer for the 
Department of the Interior at the Office of Management and Budget, 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, via facsimile to (202) 
395-5806 or e-mail to OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov. A copy of your comments 
should also be directed 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: 
    Title: Forms to Determine Compliance by Certain Landholders, 43 CFR 
part 426.
    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

[[Page 28060]]

law. The Limited Recipient Identification Sheet is disbursed at our 
discretion. The proposed revisions to the Limited Recipient 
Identification Sheet will be included starting in the 2010 water year, 
and are designed to facilitate ease of completion.
    Trust review--We are required to review and approve all trusts [43 
CFR 426.7(b)(2)] in order to ensure trusts meet the regulatory criteria 
specified in 43 CFR 426.7. Land held in trust generally will be 
attributed to the beneficiaries of the trust rather than the trustee if 
the criteria are met. When we become aware of trusts with a relatively 
small landholding (40 acres or less), we may extend to those trusts the 
option to complete and submit for our review the Trust Information 
Sheet (Form 7-2537) instead of actual trust documents. 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. The proposed 
revisions to the Trust Information Sheet will be included starting in 
the 2010 water year, and are designed to facilitate ease of completion.
    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 may extend to those public entities the option to 
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. The proposed 
revisions to the Public Entity Information Sheet will be effective 
starting in the 2010 water year and are designed to facilitate ease of 
completion.
    Acreage limitation provisions applicable to religious or charitable 
organizations (new form)--Some religious or charitable organizations 
that receive Reclamation irrigation water may 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 information obtained through completion of 
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. The proposed revisions to the Religious or Charitable 
Organization Identification Sheet will be included starting in the 2010 
water year, and are designed to facilitate ease of completion.
    Changes to the forms and the instructions to those forms--Minor 
editorial changes were made to the currently approved forms and the 
instructions to those forms prior to the 60-day comment period 
initiated by the notice published in the Federal Register (73 FR 63507, 
Oct. 24, 2008). Those changes were designed to assist the respondents 
by increasing their understanding of the forms, clarifying the 
instructions for use when completing the forms, and clarifying the 
information that is required to be submitted with the forms. We 
received no public comments from the 60-day public comment period. The 
proposed revisions to the forms will be included starting in the 2010 
water year.
    Frequency: Generally, these forms will be submitted 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 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.

                                        Estimate of Burden for Each Form
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                                                                                      Burden
                                     Estimated     Frequency of    Total annual    estimate per    Total burden
            Form name                number of       response        responses       form (in          hours
                                    respondents                                      minutes)
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Limited Recipient Identification             175            1.00             175               5              15
 Sheet..........................
Trust Information Sheet.........             150            1.00             150               5              13
Public Entity Information Sheet.             100            1.00             100              15              25
Religious or Charitable                       75            1.00              75              15              19
 Identification Sheet...........
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    Total.......................             500            1.00             500  ..............              72
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[[Page 28061]]

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.
    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 RRA forms. A Federal Register notice with a 
60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of 
information was published in the Federal Register (73 FR 63507, Oct. 
24, 2008). No public comments were received.
    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 maximum 
consideration.
    Before including your address, telephone number, e-mail 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: April 21, 2009.
Richard W. Rizzi,
Acting Director, Program and Policy Services, Denver Office.
[FR Doc. E9-13844 Filed 6-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MN-P