Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Forms To Determine Compliance by Certain Landholders, 75023-75024 [2023-24029]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Reclamation

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 210 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75023-75024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24029]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Reclamation

[RR83550000, 234R5065C6, RX.59389832.1009676; OMB Control Number 1006-
0023]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Forms To 
Determine Compliance by Certain Landholders

AGENCY: Bureau of Reclamation, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, 
the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), are proposing to renew an 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 1, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently Under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. Please 
provide a copy of your comments to Janice Perez, Bureau of Reclamation, 
at [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control Number 1006-0023 
in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request additional information 
about this information collection request (ICR), contact Janice Perez 
by email at [email protected], or by telephone at (303) 817-4477. 
Individuals who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech 
disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services. You may also view the ICR at https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and 5 CFR 1320.8(d)(1), we 
provide the general public and other Federal agencies with an 
opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.
    A Federal Register notice with a 60-day public comment period 
soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on 
July 10, 2023 (88 FR 43629). No comments were received.
    As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent 
burdens, we are again soliciting comments from the public and other 
Federal agencies on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are 
especially interested in public comment addressing the following:
    (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
    (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection 
of information, including the validity of the methodology and 
assumptions used;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of 
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, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of response.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. Before including your address, phone number, email 
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.
    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 law. The Limited Recipient 
Identification Sheet is disbursed at our discretion.
    Trust review--In order to administer section 214 of the RRA and 43 
CFR 426.7, we are required to review and approve all trusts. Land held 
in trust generally will be attributed to the beneficiaries of the trust 
rather than the trustee if the criteria specified in the RRA and 43 CFR 
426.7 are met. We may extend the option to complete and submit for our 
review the Trust Information Sheet (Form 7-2537) instead of actual 
trust documents when

[[Page 75024]]

we become aware of trusts with a relatively small landholding (40 acres 
or less in districts subject to the prior law provisions of Federal 
reclamation law, 240 acres or less in districts subject to the 
discretionary provisions of Federal reclamation law). 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.
    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 request those public entities 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.
    Acreage limitation provisions applicable to religious or charitable 
organizations--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 
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.
    Title of Collection: Forms to Determine Compliance by Certain 
Landholders, 43 CFR part 426.
    OMB Control Number: 1006-0023.
    Form Numbers: Form 7-2536, Form 7-2537, Form 7-2565, and Form 7-
2578.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: 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.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 125.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 125.
    Estimated Completion Time per Response: See table below.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 15 hours.
    Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.

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                                                    Burden
                                                 estimate per      Number of     Annual number  Annual burden on
                     Form                          form (in       respondents    of responses    respondents (in
                                                   minutes)                                          hours)
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Limited Recipient Identification Sheet........               5              50              50                 4
Trust Information Sheet.......................               5              50              50                 4
Public Entity Information Sheet...............              15              15              15                 4
Religious or Charitable Identification Sheet..              15              10              10                 3
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    Totals....................................  ..............             125             125                15
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    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.
    The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Matthew Tracy,
Acting Director, Mission Assurance and Protection Organization.
[FR Doc. 2023-24029 Filed 10-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4332-90-P