Agency Information Collection Activities; Industrial Minerals Surveys

AGENCY:

U.S. Geological Survey, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before September 7, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on the information collection request (ICR) by mail to the USGS, Information Collections Officer, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 159, Reston, VA 20192; or by email to gs-info_collections@usgs.gov. Please reference OMB Control Number 1028-0062 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Elizabeth Sangine by email at escottsangine@usgs.gov, or by telephone at 703-648-7720.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on 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.

We are soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary for USGS to perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) how to minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. 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 may 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: Respondents to these forms supply the USGS with domestic production and consumption data for industrial mineral commodities, some of which are considered strategic and critical, to assist in determining stockpile goals. These data and derived information will be published as chapters in Minerals Yearbooks, monthly Mineral Industry Surveys, annual Mineral Commodity Summaries, and special publications, for use by Government agencies, industry, education programs, and the general public.

Title of Collection: Industrial Minerals Surveys.

OMB Control Number: 1028-0062.

Form Number: Various (38 forms).

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Business or Other-For-Profit Institutions: U.S. nonfuel minerals producers and consumers of industrial minerals. Public sector: State and local governments.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 14,955.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 17,134.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: For each form, we will include an average burden time ranging from 15 minutes to 5 hours.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 11,897.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannually, or Annually.

Total Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden Cost: There are no “non-hour cost” burdens associated with this IC.

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 and current expiration date.

The authorities for this action are the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.), the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (30 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and the National Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 21(a)).