Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

AGENCY:

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of a renewal of a currently approved information collection (1028-0068).

SUMMARY:

We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. This collection consists of 15 forms. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This collection is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2017.

DATES:

To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive them on or before July 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments on this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 807, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-7197 (fax); or gs-info_collections@usgs.gov (email). Please reference `Information Collection 1028-0068, Ferrous Metals Surveys in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elizabeth S. Sangine, National Minerals Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 989, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); 703-648-7720 (phone); or escottsangine@usgs.gov (email). You may also find information about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

Respondents to these forms supply the USGS with domestic production and consumption data for 13 ores, concentrates, metals, and ferroalloys, 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.

II. Data

OMB Control Number: 1028-0068.

Form Number: Various (15 forms).

Title: Ferrous Metals Surveys.

Type of Request: Renewal of existing information collection.

Affected Public: Business or Other-For-Profit Institutions: U.S. nonfuel minerals producers and consumers of ferrous and related metals.

Respondent's Obligation: None. Participation is voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: Monthly or Annually.

Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: 2,296.

Estimated Time per Response: For each form, we will include an average burden time ranging from 10 minutes to 1 hour.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 1,199 hours.

Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping “Non-Hour Cost” Burden: There are no “non-hour cost” burdens associated with this IC.

Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and you are not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number and current expiration date.

III. Request for Comments

We are soliciting comments as to: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) how to minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Please note that the comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including your personal mailing address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

IV. Authority

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)).