Notice of Proposed Information Collection; Request for Comments for 1029-0089

AGENCY:

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is announcing its intention to request renewed collection authority for the exemption of coal extraction incidental to the extraction of other minerals. This information collection activity was previously approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and assigned control number 1029-0089.

DATES:

Comments on the proposed information collection must be received by April 18, 2016, to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be mailed to John Trelease, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1951 Constitution Ave NW., Room 203-SIB, Washington, DC 20240. Comments may also be submitted electronically to jtrelease@osmre.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To receive a copy of the information collection request and explanatory information contact John Trelease at (202) 208-2783 or email at jtrelease@osmre.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which implement provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13), require that interested members of the public and affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information collection and recordkeeping activities [see 5 CFR 1320.8 (d)]. This notice identifies an information collection that OSMRE will be submitting to OMB for approval. This collection is contained in 30 CFR part 702—Exemption for Coal Extraction Incidental to the Extraction of Other Minerals. The information submitted by respondents is required to obtain a benefit. OSMRE will request a 3-year term of approval for this information collection activity.

Comments are invited on: (1) The need for the collection of information for the performance of the functions of the agency; (2) the accuracy of the agency's burden estimates; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to minimize the information collection burden on respondents, such as use of automated means of collection of the information. A summary of the public comments will accompany OSMRE's submission of the information collection request to OMB.

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.

Title: 30 CFR part 702—Exemption for Coal Extraction Incidental to the Extraction of Other Minerals.

OMB Control Number: 1029-0089.

Summary: This Part implements the requirement in Section 701(28) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), which grants an exemption from the requirements of SMCRA to operators extracting not more than 16 2/3 percentage tonnage of coal incidental to the extraction of other minerals. This information will be used by the regulatory authorities to make that determination.

Bureau Form Number: None.

Frequency of Collection: Once and annually thereafter.

Description of Respondents: Producers of coal and other minerals and State regulatory authorities.

Total Annual Responses: 48.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 396.

Total Non-wage Costs: $600.

Obligation to Respond: Required in order to obtain or retain benefits.