Notice of Proposed Information Collection; Request for Comments for 1029-0030

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 approval for the collection of information for State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations. This collection request has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request describes the nature of the information collection and the expected burden and cost.

DATES:

OMB has up to 60 days to approve or disapprove the information collections but may respond after 30 days. Therefore, public comments should be submitted to OMB by November 14, 2016, in order to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES:

Comments may be submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Department of the Interior Desk Officer, via email at OIRA_submission@omb.eop.gov, or by facsimile to (202) 395-5806. Also, please send a copy of your comments to John Trelease, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, 1951 Constitution Ave. NW., Room 203—SIB, Washington, DC 20240, or electronically to jtrelease@osmre.gov. Please reference 1029-0030 in your correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To receive a copy of the information collection request contact John Trelease at (202) 208-2783, or electronically at jtrelease@osmre.gov. You may also review the information collection request online at http://www.reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to review Department of the Interior collections under review by OMB.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The 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)]. OSMRE has submitted a request to OMB to renew its approval of the collection of information contained in: 30 CFR part 764—State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations. OSMRE is requesting a 3-year term of approval for each information collection activity.

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 OMB control number for this collection is 1029-0030, and is displayed in 30 CFR 764.10.

As required under 5 CFR 1320.8(d), a Federal Register notice soliciting comments on this collection of information was published on July 6, 2016 (81 FR 44043). No comments were received. This notice provides the public with an additional 30 days in which to comment on the following information collection activity:

Title: 30 CFR part 764—State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal Mining Operations Areas designated by Act of Congress.

OMB Control Number: 1029-0030.

Summary: This part implements the requirement of section 522 of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), Public Law 95-87, which provides authority for citizens to petition States to designate lands unsuitable for surface coal mining operations, or to terminate such designation. The regulatory authority uses the information to identify, locate, compare and evaluate the area requested to be designated as unsuitable, or terminate the designation, for surface coal mining operations.

Bureau Form Number: None.

Frequency of Collection: Once.

Description of Respondents: Individuals or groups that petition the States, and the State regulatory authorities that must process the petitions.

Total Annual Respondents: 1 petition and 1 regulatory authority.

Total Annual Burden Hours: 600 hours for individuals or groups, and 4,000 for the regulatory authority.

Total Annual Non-wage Costs: $120.

Send comments on the need for the collection of information for the performance of the functions of the agency; the accuracy of the agency's burden estimates; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and ways to minimize the information collection burdens on respondents, such as use of automated means of collections of the information, to the addresses listed under ADDRESSES. Please refer to OMB control number 1029-0030 in all correspondence.

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.