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NOTICE: NOTICES

DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of a revision of an information collection (1028-0062).

SUBJECT CATEGORY: Agency Information Collection Activities: Submitted for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Review; Comment Request

DOCUMENT SUMMARY: We (U.S. Geological Survey) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. The ICR, which is summarized below, describes the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. This ICR is scheduled to expire on July 31, 2008. We 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. However, under OMB regulations, we may continue to conduct or sponsor this information collection while it is pending at OMB.

SUMMARY: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals,

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

OMB Control Number: 10280062

Title: Industrial Minerals Surveys.

Form Number: Various (38 forms).

Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Private Sector; State, Local, and Tribal governments.

Respondent Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: Monthly, Quarterly, Semiannually, or Annually. Respondents are canvassed for one frequency period (e.g., monthly respondents are not canvassed annually).

Estimated Number and Description of Respondents: Approximately 15,993 producers and consumers of industrial minerals.

Estimated Number of Responses: 18,339.

Completion Time per Response: We estimate that the public reporting burden averages 15 minutes to 5 hours per response. This includes the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the information.

Annual burden hours: 12,639 hours.

Abstract: Respondents supply the U.S. Geological Survey with domestic production and consumption data for nonfuel mineral commodities. This information will be published as chapters in Minerals Yearbooks, monthly/quarterly Mineral Industry Surveys, annual Mineral Commodity Summaries, and special publications, for use by Government agencies, industry, education programs, and the general public.

We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2), and under regulations at 30 CFR 250.197, ``Data and information to be made available to the public or for limited inspection.'' Responses are voluntary. No questions of a ``sensitive'' nature are asked. We will release data collected on these forms only in a summary format that is not companyspecific.

Comments: To comply with the public consultation process, on April 16, 2008, we published a Federal Register notice (73 FR 20707) announcing our intent to submit this information collection to OMB for approval. In that notice we solicited public comments for 60 days, ending on June 16, 2008. We received one comment in response to the notice. In this comment, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) stated that they support the USGS continuing to collect Industrial Minerals Surveys data because they are an important data source for key components of BEA's economic statistics. The BEA also requested that they be kept informed of any modifications to these forms. We did not make any changes to our information collection requirements as a result of this comment.

We again invite comments concerning this information collection on: (1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, including whether or not the information will have practical utility; (2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection of information;
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents.

Please note that the comments submitted 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 OMB in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

USGS Information Collection Clearance Contact: Phadrea Ponds (970) 2269445.

Dated: July 17, 2008.
John H. DeYoung, Jr.,
Chief Scientist, Minerals Information Team.
[FR Doc. E816821 Filed 72208; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4311AMP

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT To request additional information about this ICR, contact Scott F. Sibley at (703) 6484976.