48282 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 182 / Tuesday, September 22, 2009 / Notices 

response. This includes summarizing 

accomplishments for the past year’s 

funded efforts. The currently approved 

‘‘hour’’ burden for this collection is 

12,300 hours. We do not expect the total 

burden for this process to change as a 

result of this request. 

Estimated Reporting and 

Recordkeeping ‘‘Non-Hour Cost’’ 

Burden: We have not identified any 

‘‘non-hour cost’’ burdens associated 

with this collection of information. 

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. Until OMB approves a 

collection of information, you are not 

obligated to respond. 

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) how 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 address, phone number, 

e-mail 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. To comply with the public 

process, we publish this Federal 

Register notice announcing that we will 

submit this ICR to OMB for approval. 

The notice provided the required 60 day 

public comment period. 

USGS Information Collection 

Clearance Officer: Phadrea Ponds 970– 

226–9445. 

Dated: September 16, 2009. 

William S. Leith, 

Associate Program Coordinator. 

[FR Doc. E9–22689 Filed 9–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4311–AM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

Information Collection for Energy and 

Mineral Development Program Grants; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed information 

collection. 

SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act, the Office of Indian 

Energy and Economic Development 

(IEED), in the Office of the Assistant 

Secretary—Indian Affairs, is seeking 

comments on a proposed information 

collection related to grants provided 

under the Energy and Mineral 

Development Program (EMDP). Indian 

tribes whose lands are held in trust or 

restricted status may be considered for 

grants for energy and mineral 

development projects under the EMDP 

if they provide certain information as 

part of an application. Once an 

application is accepted, the Indian tribe 

must then submit reports regarding the 

progress of their project. This notice 

requests comments on the information 

collection associated with the 

application and progress reports. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

November 23, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Mail or hand-carry 

comments to Darryl Francois, 

Department of the Interior, Office of 

Indian Energy and Economic 

Development, Room 20—South Interior 

Building, 1951 Constitution Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC 20245, fax (202) 

208–4564; e-mail: 

Darryl.Francois@bia.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Darryl Francois, Department of the 

Interior, Office of Indian Energy and 

Economic Development. Telephone 

(202) 219–0740. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract 

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 

authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 

to provide grants to Indian tribes for 

energy development. See 25 U.S.C. 

3502. IEED administers and manages the 

EMDP. Congress appropriates funds to 

EMDP on a year-to-year basis. When 

funding is available, IEED may solicit 

proposals for energy and mineral 

development projects from Indian tribes 

whose lands are held in trust or 

restricted fee by the Federal 

government. Tribes may use the 

contracting mechanism established by 

the Indian Self-Determination Act or 

may receive the grant money through 

adjustments to their funding from the 

Office of Self-Governance. See 25 U.S.C. 

450 et seq. The projects may be in the 

areas of exploration, assessment, 

development, feasibility, or market 

studies. Indian tribes that would like to 

apply for an EMDP grant must submit 

an application that includes certain 

information, and must assist IEED by 

providing information in support of any 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) analyses. A complete 

application must contain the following 

elements. 

• A current, signed tribal resolution 

that: (1) Authorizes the energy and 

mineral development project for the 

appropriate fiscal year; (2) describes the 

commodity or commodities to be 

studied; (3) states that the tribe is 

willing to consider developing any 

potential energy or mineral resources 

discovered; (4) describes how the tribe 

prefers to have the energy or mineral 

program conducted (i.e., through the 

sole utilization of IEED in-house 

professional staff, in conjunction with 

professional tribal staff, through private 

contractors, or through other 

appropriate means); and (5) states that 

the tribe will consider public release of 

information obtained from the energy 

and mineral development study upon 

request from IEED. 

• A proposal describing the planned 

activities and deliverable products that 

will be accomplished within the fiscal 

year for which funding is requested, 

including: 

Æ Overview, including the elements 

of the proposed study, reasons why the 

proposed study is needed, total 

requested funding, responsible parties 

for technical exaction and 

administration, and tribal point of 

contact for the project; 

Æ Technical summary of the project, 

including whether the request will 

begin a new study or continue a study 

and the duration of the study, a 

description of any known energy and/or 

mineral deposit, reference to any 

existing mineral exploration 

information, and a description of any 

environmental or cultural sensitive 

areas; 

Æ Project objective, goals and scope of 

work; 

Æ Deliverable products, such as 

technical data and maps; and 

Æ Resumes of key personnel. 

• A detailed budget estimate, 

including contracted personnel costs, 

travel estimates, data collection and 

analysis costs, and other expenses. 

IEED requires this information to 

ensure that it provides funding only to 

those projects that meet the goals of the 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 182 / Tuesday, September 22, 2009 / Notices 48283 

EMDP and the purposes for which 

Congress provides the appropriations. 

Once a tribe has been accepted into 

the EMDP, the tribe must also submit 

quarterly reports, which are one- or twopage documents summarizing events, 

accomplishments, problems and/or 

results in executing the project. Each 

report is due two weeks after the end of 

the fiscal quarter. 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

provides an opportunity for interested 

parties to comment on proposed 

information collection requests. IEED is 

proceeding with this public comment 

period as the first step in obtaining an 

information collection clearance from 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB). Each clearance request contains 

(1) Type of review, (2) title, (3) summary 

of the collection, (4) respondents, (5) 

frequency of collection, (6) reporting 

and record keeping requirements. 

II. Request for Comments 

IEED requests your comments on this 

collection concerning: (a) The necessity 

of this information collection for the 

proper performance of the functions of 

the agency, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate 

of the burden (hours and cost) of the 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (c) ways we could 

enhance the quality, utility and clarity 

of the information to be collected; and 

(d) ways we could minimize the burden 

of the collection of the information on 

the respondents, such as through the 

use of automated collection techniques 

or other forms of information 

technology. 

Please note that an agency may not 

sponsor or request, and an individual 

need not respond to, a collection of 

information unless it has a valid OMB 

Control Number. 

It is our policy to make all comments 

available to the public for review at the 

location listed in the ADDRESSES section. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address or other 

personally identifiable information, be 

advised that your entire comment— 

including your personally identifiable 

information—may be made public at 

any time. While you may request that 

we withhold your personally 

identifiable information, we cannot 

guarantee that we will be able to do so. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Number: 1076–0XXX. 

Type of Review: New. 

Title: Energy and Mineral 

Development Program Grant 

Solicitation. 

Brief Description of Collection: Indian 

tribes that would like to apply for an 

EMDP grant must submit an application 

that includes certain information. A 

complete application must contain a 

current, signed tribal resolution that 

provides sufficient information to 

authorize the project and comply with 

the terms of the grant; a proposal 

describing the planned activities and 

deliverable products; and a detailed 

budget estimate. IEED requires this 

information to ensure that it provides 

funding only to those projects that meet 

the goals of the EMDP and purposes for 

which Congress provides the 

appropriation. Upon acceptance of an 

application, a tribe must then submit 

one- to two-page quarterly progress 

reports summarizing events, 

accomplishments, problems and/or 

results in executing the project. 

Approximately 55 tribes apply each 

year, but IEED accepts approximately 18 

of those applications each year. 

Respondents: Indian tribes with trust 

or restricted land. 

Number of Respondents: 55 

applicants per year; 18 project 

participants each year. 

Estimated Time per Response: 40 

hours per application; 1.5 hours per 

progress report. 

Frequency of Response: Once per year 

for applications; 4 times per year for 

progress reports. 

Total Annual Burden to Respondents: 

2,308 hours (2,200 for applications and 

108 for progress reports). 

Dated: September 16, 2009. 

Alvin Foster, 

Acting Chief Information Officer—Indian 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. E9–22782 Filed 9–21–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–4M–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

U.S. Geological Survey 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Comment Request for the 

USGS Mine, Development, and Mineral 

Exploration Supplement 

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of an extension of an 

information collection (1028–0060). 

SUMMARY: To comply with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA), we are notifying the public that 

we have submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) an 

information collection request (ICR) for 

the extension of the currently approved 

paperwork requirements for the USGS 

Mine, Development, and Mineral 

Exploration Supplement. This 

collection consists of one form and this 

notice provides the public an 

opportunity to comment on the 

paperwork burden of this form. 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. 

DATES: You must submit comments on 

or before October 22, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit written 

comments on this information 

collection directly to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Attention: Desk Officer for the 

Department of the Interior via e-mail to 

OIRA_DOCKET@omb.eop.gov or fax at 

202–395–5806; and identify your 

submission as 1028–1060. Please also 

submit a copy of your written comments 

to Phadrea Ponds, USGS Information 

Collection Clearance Officer, 2150–C 

Centre Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80526– 

8118 (mail); 970–226–9230 (fax); or 

pponds@usgs.gov (e-mail). Use OMB 

Control Number 1028–0060 in the 

subject line. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shonta E. Osborne at 703–648–7960 or 

by mail at U.S. Geological Survey, 985 

National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley 

Drive, Reston, VA 20192. 

I. Supplementary Information 

Abstract: Respondents supply the U.S. 

Geological Survey with domestic 

production, exploration, and mine 

development data for nonfuel mineral 

commodities. The data obtained from 

this canvass are used by Government 

agencies, Congressional offices, 

educational institutions, research 

organizations, financial institutions, 

consulting firms, industry, and the 

public. They provide essential mining, 

exploration, and development 

information to make domestic ore 

resource analyses. Tabulations of 

volumetric data concerning domestic 

mining operations’ use of land can be 

used to compare the total volume of 

earth disturbed with the actual crude 

ore mined and the resulting marketable 

product. These data are an indicator of 

the future mining outlook. This 

information will be published as an 

Annual Report for use by Government 

agencies, industry, academia, and the 

general public. 

II. Data 

OMB Control Number: 1028–0060. 

Title: Mine, Development, and 

Mineral Exploration Supplement. 


sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES