Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 17, 2007 / Notices 19211 

Number of respondents Annual 

responses × Hours per response = Burden hours 

Reporting Burden .............................................................................. 750 62 0.77 36,202 

Total Estimated Burden Hours: 

36,202. 

Status: Revision of a currently 

approved collection. 

Authority: Section 3507 of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 35, as 

amended. 

Dated: April 10, 2007. 

Lillian L. Deitzer, 

Departmental Paperwork Reduction Act 

Officer, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. E7–7204 Filed 4–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket No. FR–5121–N–12] 

Notice of Proposed Information 

Collection: Comment Request; 

Assessment of FHA Lender Customer 

Satisfaction—Survey of Businesses 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Housing—Federal Housing 

Commissioner, HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The proposed information 

collection requirement described below 

will be submitted to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. The Department is 

soliciting public comments on the 

subject proposal. 

DATES: Comments Due Date: June 18, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit comments regarding 

this proposal. Comments should refer to 

the proposal by name and/or OMB 

Control Number and should be sent to: 

Lillian Deitzer, Reports Management 

Officer, Department of Housing and 

Urban Development, 451 7th Street, 

SW., Room 4178, Washington, DC 20410 

or Lillian_L_Deitzer@hud.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James Beavers, Assistant Director, Office 

of Single Family Program Development, 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development, 451 7th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202) 

402–2205 (this is not a toll free number) 

for copies of the proposed forms and 

other available information. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department is submitting the proposed 

information collection to OMB for 

review, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35, as amended). 

This Notice is soliciting comments 

from members of the public and affected 

agencies concerning the proposed 

collection of information to: (1) Evaluate 

whether the proposed collection is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (2) Evaluate the 

accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the 

burden of the proposed collection of 

information; (3) Enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (4) Minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond; including 

the use of appropriate automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology, e.g., permitting 

electronic submission of responses. 

This Notice also lists the following 

information: 

Title of Proposal: Assessment of FHA 

Lender Customer Satisfaction—Survey 

of Businesses. 

OMB Control Number, if applicable: 

2502–NEW. 

Description of the need for the 

information and proposed use: FHA has 

recently undertaken efforts to 

modernize programs and processes in 

order to maintain a strong lending 

position with unserved and underserved 

borrowers. A customer satisfaction 

survey will be conducted to assist FHA 

in first assessing the level of satisfaction 

that lenders have with their financing 

programs and then monitor the changes 

in satisfaction as the enhancements to 

their programs are put in place. By 

compiling quantitative data regarding 

customer satisfaction, steps can be taken 

to improve FHA’s standing in the 

lending market. The initial survey will 

serve as a baseline from which to 

measure improvement in satisfaction 

levels as the survey is completed on an 

annual basis. 

In 2005, the ‘‘Studies of the Barriers 

of the Use of FHA Programs and the Use 

of Third-Party Originators for FHAInsured Loans’’ reported that the key 

factors contributing to the decline of 

FHA-insured product use in the lending 

market were the product itself, FHA 

processes, and customer relations. From 

these results, it was recommended that 

FHA undertake steps to enhance its 

products and processes and to improve 

its customer service. In an effort to 

reinvigorate its programs, re-engineer its 

processes, and increase responsiveness 

to mortgagees, FHA has begun to roll 

out new changes in its programs and 

methods. FHA is in need of a successful 

mechanism through which they can 

address their progress in removing the 

barriers that were mentioned in the 

study. A customer satisfaction survey 

serves as a useful method of assessing 

the levels of satisfaction of new 

programs and also identifying areas that 

still need more attention. This survey 

will address specific items and access 

respondents’ levels of satisfaction or 

dissatisfaction so that FHA can take the 

appropriate actions while reforming 

their programs and processes. Through 

conducting this survey on an annual 

basis, FHA will have a consistent and 

quantitative measure of the level of 

customer satisfaction and also 

determine if the overall sentiment 

regarding FHA has changed versus prior 

years. 

Agency form numbers, if applicable: 

None. 

Estimation of the total numbers of 

hours needed to prepare the information 

collection including number of 

respondents, frequency of response, and 

hours of response: The number of 

burden hours is 167. The number of 

respondents is 668, the frequency of 

response is annually, and the burden 

hour per response is 15 minutes. 

Status of the proposed information 

collection: 

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995, 44 U.S.C., Chapter 35, as amended. 

Dated: April 11, 2007. 

Frank L. Davis, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary for 

Housing—Deputy Federal Housing 

Commissioner. 

[FR Doc. E7–7283 Filed 4–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND 

URBAN DEVELOPMENT 

[Docket Number FR–5099–N–02] 

Public Housing Operating Fund 

Program; Guidance on Implementation 

of Asset Management 

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Public and Indian 

Housing; HUD. 

ACTION: Notice. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
19212 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 17, 2007 / Notices 

SUMMARY: Under HUD’s regulations for 

the Public Housing Operating Fund 

Program, public housing agencies 

(PHAs) with 250 or more units are 

required to convert to asset 

management. PHAs with less than 250 

units may elect to convert but are not 

required to do so. On September 6, 

2006, HUD published a Federal Register 

notice providing interim guidance to 

assist PHAs in the conversion to asset 

management. On that same date, HUD 

posted on its Web site Public and Indian 

Housing (PIH) Notice 2006–33, Changes 

in Financial Management and Reporting 

Requirements for Public Housing 

Agencies Under the New Operating 

Fund Rule (24 CFR part 990), that 

provided interim guidance on changes 

in PHA financial management and 

reporting necessitated by the conversion 

to asset management. Both the 

September 6, 2006, Federal Register 

notice and PIH Notice 2006–33 were 

issued for public comment. This notice 

advises the public that HUD has posted 

its final guidance for both subject areas 

on the HUD Web site. The final 

guidance takes into consideration the 

public comments received on both sets 

of interim guidance, and responds to the 

significant issues raised by the public 

commenters. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Elizabeth Hanson, Deputy Assistant 

Secretary, Departmental Real Estate 

Assessment Center, Office of Public and 

Indian Housing, Department of Housing 

and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410; 

telephone 202–475–7949 (this is not a 

toll-free number). Individuals with 

speech or hearing impairments may 

access this number through TTY by 

calling the toll-free Federal Information 

Relay Service at 800–877–8339. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

HUD’s regulations for the Public 

Housing Operating Fund Program at 24 

CFR part 990 provide the formula for 

distributing operating subsidy to public 

housing agencies (PHAs) and establish 

requirements for PHAs to convert to 

asset management. Subpart H of the part 

990 regulations (§§ 990.255 to 990.290) 

establishes the requirements regarding 

asset management. Under § 990.260(a), 

PHAs that own and operate 250 or more 

dwelling rental units must operate using 

an asset management model consistent 

with the subpart H regulations. PHAs 

with fewer than 250 dwelling rental 

units may elect to transition to asset 

management, but are not required to do 

so. PHAs are required to implement 

property-based management, propertybased budgeting, and property-based 

accounting, which are all defined in the 

subpart H regulations and are essential 

components of asset management. 

On September 6, 2006 (71 FR 52710), 

HUD published a notice in the Federal 

Register providing interim guidance 

pertaining to various aspects of a PHA’s 

conversion to asset management. Also 

on September 6, 2006, HUD posted on 

its Web site Public and Indian Housing 

(PIH) Notice 2006–33, providing interim 

guidance on changes in PHA financial 

management and reporting that result 

from the conversion to asset 

management. Both the September 6, 

2006, Federal Register notice and PIH 

Notice 2006–33 were issued for public 

comment. 

II. This Notice 

This notice advises the public that 

HUD has posted its final guidance on 

the HUD Web site. The final guidance 

takes into consideration the public 

comments received on the interim 

guidance. Given the similarity in subject 

matter, the posted guidance 

incorporates the subject matter of the 

September 6, 2006, Federal Register 

notice and PIH Notice 2006–33. HUD 

has also posted a summary of the 

comments received on the two interim 

guidance documents, and HUD’s 

responses to the comments. 

The final guidance and public 

comment summary may be downloaded 

at HUD’s asset management Web page: 

www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/ph/ 

am/. 

Dated: March 29, 2007. 

Paula O. Blunt, 

General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public 

and Indian Housing. 

[FR Doc. E7–7218 Filed 4–16–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4210–67–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

Notice of Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge 

Horse and Burro Management Program 

and Announcement of a Public 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

announcement of a public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service 

(Service) announces that a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) for an 

interim Sheldon National Wildlife 

Refuge (Refuge) Horse and Burro 

Management Program (Program) is 

available for review and comment. The 

EA provides a consolidated and updated 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) evaluation of the Sheldon 

Refuge Program. The EA analyzes the 

environmental effects of various 

alternatives for managing the Refuge’s 

horses and burros until a 

Comprehensive Conservation Plan 

(CCP) for the Refuge is completed. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

May 17, 2007 (see addresses). A public 

meeting will be held on May 8, 2007 in 

Lakeview, Oregon (details of the 

meeting will be posted on Internet). 

ADDRESSES: Address comments on the 

draft EA by e-mail to SheldonHart@fws.gov or in writing to: Sheldon 

National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 111, 

Lakeview, OR 97630. The EA will be 

available on the Internet at http:// 

www.fws.gov/pacific/news/2006/ 

Sheldon_Horse_EA_draft.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Steblein, Project Leader, Sheldon 

National Wildlife Refuge, at e-mail 

Sheldon-Hart@fws.gov, fax (541) 947–

4414, or phone (541) 947–3315. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Sheldon Refuge encompasses 

approximately 572,900 acres of semiarid 

desert in the northwestern corner of 

Nevada, and approximately 630 acres 

across the State line, in Oregon. 

The Sheldon Refuge was established 

in the 1930’s for the conservation of 

antelope (American pronghorn), 

migratory birds, and other species of 

wildlife. By law, the Service must 

manage its refuges to achieve the 

purpose(s) of the refuge and accomplish 

the mission of the National Wildlife 

Refuge System, which focuses on the 

conservation, management, and, where 

appropriate, restoration of native fish, 

wildlife, plants, and their habitats. The 

terrain of Sheldon Refuge is 

characterized by flat, open expanses of 

sagebrush lands, narrow canyons that 

empty into rolling valleys, and broad 

rimrock tables that end abruptly in 

vertical cliffs. Surface water supplies are 

severely limited. Annual precipitation 

averages less than 13 inches in the 

western portions of the Refuge, and 

decreases to 6 inches in the easterly 

parts. With elevations averaging 

approximately 6,000 feet, the area has 

been appropriately labeled high-desert 

country. 

Alternatives 

The draft EA for Sheldon Refuge’s 

Horse and Burro Management Program 

identifies and describes four 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES