Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 239 / Tuesday, December 12, 2000 / Notices 77661

calling the Federal Information Relay

Service at 1–800–877–8339.

Section A. Order of Succession

Subject to the provisions of the

Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998,

during any period when, by reason of

absence, disability, or vacancy in office,

the Secretary is not available to exercise

the powers or perform the duties of the

Secretary, the following are hereby

designated to exercise all powers,

functions and duties assigned to or

vested in the Secretary. However, no

official shall act as Secretary until all of

the appointees listed before such

official’s title in this designation are

unable to act by reason of absence,

disability, or vacancy in office:

(1) Deputy Secretary

(2) General Counsel

(3) Assistant Secretary for HousingFederal Housing Commissioner

(4) Assistant Secretary for Community,

Planning and Development

(5) Assistant Secretary for Public and

Indian Housing

(6) Assistant Secretary for Policy

Development and Research

(7) Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing

and Equal Opportunity

(8) Assistant Secretary for Congressional

and Intergovernmental Relations

(9) Assistant Secretary for

Administration

(10) Assistant Secretary for Public

Affairs.

In the event of a national security or

other emergency and none of the

officials named above is able to act,

appointees to the positions listed below

are authorized to exercise all powers,

functions, and duties assigned to or

vested in the Secretary. Executive Order

No. 12656, 53 FR 47491 (published

November 23, 1988), as amended at 63

FR 7277 (February 12, 1998). However,

no official shall act as Secretary until,

all of the appointees listed before such

official’s title in this designation are

unable to act by reason of absence,

disability, or vacancy in office:

1. President, Government National

Mortgage Association

2. Chief Financial Officer

3. Director, Office of Federal Enterprise

Oversight

4. Secretary’s Representative, New

England (Boston)

5. Secretary’s Representative, New

York/New Jersey (New York)

6. Secretary’s Representative, MidAtlantic (Philadelphia)

7. Secretary’s Representative, Southeast/

Caribbean (Atlantic)

8. Secretary’s Representative, Midwest

(Chicago)

9. Secretary’s Representative, Southwest

(Fort Worth)

10. Secretary’s Representative, Great

Plains (Kansas City)

11. Secretary’s Representative, Rocky

Mountains (Denver)

12. Secretary’s Representative, Pacific/

Hawaii (San Francisco)

13. Secretary’s Representative,

Northwest/Alaska (Seattle)

Section B. Authority Superseded

This Order of Succession supersedes

the Order of Succession of the Secretary

of Housing and Urban Development,

published at 54 FR 50823 (December 11,

1989).

Authority: Executive Order 11274, 5 U.S.C.

3347; sec. 7(d), Department of Housing and

Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(d));

Executive Order 12656, 53 FR 47491

(November 23, 1988), as amended at 63 FR

7277 (February 12, 1998); Federal Vacancies

Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345–3349d.

Dated: November 30, 2000.

Andrew Cuomo,

Secretary of Housing and Urban

Development.

[FR Doc. 00–31504 Filed 12–11–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–32–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

Information Collection Submitted to

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for Approval under the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA)

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,

Interior.

ACTION: New information collection—

NEPA compliance checklist.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service (Service) has submitted the

collection of information requirement

described below to the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) for

approval under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). You

may obtain copies of the collection

requirement and related forms and

explanatory material by contacting the

Service’s Information Collection

Clearance Officer at the phone number

listed below. The Service is soliciting

comment and suggestions on the

requirement as described below.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all

comments received on or before January

11, 2001. OMB has up to 60 days to

approve or disapprove an information

collection, but may respond after 30

days. Therefore to ensure maximum

consideration, OMB should receive

public comments by the above

referenced date.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties should

send comments and suggestions on the

requirement to the Office of Information

and Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Attn: Interior

Desk Officer (1018–XXXX), New

Executive Office Building, 725 17th

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503 and

they should send a copy of the

comments to: Rebecca A. Mullin,

Information Collection Clearance

Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,

4401 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 222,

Arlington, VA 22203, (703) 358–2278 or

Rebecca_Mullin@fws.gov E-mail.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack

Hicks, (703) 358–1851, fax (703) 358–

1837, or Jack_Hicks@fws.gov E-mail.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OMB

regulations at 5 CFR 1320, which

implement the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.

L. 104–13), require that interested

members of the public have the

opportunity to comment on information

and record keeping activities.

On September 1, 2000 the Director of

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

signed Director’s Order No. 127

establishing policy and procedures for

the preparation of an administrative

record for complying with the

requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by

Service personnel who administer

Federal financial assistance programs.

This record was developed in the form

3–2185 adopted by the Service as the

NEPA Compliance Checklist.

On September 12, 2000 the Service

published in the Federal Register (FR

Vol. 65, No. 177, p55032) a 60 day

notice and request for public comment

on this information collection. That

comment period ended on November

13, 2000. We received the following

comments from this earlier notice.

1. One private individual E-mailed

asking where she could get copies of the

form and supporting information.

Response: She was referred by return

E-mail to the Service’s Home Page with

directions for navigation to the

Director’s Order. A sample of the new

form was attached to the E-mail

response.

2. A State employee E-mailed the

following comments.

A. The wording on Item 6 is so broad

that almost anything could be

categorically excluded (2 examples were

included with the comment), please

remove this Item.

B. Categorical exclusions are classes

of actions which do not individually or

cumulatively have a significant effect on

the human environment. The wording

for Item 6 carries this to a new level that

77662 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 239 / Tuesday, December 12, 2000 / Notices

will cause confusion and unnecessary

writing of EA’s.

Response to both: The language in

item 6 in the NEPA Compliance

Checklist is not new to the Service. It

has been a requirement in the Council

on Environmental Quality regulations

since 1978, and in the Departmental

Manual (516 DM 2, App 2.6) since (at

least) September 26, 1984. This

requirement has been referenced in the

Service’s NEPA Manual since 1984. The

intent is clear, Federal Agencies must

address cumulative impacts of their

actions. Your concern is how broadly

(or how stringently) this is interpreted,

particularly when it exists as an

exception to a categorical exclusion.

The Service has no absolute

requirement as to when a categorical

exclusion or an exception apply, it is

not possible due to the complexity of

our programs. In the past our

application of this requirement and the

interpretation by the courts of our

decisions have been based on a rule of

reason. Item 6 stays in the document,

but as always, will be applied

reasonably to more complex issues. The

Service will continue to take a

reasonable approach, consistent with

NEPA, when determining when to

prepare an EA or EIS.

3. A State wrote that they thought the

new language was more restrictive than

they have been using in the past and

explained a process they use currently.

Response: The items on the checklist

are the minimum thresholds for

initiating either an Environmental

Assessment or and Environmental

Impact Statement. The process you

currently use, the memorandum of

understanding between your agency and

the State Historic Preservation Office, is

not endorsed by the FWS, DOI, or CEQ.

4. Another State wrote that the

Service should delay implementation of

this checklist until after the Department

has issued new manual chapters

regarding DOI policy on NEPA.

Response: The checklist spells out the

current minimum requirements for

NEPA and will be changed to include

the new items that may be added to the

list by the Department of Interiors

policy development process currently

underway. What we are doing with the

checklist now will gain approval from

OMB for use of the checklist and ensure

that everyone knows what the current

minimum requirements are for NEPA

consideration.

No other comments were received.

Description and Use: The Service

administers several grant programs

authorized by the Federal Aid in

Wildlife Restoration Act, the Federal

Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act, the

Anadromous Fish Conservation Act, the

Endangered Species Act, the Clean

Vessel Act, the Sportfishing and Boating

Safety Act, North American Wetlands

Conservation Act, the Coastal Wetlands

Planning, Protection and Restoration

Act, and through other Acts and

authorities. The Service uses the

information collected to make a

determination as to National

Environmental Policy Act compliance.

The State or other grantee uses the

checklist as a guide to general NEPA

requirements and it becomes an

administrative record to meet their

assurances requirements for receiving a

grant. Grant applicants provide the

information requested in the NEPA

Compliance Checklist in order to qualify

to receive benefits in the form of grants

for purposes outlined in the applicable

law. This form is designed to cause the

minimum impact in the form of hourly

burden on grant applicants and still get

all the required information. Only about

3 percent of the Service’s applicants for

either a new grant or for an amendment

to an existing grant will meet the

criteria, and need to complete the NEPA

Compliance Checklist.

Title of Form: NEPA Compliance

Checklist

FWS Form Number: 3–2185

OMB Control Number: 1018–XXXX

The Service will receive a control

number from OMB prior to collecting

any information. 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.

Supplemental Information: The

Service has submitted the following

information collection requirements to

OMB for review and approval under the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13. Comments are

invited on (1) whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information will have practical utility;

(2) the accuracy of the agency’s

estimates of burden of the 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

collection of information on

respondents, including through the use

of appropriate automated, electronic,

mechanical, or other technological

collection techniques or other forms of

information technology.

Frequency: Generally annually.

Description of Respondents: State

Government, territorial (the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the

District of Columbia, the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and

American Samoa), local governments,

and others receiving grant funds.

COMPLETION TIME AND ANNUAL RESPONSE AND BURDEN ESTIMATE

Form name Completion time per checklist Annual response Annual burden

NEPA Compliance Checklist ..................................................................... 1⁄2 Hour ............................................ 160 80

BILLING CODE 4310–55–M

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 239 / Tuesday, December 12, 2000 / Notices 77663

77664 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 239 / Tuesday, December 12, 2000 / Notices

Dated: November 17, 2000.

Rebecca A. Mullin,

Fish and Wildlife Service Information

Collection Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–31508 Filed 12–11–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–55–C

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR–958–6310–PF–01–24 1A]

Extension of Approved Information

Collection, OMB Number 1004–0168

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,

Interior.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is

announcing its intention to request

extension of an existing approval to

collect certain information from private

landowners which will allow BLM to

determine road use and maintenance

fees for logging road right-of-way

permits issued under the O&C Logging

Road Right-of-Way regulations (43 CFR

2812).

DATES: You must submit your comments

to BLM at the appropriate address below

on or before February 12, 2001. BLM

will not necessarily consider any

comments received after the above date.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed

to: Regulatory Affairs Group (630),

Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C

Street NW, Room 401LS, Washington,

DC 20240.

Comments may be sent via Internet to:

WOComment@blm.gov. Please include

‘‘ATTN: 1004–0168’’ and your name

and return address in your Internet

message.

Comments may be hand-delivered to

the Bureau of Land Management,

Administrative Record, Room 401, 1620

L Street, NW., Washington, DC.

Comments will be available for public

review at the L Street address during

regular business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:15

p.m.), Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Styduhar, BLM Oregon State Office, on

(503) 952–6454 (Commercial or FTS).

Persons who use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD) may call the

Federal Information Relay Service

(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8330, 24 hours a

day, seven days a week, to contact Mr.

Styduhar.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 5 CFR

1320.12(a) requires BLM to provide 60-

day notice in the Federal Register

concerning a collection of information

contained in regulations found in 43

CFR 2812 to solicit comments on (a)

whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary 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 of the proposed collection

of information, including the validity of

the methodology and assumptions used;

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. BLM will receive and

analyze any comments sent in response

to this notice and include them with its

request for approval from the Office of

Management and Budget under 44

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

Private landowners in western Oregon

obtain authorization to transport their

timber over BLM-controlled roads under

Title V of the Federal Land Policy and

Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.

1761). The logging road right-of-way

permits that BLM issues are subject to

the requirements of the O&C Logging

Road Right-of-Way regulations (43 CFR

Part 2812). As a condition of each rightof-way permit, a permittee must provide

BLM with a certified statement

containing the amount of timber

removed, the lands from which the

timber was removed, and the BLM roads

used to transport the timber. BLM

collects this information on a quarterly

basis using the Form OR–2812–6,

Report of Road Use.

The monies BLM receives for road use

contribute to the recovery of costs

incurred in the construction of forest

access roads. Fees collected for road

maintenance are reimbursements for

services BLM provided to maintain

roads the permittees use. If BLM did not

require the collection of information

included in the Report of Road Use

Form, it would not be possible to

determine payment amounts, ledger

account status, or monitor a permittee’s

compliance with the terms of the

permit. The costs for services BLM

provides would not be collected in a

timely manner if we reduce the

frequency of reporting. This would have

a direct effect on the ability of BLM to

properly maintain its road system,

protect the road investment, and

provide safe and efficient access to the

public lands.

Based on BLM’s experience

administering the activities described

above, the public reporting burden for

the information collected estimates to

average 1 hour per response. The

respondents include individuals,

partnerships, and corporations engaged

in the removal and transportation of

timber and other forest products. The

frequency of response is quarterly. The

estimated number of responses per year

totals 400. The estimated total annual

burden is 1600 hours. BLM specifically

requests your comments on its estimate

of the amount of time that it takes to

prepare a response.

BLM will summarize all responses to

this notice and include them in the