34488 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 121 /Wednesday, June 24, 1998 / Notices

• Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected;

• Comment on estimates of capital or

startup costs and costs of operation,

maintenance, and purchase of services

to provide information; and

• 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,

e.g., permitting electronic submission of

responses.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are

invited to submit written comments

regarding the collection of information.

Send comments to Mr. Gerald B.

Lindrew, Office of Policy and Research,

U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and

Welfare Benefits Administration, 200

Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N–

5647, Washington, DC 20210.

Telephone: (202) 219–4782 (this is not

a toll-free number). All comments will

be shared among the Agencies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

On September 3, 1997, the Agencies

published a Notice of Proposed Revision

of Annual Information Return/Reports

(September 3 Notice) in the Federal

Register (62 FR 46556) to streamline

and simplify the annual return/report

forms filed for pension, welfare and

fringe benefit plans under the Employee

Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,

as amended (ERISA), and the Internal

Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the

Code).

The Agencies anticipate that the

revision of the annual return/report

form (Form 5500 Series) will be

finalized and available for use for plan

years which begin in 1999 (see the

Agencies’ notice concerning their

submission of the revised Form 5500

Series to OMB for review and approval,

also published in today’s Federal

Register). OMB approval for the existing

Form 5500 Series will expire prior to

implementation of the proposal to revise

the Form 5500 Series. As a result, the

Agencies are requesting an extension/

reinstatement of the current ICR through

the filing period for the 1998 Form 5500

Series.

The Form 5500 Series is the primary

source of information concerning the

operation, funding, assets and

investments of pension and other

employee benefit plans. In addition to

being an important disclosure document

for plan participants and beneficiaries,

the Form 5500 is a compliance and

research tool for the Agencies, and a

source of information for use by other

federal agencies, Congress, and the

private sector in assessing employee

benefit, tax, and economic trends and

policies.

The Agencies solicited comments on

the ICR included in the September 3

Notice, and specifically requested

comments on the Agencies’ estimates of

burden hours and burden estimation

methodologies. The Agencies received

comments indicating that estimates of

the time required to collect the

information and prepare the forms and

related schedules were unrealistically

low. In an effort to respond to those

comments, the Agencies are currently in

the process of evaluating the existing

burden estimation methodologies to

develop a revised and uniform burden

estimation methodology. However, the

burden hour estimates in this Notice are

based on the methodologies described

in the September 3 Notice, pending the

availability of revised burden estimates.

To avoid unnecessary duplication of

public comments, the supplementary

Paperwork Reduction Act information

published in the September 3 Notice is

incorporated herein by this reference in

its entirety, and comments submitted

thereon addressing the Agencies’

burden estimates will be treated as

comments on this Notice of Proposed

Extension/Reinstatement of Information

Collection Request.

II. Current Actions

The Agencies intend to request an

extension/reinstatement of the currently

approved ICR through the filing period

for the 1998 Form 5500 Series because

the new forms are not scheduled to be

implemented until 1999 plan years.

Although the 1998 Form 5500 Series

is not yet available, it is not expected at

this time to differ materially from the

1997 Form 5500 Series. However, the

following limited changes have been

made to the 1997 Form 5500 Series as

of the date of this notice.

Schedule B: Technical revisions to

reflect requirements for 1998 plan years

(e.g., elimination of the box for

‘‘condition code’’ on line 12a in Part II

of Schedule B, resulting from an

amendment to the Code).

Schedule F: The Taxpayer Relief Act

of 1997 amended Code section 6039D to

include adoption assistance programs.

As a result, a checkbox was added to

line 2 of Schedule F to indicate that the

fringe benefit plan is an adoption

assistance program.

Agencies: Department of Labor,

Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration (DOL, PWBA);

Department of the Treasury, Internal

Revenue Service (IRS); Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

Title: Form 5500, Form 5500–C/R and

Schedules.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection for

Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration and Internal Revenue

Service; reinstatement without change

of an expired collection for Pension

Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

OMB Numbers: 1210–0016 (Pension

and Welfare Benefits Administration);

1545–0710 (Internal Revenue Service);

1212–0026 (Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation).

Affected Public: Individuals or

households; Business or other for-profit;

Not-for-profit institutions.

Form Number: Form 5500, Form

5500–C/R and Schedules.

Total Respondents: 801,934 for PWBA

and PBGC; 901,400 for IRS.

Total Responses: 801,934 for PWBA

and PBGC; 901,400 for IRS.

Frequency of Response: Annually.

Estimated Burden Hours, Total

Annual Burden: 1.68 million burden

hours (using the PWBA methodology) to

56.4 million burden hours (using the

IRS methodology) for preparing the

Form 5500 Series and filing it with the

government. This total burden is shared

among the Agencies. See the September

3 Notice for detailed information on the

burden estimation methodology.

Comments submitted in response to

this comment request will be

summarized and/or included in the

request for Office of Management and

Budget approval of the information

collection request; they will also

become a matter of public record.

Dated: June 18, 1998.

Gerald B. Lindrew,

Deputy Director, Office of Policy and

Research, Pension and Welfare Benefits

Administration.

Garrick R. Shear,

IRS Reports Clearance Officer.

Stuart A. Sirkin,

Director, Corporate Policy and Research

Department, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 98–16790 Filed 6–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

NORTHEAST DAIRY COMPACT

COMMISSION

Notice of Meeting

SUMMARY: The Compact Commission

will hold its monthly meeting to

consider matters relating to

administration, the price regulation and

a proposed interim procedural rule.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 121 /Wednesday, June 24, 1998 / Notices 34489

DATES: The meeting is scheduled for

Wednesday, July 1, 1998 to commence

at the close of the Proposed Rulemaking

Public Hearing beginning at 9:00 a.m. as

previously noticed at 63 FR 31943–

31945.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Capitol Center for the Arts,

Governor’s Hall, 44 South Main Street,

Concord, NH.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kenneth Becker, Executive Director,

Northeast Dairy Compact Commission,

43 State Street, PO Box 1058,

Montpelier, VT 05601. Telephone (802)

229–1941.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is

hereby given that the Northeast Dairy

Compact Commission will hold its

regularly scheduled monthly meeting.

The Commission will consider matters

relating to administration and the price

regulation, including the reports and

recommendations of the Commission’s

standing Committees. The Commission

will also consider a proposed interim

procedural rule regarding rulemaking

procedures and procedures for

conducting producer referenda.

Authority: (a) Article V, Section 11 of the

Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact, and all

other applicable Articles and Sections, as

approved by Section 147, of the Federal

Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act

(FAIR ACT), Pub. L. 104–127, and as thereby

set forth in S.J. Res. 28(1)(b) of the 104th

Congress; Finding of Compelling Public

Interest by United States Department of

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, August

8, 1996 and March 20, 1997. (b) Bylaws of

the Northeast Dairy Compact Commission,

adopted November 21, 1996.

Kenneth Becker,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 98–16615 Filed 6–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 1650–01–M

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for OMB

Review; Comment Request

AGENCY: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (NRC).

ACTION: Notice of the OMB review of

information collection and solicitation

of public comment.

SUMMARY: The NRC has recently

submitted to OMB for review the

following proposal for the collection of

information under the provisions of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. Chapter 35). The NRC hereby

informs potential respondents that an

agency may not conduct or sponsor, and

that a person is not required to respond

to, a collection of information unless it

displays a currently valid OMB control

number.

1. Type of submission, new, revision,

or extension: Revision.

2. The title of the information

collection: 10 CFR Part 21, ‘‘Reporting of

Defects and Noncompliance.’’

3. The form number if applicable: Not

applicable.

4. How often the collection is

required: On occasion.

5. Who will be required or asked to

report: All directors and responsible

officers of firms and organizations

building, operating, or owning NRC

licensed facilities as well as directors

and responsible officers of firms and

organizations supplying basic

components and safety related design,

analysis, testing, inspection, and

consulting services to NRC licensed

facilities or activities.

6. An estimate of the number of

responses: 230 responses.

7. The estimated number of annual

respondents: 100 respondents.

8. An estimate of the total number of

hours needed annually to complete the

requirement or request: 17,093 (13,480

reporting hours and 3,613

recordkeeping hours).

9. An indication of whether Section

3507(d), Pub. L. 104–13 applies: Not

applicable.

10. Abstract: 10 CFR Part 21

implements Section 206 of the Energy

Reorganization Act of 1974, as

amended. It requires directors and

responsible officers of firms and

organizations building, operating,

owning, or supplying basic components

to NRC licensed facilities or activities to

report defects and noncompliances that

could create a substantial safety hazard

at NRC licensed facilities or activities.

Organizations subject to 10 CFR Part 21

are also required to maintain such

records as may be required to assure

compliance with this regulation.

The NRC staff reviews 10 CFR Part 21

reports to determine whether the

reported defects in basic components

and related services and failures to

comply at NRC licensed facilities or

activities are potentially generic safety

problems.

A copy of the final supporting

statement may be viewed free of charge

at the NRC Public Document Room,

2120 L Street, NW (lower level),

Washington, DC. OMB clearance

requests are available at the NRC

worldwide web site (http://

www.nrc.gov) under the FedWorld

collection link on the home page tool

bar. The document will be available on

the NRC home page site for 60 days after

the signature date of this notice.

Comments and questions should be

directed to the OMB reviewer by July

24, 1998.

Erik Godwin, Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs (3150–0035),

NEOB–10202, Office of Management

and Budget, Washington, DC 20503

Comments can also be submitted by

telephone at (202) 395–3084.

The NRC Clearance Officer is Brenda

Jo. Shelton, 301–415–7233.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 17th day

of June 1998.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Brenda Jo. Shelton,

NRC Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief

Information Officer.

[FR Doc. 98–16744 Filed 6–23–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

NUCLEAR REGULATORY

COMMISSION

[Docket Nos. 50–325 and 50–324]

Carolina Power & Light Company;

Notice of Withdrawal of Application for

Amendment to Facility Operating

License

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission (the Commission) has

granted the request of Carolina Power &

Light Company (the licensee) to

withdraw its May 23, 1997, application

for proposed amendment to Facility

Operating License Nos. DPR–71 and

DPR–62 for the Brunswick Steam

Electric Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2, located

in Brunswick County, North Carolina.

The proposed amendment would

have reduced the short-term limit for

Dose Equivalent I-131 activity in the

reactor coolant from 4.0 microcuries/

gram to 3.0 microcuries/gram.

The Commission had previously

issued a Notice of Consideration of

Issuance of Amendment published in

the Federal Register on July 30, 1997

(62 FR 40847). However, by letter dated

April 17, 1998, the licensee withdrew

the proposed change.

For further details with respect to this

action, see the application for

amendment dated May 23, 1997, and

the licensee’s letter dated April 17,

1998, which withdrew the application

for license amendment. The above

documents are available for public

inspection at the Commission’s Public

Document Room, the Gelman Building,

2120 L Street, NW., Washington, DC,

and at the local public document room

located at the University of North

Carolina at Wilmington, William

Madison Randall Library, 601 S. College