40308 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 / Notices

Sec. 33, lots 20, 33 to 36, inclusive, lots 45,

46, 49 to 52, inclusive, lots 55, 56, 61,

62, 67, 68, 78, 107, E1⁄2E1⁄2,

E1⁄2SW1⁄4NW1⁄4, and E1⁄2SW1⁄4;

Sec. 34;

Sec. 35, E1⁄2NE1⁄4, NW1⁄4NE1⁄4, and

W1⁄2W1⁄2, excepting therefrom that

portion thereof, lying below the ordinary

high water line of the Carson River;

Sec. 36.

T. 15 N., R. 21 E.,

Sec. 6, lots 1 and 2 in NE1⁄4, lots 1 and 2

in NW1⁄4, lots 1 and 2 in SW1⁄4, and

W1⁄2SE1⁄4;

Sec. 7, N1⁄2 lot 1 in NW1⁄4, S1⁄2S1⁄21⁄2N1⁄2 lot

2 in NW1⁄4, S1⁄2 lot 2 in NW1⁄4, and SE1⁄4;

Sec. 18, S1⁄2 lot 1 in NW1⁄4, S1⁄2 lot 2 in

NW1⁄4, lots 1 and 2 in SW1⁄4, and E1⁄2;

Sec. 19;

Sec. 30;

Sec. 31.

T. 16 N., R. 20 E.,

Sec. 14, the irregular Carson City portion

within SW1⁄4;

Sec. 22, E1⁄2, NE1⁄4NE1⁄4NW1⁄4,

SE1⁄4SE1⁄4NW1⁄4, and SW1⁄4;

Sec. 25, the irregular Carson City portion

within SW1⁄4;

Sec. 26, the irregular Carson City portion;

Sec. 27, S1⁄2;

Sec. 28, N1⁄2, N1⁄2S1⁄2, and SE1⁄4SW1⁄4;

Sec. 29, S1⁄2NE1⁄4, S1⁄2SW1⁄4, NE1⁄4SE1⁄4,

and SW1⁄4SE1⁄4;

Sec. 31, E1⁄2E1⁄2, SW1⁄4NE1⁄4, SE1⁄4NW1⁄4,

N1⁄2NE1⁄4SW1⁄4, N1⁄2S1⁄2NE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

S1⁄2SW1⁄4NE1⁄4SW1⁄4,

SW1⁄4SE1⁄4NE1⁄4SW1⁄4, NW1⁄4SW1⁄4,

NW1⁄4SE1⁄4, and NE1⁄4NW1⁄4SE1⁄4

(portion north of Highway 395,

protracted);

Sec. 32, N1⁄2, N1⁄2SW1⁄4, and NW1⁄4SE1⁄4;

Sec. 33, E1⁄2NE1⁄4 and N1⁄2NW1⁄4;

Sec. 34, N1⁄2, N1⁄2S1⁄2, SE1⁄4SW1⁄4, and

S1⁄2SE1⁄4;

Sec. 35, N1⁄2 and E1⁄2SE1⁄4;

Sec. 36, W1⁄2NW1⁄4NE1⁄4, W1⁄2, and

SE1⁄4SE1⁄4 (Carson City portion,

protracted).

T. 16 N., R. 21 E.,

Sec. 31, the irregular Carson City portion

within S1⁄2 (protracted).

The areas described aggregate 18,594.68

acres in Carson City.

2. The non-Federal lands within the

areas described below will be subject to

the terms and conditions of this

withdrawal if acquired by the United

States:

T. 16 N., R. 19 E.,

Sec. 36.

T. 14 N., R. 20 E.,

Secs. 1 to 5, inclusive, and Secs. 9 to 12,

inclusive.

T. 15 N., R. 20 E.,

Secs. 1 to 6, inclusive, secs. 8 to 17,

inclusive, secs. 20 to 25, inclusive, secs.

28, 29, and secs. 31 to 36, inclusive.

T. 16 N., R. 20 E.,

Sec. 14, secs. 21 to 23, inclusive, secs. 25

to 29, inclusive, and secs. 31 to 36,

inclusive.

T. 14 N., R. 21 E.,

Secs. 6 and 7.

T. 15 N., R. 21 E.,

Secs. 6, 7, 18, 19, 30, and 31.

T. 16 N., R. 21 E.,

Sec. 31.

The areas described aggregate 15,089 acres

in Carson City.

3. The withdrawal made by this order

does not alter the applicability of those

public land laws governing the use of

lands under lease, license, or permit, or

governing the disposal of their mineral

or vegetative resources other than under

the mining laws.

4. This withdrawal will expire 20

years from the effective date of this

order unless, as a result of a review

conducted before the expiration date

pursuant to Section 204(f) of the Federal

Land Policy and Management Act of

1976, 43 U.S.C. 1714(f) (1994), the

Secretary determines that the

withdrawal shall be extended.

Dated: July 22, 1998.

Bob Armstrong,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

[FR Doc. 98–20091 Filed 7–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for Office of

Management and Budget Review;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information

collection.

SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Act), the

Department of the Interior has

submitted the new collection of

information discussed below to the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for approval. The Act provides

that 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.

DATES: Submit written comments by

August 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments and

suggestions directly to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the

Department of the Interior (1010-NEW),

725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC

20503. Send a copy of your comments

to the Minerals Management Service,

Attention: Rules Processing Team, Mail

Stop 4024, 381 Elden Street, Herndon,

Virginia 20170–4817.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alexis London, Engineering and

Operations Division, Minerals

Management Service, telephone (703)

787–1600. You may obtain copies of the

supporting statement and collection of

information by contacting MMS’s

Information Collection Clearance Officer

at (202) 208–7744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Survey—Testing and Calibrating

the Measurement of Nonmarket Values

for Natural Resources via the Contingent

Valuation Methods.

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS) Lands Act, as amended, directs

the Secretary of the Interior to prepare

a ‘‘5-Year Program’’ that specifies the

schedule of offshore natural gas and oil

lease sales for the 5-year period covered

by the document. The MMS prepares

the 5-Year Program for the Secretary.

The key analytical support for the

Secretary’s decision is a cost-benefit

analysis of all size, timing, and location

alternatives for all lease sales being

considered. The MMS’s 5-year costbenefit analysis is an almost complete

accounting of all the costs and benefits

attributable to the offshore natural gas

and oil leasing and development

process. However, the cost-benefit

analysis has one major exclusion. MMS

does not account fully for the existence

values (also called passive enjoyment

values) of resources that might be

damaged or lost through offshore

activities. Existence values include the

values people might place on a resource

just by knowing it exists, or by having

the option of using it at some future

date, or by being able to bequeath it to

future generations.

The only way currently available to

measure existence values is through the

use of the contingent valuation method

(CVA). CVA consists of carefully

constructed questionnaires which are

used in interviews that elicit from

people their estimate of what they

would be willing to pay to avoid the

loss or damage. The MMS has two major

reasons why it has not funded CVA

studies to provide estimates of existence

values to complete its cost-benefit

analysis: First, the methodology for CVA

studies is stillsomewhat controversial in

the economics profession. Second, CVA

studies for a program covering as vast an

array of environmental resources across

the entire outer continental shelf would

be prohibitively expensive.

The proposed survey is part of a

research plan designed to come to grips

with both of these problems. This

project focuses on improving the

methodology of CVA and its acceptance

by the economics profession. A followon project would build on the results of

this project to test a less expensive way

of gathering estimates of peoples’
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 144 /Tuesday, July 28, 1998 / Notices 40309

willingness to pay for environmental

resource protection. This new approach

is expected to cut the cost of CVA

studies to one-third the present cost.

With these improvements, MMS should

be able to complete its 5-year costbenefit analysis using methodology

acceptable to a majority of the

economics profession.

Frequency: This is a one-time

voluntary survey.

Estimated number and description of

respondents and reporting and

recordkeeping ‘‘hour’’ burden:

Approximately 1,200 American adults

will be asked four questions, averaging

about 5 minutes per respondent. There

is no recordkeeping burden.

Estimated reporting and

recordkeeping ‘‘cost’’ burden: This is a

one time survey with no cost burden on

the respondents to provide this

collection of information.

Comments: Section 3506 (c)(2)(A) of

the Paperwork Reduction Act requires

each agency ‘‘* * * to provide notice

and otherwise consult with members of

the public and affected agencies

concerning each proposed collection of

information.* * *’’ Agencies must

specifically solicit comments to: (a)

evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the agency to perform its duties,

including whether the information is

useful, (b) evaluate the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information, (c)

enhance the quality, usefulness, and

clarity of the information to be

collected, and (d) minimize the burden

on the respondents, including the use of

automated collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Send your comments directly to the

offices listed under the addresses

section of this notice. The OMB has up

to 60 days to approve or disapprove the

information collection but may respond

after 30 days. Therefore, to ensure

maximum consideration, OMB should

receive public comments by August 27,

1998.

MMS Information Collection

Clearance Officer: Jo Ann Lauterbach,

(202) 208–7744.

Dated: June 17, 1998.

E. P. Danenberger,

Chief, Engineering and Operations Division.

[FR Doc. 98–20047 Filed 7–27–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Submission for Office of

Management and Budget Review;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of a new information

collection.

SUMMARY: As required by the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Act), the

Department of the Interior has

submitted the new collection of

information discussed below to the

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) for approval. The Act provides

that 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.

DATES: Submit written comments by

August 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments and

suggestions directly to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the

Department of the Interior (1010-NEW),

725 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC

20503. Send a copy of your comments

to the Minerals Management Service,

Attention: Rules Processing Team, Mail

Stop 4024, 381 Elden Street, Herndon,

Virginia 20170–4817.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alexis London, Engineering and

Operations Division, Minerals

Management Service, telephone (703)

787–1600. You may obtain copies of the

supporting statement and collection of

information by contacting MMS’s

Information Collection Clearance Officer

at (202) 208–7744.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Survey—Recreational Usage of

Oil and Gas Rigs by Fishermen and

Divers.

Abstract: The Outer Continental Shelf

(OCS) Lands Act (at U.S.C. 1346,

Environmental Studies), instructs the

Secretary of the Interior, subsequent to

the leasing and developing of any area

or region, to conduct additional studies

to establish environmental information

as he deems necessary and to monitor

the human, marine, and coastal

environments of such area or region in

a manner designed to provide timeseries and data trend information which

can be used for comparison with

previously collected data for the

purpose of identifying any significant

changes in the quality and productivity

of such environments, for establishing

trends in the areas studied and

monitored, and for designing

experiments to identify the causes of

such changes.

Biological studies have shown that

there are between 20 and 50 times more

fish found under and near oil platforms

than in nearby soft bottom areas of the

Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, in order to

make decisions regarding the

conversion of existing rigs to artificial

reefs, MMS needs statistically accurate

information on the extent to which oil

and gas structures are used by

recreational fishers and divers and the

economic impact of the continued

availability of these structures on local

communities.

A data collection survey is being

proposed to obtain statistically reliable

estimates of the level of fishing and

diving activity at oil and gas structures

in the Gulf of Mexico from Alabama

through Texas and to determine the

levels of economic activity associated

with this fishing and diving.

Frequency: This is a one time survey.

Data collection will occur over a one

year period (January 1, 1999—December

31, 1999).

Estimated number and description of

respondents and reporting and

recordkeeping ‘‘hour’’ burden: The

estimated reporting hour burden is

shown in parenthesis for each type of

respondent in the following list. There

is no recordkeeping burden.

Dockside field interviews with 6,513

private boat fishermen (individuals who

are fishing either from a boat that they

own or rent) from Alabama through

Texas (10 mins.).

Dockside field interviews with 1,331

charter boat fishermen from Alabama

through Texas, including fishermen

who ‘‘lease’’ an entire boat for usually

a 1⁄2-day or a full-day fishing trip. The

charter boat is normally licensed to

carry 6 or less people (10 minutes).

Dockside field interviews with 400

party boat fishermen from Alabama

through Texas. Party boats usually take

out more than six people for a fee and

the group consists of individual

fishermen buying a single spot, not

leasing the entire boat (10 minutes).

Dockside field interviews with 200

divers from Alabama through Texas,

including snorkelers as well as

individuals wearing self contained

breathing apparatus who may be spear

fishing or swimming (10 minutes).

Telephone follow-up interviews with

3,255 private boat anglers (20.6

minutes), 920 charter boat anglers and

280 party boat anglers (12.3 minutes),

and 200 divers (20.2 minutes).

Telephone survey of 200 charter boat

operators from Alabama through Texas.