2018-13582. Agency Information Collection Activities; Mineral Surveys, Mineral Patent Applications, Adverse Claims, Protests, and Contests

AGENCY:

Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before August 24, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on this information collection request (ICR) by mail to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C Street NW, Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20240, Attention: Jean Sonneman; or by email to [e-mail]. Please reference OMB Control Number 1004-0025 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact Elaine Guenaga by email at [e-mail], or by telephone at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the BLM provides the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. We are soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper functions of the BLM; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the BLM enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the BLM minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone number, email 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 us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Abstract: The General Mining Law (30 U.S.C. 29, 30, and 39) authorizes a holder of an unpatented claim for hardrock minerals to apply for fee title (patent) to the Federal land (as well as minerals) embraced in the claim. Since 1994, a rider on the annual appropriation bill for the Department of the Interior has prevented the BLM from processing mineral patent applications unless the applications were grandfathered under the initial legislation. While grandfathered applications are rare at present, the approval to collect the information continues to be necessary because of the possibility that the moratorium will be lifted.

Title of Collection: Mineral Surveys, Mineral Patent Applications, Adverse Claims, Protests, and Contests.

OMB Control Number: 1004-0025.

Form Numbers: 3860-2 and 3860-5.

Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Owners of unpatented mining claims and mill sites upon the public lands, and of reserved mineral lands of the United States, National Forests, and National Parks.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 10.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 10.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 3 to 100 hours, depending on activity.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 559.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or maintain a benefit.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion.

Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: $174,375.

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. The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Jean Sonneman,

Information Collection Clearance Officer, Bureau of Land Management.