[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 150 (Thursday, August 5, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42638-42639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20178]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 150 / Thursday, August 5, 1999 /
Notices
[[Page 42638]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection; Request for Comments; Forest Industries
Data Collection System
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service announces its intention to request a reinstatement of a
previously approved information collection. The Forest Service will
survey wood-using mills to determine the volume of logs (roundwood) and
wood chips the mills received. This information will enable the agency
to assess the trends in the use of logs and wood chips as required by
statute.
DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before October 4,
1999.
ADDRESSES: All comments should be addressed to: Eric Wharton, Forest
Inventory and Analysis, Northeastern Research Station, 5 Radnor
Corporate Center, Suite 200, Forest Service, USDA, Radnor, PA 19087-
4585.
Comments also may be submitted via facsimile to (610) 975-4200 or
by email to: ne__fia@fs.fed.us.
The public may inspect comments received at the Northeastern
Research Station, 5 Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 200, Radnor,
Pennsylvania.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Wharton, Northeastern Research
Station, at (610) 975-4052; or Bruce Hansen, Northeastern Research
Station, at (304) 431-2727.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Forest and Range Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 and
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978
require the Forest Service to evaluate trends in the use of logs and
wood chips, to forecast anticipated levels of logs and wood chips, and
to analyze changes in the harvest of these resources. The information
will be collected by Forest Service personnel at the following Forest
Service research stations: Northeastern Research Station (Radnor, PA),
North Central Research Station (St. Paul, MN), Southern Research
Station (Asheville, NC), Rocky Mountain Research Station (Ogden, UT),
and Pacific Northwest Research Station (Portland, OR).
Upon reinstatement of this information collection, the Forest
Service will collect information from primary wood-using mills, which
includes small, part-time mills, as well as large corporate entities.
Primary wood-using mills are facilities that use harvested wood in log
or chip form, such as sawlogs, veneer logs, pulpwood, and pulp chips,
to manufacture a secondary product, such as lumber or paper.
To collect the information, Forest Service personnel will use the
following questionnaires: Pulpwood Received, [State, Year] and Logs and
Other Roundwood Received, [State, Year]. The questionnaires will be
mailed to mills in a number of different States. The title of each
questionnaire includes the State and the calendar year for which
information will be collected. Respondents will return the completed
questionnaires by mail in self-addressed, postage-paid envelopes.
Respondents will answer questions that include the type of logs or
wood chips that have been harvested, the volume of logs or wood chips
that have been received by the mill, the geographic locations from
which the logs or wood chips have been harvested, the variety of tree
species that have been harvested and received by the mill, the prices
the mill has paid for the logs or wood chips, and the volume of
byproducts that have been produced as a result of the manufacturing
process, such as bark, sawdust, and slabs.
Description of Information Collection
The following describes the information collection to be
reinstated:
Title: Pulpwood Received.
OMB Number: 0596-0010.
Expiration Date of Approval: December 31, 1998.
Type of Request: Request for reinstatement of a previously approved
information collection.
Abstract: Questionnaires will be mailed to large paper companies,
as well as to a few smaller pulping companies. Forest Service personnel
will evaluate the information collected from the pulp mills to monitor
the volume, types, species, sources, and prices of timber products
harvested throughout the Nation. The data collected will be used to
provide essential information about the current drain on the Nation's
timber resources for pulpwood industrial products.
Data from this collection of information is not available from
other sources.
Estimate of Burden: 0.5 hours.
Type of Respondents: Primary users of industrial pulpwood and wood
chips.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 222.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 111 hours.
Description of Information Collection
The following describes the information collection to be
reinstated:
Title: Logs and Other Roundwood Received.
OMB Number: 0596-0010.
Expiration Date of Approval: December 31, 1998.
Type of Request: Request for reinstatement of a previously approved
information collection.
Abstract: Questionnaires will be mailed to primary wood-using
mills, which include small, part-time mills as well as large corporate
entities. The collected information will be evaluated by Forest Service
personnel to monitor the volume, types, species, sources, and prices of
timber products harvested throughout the Nation. The data collected is
used to provide essential information about the current drain on the
Nation's timber resources for use as industrial products, other than
pulpwood products.
Data from this collection of information is not available from
other sources.
Estimate of Burden: .84 hour.
Type of Respondents: Primary users of industrial roundwood
products.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,687.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 2,257 hours.
[[Page 42639]]
Comment Is Invited
The agency invites comments on the following: (a) Whether the
proposed collection of information is necessary for the stated purposes
or the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have practical or scientific 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 respondents, including
the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Use of Comments
All comments, including names and addresses when provided, will
become a matter of public record. Comments received in response to this
notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of
Management and Budget approval.
Dated: July 23, 1999.
Robert Lewis, Jr.,
Deputy Chief for Research & Development.
[FR Doc. 99-20178 Filed 8-4-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-P
