[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81353-81355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32669]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of the Secretary
[133D5670LC DLCAP0000.000000 DS10100000 DX.10129; OMB Control Number
1093-0007]
Proposed Renewal of Information Collection; Tribal Expression of
Interest to the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal
Nations, Interior.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations (Buy-Back Program), Office of
the Secretary, Department of the Interior announces the proposed
extension of a public information collection and seeks public comments
on the provisions thereof.
DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by February
29, 2016
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ADDRESSES: Send your written comments to Michael Estes, Land Buy-Back
Program for Tribal Nations, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C
Street NW., MS 5552-MIB, Washington, DC 20240, fax 202-208-3009, or by
electronic mail to [email protected]. Please mention that your
comments concern the Tribal of Expression of Interest to the Land Buy-
Back Program for Tribal Nations, OMB Control Number 1093-0007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request a copy of the information
collection request, any explanatory information and related forms, see
the contact information provided in the ADDRESSES section above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This notice is for renewal of information collection.
The Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') regulations at 5 CFR
part 1320, which implement the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44
U.S.C. 3501 et seq., require that interested members of the public and
affected agencies have an opportunity to comment on information
collection and recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)).
The Secretary of the Interior established the Land Buy-Back Program
for Tribal Nations (``the Program'') to implement the land
consolidation provisions of the Cobell Settlement Agreement (``the
Settlement''). The Settlement provided for a $1.9 billion Trust Land
Consolidation Fund to consolidate fractional land interests across
Indian Country.
The Department of the Interior works cooperatively with tribal
leaders and individual landowners to reduce the number of fractional
interests through voluntary land sales. The Program allows interested
individual owners to receive payments for voluntarily selling their
land. All lands sold will immediately be held in trust for the tribe
with jurisdiction. Tribal leadership, participation, and facilitation
are crucial to the success of the Program.
The Program is carrying out its work in accordance with the Claims
Resolution Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-291, Sec. 101). The Act requires
that ``[t]he Secretary shall consult with Indian tribes to identify
fractional interests within the respective jurisdictions of the Indian
tribes for purchase in a manner that is consistent with the priorities
of the Secretary.'' Moreover, the obligation to engage in meaningful
consultations with Federally-recognized tribes is rooted in the United
States Constitution and Federal treaties, statutes, executive orders
and policies. Federal agencies are required to consult on actions that
will have substantial, direct effect or implications for tribal
nations, including regulations, rulemakings, policy, guidance,
legislative proposals, grant formula changes, and operational
activities.
There are about 245,000 owners of nearly three million fractional
interests across Indian Country who are eligible to participate in the
Program. Informed by early planning activities, the Program identified
42 locations where land consolidation activities--such as planning,
outreach, mapping, mineral evaluations, appraisals or acquisitions--
have either already occurred or are expected to take place through the
middle of 2017. These locations represented 83 percent of all
outstanding fractional interests across Indian Country.
The Program has launched a two-part Planning Initiative to help
determine its next implementation schedule for 2017 and beyond.
Eligible tribal governments not already scheduled for implementation
are invited to formally indicate their interest in participating in the
Program. More information, including the deadline for tribal
expressions of interest, is available to tribal leaders at: https://www.doi.gov/buybackprogram/tribes.
In light of the Program's duty to consult with tribes, we are
conducting this information collection request to obtain information
from the remaining eligible tribal governments regarding their interest
in implementing the Program at their locations and their readiness to
do so. The Program will evaluate the expressions of interest provided
by tribal governments, among other factors, as it develops its next
implementation schedule.
II. Data
(1) Title: Tribal Expression of Interest to the Land Buy-Back
Program for Tribal Nations
OMB Control Number: 1093-0007.
Current Expiration Date: April 30, 2016.
Type of Review: Information Collection Renewal.
Affected Entities: Tribal Governments
Estimated annual number of respondents: 50
Frequency of responses: Once per interested tribe.
(2) Annual reporting and recordkeeping burden:
Total annual reporting per response: 74 hours.
Total number of estimated responses: 50.
Total annual reporting: 3,700 hours.
(3) Description of the need and use of the information: The
information that we seek to collect will be used by the Land Buy-Back
Program as one consideration among others to evaluate and determine our
next implementation schedule for the consolidation of fractionated
lands. The Program will consider implementation at locations associated
with tribes that express interest in the Program.
III. Request for Comments
The Department invites comments on:
(a) 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;
(b) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
collection of information and 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 through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other collection techniques or other forms
of information technology.
``Burden'' means the total time, effort, and financial resources
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose, or provide
information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed
to review instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and use
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and
disclosing and providing information; to train personnel and to be able
to respond to a collection of information, to search data sources, and
to complete and review the collection of information; and to transmit
or otherwise disclose the information.
It is our policy to make all comments available to the public for
review. Before including Personally Identifiable Information (``PII''),
such as your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
information in your comment(s), you should be aware that your entire
comment (including PII) may be made available to the public at any
time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold PII from public
view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. If you wish to
view any comments received, you may do so by scheduling an appointment
using the
[[Page 81355]]
contact information provided in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. A
valid picture identification is required for entry into the Department
of the Interior.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information
collection renewal; they also will become a matter of public record.
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.
Dated: December 22, 2015.
John H. McClanahan,
Program Manager, Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations.
[FR Doc. 2015-32669 Filed 12-28-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4334-63-P