Emergency ICR Letter

United States Department of the Interior

IN REVLY REFER TO;

84-52000
PRJ- 15.00

BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
P0 Box 25007
Denver, Colorado 80225-0007

TE PRIDE
NAM ERICA

OCT31 2008

Mr. Nathan Frey
Office of Management and Budget
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Docket Library, Room 10102
17th
725
Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Mr. Frey:
Under the Office of Management and Budget (0MB) guidelines at 5 CFR 1320.13, we request
emergency processing of the information collection request (ICR) associated with the Interim
Final Rule (1006-AA54) for the Bureau of Reclamation's Rural Water Supply Program (Rural
Water Program). The ICR has been uploaded into the Regulatory Information Service Center
and Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Consolidated Information System (ROdS).
The Rural Water Program will address rural water needs in the western United States by assisting
small communities to plan the design and construction of rural water projects. Eligible entities
interested in participating in the program will be requested to submit information to allow
Reclamation to evaluate and prioritize requests for financial or technical assistance. There are no
forms associated with the ICR.
In accordance with the emergency processing procedures,
(a) We have determined that:
(1) This information collection, which is associated with a new Interim Final Rule
(1006-AA54), will be published in the Federal Register concurrent with the
rulemaking. The public will have an opportunity to comment on the rule, including
the requirements related to this information collection, when it is published in the
Federal Register.
(2) Delaying the enactment of this rule would delay the implementation of a critical
program to provide water to many rural communities who are currently without safe
drinking water. Additionally, the information collected is general information about
the water supply needs of the applicants and is, therefore, readily available to the
applicants.

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(b) We request that 0MB make a decision on this emergency ICR during the processing of
the Interim Final Rule.
(c) We have not formally consulted with potential respondents on the impact of this burden
due to time constraints. Our estimate of the annual burden hours is based on
Reclamation's experience with similar application processes for other programs.
If you have any questions or need further information, please call Ms. Avra Morgan, Policy and
Program Services, at 303-445-2906.
Sincerely,
--Th

Roseann Gonzales
Director, Policy and Program Services