Supporting Statement A for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions
OMB Control Number 1028-0065
Production Estimate, Quarterly Construction Sand and Gravel and Crushed and Broken Stone (3 forms: 9-4042-A, 9-4124-A, and 9-4142-Q)
Terms of Clearance: None
A. Justification
1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.
The authorities for this collection are:
National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-479)
The National Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-631)
Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq)
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The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has policy responsibility for the Nation’s mineral resources and their derived industries. The National Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-631) and the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-479) make it incumbent upon the Secretary of the Interior to be informed about and to inform the Congress of important developments, including crises, in the minerals industries. Many of the responsibilities regarding mineral resources are assigned to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), where they are discharged through a staff that includes chemists, economists, engineers, mineral commodity specialists, and physicists.
Two fundamental activities—mining and agriculture—form the basis of the Nation’s wealth because they furnish all the raw materials and most of the energy that are used in all other industries. Additionally, the mining industry supplies the fertilizers, pesticides, and soil conditioners that significantly enhance the performance of the agricultural sector. For those raw materials not produced domestically, supplies must be imported. This adversely affects the trade balance and, for some materials, puts U.S. industries at risk of supply disruptions because of international political developments. Imports may also compete with domestic production, thus jeopardizing U.S. jobs. Accordingly, the Government requires accurate, timely data on raw materials production and related industries to formulate policies that ensure national security and economic well-being. The USGS canvass forms are the fundamental means by which data on minerals, mining, and related materials production are obtained.
The Production Estimate forms (USGS Form 9-4042-A or 9-4024-A) are very important for commodities that do not have monthly or quarterly canvasses. Obtaining estimated production, shipments, and value data are essential to deriving reliable data for the annual Mineral Commodity Summaries publication that routinely gets distributed to every member of the U.S. Congress. The estimated production data from the Production Estimate forms also are extremely important for many annual commodities where final company data were not received in time to include in the annual Minerals Yearbook chapters. Sometimes the estimated data that a company submitted are all the information that could be obtained.
The construction aggregates quarterly (Mineral Industry Surveys) is a periodic on-line statistical and economic publication designed to provide timely statistical data on production-for-consumption of this significant mineral commodity. The information produced by the USGS quarterly canvass (USGS Form 9-4142-Q) on domestic production of crushed stone and construction sand and gravel has become a significant indicator of construction activity at the national as well as State level. This canvass generates production-for-consumption estimates by quarters for each State, except Alaska and Hawaii, and each U.S. Census Bureau region, based on information reported voluntarily by producing companies. This report is published at the end of the following quarter after the reporting quarter. The latest release of the quarterly Mineral Industry Surveys contains the most recent estimated totals and percentage changes and supersedes previously published similar information. This quarterly canvass and the affiliated report help fill the gap for current annual production data until the annual Minerals Yearbook chapters are published about 12 months after the end of the reporting year.
2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection. [Be specific. If this collection is a form or a questionnaire, every question needs to be justified.]
The data collected for this collections will be supplied The data obtained from this collection are used by Government agencies, Congressional offices, educational institutions, research organizations, financial institutions, consulting firms, industry, and the public. Each company reports commodity data consistent with industry standards and as mutually agreed upon by the company and the USGS commodity specialists.
Information gathered from this collection is used by the Secretary of the Interior in the annual report to the Congress on the state of domestic mining and mineral industries as required by the National Materials and Minerals Policy, Research and Development Act of 1980. The USGS routinely uses this information to provide analyses and data for decision-making purposes to the Congress and various Presidential councils and commissions. The National Security Council, in particular, has frequently used USGS data in relation to materials mobilization studies and sustainability analyses.
The data are also used to provide ways of identifying industry trends; making supply and demand analyses on varying time cycles; assembling meaningful conclusions concerning important indicators such as industry vitality; and formulating appropriate recommendations for the Government on such matters as stockpiling, tariffs, research and development, and production incentives. The availability, production, supply, and value of some of the minerals are highly variable and must be analyzed more often than on an annual basis.
The canvasses in this collection cover production and consumption in all the nonfuel minerals mining industry. The data collected are used to make domestic ore resource analyses. The USGS then issues, as promptly as possible, various publications that provides essential information while protecting trade secrets and privileged or proprietary commercial or financial information. These data form a substantial part of the USGS Automated Minerals Information System (AMIS) from which mining engineers, geologists, economists, and mineral commodity specialists obtain data for use in legislative programs, research programs, economic studies, analyses, land use, and environmental impact studies. These data are also used to respond to nationwide and international requests for minerals information.
Furthermore, the Strategic and Critical Materials Stock Piling Act (50 U.S.C. 98 et seq.) requires the Secretary to collect data on strategic and critical materials to assist in determining stockpile goals. The Secretary assigned this responsibility for data collection to the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) and transferred the responsibility to the USGS after the USBM was abolished in 1996.
The USGS quarterly telephone canvass on domestic production of construction sand and gravel and crushed and broken stone has become a significant indicator of construction activity at the national, as well as the State level. Recognizing its significance, in January 1997, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) announced that it will use the USGS quarterly Mineral Industry Surveys as the basis to derive improved monthly indexes of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization.
With these canvass forms the USGS will collect information from the Private Sector (forms 9-4042-A, 9-4142-Q and 9-4124-A) and State and Local Government (form 9-4124-A1).
Uses of the Information
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) uses USGS data in studies of minerals mobilization, to recommend trade policy and to resolve disputes under the International Trade Administration, to assist in export development, to develop materials research, and to develop worldwide mineral production and trade data.
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) uses USGS data to support international commodity negotiations, to analyze relations with foreign mineral producers, and to recommend tariffs and quotas and as a worldwide mineral database.
The U.S. Agency for International Development uses USGS data to assist in determining which minerals are of interest to the United States for development in developing nations.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) use USGS data in studies of antitrust activities, unfair trade practices, and false advertising or misrepresentation of mineral goods or commodities.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) uses USGS data to determine research on materials and minerals within research laboratories of the Army, Navy, and the Air Force; sea lanes that must be protected; Defense Production Act Title III projects; National Defense Stockpile goals and specifications; details of procurement, storage and disposal; and suppliers of mineral commodities.
The National Science Foundation, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Research Council use USGS data to ensure maximum benefits from all mineral research.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers use USGS data to determine national and State transportation requirements for the minerals industry.
In addition to the use of USGS data by the majority of Federal Government departments, reports and information are in demand by many types of organizations, including the following:
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Certain commodities are canvassed quarterly to furnish information and data for reports and indexes that are prepared more frequently than on a yearly basis.
Type of information collected: |
Use: |
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Use of various material mineral commodities: |
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Sales of mineral commodities: |
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Production of mineral commodities: |
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Consumption of mineral commodities: |
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Stocks: |
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Plant capacity: |
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Transportation of materials: |
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Recycled materials: |
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Location of operations: |
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Operation status: |
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Sectors of the public that use the data collected by the USGS include, but are not limited to: concrete, construction, metals, ceramics, refractories, electric utilities, electronic engineering, chemical, coal, paper, rubber, plastics and agricultural industries. The USGS customer base (recipients of these data) is well over 35,000 entities and increases considerably each year.
The DOC, the DOD, the DOS, the World Bank, the FRB, the ITC, the FTC, the Federal Highway Administration, and most of our sister agencies within the DOI are some of the agencies that rely on these data. The data collected are used to determine the economic health of the Nation, factored into the gross domestic product, and used in forecasts and trend projections in the building and construction industries, which are closely linked to the issue of rebuilding the infrastructure of the country.
Our customers include banks, brokerage houses, other financial institutions, mineral management companies, independent consultants, and many others who need this information to be able to make informed business decisions. This information is not available from any other source.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision for adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden [and specifically how this collection meets GPEA requirements].
The methods available for reporting the production data collected by these USGS canvasses vary from commodity to commodity. The production estimate data (quantity and value) can be reported on paper form and over the Web on USGS Forms 9-4042-A and 9-4124-A. The quarterly construction sand and gravel and crushed and broken stone data (amount per operation) can be reported via telephone and over the Web on USGS Form 9-4142-Q.
We expect that 30% of the universe will continue to respond electronically. Paper forms will remain an option for submission of responses because not all industry respondents are able to or wish to transmit their data to the USGS by electronic means. For security purposes, certain users will not be allowed to access past submissions on-line unless they specifically request administrative privileges to retrieve such historical data.
The electronic forms conversion effort continues to fulfill the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) requirements by maintaining intelligent links between the input on the electronic forms directly to the database.
An AMIS algorithm determines which canvass qualifies respondents to receive a Production Estimate canvass (USGS Form 9-4042-A or 9-4024-A). The batch process associated with this algorithm automatically registers for one of the two Production Estimate forms such respondents who currently respond via e-forms for the qualifying base canvass. The same batch process issues an e-mailed reminder notice to these respondents.
All respondents for the Quarterly Construction Sand and Gravel and Crushed and Broken Stone canvass (USGS Form 9-4142-Q) are notified of the e-forms option at the time that their data are collected over the phone.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.
If data are available from other Federal or State agencies, trade associations, or other public sources, then USGS canvasses are not conducted. The USGS continuously reviews data collection practices with other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Labor, and the International Trade Commission, as well as with industry associations such as the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, the International Tungsten Industry Association, the Cobalt Development Institute, the Gypsum Association, the Aluminum Association, the International Chromium Development Institute, the Bismuth Institute, the International Copper Study Group, and the International Lead and Zinc Study Group.
For over 120 years, the Federal Government has consistently collected mineral information while trade associations have been created and abolished. Where data are available from other sources, these data are used. Alternate data sources are not available for the mineral commodities that are canvassed.
5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any methods used to minimize burden.
The canvass form is designed to minimize the burden to approximately one third of respondents which are small businesses. Only essential data are requested in a format common to the reporting industry. When applicable, small businesses often respond with fewer data entries than the larger organizations.
6. Describe the consequence to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.
The USGS provides information necessary for sound Federal, State, and industry decision-making. If data are not made available as soon as possible or canvasses were conducted less frequently, the monitoring of stockpile materials for national defense would be impeded by the gap in statistics. The level of domestic and foreign productivity and economic fluctuation would be much less apparent or missed, and that data simply would not be timely enough to be reliable for decisions that affect minerals vulnerability, potential environmental impacts, current trends, and future needs. These decisions, in turn, have an effect on such things as taxes, royalty payments, tariffs, land use, environmental regulations, water use, and transportation.
7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted in a manner: (i) requiring respondents to report more often than quarterly, (ii) requiring respondents prepare written responses in fewer than 30 days after receipt, (iii) requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document, (iv) retain records for more than 3 years; (v) in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable results that can be generalized to the universe of study; (vi) the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and approved by OMB; (vii) that includes a pledge of confidentiality not supported by authority established in statute or regulation; requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets or other confidential information.
No special circumstances exist.
8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publication in the Federal Register of the agency's notice, required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice [and in response to the PRA statement associated with the collection over the past three years] and describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address comments received on cost and hour burden.
Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported. [Please list the names, titles, addresses, and phone numbers of persons contacted.]
Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years — even if the collection of information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.
On October 9, 2009, a 60-day Federal Register notice (74 FR 52254) was published announcing this information collection. Public comments were solicited for 60 days ending December 9, 2009. We did not receive any public comments in response to that notice.
USGS mineral commodity specialists are routinely contacted by Federal and State agencies, Members of Congress, trade associations, the financial community, private companies, universities, and private citizens that request general and specific data and information.
When persons outside the USGS submit requests for information, the USGS mineral commodity specialists and statistical assistants respond in a timely manner. The USGS receives and responds to several thousand e-mail and telephone inquiries each month. During these discussions and interactions, views are exchanged on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, reporting format, data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported, burden estimates and other aspects of this Information Collection. These views help the USGS to improve its data and publications.
On the basis of such feedback, information-use patterns are established commodity by commodity. Once patterns are determined, canvass forms are revised to collect data and to meet the information needs. As information request patterns change, the data collected and reported are modified. Although no direct changes to the collection instruments were made, the list below identifies industry contacts consulted on the burden estimates and other aspects of this Information Collection in July 2009.
Oil-Dry Corporation of America Candace Trimble, Geologist, Operations Ochlocknee, GA Date of contact: August 2009 |
North American Talc Operations, Rio Tinto Minerals Jan Lien, Business Analyst Three Forks, MT Date of contact: August 2009 |
U.S. Silica Company Paul Guttmann, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Berkeley Springs, WV Date of contact: August 2009 |
Sheffler Rock Shop Tim Sheffler, President Alexandria, MO Date of contact: August 2009 |
Vulcan Materials Company Tom Nelson, Manager, Economic Analysis Birmingham, AL Date of contact: September 2009 |
Granite Construction, Inc. Jeff Light, Manager of Geological Services Sacramento, CA Date of contact: September 2009 |
Aggregates Industries, Inc. Diane Shen, Performance Improvement Specialist Rockville, MD Date of contact: September 2009 |
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9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payments or gifts are made to respondents.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
Public Law 96-479, Section 5(3) (f), ensures the confidentiality of all data reported by persons or firms engaged in any phase of mineral or mineral-material production or large-scale consumption.
To implement Section 5(3) (f), the USGS withholds all data reported as “Company Proprietary Data,” and data are disclosed only in the aggregate so as not to reveal data from a single respondent. USGS policy states that absent specific company permission, aggregated data can be reported only if it represents three or more companies and if no one company accounts for more than 75% of the total or if no two companies account for more than 90% of the total. Proprietary data may only be disclosed to Congress or to Federal defense agencies upon official request for appropriate purposes and in some instances to a State government under a cooperative agreement (Memorandum of Understanding). Except in response to requests by Congress or by Federal defense agencies, proprietary data will never be disclosed without the specific permission of the company as represented in the disclosure query. The disclosure statement and query are printed on each canvass form.
The USGS standard for handling proprietary canvass data further discusses protections for USGS proprietary data including penalties associated with violations.
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. This justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.
This collection does not ask for information of a sensitive nature.
12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:
* Indicate the number of respondents, frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was estimated. Unless directed to do so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.
* If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens.
* Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents for the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 14.
Variations can be expected in the reporting burden for completion of these forms because of the differences in operation size and accounting systems. The data sought are those routinely maintained in the course of business. For some companies with more than one plant, the submission takes the form of a consolidated report covering all company operations. This greatly reduces the reporting burden.
We estimate the total annual burden for this collection of information (includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information) to be approximately 470 hours (Table 1). Respondents will report production details of their mining operations either quarterly or annually. For the 2,014 associated responses, the average completion time is 15 minutes for USGS Form 9-4042-A (721 respondents) and USGS Form 9-4124-A (893 respondents) and 10 minutes for USGS Form 9-4142-Q (100 respondents).
Table 1. Consolidated estimates of burden
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PRIVATE SECTOR |
State/Local Gov’t |
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Form No. |
Frequency |
Number of Respondents |
Responses |
Completion Time |
Burden Hours |
Number of Respondents |
Responses |
Completion Time |
Burden Hours |
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9-4042-A |
Annually |
721 |
721 |
15 min |
180 |
0 |
0 |
15 min |
0 |
9-4124-A |
Annually |
884 |
884 |
15 min |
221 |
9 |
9 |
15 min |
2 |
9-4142-Q |
Quarterly |
100 |
400 |
10 min |
67 |
0 |
0 |
10 min |
0 |
TOTALS |
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1,705 |
2,005 |
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468 |
9 |
9 |
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2 |
The estimated dollar value of the burden hours for this collection takes into account the nature of our respondents. We estimate the total dollar value of this collection to be $12,905 (Table 2). We arrived at this figure by multiplying the estimated burden hours 468 by $27.46 (for the private sector) and $26.94 by 2 (for state and local government employees). We used the average hourly wage earning for the sales and office occupational group. These figures are based on the National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States March 2010 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupation and Wages, (BLS news release USDL-10-0283 for Employer Costs for Employee Compensation—December 2009 at - http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/ecec.pdf), dated March 10, 2010).
These estimates also include the multipliers to account for benefits. We multiplied the hourly rate by 1.5 to account for benefits State/local employees and by 1.4 to account for benefits for private sector (as implied in the previously mentioned BLS news release).
Table 2: Estimated Dollar Value of Respondent Annual Burden Hours
Activity |
Sector |
Annual Number of Responses |
Total Annual Burden Hours |
Dollar Value of Burden Hours (Including Benefits) |
Total Dollar Value of Annual Burden Hours |
Completing canvass forms |
Private |
2,005 |
468 |
$27.46 |
$12,851 |
State / local gov’t |
9 |
2 |
$26.94 |
$54 |
13. Provide an estimate of the total annual [non-hour] cost burden to respondents or recordkeepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in Items 12 and 14).
There is no non-hour cost burden to respondents under this collection. There is no recordkeeping nor any fees associated with collection of this information.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.
The total annual cost to the Federal Government is $44,669. This includes the operational expenses ($14,100) and cost to the Federal Government for salaries and benefits for administering this information collection ($30,569). Operational expenses include mailing, overhead, printing, processing and non-Federal support staff (Table 3).
Table 3. Annualized Operational Expenses and estimated costs
Operational Expenses |
Estimated Cost |
Printing of canvass forms |
$100 |
Mailing lists compilation and maintenance |
$900 |
Mailing operation |
$2,200 |
Editing, coding, tabulation |
$4,100 |
ADP processing |
$3,500 |
Electronic publication of results |
$1,100 |
Government Printing Office print costs for 2 Federal Register Notices |
$1,300 |
Electronic forms development and maintenance |
$900 |
Total |
$14,100 |
The total estimated cost to the Federal Government for processing and reviewing information received as a result of this collection is $30,569 (Table 4). This includes Federal employee salaries and benefits. The table below shows Federal staff and grade levels performing various tasks associated with this information collection. We used the Office of Personnel Management Salary Table 2010-DCB (http://www.opm.gov/flsa/oca/10tables/pdf/dcb_h.pdf.) to determine the hourly rate. We multiplied the hourly rate by 1.5 to account for benefits (as implied by the BLS news release USDL-10-0283).
Table 4. Federal Employee Salaries and Benefits
Position |
Grade/ Step |
Hourly Rate |
Hourly Rate incl. benefits (1.5 x hourly pay rate) |
Estimated time spent by Federal Employees (hours) |
Estimated Federal employee salary/benefit annualized costs |
Commodity Specialist |
GS-13/8 |
$52.61 |
$78.92 |
170 |
$13,416 |
Statistical Assistants |
GS-6/3 |
$19.41 |
$29.15 |
320 |
$9,328 |
Computer Specialist |
GS-13/8 |
$52.61 |
$78.92 |
30 |
$2,367 |
Editor |
GS-12/8 |
$44.25 |
$66.38 |
30 |
$1,991 |
Minerals Records Administrator |
GS-12/8 |
$44.25 |
$66.38 |
10 |
$669 |
Management |
GS-14/8 |
$62.17 |
$93.26 |
30 |
$2,798 |
TOTAL |
$30,569 |
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15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments.
We estimate that there will be 2,005 responses totaling 468 burden hours. This is a net decrease of 797 responses and 144 burden hours from our previous request of 2,802 responses and 612 burden hours.
The difference represents an adjustment where we fine-tuned the number of respondents based on our experience in administering this collection along with the types of respondent feedback, discussions, and interactions as described in our answer to Question 8.
Form 9-4124 is not new, however, the respondents are being separated to differentiate between private and state/local government respondents. The respondent burden for these forms, are updated in Tables 1 and 2 above.
16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.
The AMIS mainframe system and off-the-shelf software packages are used to compile and tabulate the data and to prepare tables for publication. National, State, and regional tabulations are prepared and published annually at http://minerals.er.usgs.gov/minerals/ in table format from data collected by these canvasses. Preliminary estimates are prepared and published in the Mineral Commodity Summaries, which is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering the previous year’s nonfuel mineral industry. Data are also published in the monthly and quarterly issues of the Mineral Industry Surveys series and the Annual Reports from the Minerals Yearbook and other USGS publications.
Tables present various aspects of commodities, such as consumption and production of products together with industry stocks. Economic changes are incorporated and industry trends and activities are studied. Statistical data are processed and analyzed by the Data Collection and Coordination Section, which also establishes timing for all key steps in the work.
Tabulation and publication of data are governed by the USGS standard for handling proprietary canvass data included in the supplementary documents. Data are available via the Internet and in print for select publications in the USGS minerals information series.
Quarterly and semiannual tables are generally published within 50 workdays from the end of the reporting month. Annual data are generally published within 9 months from the end of the reporting year. This publication schedule maintains a very high percentage of responses.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.
We will display the OMB control number and expiration date on each form in this collection.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions."
There are no exceptions to the certification statement.
1 Form 9-4124 is not new, however, the respondents are being separated to differentiate between private and state/local government respondents. The respondent burden for these forms, are updated in Tables 1 and 2 below.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions |
| Author | pondsp |
| Last Modified By | pondsp |
| File Modified | 2010-05-18 |
| File Created | 2010-05-18 |