80 FR 66932 - Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Programmatic Clearance for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 210 (October 30, 2015)

We (National Park Service, NPS) have sent an Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the estimated burden and cost. The National Park Service (NPS) sponsors public surveys to provide park managers with information needed for park planning, management, operations and evaluation of performance related to protecting park resources and meeting the needs of the public. In consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), the NPS has developed a Programmatic Clearance Process for NPS-sponsored public surveys. It significantly streamlines the information collection review process. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this ICR.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 210 (Friday, October 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66932-66933]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27714]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NRSS-SSB-19672; PPWONRADE2, PMP00EI05.YP0000 (166)]


Information Collection Request Sent to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for Approval; Programmatic Clearance for NPS-Sponsored 
Public Surveys

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We (National Park Service, NPS) have sent an Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for review and approval. We summarize 
the ICR below and describe the nature of the collection and the 
estimated burden and cost. The National Park Service (NPS) sponsors 
public surveys to provide park managers with information needed for 
park planning, management, operations and evaluation of performance 
related to protecting park resources and meeting the needs of the 
public. In consultation with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
and the Department of the Interior (DOI), the NPS has developed a 
Programmatic Clearance Process for NPS-sponsored public surveys. It 
significantly streamlines the information collection review process. To 
comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and as part of our 
continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite 
the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity 
to comment on this ICR.

DATES: You must submit comments on or before November 30, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Send your comments and suggestions on this information 
collection to the Desk Officer for the Department of the Interior at 
OMB--OIRA at (202) 395-5806 (fax) or [email protected] 
(email) and identify your submission as 1024-0224. Please also send a 
copy of your comments to Phadrea Ponds, Information Collections 
Coordinator, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, 
CO 80525 (mail); or [email protected] (email). Please reference 
Information Collection 1024-0224--Programmatic Clearance Renewal in the 
subject line.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: [email protected] (email); or 970-
267-7295 (phone) and Phadrea Ponds, Information Collection Coordinator, 
National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525 
(mail); or [email protected] (email). Please reference Information 
Collection 1024-0224 Programmatic Clearance Renewal in the subject 
line. You may also access this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Abstract

    The Programmatic Clearance for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys applies 
to surveys designed to furnish usable information to NPS managers and 
planners concerning park visitors, visitor services, potential park 
visitors, and residents of communities near parks. This information is 
intended to provide NPS managers with data that can be used to improve 
the quality and utility of agency programs, services, and planning 
efforts. Questions asked under the programmatic review process must 
show a clear tie to NPS management and planning needs. The programmatic 
review may only be used for non-controversial surveys that are unlikely 
to attract or include topics of significant public interest in the 
programmatic review process.
    To qualify for the NPS generic programmatic review process, all 
information collections must be directly tied to an area managed by the 
NPS or research that will benefit NPS management efforts. All 
collections must be reviewed by the NPS and approved by OMB before the 
survey can be initiated.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1024-0224.
    Title: Programmatic Clearance for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Description of Respondents: Individual households and general 
public.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Frequency of Collection: Occasionally, one time.
    Estimated Annual Number of Responses: 41,500.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Annual
                                                              responses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
On-site surveys............................................       20,000
Mail-back surveys..........................................       10,000
All non-response surveys...................................        6,500
Telephone surveys..........................................        1,000
Focus Groups/In person interviews..........................        1,500
Other......................................................        2,500
                                                            ------------
  Total....................................................       41,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Estimated Completion Time per Response: 15 minutes per mail back 
survey; 3 minutes per non response survey, 30 minutes per telephone 
survey; 60 minutes per focus group/interview 60 minutes; Other 15 
minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,283 hours.
    Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden Cost: There are no non-hour burden 
costs associated with this collection.

III. Comments

    On May 29, 2015, a 60-day Federal Register notice (80 FR 30720) was 
published announcing this information collection. Public comments were 
solicited for 60 days ending July 28, 2015. We received one public 
comment in response to that notice. The commenter did not support the 
renewal of the collection and stated that ``once every 5 years is often 
enough to take these surveys.'' In response to this comment, NPS 
contends that this renewal is not a single annual survey; rather it 
facilitates a set of independent surveys administered at multiples 
sites for a variety of NPS management needs. This process simplifies 
and streamlines the information collection requests to OMB in a manner 
that allows the NPS to submit more requests per year than we would 
through the regular submission route. Surveys are reviewed and approved 
in an expeditious manner allowing data collection to occur more 
frequently and in a timely manner--more specifically during the 
visitation season of interest. In the 16 years of the programmatic 
approval on average, 40 new surveys have been approved each year in 
support of NPS management and planning. This is nearly five times as 
many as we would expect going through the regular submission route.
    We again invite comments concerning this information collection 
request on:
     Whether or not the collection of information is necessary, 
including whether or not the information will have practical utility;
     The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this 
collection of information;
     Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on respondents.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of

[[Page 66933]]

public record. 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 or OMB in your comment to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that it 
will be done.

    Dated: October 26, 2015.
Madonna L. Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-27714 Filed 10-29-15; 8:45 am]
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