81 FR 53155 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. Geological Survey

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 155 (August 11, 2016)

We (the U.S. Geological Survey) are notifying the public that we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the information collection request (ICR) described below. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 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. This collection is scheduled to expire on August 31, 2016.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 155 (Thursday, August 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53155-53156]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19110]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Geological Survey

[GX16EN05ESB0500]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

AGENCY: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION: Notice of revision of a currently approved information 
collection, (1028-0096).

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SUMMARY: We (the U.S. Geological Survey) are notifying the public that 
we have submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) the 
information collection request (ICR) described below. To comply with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) 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. This collection is scheduled to expire on August 
31, 2016.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before September 12, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Please submit written comments on this information 
collection directly to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Desk Officer 
for the Department of the Interior, via email: 
(OIRA[email protected]); or

[[Page 53156]]

by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify your submission with `OMB Control 
Number 1028-0028 Department of the Interior Regional Climate Science 
Centers'. Please also forward a copy of your comments and suggestions 
on this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance 
Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 807, 
Reston, VA 20192 (mail); (703) 648-7195 (fax); or [email protected] (email). Please reference `OMB Information 
Collection 1028-0028 Department of the Interior Regional Climate 
Science Centers' in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robin O'Malley, National Climate 
Change and Wildlife Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 
Sunrise Valley Drive, Mail Stop 516, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); 703-648-
4086 (phone); or [email protected] (email). You may also find 
information about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) manages eight Department of the 
Interior (DOI) Climate Science Centers (CSC). Each CSC involves a 
cooperative agreement with a host institution. The initial host 
institution agreements will be re-competed, requiring collection of 
information from potential host institutions. In addition, this 
information collection addresses quarterly and annual reporting 
required of host institutions.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028-0096.
    Form Number: NA.
    Title: Department of the Interior Regional Climate Science Centers.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondent Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Frequency of Collection: Information will be collected one time 
every five years (approximately) for each CSC, to enable re-competition 
of CSC hosting agreements. In addition, host institutions are required 
to fill four quarterly financial statements and one annual progress 
report.
    Description of Respondents: Institutions that are expected to 
propose to serve as CSC host or partner institutions include State, 
local government, and tribal entities, including academic institutions. 
Existing host institutions are State academic institutions.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: USGS expects to request 
proposals for a maximum of three CSCs in any year, and to receive an 
average of five proposals per CSC-request, for a total of fifteen 
proposals in any single year. USGS expects to enter into hosting 
agreements with a minimum of eight CSC host institutions. Thus USGS 
would request quarterly financial statements and annual progress 
reports covering host agreements from eight institutions. In addition, 
USGS expects to have in place approximately forty cooperative 
agreements per year addressing specific research projects funded under 
these hosting agreements. Each of these 40 agreements requires 
quarterly financial statements and one annual progress report.
    Estimated Time per Response: Each proposal for CSC hosting is 
expected to take 200 hours to complete. The time required to complete 
quarterly and annual reports for any specific host cooperative 
agreement or research project agreement is expected to total 2.5 hours 
per report.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: A maximum of 3,000 hours in years 
when proposals are requested, and 1 hours in those years with only 
quarterly and annual reporting.
    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping ``Non-Hour Cost'' Burden: 
There are no ``non-hour cost'' burdens associated with this collection 
of information.
    Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) 
provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor and you are not 
required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. Until the OMB approves a collection 
of information, you are not obliged to respond.
    Comments: On September 1, 2015, we published a Federal Register 
notice (80 FR 52786) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB 
for approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on 
November 2, 2015. We received no comments.

III. Request for Comments

    We again invite comments concerning this ICR as to: (a) Whether the 
proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to 
perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) 
the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information; (c) how to enhance the quality, usefulness, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) how to minimize 
the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Please note that comments submitted in response to this notice are 
a matter of public record. Before including your personal mailing 
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire 
comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us and the OMB 
in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, we cannot guarantee that it will be done.

Douglas Beard,
 Chief of National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center.
[FR Doc. 2016-19110 Filed 8-10-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4338-11-P