81 FR 8989 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on the USGS Water Use Data and Research Program

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
U.S. Geological Survey

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 35 (February 23, 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.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8989-8990]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03704]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Geological Survey

[GX16CC00G1S3000]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments on 
the USGS Water Use Data and Research Program

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

ACTION: Notice of a new information collection, USGS Water Use Data and 
Research Program.

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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.

DATES: To ensure that your comments on this ICR are considered, OMB 
must receive them on or before March 24, 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: 
([email protected]); or by fax (202) 395-5806; and identify 
your submission with `OMB Control Number 1028-NEW USGS Water Use Data 
and Research Program'. 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-NEW: USGS Water Use Data and Research Program' in all 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melinda Dalton, Water Availability and 
Use Science Program, U.S. Geological Survey, 1770 Corporate Drive, 
Suite

[[Page 8990]]

500, Norcross, GA 30095 (mail); 678-924-6637 (phone); or 
[email protected] (email). You may also find information about this ICR 
at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The USGS is authorized under SECURE Water Act Section 9508 to 
assist state water resource agencies with improving their water use 
data collection activities. USGS has implemented the Water Use Date and 
Research program (WUDR), to work with state water agencies in gathering 
and analyzing their data, and assists this effort via cooperative 
agreements. WUDR will be used to improve the collection and reporting 
of water-use categories by state agencies, including categories of 
water use that were previously collected by the USGS National Water Use 
Information program but discontinued due to limited resources. This 
collection will also be used in reports to Congress on water resources 
in the nation. Grant funds will be announced and awarded as part of a 
competitive process that will be guided, annually, by a technical 
committee whose members will include representatives from the 
stakeholder community as well as USGS. Water Use Data and Research 
Program funds will be coordinated with a single agency in each State. 
Collaboration and coordination with USGS personnel will be required as 
part of the Grants program. Data must be stored electronically and made 
available at the 8-digit hydrologic-unit code (HUC-8) and county level 
in formats appropriate for existing USGS databases. Additionally, 
methods used for data collection (estimated values, coefficients, etc.) 
and a description of data quality assurance and control will be 
required.

II. Data

    OMB Control Number: 1028--NEW.
    Title: USGS Water Use Data and Research Program.
    Type of Request: Approval of new information collection.
    Respondent Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
    Frequency of Collection: Annually.
    Description of Respondents: State water-resource agencies that 
collect water-use data.
    Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: We expect 52 
respondents to read and complete the application. We expect 15 
respondents to submit a mid-term progress report and a final technical 
report.
    Estimated Time per Response: We estimate that it will take 40 hours 
to prepare the proposal. This includes time to complete the project 
narrative and to provide any other relevant supporting documents. We 
estimate that it will take 12 hours in total to prepare the mid-term 
and final reports.
    Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 2,260 hours.
    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 OMB approves a collection of 
information, you are not obliged to respond.
    Comments: On July 23, 2015, we published a Federal Register notice 
(80 FR 43792) announcing that we would submit this ICR to OMB for 
approval and soliciting comments. The comment period closed on 
September 21, 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.

Sonya Jones,
 Program Coordinator, Water Availability and Use Science Program.
[FR Doc. 2016-03704 Filed 2-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4338-11-P