Notice2021-13111
1670-NEW: SAFECOM Nationwide Surveys Generic Clearance
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 23, 2021
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security Department
Abstract
The Emergency Communications Division (ECD) within Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will submit the following Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. CISA previously published a notice about this ICR, in the Federal Register on February 19, 2021 for a 60- day public comment period. In response, there were no comment received. The purpose of this notice is to allow additional 30-days for public comments.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 118 (Wednesday, June 23, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32958-32960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13111]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket No. CISA-2020-0005]
1670-NEW: SAFECOM Nationwide Surveys Generic Clearance
AGENCY: Emergency Communications Division (ECD), Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Department of Homeland Security
(DHS).
ACTION: 30-Day notice and request for comments; new Information
Collection Request, 1670-NEW.
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SUMMARY: The Emergency Communications Division (ECD) within
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will submit the
following Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. CISA previously published a notice
about this ICR, in the Federal Register on February 19, 2021 for a 60-
day public comment period. In response, there were no comment received.
The purpose of this notice is to allow additional 30-days for public
comments.
DATES: The comment period for the information collection request
published on February 17, 2021 at 86 FR 9948. Comments are due by July
23, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
The Office of Management and Budget is particularly interested in
comments which:
1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
[[Page 32959]]
2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to
be collected; and
4. Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic
submissions of responses.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Runnels, 703-705-6279,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ff1fafcefdffcf6ecfeb1fbf7ecb1f8f0e9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="58363d3b28183b312b39763c302b763f372e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 2006, Congress passed Public Law 109-295,
which included SEC. 671. EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS also known as the
``21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006''. The legislation
established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of
Emergency Communications, which was re-designated in 2018 as the
Emergency Communications Division (ECD) within the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), to lead the development and
implementation of a comprehensive approach to advancing national
interoperable communications capabilities.
The following responsibilities were established:
6 U.S.C. 571(c) requires the DHS Secretary through the ECD
Assistant Director to:
(4) Conduct extensive, nationwide outreach to support and promote
the ability of emergency response providers and relevant government
officials to continue to communicate in the event of natural disasters,
acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters;
(13) develop and update periodically, as appropriate, a National
Emergency Communications Plan under section 572 of this title;
(14) perform such other duties of the Department necessary to
support and promote the ability of emergency response providers and
relevant government officials to continue to communicate in the event
of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters;
and
(15) perform other duties of the Department necessary to achieve
the goal of and maintain and enhance interoperable emergency
communications capabilities.
6 U.S.C. 572(a) requires the Secretary in cooperation with State,
local, and tribal governments, Federal departments and agencies,
emergency response providers, and the private sector, develop not later
than 180 days after the completion of the baseline assessment under
section 573 of this title, and periodically update, a National
Emergency Communications Plan.
Lastly, 6 U.S.C. 573 requires the DHS Secretary to conduct an
assessment of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments that
defines the range of capabilities needed by emergency response
providers and relevant government officials, assesses the current
available capabilities to meet such communications needs; identify the
gaps between such current capabilities and defined requirements; at
least every five years.
These authorities in addition to DHS responsibilities through
Executive Order 13618 in the area of national security/emergency
providers' communications require a continuous examination of
nationwide emergency communications capabilities.
The frequency and complexity of emergencies are on the rise during
a time when technology is advancing at a faster pace than any other
time in history. In order to perform these statutory regulations, it is
important to understand the continuously changing requirements of
emergency response providers and government officials at all levels of
government, evolving risks, and the public safety community's ability
to integrate new technologies while also preparing for emergent
technologies. As a result, CISA is seeking a PRA Generic Clearance to
allow for flexibility in implementing surveys that are relevant to the
current security environment.
To meet the statutory requirements of 6 U.S.C. 573, ECD conducts
the SAFECOM Nationwide Survey every 5 years to assess evolving
capability needs and gaps and track progress against policy
initiatives; status of strategic plans; and major industry or market
shifts affecting the emergency communications capability.
CISA ECD conducts a web-based survey entitled the SAFECOM
Nationwide Survey, hereinafter referred to as the SNS. The purpose of
the survey is to gather information to assess available emergency
communications capabilities and identify gaps and needs for emergency
response providers to effectively communicate during all types of
natural or man-made hazards. CISA ECD uses the information collected to
complete a statutorily mandated assessment and shares the data with all
stakeholders that have a role in emergency communications. In order to
ascertain this information, the SNS deploys four similar surveys across
the nation to various emergency response disciplines at each level of
government--federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local. The survey
solicits responses regarding issues affecting the public safety
community to determine a jurisdiction's level of operability,
interoperability and continuity and thus their overall emergency
communications capability level. CISA ECD analyzes the data collected
from this general survey to identify major gaps and themes affecting
emergency communications across levels of government. Additionally,
this analysis informs the development of supplemental surveys tailored
to specific needs across the public safety community, as well as future
iterations of the Nationwide Baseline Communications Assessment (NCBA)
and National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP).
The results from the most recent surveys led to major updates to
the update of the NECP released in September 2019. The NECP sets
strategic priorities for the entire Nation. Additionally, the current
collection allowed CISA ECD to share reliable data with emergency
communications partners at all levels of government which assists them
with: (1) Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan (SCIP)
development, (2) Threat and Hazard Identification Risk Analysis (THIRA)
development, (3) state-level grant programs and guidance, (4) federal
grant applications assistance, and (5) funding and resource sharing
strategy development.
CISA ECD conducts SAFECOM supplemental surveys. The surveys can be
conducted as focus groups, in-person interviews, web- and paper-based.
CISA ECD uses the information collected to complete statutorily
mandated requirements (6 U.S.C. 571(c), 572(a), and 573) and shares the
data with all stakeholders with a role in emergency communications. In
order to ascertain this information, the SAFECOM supplemental surveys
deploy topic-specific or targeted surveys across the nation to various
emergency response disciplines at each level of government: Federal,
state, territorial, tribal, and local. The surveys solicit responses
regarding targeted issues affecting all public safety, emergency
response communities and/or specific subsets of the SNS population.
CISA ECD analyzes the data collected from these supplemental surveys to
identify changing requirements, mitigate risks, and inform the data
collected from the 5-year Nationwide Survey.
[[Page 32960]]
ECD uses electronic submission to reduce the burden on respondents
including web-based surveys and assessment tools, such as Survey
Monkey. Its target audience--mainly first responders--is frequently
interrupted, have variable schedules, and frequently work long hours.
Electronic submission provides a more user-friendly interface, provides
anonymity to the users, ensures the maximum response rate, eliminates
paper, printing, and postage costs along with the need for data entry.
We will also utilize alternative submission methods for both the
SNS and the supplemental surveys. An Adobe PDF-fillable form which can
be returned via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e99a879aa98a809a88c78d819ac78e869f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0f7c617c4f6c667c6e216b677c21686079">[email protected]</span></a>, direct emails with
questionnaires attached, an in-person surveys, focus-groups, and a
paper copy that will be mailed directly to the respondent(s) requesting
a hard copy. The paper copy can be returned either via a prepaid
envelope, scanned and emailed to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7a0914093a1913091b541e1209541d150c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="295a475a694a405a48074d415a074e465f">[email protected]</span></a>, and/or faxed to CISA
ECD. We anticipate that .5% of respondents will utilize these
alternative submission methods.
Analysis
Agency: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),
Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Title of Collection: SAFECOM Nationwide Surveys Generic Clearance.
OMB Control Number: 1670-NEW.
Frequency: Annually.
Affected Public: State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments.
Number of Annualized Respondents: 8,398.
Estimated Time per Respondent: 0.5 hours.
Total Annualized Burden Hours: 4,199 hours.
Total Annualized Respondent Opportunity Cost: $168,298.74.
Total Annualized Respondent Out-of-Pocket Cost: $0.
Total Annualized Government Cost: $235,863.
Samuel Vazquez,
Acting Chief Information Officer, Department of Homeland Security,
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-13111 Filed 6-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110-9P-P
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