Notice2021-14002
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Coral Reef Conservation Program
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 30, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 123 (Wednesday, June 30, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 30, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34721-34722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14002]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; Coral Reef Conservation Program
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information
collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the
general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and
continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of
our information collection requirements and minimize the public's
reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the
Federal Register on March 22, 2021 (86 FR 15204) during a 60-day
comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public
comments.
Agency: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: Coral Reef Conservation Program.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0448.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular (Revision and extension of current
information collection).
Number of Respondents: 65.
Average Hours per Response: Matching funds waiver request: 2 hours;
Reviewer Comments: 3 hours; Semi-Annual Progress Reports: 10 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 1,437 hours.
Needs and Uses: This request is for revision and extension of a
currently approved information collection.
The Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.)
was enacted on December 14, 2000, to preserve, sustain and restore the
condition of coral reef ecosystems; to promote the wise management and
sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems to benefit local communities
and the Nation; to develop sound scientific information on the
condition of coral reef ecosystems and the threats to such ecosystems;
to assist in the preservation of coral reefs by supporting conservation
programs, including projects that involve affected local communities
and non-governmental organizations; to provide financial resources for
those programs and projects; and to establish a formal mechanism for
the collecting and allocating of monetary donations from the private
sector to be used for coral reef conservation projects. Under section
6403 of the Act, the Secretary, through the NOAA Administrator
(Administrator) and subject to the availability of funds, is authorized
to provide matching grants of financial assistance for coral reef
conservation projects. Section 408(c) of the Act authorizes at least
$8,000,000 annually for financial assistance projects under the
Program.
Collection activities for this program are outlined below and
include: 1. Applicant creation and submission of requests for waivers
of the non-Federal matching funds requirement; 2. Review of project
proposals by Federal Agencies and non-Federal entities with
jurisdiction or management authority over coral reef ecosystems in the
area where the project is to be conducted; and 3. Revision of
performance reporting methods to include a standard program-specific
template and tracking report.
As per section 6403(b) of the Act, NOAA will require that Federal
funds for any coral conservation financial assistance project may not
exceed 50 percent of the total cost. However, the Administrator may
waive all or part of the matching requirement if the Administrator
determines that no reasonable means are available through which an
applicant can meet the matching requirement and the probable benefit of
the project outweighs the public interest in the matching requirement.
The suitability for a waiver is determined after the applicant has
submitted a written request with the application package and provided
the proper justification.
As per section 6403(f) of the Act, NOAA will review eligible coral
reef conservation proposals using an external governmental review and
merit-based peer review. As part of this review, NOAA will request and
consider written comments on the proposal from each Federal agency,
state government, or other government jurisdiction, including the
relevant regional Fishery Management Councils established under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.), or any National Marine Sanctuary, with jurisdiction or
management authority over coral reef ecosystems in the area where the
project is to be conducted. Pursuant to this requirement of the Act,
NOAA will apply the following standard in requesting comments: (A)
Proposals for projects in state or territorial waters, including
Federal marine protected areas in such waters (e.g., National Marine
Sanctuaries), will be submitted to that state or territorial
government's designated U.S. Coral Reef Task Force point of contact for
comment; (B) proposals for projects in Federal waters will be submitted
to the relevant Fishery Management Council for comment; (C) proposals
for projects which require Federal permits will be submitted to the
Federal agency which issued the permit for comment; (D) proposals for
projects in Federal marine protected areas managed by Federal agencies
(e.g., National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, National Marine
Sanctuaries, etc.) will be submitted to the respective Federal
management authority for comment; and (E) NOAA will seek comments from
other government entities, authorities, and/or jurisdictions, including
international entities for projects proposed outside of U.S. waters, as
necessary based on the nature and scope of the proposed project.
[[Page 34722]]
As per 2 CFR part 200.329, all recipients of non-construction
federal financial assistance awards are required to provide performance
(technical) reports to the agency at intervals no less frequently than
annually and no more frequently than quarterly in order for the agency
to properly monitor the award and meet oversight responsibilities. The
awarding agency must use OMB-approved common forms for this purpose or
seek permission for program-specific forms that will collect the
required data elements. The Coral Reef Conservation Program seeks OMB
approval to revise this information collection to require use of a
program-specific form for semi-annual reporting and tracking specific
indicators. These indicators align with the new Coral Reef Conservation
Program Strategic Plan (2018; <a href="https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/strategic_plan2018">https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/strategic_plan2018</a>) and will be used to track national progress toward
these strategic goals through 2040. The program-specific form for semi-
annual reporting will be a revised version of what is currently in use
for NOAA's Marine Debris Program and will standardize reporting across
projects.
The number of respondents, responses, and burden hours have been
corrected from the previous submission. The previous submission
included federal employees and contractors working on behalf of NOAA as
part of the burden for the collection. This burden has been removed and
is instead added to the cost to the federal government.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-
for-profit institutions; State or Local Government; Federal government.
Frequency: Semi Annual to Annual.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.
Legal Authority: Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C.
6401 et seq.).
This information collection request may be viewed at
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a>. Follow the instructions to view the Department of
Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of
this notice on the following website <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 and entering either the title of the collection or the OMB
Control Number 0648-0448.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-14002 Filed 6-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JE-P
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