Notice2022-05946
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Alaska Cost Recovery and Fee Programs
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
March 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15921-15922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05946]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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; Alaska Cost Recovery and Fee Programs
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 October 29, 2021, during a 60-day comment period.
This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
Title: Alaska Cost Recovery and Fee Programs.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0711.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission (Revision and extension of a
current information collection).
Number of Respondents: 1,722.
Average Hours per Response: Fee payments: 1 minute; volume and
value reports (electronic submission): 1 minute; IFQ Registered Buyer
Ex-vessel Volume and Value Report (non-electronic submission): 2 hours;
fee calculation forms: 30 minutes; administrative appeals: 4 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 82 hours.
Needs and Uses: The National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska
Regional Office (NMFS AKR), is requesting renewal and revision of a
currently approved information collection that contains requirements
for the NMFS AKR cost recovery fee programs and the observer coverage
fee program.
Three revisions are requested for this collection. A slight
revision is requested to change the title of the collection from
``Alaska Quota Cost Recovery Programs'' to ``Alaska Cost Recovery and
Fee Programs.'' Revisions are necessary to two forms because NMFS AKR
has finished transitioning to online fee payments and these forms are
no longer
[[Page 15922]]
used to submit payments by mail. The IFQ Permit Holder Fee Submission
Form and the Registered Crab Receiver Fee Submission Form have been
revised and renamed the IFQ Permit Holder Fee Calculation Form and the
Registered Crab Receiver Fee Calculation Form, respectively.
This information collection is necessary under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), which
authorizes observer deployment fees and cost recovery fees. Section
304(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act authorizes and requires the
collection of cost recovery fees for limited access privilege programs
and community development quota programs. Section 313 of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act authorizes a system of fees to support a fisheries research
plan and deploy observers in the North Pacific fisheries. The fee
documentation forms and volume and value reports that are included in
this collection are necessary to track, verify, and enforce the fee
collection systems.
This information collection is required in Federal regulations at
50 CFR parts 679 and 680. Information on the observer coverage fee and
cost recovery fee programs is provided on the NMFS Alaska Region
website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/cost-recovery-programs-fee-collection-and-fee-payment-alaska">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/commercial-fishing/cost-recovery-programs-fee-collection-and-fee-payment-alaska</a>.
Cost recovery fees may not exceed 3 percent of the ex-vessel value
of the fishery, and must recover the incremental (program) costs
associated with management, data collection, and enforcement of these
programs that are directly incurred by government agencies tasked with
overseeing these fisheries. NMFS recovers program costs of seven cost
recovery programs in this information collection: Pacific Halibut and
Sablefish Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program; Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program; Central Gulf of Alaska
Rockfish Program; Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program;
American Fisheries Act Program; Aleutian Islands Pollock Program; and
Amendment 80 Program. The party responsible for paying the cost
recovery fee varies by program.
The observer coverage fee funds deployment of observers and
electronic monitoring in the partial coverage category of the North
Pacific Observer Program (Observer Program). Unlike the cost recovery
fees, this is a straight fee and does not recover incremental costs
associated with the program. NMFS assesses a fee of 1.65 percent of the
ex-vessel value of groundfish and halibut landed in the partial
coverage category under the Observer Program. The information collected
by observers provides scientific information for minimizing bycatch and
managing the groundfish and halibut fisheries in the Bering Sea and
Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska.
Catcher vessel owners split the observer coverage fee with the
registered buyers or owners of shoreside or stationary floating
processors. While the owners of catcher vessels and processors in the
partial coverage category are each responsible for paying their portion
of the fee, the owners of shoreside or stationary floating processors
and registered buyers are responsible for collecting the fees from
catcher vessels, and remitting the full fee to NMFS. Owners of catcher/
processors in the partial coverage category are responsible for
remitting the full fee to NMFS.
Processors that receive and purchase landings of IFQ halibut or
sablefish, rockfish, groundfish, and crab subject to observer and/or
cost recovery fees must annually submit an ex-vessel volume and value
report that provides information on the pounds purchased and value
paid. NMFS uses this information to establish the total ex-vessel value
of the fishery, calculate standard prices, and establish annual fee
percentages in each fishery.
IFQ permit holders and registered crab receivers that do not agree
with their NMFS assessed fee liability summary and who are paying a
revised fee, use the fee calculation forms to calculate and submit
documentation supporting their revised fee.
Any person who receives an initial administrative determination for
incomplete payment of a cost recovery fee or observer coverage fee may
appeal under the appeals procedures set out at 15 CFR part 906.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations;
Individuals or households.
Frequency: Annually; as needed.
Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory, Required to Obtain or Retain
Benefits.
Legal Authority: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.
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 0648-0711.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-05946 Filed 3-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 21, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.