Notice2022-07137
Information Collection; Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act Response Agreements
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
April 5, 2022
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentForest Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the renewal without revision to an existing information collection, Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act Response Agreements.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19662-19663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07137]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Information Collection; Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and
Stafford Act Response Agreements
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and
organizations on the renewal without revision to an existing
information collection, Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and
Stafford Act Response Agreements.
DATES: Comments must be received in writing on or before June 6, 2022
to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will
be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged to submit comments by email, if
possible. You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#592d3034362d312077343c353a313c2b2d192c2a3d38773e362f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="24504d494b504c5d0a494148474c41565064515740450a434b52">[email protected]</span></a>.
<bullet> Mail: Timothy Melchert, USDA Forest Service, Fire and
Aviation Management, Fire and Aviation Management, National Interagency
Fire Center (NIFC), 3833 Development Avenue, Boise, ID 83705-5354.
<bullet> Hand Delivery/Courier: Timothy Melchert, USDA Forest
Service, Fire and Aviation Management, Fire and Aviation Management,
National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), 3833 Development Avenue,
Boise, ID 83705-5354.
<bullet> Facsimile: 202-205-1401.
The public may inspect the draft supporting statement and/or
comments received at 3833 Development Avenue, Boise, ID 83705-5354
during normal business hours. Visitors are encouraged to call ahead to
208-387-5512 to facilitate entry to the building and ensure staff is
available to make documents available for review. The public may
request an electronic copy of the draft supporting statement and/or any
comments received be sent via return email. Requests should be emailed
to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dbafb2b6b4afb3a2f5b6beb7b8b3bea9af9baea8bfbaf5bcb4ad"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86f2efebe9f2eeffa8ebe3eae5eee3f4f2c6f3f5e2e7a8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Melchert, USDA Forest Service,
Fire and Aviation Management 208-387-5887, or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d3a7babebca7bbaafdbeb6bfb0bbb6a1a793a6a0b7b2fdb4bca5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="23574a4e4c574b5a0d4e464f404b46515763565047420d444c55">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals who use telecommunication
devices for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 twenty-four hours a day, every day of
the year, including holidays.
[[Page 19663]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act
Response Agreements.
OMB Number: 0596-0242.
Expiration Date of Approval: June 30, 2022.
Type of Request: Renewal without revision to an existing
information collection.
Abstract: To allow the performance of specific activities in
cooperation with Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments,
Congress enacted authorities allowing the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) and United States Department of the Interior (DOI)
to enter into cooperative agreements with fire organizations to improve
efficiency.
These include:
1. Facilitating the coordination and exchange of personnel,
equipment, supplies, services, and funds among the parties.
2. Sustaining Wildland Fire Management activities, such as
prevention, preparedness, communication and education, fuels treatment
and hazard mitigation, fire planning.
3. Response strategies, tactics and alternatives, suppression and
post-fire rehabilitation and restoration.
4. Allow for the parties to respond to presidentially declared
emergencies or disasters.
The primary authorities allowing for the agreements are the
Reciprocal Fire Protection Act, 42 U.S.C 1856, and the Stafford Act, 42
U.S.C. 5121. The proposed Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and
Stafford Act Response Agreement template will allow authorized agencies
to streamline coordination with other Federal, State, local, and Tribal
governments in wildland fire protection activities, and to document in
an agreement the roles and responsibilities among the parties, ensuring
maximum protection of resources.
To negotiate, develop, and administer Cooperative Wildland Fire
Management and Stafford Act Response Agreements, the USDA Forest
Service, DOI Bureau of Land Management, DOI Fish and Wildlife Service,
DOI National Park Service, and DOI Bureau of Indian Affairs must
collect information from willing State, local, and Tribal governments
from the pre-agreement to the closeout stage via telephone calls,
emails, postal mail, and person-to-person meetings. There are multiple
means to communicate responses, which include forms, optional forms,
templates, electronic documents, in person, telephone, and email. The
scope of information collected includes the project type, project
scope, financial plan, statement of work, and cooperator's business
information. Without the collected information, authorized Federal
agencies would not be able to negotiate, create, develop, and
administer cooperative agreements with stakeholders for wildland fire
protection, approved fire severity activities, and presidentially
declared emergencies or disasters. Authorized Federal agencies would be
unable to develop or monitor projects, make payments, or identify
financial and accounting errors.
The regulations governing Federal financial assistance
relationships are not applicable to agreement templates under this
information collection request. The regulations in 2 CFR 200 set forth
the general rules that are applicable to all grants and cooperative
agreements made by the Department of Agriculture and Department of the
Interior. Because the Federal government's use of Cooperative Wildland
Fire Management and Stafford Act Response Agreements entered into under
cited Federal statutes are not financial assistance for the benefit of
the recipient, but instead are entered into for the mutual benefit of
the Federal government and the non-Federal cooperators, the assistance
regulations in 2 CFR 200, as adopted and supplemented by the Department
of Start Printed Page 59768 Agriculture and Department of Interior, are
not applicable to such agreements.
This is an information collection request reinstatement. The
Cooperative Wildland Fire Management and Stafford Act Response
Agreement template can be viewed at www.fs.fed.us/managing-land/fire/
master-agreement-template.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 4 to 24 hours annually per respondent.
Type of Respondents: State, local, and Tribal governments.
Estimated Annual Number of Respondents: 320.
Estimated Annual Number of Responses per Respondent: 1 to 4.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 47,040 hours.
Public Comment: Public comment is invited on (1) whether this
information collection is necessary for the stated purposes and the
proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether
the information will have practical or scientific utility; (2) the
accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the information
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the
information collection on respondents, including the use of automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
All comments received in response to this notice, including names
and addresses when provided, will be a matter of public record.
Comments will be summarized and included in the submission request
toward Office of Management and Budget approval.
Jaelith Hall-Rivera,
Acting Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry.
[FR Doc. 2022-07137 Filed 4-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-15-P
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