Notice2024-02694
Agency Information Collection Activities; Cook Inlet Recreation and Tourism Survey
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
February 9, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentOcean Energy Management Bureau
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes a new information collection request (ICR).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 28 (Friday, February 9, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 28 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9175-9177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02694]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[OMB Control Number 1010-NEW; Docket ID: BOEM-2024-0007]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Cook Inlet Recreation
and Tourism Survey
AGENCY: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) proposes a new information
collection request (ICR).
DATES: Comments must be received by BOEM no later than April 9, 2024.
[[Page 9176]]
ADDRESSES: Send your comments on this ICR by mail to the BOEM
Information Collection Clearance Officer, Anna Atkinson, Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, Virginia 20166;
or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c0d02020d420d180705021f03022c0e030901420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a1b14141b541b0e1113140915143a18151f17541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>. Please reference Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) Control Number 1010-NEW in the subject line
of your comments. You may also view and comment on the ICR and its
related documents by searching the docket number BOEM-2024-0007 at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna Atkinson by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#781916161956190c1311160b1716381a171d15561f170e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="accdc2c2cd82cdd8c7c5c2dfc3c2eccec3c9c182cbc3da">[email protected]</span></a>, or by telephone at 703-787-1025. Individuals in
the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside of the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, BOEM provides the general public and other Federal
agencies with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and
continuing collections of information. This helps BOEM assess the
impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the
public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand BOEM's
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in
the desired format.
BOEM solicits comments on the proposed ICR described below. BOEM is
especially interested in public comments addressing the following
issues: (1) is the collection necessary to the proper functions of
BOEM; (2) what can BOEM do to ensure that this information is processed
and used in a timely manner; (3) is the burden estimate accurate; (4)
how might BOEM enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (5) how might BOEM minimize the burden
of this collection on the respondents, including minimizing the burden
through the use of information technology?
Comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. BOEM will include or summarize each comment in its ICR
to OMB for approval of this information collection. You should be aware
that your entire comment--including your address, phone number, email
address, or other personally identifiable information included in your
comment--may be made publicly available.
In order for BOEM to consider withholding from disclosure your
personally identifiable information, you must identify, in a cover
letter, any information contained in your comment that, if released,
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of your privacy. You
must also briefly describe any possible harmful consequences of the
disclosure of information, such as embarrassment, injury, or other
harm. Note that BOEM will make available for public inspection, in
their entirety, all comments submitted by organizations and businesses,
or by individuals identifying themselves as representatives of
organizations or businesses.
Even if BOEM withholds your information in the context of this ICR,
your comment is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). If
your comment is requested under FOIA, your information will only be
withheld if BOEM determines that one of the FOIA exemptions to
disclosure applies. Such a determination will be made in accordance
with the Department's FOIA regulations and applicable law.
BOEM protects proprietary information in accordance with FOIA and
the Department's implementing regulations.
Title of Collection: Cook Inlet Recreation and Tourism Survey.
Abstract: Natural resource-based recreation in the marine and
coastal environments of Cook Inlet, Alaska, offers numerous economic,
cultural, environmental, health, educational, and quality-of-life
benefits. Recreation and tourism play a vital role in supporting local
economies, preserving cultural heritage, promoting environmental
stewardship, and improving the well-being of both residents and
visitors. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act charges BOEM with
managing the energy and mineral resources of the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) for protection of marine and coastal environments that
support human lives and society. Additionally, to ensure the scientific
integrity of its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessments,
BOEM requires reliable data and information to evaluate the extent to
which its activities adversely affect the human environment (40 CFR
1502.23). As defined in 40 CFR 1508.1, the effects on the human
environment evaluated in NEPA assessments include social and economic
impacts, as well as the ecological, aesthetic, historic, cultural, and
health effects.
BOEM intends to conduct a research study of outdoor recreation and
tourism in the Cook Inlet OCS Planning Area and adjacent coastal areas
(i.e., the study area). BOEM seeks updated baseline information on the
nature, distribution, and seasonality of outdoor recreation and tourism
in the study area, and the relative preferences and values for these
activities. BOEM would use this information to determine how
stakeholders and the recreational and tourism economy may be affected
by potential future oil, gas, renewable energy, and other energy
exploration and development activities. This study would help BOEM
identify any appropriate mitigation strategies to address potential
adverse effects of its activities on recreation and tourism in the
study area. Altogether, the study would enable BOEM to develop more
rigorous and thorough environmental analyses during any NEPA processes
related to future Cook Inlet OCS energy and mineral activities.
Specifically, this information collection would involve primary
data collection (following ICR approval by OMB) to elicit information
on: (a) activities and attributes contributing to the value of
recreational experiences; (b) expenditures related to recreational
activities; and (c) how these things differ across the region and
different user groups (residents and visitors). The primary research
would provide meaningful insight regarding the influence of energy
development on recreation and tourism (e.g., by comparing areas in the
Upper Cook Inlet with existing energy infrastructure to other areas in
Cook Inlet without any energy infrastructure). The study also would
document user attitudes regarding how recreation and tourism may be
affected by different energy development-related activities (e.g.,
noise, space use conflicts, spill risks, aesthetic effects of
infrastructure, and vessel traffic).
The study's primary research design would include three components:
focus groups, cognitive interviews, and onsite intercept surveys. The
focus groups and cognitive interviews would be used to develop and
pretest a draft survey, first in a group setting (focus groups) and
then in a one-on-one interview setting (cognitive interviews). The
final onsite intercept surveys would be administered at approximately
two dozen sites in the study area during the primary recreation season
from May to October. Potential respondents would be approached as they
arrive to or depart from a site and invited to fill out the survey.
[[Page 9177]]
1. Focus Groups--To inform survey development, BOEM would conduct
focus groups with recreationists in the study area. The recreationists
would identify their preferred coastal- and marine-related recreation
sites; why they choose their preferred sites; the differences they
perceive between sites near existing energy infrastructure (in portions
of the Upper Cook Inlet) to sites that are not near any energy
infrastructure, and the recreational quality of those sites; what they
like about their recreational experiences around Cook Inlet; what they
do not like about the Cook Inlet sites they avoid; how offshore energy
exploration and development activities may affect their recreation site
choice and experience; and other related issues.
2. Cognitive Interviews--The findings of the focus groups would be
used to develop a draft survey instrument. BOEM would then conduct 25
cognitive interviews to test and refine the survey. Specifically, the
interviews would test if the survey is working as expected. Factors
relevant to that determination include evaluating if questions are
easily understood, how respondents formulate their answers, whether
response categories are exhaustive and mutually exclusive, and other
similar issues.
3. Onsite Intercept Surveys--BOEM expects the final survey would
cover topics such as recreational destinations, frequency of use in the
past 12 months, recreation trip-related expenditures, preferences for
recreation site attributes, attitudes about and recreation behavioral
responses to offshore energy exploration and development, and
demographics. Surveys would be administered at a range of sites,
including at some hub cities, smaller communities, public lands,
visitor centers, seaports, airports, and marinas. Because the surveys
would be administered between May and October, a potential respondent
may be intercepted on more than one occasion. If a respondent clarifies
that they have already taken the survey, they would not be asked to
take it again.
OMB Control Number: OMB Control Number 1010-NEW.
Respondents/Affected Public: Participants in the focus groups and
cognitive interviews would be members of the public who have engaged in
coastal or marine recreation in the study area in the past year.
Respondents to the surveys would be members of the public engaged in
coastal or marine recreational activities in the study area. Members of
the public would consist of a mixture of local, State, and out-of-State
residents.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 565: 40 focus group
participants, 25 cognitive interview participants, and 500 completed
surveys. The focus group questions would be semi-structured and open-
ended. Survey questions would be primarily discrete choice and closed-
ended with minimal open-ended questions.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: 90 minutes per focus group
participant, 45 minutes per cognitive interview participant, and 12
minutes per survey participant. (BOEM anticipates that the survey would
comprise approximately 30 questions with each question taking about 20-
30 seconds to complete on average.)
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 60 hours for focus
groups, 18.75 hours for cognitive interviews, and 100 hours for survey;
total of 178.75 hours.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Frequency of Collection: One time.
Total Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden Cost: There is no non-hour
cost burden associated with this collection.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid
OMB control number.
The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Karen Thundiyil,
Chief, Office of Regulations, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
[FR Doc. 2024-02694 Filed 2-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4340-98-P
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