Notice2024-03943
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; a Coastal Management Needs Assessment and Market Analysis for Financing Resilience
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 27, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14447-14449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03943]
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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; a Coastal Management Needs Assessment and Market Analysis for
Financing Resilience
AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites 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. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed
information collection must be received on or before April 29, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a24252b2b443a382b2a04050b0b440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f8b6b7b9b9d6a8aab9b896979999d69f978e">[email protected]</span></a>. Please
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0796 in the subject line of your
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise
sensitive or protected information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed
to Kim Penn, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, 1305 East-West Hwy
Silver Spring, MD 20910, (410)701-0407, and <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ee858783c09e8b8080ae80818f8fc0898198"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d2b9bbbffca2b7bcbc92bcbdb3b3fcb5bda4">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Abstract
This is a request for extension of an approved collection of
information under the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
and implementing regulations at 5 CFR part 1320. This information
collection assists NOAA in the development of funding and financing
coastal resilience learning products and tools in support of the
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.
NOAA's Office for Coastal Management (OCM) and its regional, State,
Federal, and non-profit partners have worked closely with coastal
managers across the country to increase the resilience of our coastal
communities, economies and ecosystems. Under the CZMA, OCM provides
financial and technical assistance to states and territories, including
that which helps its customers (coastal managers) develop hazard
mitigation and climate adaptation plans that include strategies for
short-term responses to immediate threats (e.g., flooding, hurricanes)
as well as long-term responses to gradual changes (e.g., sea level
rise, drought). Services are provided through outreach, training,
funding, resource, and tool development.
Solutions to these resilience challenges are often complex and
cross-sectoral. Therefore, coastal decision-makers regularly point to
the need for more substantial, coordinated, sustained
[[Page 14448]]
and creative funding opportunities to support these efforts. The
results of an initial review of more than 200 resources that NOAA
conducted in support of this effort, and informal conversations with
NOAA customers and other stakeholders indicate that there is no
comprehensive inventory or guide to understanding and selecting
appropriate funding options or financing strategies. These findings
have been further confirmed in subsequent informal discussions with
coastal resilience and finance practitioners at national venues such as
the National Adaptation Forum and Social Coast Forum, as well as
through the original needs assessment using this information collection
instrument. NOAA's coastal management partners continue to request
support on this topic.
The financing world is one that is constantly evolving new products
and retiring others. The range of funding and financing options, from
grants and low-interest loans to more innovative private-public
partnerships and emerging bonds, presents an ever-changing and complex
array of choices. In initial internal communications and informal
discussions conducted between June 2018 and February 2020, NOAA
customers indicated that these opportunities and mechanisms are not
well understood, and are generally inaccessible to coastal managers,
particularly in small to mid-sized communities, rural areas, and tribal
communities. The initial information gathered via this collection
supported this.
In many coastal communities, investment in mitigation and
resilience measures remains either limited or reactive in response to a
catastrophic event. While there is no data on the number of adaptation
plans that have been implemented, lack of funding is a frequently cited
barrier to implementation. At the same time, it has been estimated that
investing in mitigation can save communities $6 for every $1 spent
through mitigation grants from agencies including the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and
Economic Development Administration (according to the National
Institute of Building Sciences' October 2018 report, Natural Hazard
Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure).
Understanding the suite of funding and financing options available at
the time resilience planning is undertaken, and then incorporating
financial strategies into the planning process and recommendations,
will help ensure that these plans are implemented. Section 310 of the
Coastal Zone Management Act allows for technical assistance and
management-oriented research to develop and implement state coastal
management program amendments.
NOAA uses the information collected to develop needs assessments
defining the types of funding, financing mechanisms, and associated
resources that its state and local coastal manager customers need for
coastal resilience activities and a market analysis of existing funding
and financing programs and mechanisms. Simultaneously, NOAA is
identifying existing resources and partnership opportunities for State
and local coastal managers and NOAA's non-profit, academic, and other
customers. Information collected to date has helped inform the
development of new NOAA funding and financing products and services and
future collection efforts will help NOAA better understand the impacts
these products and services have had on coastal managers' barriers.
This request is for a set of related interviews to facilitate this
research. NOAA will perform interviews with state and local coastal
managers, as well as representatives from non-profit organizations,
academia, the Federal Government, and the finance industry. The
interviews will collect relevant information from interviewees on their
experiences with coastal resilience funding and financing mechanisms,
challenges and opportunities related to funding and financing coastal
resilience, and technical support needs and opportunities that NOAA can
address.
The information provided by interviewees will be synthesized into
the needs assessment, which will address needs and information gaps
partitioned by region, financial scale, time scale, and scope/sector.
The information provided by interviewees will also be used to help
inform an inventory of existing entities providing resources for
resilience funding, as well as a summary of existing and emerging
funding sources and financial tools and mechanisms for coastal
resilience. Finally, the interviews will inform recommendations on
NOAA's potential niche in addressing the identified needs and gaps.
The resulting research (and any subsequent resources or tools
developed by NOAA to address identified gaps) will provide much needed
information to NOAA's customers on funding and financing coastal
resilience efforts, including available resources and mechanisms, best
practices and strategies, real world success stories, and opportunities
for technical and financial partnerships with private and public
entities.
II. Method of Collection
Information will be collected during structured telephone
interviews.
III. Data
OMB Control Number: 0648-0796.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Review: Regular submission. Extension of a currently
approved information collection.
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit organizations; Not-
for-profit institutions; State, Local, or Tribal government; Federal
Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 36.
Estimated Time per Response: 1.25 hours.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 45.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
Legal Authority: Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (CZMA), 16
U.S.C. 1451 et seq.
IV. Request for Comments
We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request
to OMB to approve this information collection request. Before including
your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we
[[Page 14449]]
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-03943 Filed 2-26-24; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P
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