Notice2024-06599
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; NOAA Financial Assistance Performance Progress Reports
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 28, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 61 (Thursday, March 28, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 61 (Thursday, March 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21493-21494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06599]
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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; NOAA Financial Assistance Performance Progress Reports
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. This notice pertains to a revision and extension of
the approved collection of information for NOAA Financial Assistance
Performance Progress Reports. Public comments were previously requested
via the Federal Register on December 27, 2023 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: NOAA Financial Assistance Performance Progress Reports.
OMB Control Number: 0648-0718.
Form Number(s): None.
Type of Request: Regular submission. Revision and extension of a
currently approved information collection.
Number of Respondents: 645.
Average Hours per Response: Marine Debris Program (MDP) Performance
Progress Report: 8 hours; MDP Performance Progress Report Table: 0.25
hours; MDP Companion Tracker: 1 hour; MDP Additional Metrics Trackers:
3 hours; Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) Semi-Annual Reports: 10
hours; Restoration Center (RC) Progress Report: Initial--9.5 hours;
Semi-Annual--5.5 hours; and Final--9.75 hours; RC Administrative
Progress Reports: Initial--6 hours; Semi-Annual--2.75 hours; and
Final--5.5 hours.
Total Annual Burden Hours: 4,800.
Needs and Uses: This is a request for revision and extension to 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 previously-approved information collection assists NOAA in
the administration and evaluation of financial assistance awards made
by the NOAA Marine Debris Program (MDP), NOAA Coral Reef Conservation
Program (CRCP), and the NOAA Restoration Center (RC).
This revision, which is described in more detail below, is only
applicable for the NOAA MDP financial assistance awards, and previous
information collections for NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)
and NOAA Restoration Center (RC) remain unchanged. There are no changes
to the NOAA CRCP or NOAA RC forms that were previously approved,
including the RC Progress Reports (Initial, Semi-Annual, and Final), RC
Administrative Progress Reports (Initial, Semi-Annual, and Final), and
CRCP Semi-Annual Reports. However, the extension applies to the entire
previously-approved information collection.
Every year, the NOAA MDP, the NOAA CRCP, and the NOAA RC each
support a variety of initiatives specific to their individual
authorizations and programmatic mandates. This support is made
substantially through grants and cooperative agreements, the terms and
conditions of which require regular progress reporting and
communication of project accomplishments to the agency. This
information collection identifies what is to be provided in these
reports, and aims to assist recipients in fulfilling their
responsibilities in meeting interim and final progress report
requirements. This information is also necessary for NOAA to
effectively oversee the expenditure of public funds awarded through
these programs, to ensure both cost-effectiveness and programmatic
goals are met.
The NOAA RC provides technical and financial assistance to
identify, develop, implement, and evaluate community-driven habitat
restoration projects. Awards are made as grants or cooperative
agreements under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and the Fish
and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the
Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.
The NOAA CRCP operates under authorization from the Coral Reef
Conservation Act (CRCA) of 2000, 16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq. This act
authorizes the NOAA CRCP to conserve, and restore the condition of
United States coral reef ecosystems; to promote the science-based
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 science-based, consensus-driven, and community-based coral
reef management; to provide financial resources, technical assistance,
and scientific expertise 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; to support rapid
response to exigent circumstances that pose immediate and long-term
threats to coral reefs; and to serve as a model for advancing
international efforts to monitor, conserve, and restoral coral.
The NOAA MDP supports national and international efforts to
research, prevent, and reduce the impacts of marine debris. The NOAA
MDP is a centralized office within NOAA that coordinates and supports
activities, both within the bureau and with other federal agencies that
address marine debris and its impacts. In addition to inter-agency
coordination, NOAA MDP uses partnerships with state and local agencies,
tribes, non-governmental
[[Page 21494]]
organizations, academia, and industry to investigate and solve the
problems that stem from marine debris through removal, research,
prevention, and reduction activities, in order to protect and conserve
our nation's marine environment and coastal economies, and to ensure
navigation safety. In large part, these partnerships are made through
grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, MOUs, or are simply informal
technical assistance arrangements.
The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act
authorizes NOAA MDP to enter into cooperative agreements and contracts
and provide financial assistance in the form of grants to carry out the
purposes of the Act--namely to identify, determine sources of, assess,
reduce, and prevent marine debris and its adverse impacts on the marine
environment and navigation safety. 33 U.S.C. 1951, 1952. To date, both
competitive and non-competitive funding opportunities have been
implemented by NOAA MDP to provide federal funding to non-federal
applicants for activities to carry out the purposes of the Act.
The terms and conditions of MDP grants and cooperative agreements
require regular progress reporting and communication of project
accomplishments to the agency. Grant reporting is necessary for NOAA to
effectively oversee the expenditure of public funds, and to ensure both
the cost-effectiveness of funded projects and that programmatic goals
are met.
This information collection revision clarifies agency reporting
requirements, and aims to assist recipients in fulfilling their federal
grant responsibilities. NOAA MDP proposes to revise and clarify grant
performance progress report (PPR) instructions and add a table to the
PPR that will be used for recipients whose activities span multiple
states. NOAA MDP proposes to add the collection of performance measure
information in a spreadsheet that captures required project metrics at
a finer geographic resolution than would otherwise be possible using
the PPR. NOAA MDP also proposes collection of additional metrics
related to certain activities from large marine debris removals and
pre- and post-removal habitat monitoring for grantees who perform these
activities as part of their NOAA MDP award. The additional collection
of project-level data, including project-level location and
implementation data, aligns with the guidance provided in Memorandum M-
22-12, Advancing Effective Stewardship of Taxpayer Resources and
Outcomes in the Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act (IIJA) in order to ensure robust and transparent reporting of
IIJA investments.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit organizations; Not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or
Tribal government.
Frequency: Variable (quarterly to semi-annually).
Respondent's Obligation: Required to Obtain or Retain Benefits.
Legal Authority: The Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and
Reduction Act (33 U.S.C. 1951 et seq.) as amended by the Marine Debris
Act Amendments of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-213, Title VI, Sec. 603, 126 Stat.
1576, December 20, 2012), Save Our Seas Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-265),
and Save Our Seas 2.0 Act of 2020 (Pub. L. 116-224); Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and
the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by
the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970; 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 0648-0718. Do not submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Under Secretary for
Economic Affairs, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2024-06599 Filed 3-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JS-P
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