Notice2025-03169
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget; Administrative Procedures for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Financial Assistance 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
February 27, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew an information collection without change.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 38 (Thursday, February 27, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 38 (Thursday, February 27, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10827-10829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-03169]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-HQ-WSFR-2024-N067; FF09W25000-256-FXGO1660SWXCHR1; OMB Control
Number 1018-0100]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget; Administrative Procedures for U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service Financial Assistance Programs
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of information collection; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), are proposing to renew an
information collection without change.
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
March 31, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to <a href="https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
Please provide a copy of your comments to the Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, MS: PRB
(JAO/3W), 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803 (mail); or by
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b12353d3404183437371b3d2c28753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ace5c2cac3f3efc3c0c0eccadbdf82cbc3da">[email protected]</span></a>. Please reference ``1018-0100'' in the
subject line of your comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madonna L. Baucum, Service Information
Collection Clearance Officer, by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fbb2959d94a4b8949797bb9d8c88d59c948d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5d14333b32021e3231311d3b2a2e733a322b">[email protected]</span></a>, or by
telephone at (703) 358-2503. 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 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 (PRA; 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and its implementing regulations at 5
CFR part 1320, all information collections require approval under the
PRA. We may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.
On December 2, 2024, we published a proposed rule (RIN 1018-BB84,
Administrative Requirements; Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and
Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Acts, Docket No. FWS-HQ-WSFR-
2023-0125), in the Federal Register (89 FR 95590) announcing our
request that OMB approve amendments to this information collection. In
that proposed rule, we solicited comments for 60 days on the
information collection requirements contained in that rule. This
submission requests OMB renew the currently approved information
collection, without change, in order to extend the expiration date of
the collection while the Service finalizes the rulemaking under RIN
1018-BB84. Substantive comments received in response to that proposed
rule will be addressed in our final rule for RIN 1018-BB84.
As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent
burdens, we invite the public and other Federal agencies to comment on
new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This
helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements
and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public
understand our information collection requirements and provide the
requested data in the desired format.
We are especially interested in public comment addressing the
following:
(1) Whether or not the collection of information is necessary for
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including
whether or not the information will have practical utility;
(2) The accuracy of our estimate of the burden for this collection
of information, 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) How might the agency minimize the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of response.
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 can ask us in your
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Abstract: We issue financial assistance through grants and
cooperative agreement awards to individuals; commercial organizations;
institutions of higher education; non-profit organizations; foreign
entities; and State, local, and Tribal governments. The Service
administers a wide variety of financial assistance programs, authorized
by Congress to address the Service's mission, as listed in the System
for Award Management (SAM) Assistance Listings, previously referred to
as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. SAM provides public
descriptions of assistance listings of Federal programs, projects,
services, and activities that provide assistance or benefits to the
American public. It contains financial and non-financial assistance
programs administered by departments and establishments of the Federal
Government. The SAM Assistance Listings are assigned unique
[[Page 10828]]
numbers and provide information on program types, the specific type of
assistance for each program, and the applicable financial assistance
authorities for each program. See the Service's active listings on
<a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a> at <a href="https://sam.gov/assistance-listings">https://sam.gov/assistance-listings</a>.
The Service currently manages the following types of assistance
programs:
<bullet> Formula Grants
<bullet> Project Grants
<bullet> Project Grants (Discretionary)
<bullet> Cooperative Agreements (Discretionary Grants)
<bullet> Direct Payments with Unrestricted Use
<bullet> Use of Property, Facilities, and Equipment
Some assistance programs are mandatory and award funds to eligible
recipients according to a formula prescribed in law or regulation.
Other programs are discretionary and award funds based on competitive
selection and merit review processes. Mandatory award recipients must
give us specific, detailed project information during the application
process so that we may ensure that projects are eligible for the
mandatory funding, are substantial in character and design, and comply
with all applicable Federal laws. Applicants to discretionary programs
must give us information as dictated by the program requirements and as
requested in the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), including that
information that addresses ranking criteria. All recipients must submit
financial and performance reports that contain information necessary
for us to track costs and accomplishments.
The recipients' reports must adhere to schedules and rules in 2 CFR
part 200, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and
Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.'' Part 200 prescribes the
information that Federal agencies must collect, and the information the
financial assistance applicants and recipients must provide to receive
benefits under Federal financial assistance programs. The regulations
in part 200 supports this information collection.
The Service provides technical and financial assistance to other
Federal agencies, States, local governments, Native American Tribes,
nongovernmental organizations, citizen groups, and private landowners
for the conservation and management of fish and wildlife resources. The
process begins with the submission of an application. The respective
program reviews and prioritizes proposed projects based on their
respective project selection criteria. Pending availability of funding,
applicants can submit their application documents to the Service
through the Federal <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> website or through the Department's
grants management system (currently the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' GrantSolutions), when solicited by the Service through
a funding opportunity.
As part of this collection of information, the Service collects the
following types of information requiring approval under the PRA:
1. Application Package: We use the information provided in
applications to: (1) determine eligibility under the authorizing
legislation and applicable program regulations; (2) determine
allowability of major cost items under the cost principles at 2 CFR
part 200; (3) select those projects that will provide the highest
return on the Federal investment; and (4) assist in compliance with
laws, as applicable, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the
National Historic Preservation Act, and the Uniform Relocation
Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. The full
application package (submitted by the applicant) generally includes the
following:
<bullet> Required Federal financial assistance application forms
(SF-424 suite of forms, as applicable to specified project).
<bullet> Project Narrative--generally includes items such as:
--Statement of need,
--Project goals and objectives,
--Methods used and timetable,
--Description of key personnel qualifications,
--Description of stakeholders or other relevant organizations/
individuals involved and level of involvement,
--Project monitoring and evaluation plan, and/or
--Other pertinent project specific information.
<bullet> Pertinent project budget-related information--generally
includes items such as:
--Budget justification,
--Indirect cost statement,
--Federally funded equipment list, and/or
--Certifications and disclosures.
2. Amendments: Recipients must provide written explanation and
submit prior approval requests for budget or project plan revisions,
reporting due date extensions, or other changes to approved award terms
and conditions. The information provided by the recipient is used by
the Service to determine the eligibility and allowability of activities
and to comply with the requirements of 2 CFR part 200.
3. Reporting Requirements: Reporting requirements associated with
financial assistance awards generally include the following types of
reports:
<bullet> Federal financial reports,
<bullet> Performance reports, and
<bullet> Real property status reports, when applicable.
4. Recordkeeping Requirements: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.333,
financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all
other non-Federal entity records pertinent to a Federal award must be
retained for a period of 3 years after the date of submission of the
final expenditure report. Or, for Federal awards that are renewed
quarterly or annually, from the date of the submission of the quarterly
or annual financial report, respectively, as reported to the Federal
awarding agency or pass-through entity (in the case of a subrecipient)
(unless an exemption as described in 200.333 applies that requires
retention of records longer than 3 years).
5. State Fish and Wildlife Agency Hunting and Sport Fishing License
Certification: Respondents are the States, the Commonwealths of Puerto
Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, and
the territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa
(collectively referred to as States). Annually, States provide hunting
and sport fishing license data and certification per 50 CFR part 80
requirements. The Service uses the reported data to run the formulas in
the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 669 et seq.) and
the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (16 U.S.C. 777 et seq.
except 777e-1 and g-1) for apportioning Wildlife Restoration and Sport
Fish Restoration program funds among the States. The Service awards
these apportioned funds under Assistance Listing (CFDA) programs
15.605, Sport Fish Restoration; 15.611, Wildlife Restoration and Basic
Hunter Education; and 15.626, Enhanced Hunter Education and Safety.
The Service also publishes the collected data for the public on the
Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program web page (<a href="https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/final-apportionments-wildlife-restoration-and-sport-fish-restoration-funds">https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/final-apportionments-wildlife-restoration-and-sport-fish-restoration-funds</a>). During Fiscal Year 2024,
we apportioned $989,531,728 under the Wildlife Restoration Program and
$381,827,198 under the Sport Fish Restoration Program. Currently,
respondents report this data in our Wildlife Tracking and Reporting
Actions for the Conservation of Species
[[Page 10829]]
(TRACS) system. Electronic collection in Wildlife TRACS reduces
reporting errors, expedites apportionment, enhances recordkeeping, and
reduces data processing burdens on the respondents and on the Service.
Title of Collection: Administrative Procedures for U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service Financial Assistance Programs.
OMB Control Number: 1018-0100.
Form Number: None.
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals; commercial organizations;
institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; foreign
entities; and State, local, and Tribal governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 14,711.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 16,024.
Estimated Completion Time per Response: Varies from 3 hours to 203
hours, depending on the activity.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 391,670.
Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain a benefit.
Frequency of Collection: On occasion.
Total Estimated Annual Nonhour Burden Cost: None.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number.
The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
Madonna Baucum,
Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-03169 Filed 2-26-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 27, 2025.
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