2017-22840. Information Collection Request to Office of Management and Budget; OMB Control Number: 1625-0106

AGENCY:

Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION:

Sixty-day notice requesting comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Coast Guard intends to submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), requesting an extension of its approval for the following collection of information: 1625-0106, Unauthorized Entry into Cuban Territorial Waters; without change. Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. Before submitting this ICR to OIRA, the Coast Guard is inviting comments as described below.

DATES:

Comments must reach the Coast Guard on or before December 19, 2017.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments identified by Coast Guard docket number [USCG-2017-0949] to the Coast Guard using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. See the “Public participation and request for comments” portion of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further instructions on submitting comments.

A copy of the ICR is available through the docket on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Additionally, copies are available from: Commandant (CG-612), Attn: Paperwork Reduction Act Manager, U.S. Coast Guard, 2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE., Stop 7710, Washington, DC 20593-7710.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Contact Mr. Anthony Smith, Office of Information Management, telephone [phone], or fax [phone], for questions on these documents.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Participation and Request for Comments

This Notice relies on the authority of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended. An ICR is an application to OIRA seeking the approval, extension, or renewal of a Coast Guard collection of information (Collection). The ICR contains information describing the Collection's purpose, the Collection's likely burden on the affected public, an explanation of the necessity of the Collection, and other important information describing the Collection. There is one ICR for each Collection.

The Coast Guard invites comments on whether this ICR should be granted based on the Collection being necessary for the proper performance of Departmental functions. In particular, the Coast Guard would appreciate comments addressing: (1) The practical utility of the Collection; (2) the accuracy of the estimated burden of the Collection; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of information subject to the Collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the Collection on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. In response to your comments, we may revise this ICR or decide not to seek an extension of approval for the Collection. We will consider all comments and material received during the comment period.

We encourage you to respond to this request by submitting comments and related materials. Comments must contain the OMB Control Number of the ICR and the docket number of this request, [USCG-2017-0949], and must be received by December 19, 2017.

Submitting Comments

We encourage you to submit comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. If your material cannot be submitted using http://www.regulations.gov,, contact the person in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document for alternate instructions. Documents mentioned in this notice, and all public comments, are in our online docket at http://www.regulations.gov and can be viewed by following that Web site's instructions. Additionally, if you go to the online docket and sign up for email alerts, you will be notified when comments are posted.

We accept anonymous comments. All comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you have provided. For more about privacy and the docket, you may review a Privacy Act notice regarding the Federal Docket Management System in the March 24, 2005, issue of the Federal Register (70 FR 15086).

Information Collection Request

Title: Unauthorized Entry into Cuban Territorial Waters.

OMB Control Number: 1625-0106.

Summary: The Coast Guard, pursuant to Presidential proclamation and order of the Secretary of Homeland Security, is requiring U.S. vessels, and vessels without nationality, less than 100 meters, located within the internal waters or the 12 nautical mile territorial sea of the United States, that thereafter enter Cuban territorial waters, to apply for and receive a Coast Guard permit.

Need: The information is collected to regulate departure from U.S. territorial waters of U.S. vessels, and vessels without nationality and entry thereafter into Cuban territorial waters. The need to regulate this vessel traffic supports ongoing efforts to enforce the Cuban embargo, which is designed to bring about an end to the current government and a peaceful transition to democracy. Accordingly, only applicants that demonstrate prior U.S. government approval for exports to and transactions with Cuba will be issued a Coast Guard permit.

The permit regulation requires that applicants hold United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and U.S. Department of Treasury the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licenses that permit exports to and transactions with Cuba. The USCG permit process thus allows the agency to collect information from applicants about their status vis-à-vis BIS and OFAC licenses and monitor compliance with BIS and OFAC regulations. These two agencies administer statutes and regulations that proscribe exports to (BIS) and transactions with (OFAC) Cuba. Accordingly, in order to assist BIS and OFAC in the enforcement of these license requirements, as directed by the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard is requiring certain U.S. vessels, and vessels without nationality, to demonstrate that they hold these licenses before they depart for Cuban waters.

Forms: CG-3300, U.S. Coast Guard Application for Permit to Enter Cuban Territorial Seas.

Respondents: Owners and operators of vessels.

Frequency: On occasion.

Hour Burden Estimate: The estimated burden has increased from 01 hours to 351 hours a year due to the increase in applicants after the normalization of relations with the Cuban government.

Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended.

Dated: October 16, 2017.

James D. Roppel,

U.S. Coast Guard, Acting Chief, Office of Information Management.