2010-24768. Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request, OMB No. 1660-0072; Mitigation Grants Program/e-Grants

AGENCY:

Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION:

Notice; 60-day notice and request for comments; extension, without change, of a currently approved information collection; OMB No. 1660-0072; No Form.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on a proposed revision of a currently approved information collection. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this Notice seeks comments concerning this collection that is used by: (1) Applicants and sub-applicants to apply for and report on e-Grant awards; and (2) the Federal Emergency Management Agency to evaluate, award, and monitor expenditures and program/project performance for Flood Mitigation Assistance program, Severe Repetitive Loss, Repetitive Flood Claim, and Pre-Disaster Mitigation activities.

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before December 3, 2010.

ADDRESSES:

To avoid duplicate submissions to the docket, please use only one of the following means to submit comments:

(1) Online. Submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov under Docket ID FEMA-2010-0057. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

(2) Mail. Submit written comments to Docket Manager, Office of Chief Counsel, DHS/FEMA, 500 C Street, SW., Room 835, Washington, DC 20472-3100.

(3) Facsimile. Submit comments to [phone].

(4) E-mail. Submit comments to [e-mail]. Include Docket ID FEMA-2010-0057 in the subject line.

All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket ID. Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or material, all submissions will be posted, without change, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov,, and will include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy Act notice that is available via the link in the footer of http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Cecelia Rosenberg, Grants Policy Chief, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, 202-646-3321 for additional information. You may contact the Records Management Division for copies of the proposed collection of information at facsimile number [phone] or e-mail address: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This collection of information is necessary to implement grants for the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program, Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) program, Repetitive Flood Claims (RFC) program and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program.

The FMA program is authorized by section 1366 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. 4104c, as amended by the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004 (NFIA), Public Law 108-264. The FMA program, under 44 CFR Part 79, is designed to award grants so that measures are taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk of flood damage to buildings, manufactured homes, and other structures insurable under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

The SRL program is authorized by section 1361A of the NFIA of 2004, 42 U.S.C. 4102a, with the goal of reducing flood damages to residential properties that have experienced severe repetitive losses under flood insurance coverage. The program under 44 CFR Part 79, focuses on efforts that will result in the greatest savings to the NFIF in the shortest period of time.

The RFC program is authorized by the NFIA of 2004 (Pub. L. 108-264), 42 U.S.C. 4030. The NFIA authorizes funding annually to award grants for actions that reduce flood damages to individual properties for which one or more claim payments for losses have been made.

The PDM program is authorized by section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Act), 42 U.S.C. 5133, as amended by section 102 of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA), Public Law 106-390, 114 Stat. 1552. The PDM program provides grants for cost-effective mitigation actions prior to a disaster event to reduce overall risks to the population and structures, while also reducing reliance on funding from actual disaster declarations.

In accordance with OMB Circular A-102, FEMA requires that all parties interested in receiving FEMA mitigation grants submit an application package for grant assistance. The e-Grants system has been developed and revamped to meet the intent of the e-Government initiative, authorized by Public Law 106-107. This initiative requires that all government agencies both streamline grant application processes and provide for the means to electronically create, review, and submit a grant application via the Internet.

Collection of Information

Title: Mitigation Grant Program/eGrants.

Type of Information Collection: Extension, without change, of a currently approved information collection.

OMB Number: 1660-0072.

Form Titles and Numbers: No Forms.

Abstract: The FEMA mitigation grant programs—Flood Mitigation Assistance, Severe Repetitive Loss, Repetitive Flood Claims, and Pre-Disaster Mitigation—all utilize an automated grant application and management system known as e-Grants to apply for these grants. These programs provide funding to allow for the reduction or elimination of the risks to life and property from hazards. The e-Grants system also provides the mechanism to provide quarterly reports of the financial status of the project and the final closeout report.

Affected Public: State, local and Tribal Governments.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 43,848 Hours.

Estimated Annualized Burden Hours and Costs

Type of respondent	Form name/Form number	No. of respondents	No. of responses per respondent	Total no. of responses	Avg. burden per response (in hours)	Total annual burden (in hours)	Avg. hourly wage rate	Total annual respondent cost
	FMA:
State, local or Tribal Government	Benefit-Cost Determination	56	2	112	5	560	$43.54	$24,382
State, local or Tribal Government	Environmental Review	56	2	112	7.5	840	43.54	36,574
State, local or Tribal Government	Project Narrative-Subgrant Application	56	4	224	12	2,688	43.54	117,036
Subtotal		56		448		4,088		177,992
	RFC:
State, local or Tribal Government	Benefit-Cost Determination	56	1	56	5	280	43.54	12,191
State, local or Tribal Government	Environmental Review	56	1	56	7.5	420	43.54	18,287
State, local or Tribal Government	Project Narrative-Subgrant Application	56	2	112	12	1,344	43.54	58,518
Subtotal		56		224		2,044		88,996
	SRL:
State, local or Tribal Government	Benefit-Cost Determination	56	7	392	5	1960	43.54	85,338
State, local or Tribal Government	Environmental Review	56	7	392	7.5	2,940	43.54	128,008
State, local or Tribal Government	Project Narrative-Subgrant Application	56	8	448	12	5,376	43.54	234,071
Subtotal		56		1,232		10,276		447,417
	PDM:
State, local or Tribal Government	Benefit-Cost Determination	56	20	1,120	5	5,600	43.54	243,824
State, local or Tribal Government	Environmental Review	56	20	1,120	7.5	8,400	43.54	365,736
State, local or Tribal Government	Project Narrative-Subgrant Application	56	20	1,120	12	13,440	43.54	585,178
Subtotal		56		3,360		27,440		1,194,738
Total		56		5,264		43,848		1,909,143

Estimated Cost: There are no operation and maintenance, or capital and start-up costs associated with this collection of information.

Comments

Comments may be submitted as indicated in the ADDRESSES caption above. Comments are solicited to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed data collection is necessary for the proper performance of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) 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 responses.

Lesia M. Banks,

Director, Records Management Division, Mission Support Bureau, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.