05-22061. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has submitted the following information collection to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission describes the nature of the information collection, the categories of respondents, the estimated burden (i.e., the time, effort and resources used by respondents to respond) and cost, and includes the actual data collection instruments FEMA will use.

Title: The National Flood Insurance Program—Biennial Report.

OMB Number: 1660-0003.

Abstract: The NFIP Biennial Report enables FEMA to meet its regulatory requirement under 44 CFR 59.22(b)(2). It also enables FEMA to be more responsive to the ongoing changes that occur in each participating community's flood hazard area. These changes include, but are not limited to, new corporate boundaries, changes in flood hazard areas, new floodplain management measures, and changes in rate of floodplain development. It is also used to evaluate the effectiveness of the community's floodplain management activities. The evaluation is accomplished by analyzing information provided by the community, such as the number of variances and flood plain permits granted by each community in relationship to other information contained in the Biennial Report, as well as other data available in FEMA's Community Information System (CIS). The Biennial Report also provides an opportunity for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) participating communities to request technical assistance in implementing a floodplain management program. FEMA regional offices use this information as a means to know which communities need support and guidance. In addition, the NFIP Biennial Report is one of the tools used to assist FEMA in meeting its regulatory requirement under section 575 of the National Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2004. A “yes” answer to Items A-D in Section I of the report will provide the basis for FEMA to follow-up by contacting the community for clarification and/or elaboration regarding changes and activities occurring in a community's flood hazard area. This information will be used in ranking and prioritizing one community's mapping needs against all other communities in the NFIP and for determining how the limited flood hazard mapping funds are allocated for map updates.

Affected Public: State, local and Tribal governments.

Number of Respondents: 20,500 respondents.

Estimated Time per Respondent: 2.49 hours.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 11,375.

Frequency of Response: Every two years.

Comments: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on the proposed information collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503, or facsimile number [phone]. Comments must be submitted on or before December 5, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection should be made to Chief, Records Management, FEMA, 500 C Street, SW., Room 316, Washington, DC 20472, facsimile number [phone], or e-mail address [e-mail].

Dated: October 28, 2005.

Darcey Bingham,

Branch Chief, Information Resources Management Branch, Information Technology Services Division.