2013-10312. Information Collection: Northern Alaska Native Community Surveys; Proposed Collection for OMB Review; Comment Request MMAA104000

ACTION:

60-day notice.

SUMMARY:

To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is inviting comments on a collection of information that we will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The information collection request (ICR) pertains to two surveys conducted in northern coastal Alaska communities.

DATES:

Submit written comments by July 1, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

Please send your comments on this ICR to the BOEM Information Collection Clearance Officer, Arlene Bajusz, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 381 Elden Street, HM-3127, Herndon, Virginia 20170 (mail); or [e-mail] (email); or 703-787-1209 (fax). Please reference ICR 1010-0184 in your comment and include your name and return address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Arlene Bajusz, Office of Policy, Regulations, and Analysis at [phone]. You may also request a free copy of the surveys. For more information on the surveys, contact Chris Campbell in the BOEM Alaska Regional Office at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 1010-0184.

Title: Northern Alaska Native Community Surveys.

Abstract: With this information collection renewal, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is updating the target communities for the original survey and requesting approval of a second survey. The BOEM conducts these surveys because the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act (OCSLA) [Pub. L. 95-372, Sec. 20], and its subsequent amendments, requires the Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) to monitor and assess the impacts of resource development activities in Federal waters on human, marine, and coastal environments. The OCSLA amendments authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct studies in areas or regions of lease sales to ascertain the “environmental impacts on the marine and coastal environments of the outer Continental shelf and the coastal areas which may be affected by oil and gas development” (43 U.S.C. 1346).

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347) requires that all Federal agencies use a systematic, interdisciplinary approach to ensure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences in any planning and decision making that may have an effect on the human environment. The Council on Environmental Quality's Regulations for Implementing Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508) state that the “human environment” is to be “interpreted comprehensively” to include “the natural and physical environment and the relationship of people with that environment” (40 CFR 1508.14). An action's “aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic, social or health” effects must be assessed, “whether direct, indirect, or cumulative” (40 CFR 1508.8).

The BOEM is the DOI agency that conducts OCS lease sales and monitors and mitigates adverse impacts that might be associated with offshore resource development. The BOEM Environmental Studies Program implements and manages the responsibilities of research. The surveys in this collection will facilitate the meeting of DOI/BOEM information needs on subsistence food harvest and sharing activities in various coastal Alaska areas, with specific focus on the coastal Alaska communities in the North Slope area.

This information collection (IC) request involves two data collection surveys. The first survey, Study of Sharing to Assess Community Resilience (Resiliency Study), will assess the vulnerabilities of North Slope coastal communities to the potential effects of offshore oil and gas development on subsistence food harvest and sharing activities. It will investigate the resilience of local sharing networks that structure contemporary subsistence-cash economies using survey research methods that involve residents of four communities most proximate to proposed exploration areas (Barrow, Nuiqsut, Point Lay, Point Hope). The second survey, Social Indicators in Coastal Alaska: Arctic Communities (Social Indicators Study), will assess the well-being and living conditions of residents in six North Slope coastal communities (Barrow, Point Hope, Wainwright, Nuiqsut, Kaktovik, Point Lay).

The BOEM will use the information collected to learn about local social systems and well-being in a way that may shape development strategies and serve as an interim baseline for impact monitoring to compare against future research in these areas. Without these data, BOEM will not have sufficient information to make informed oil and gas leasing and development decisions for these areas. The studies will help BOEM identify and mitigate impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and development on Native communities.

Survey Instruments: The research will be collected from two voluntary surveys. The Resilience Study will be given to each head of household in the study communities to collect information about the subsistence (harvest data) and sharing networks of the communities. The Social Indicators Study will be given to a randomly selected adult in each selected household in the study communities to collect information about well-being and living conditions. Survey questions are tailored to each community as appropriate, depending on the location of the community and surrounding plants and animals.

Interview Methods: The interviews for each survey will be conducted in person in a setting most comfortable for the respondents. This personal method is more expensive and time consuming for the researchers, but these drawbacks are outweighed by improvements in the quality of information obtained and the rapport established between the surveyor and the person interviewed. Telephone interviews have not been successful on the North Slope. Each respondent will be paid an honorarium for taking part in the study. Responses are voluntary.

Frequency: One-time event for each study.

Description of Respondents: Respondents are members of the Alaskan coastal communities in the North Slope area.

Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: With this renewal, we are updating the target communities for the Resiliency Survey and requesting approval of the second survey, Social Indicators Study.

Burden Table

Survey	Estimated hour burden	Number of households/ respondents	Estimated annual burden hours
Resiliency Survey	1.25	782	978*
Social Indicators Survey	1	1,001	1,001
Total		1,783	1,979
* Rounded.

Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Non-Hour Cost Burden: We have identified no non-hour paperwork cost burdens for this collection.

Public Disclosure Statement: The PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.) provides that an agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Until OMB approves a collection of information, you are not obligated to respond.

Comments: We invite comments on: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

We will summarize written responses to this notice and address them in our submission for OMB approval. As a result of your comments, we will make any necessary adjustments to the burden in our submission to OMB.

Public Availability of Comments: 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.

Dated: April 25, 2013.

Deanna Meyer-Pietruszka,

Chief, Office of Policy, Regulations, and Analysis.