2023-13383. Agency Information Collection Activities: Submission for OMB Review, Comment Request; Application for Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

AGENCY:

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION:

30-Day notice of renewal and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will submit the information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance in accordance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The submission seeks comments concerning the collection of information under which communities submit information to FEMA for application and continued participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

DATES:

Comments must be submitted on or before July 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection should be made to Director, Information Management Division, 500 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20472, email address: [e-mail] or Adrienne L. Sheldon, Supervisory Emergency Management Specialist, Floodplain Management Division at [e-mail] or (202) 212–3966.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), codified at 42 U.S.C. 4001, et seq., requires all flood prone communities throughout the country to apply for participation in the NFIP one year after their flood prone status is identified. If a community does not participate in the NFIP they are not eligible for certain types of Federal and federally-related financial assistance in their floodplains. 44 CFR 59.2 authorizes previously unavailable flood insurance protection to property owners in flood-prone areas and identifies the information that communities are required to submit to FEMA for application into the NFIP. 44 CFR 59.22 and 59.24 identifies the information a community is required to submit to FEMA for continued participation in the program. This collection has been updated to account for the burden hours associated with the applicant's time to collect information as part of the community development permit process. To qualify for the NFIP, a participating community must adopt certain minimum standards in accordance with FEMA's regulations at 44 CFR 60.3, 60.4, and 60.5. To verify whether communities maintain such standards, the NFIP requires participating communities to retain documentation on development taking place in the flood hazard areas within the community. 44 CFR 59.22. Such information will be made available to FEMA upon request. This information assists FEMA in evaluating the effectiveness of a community's floodplain management program and participating property owners' eligibility for flood insurance. In the past the NFIP application did not account for burden hours associated with this collection of information.

The “Application for Participation in the NFIP” and the “NFIP and the Community Development Permit Process” are separate actions documented under the same collection. This proposed information collection previously published in the Federal Register on March 22, 2023, at 88 FR 17241 with a 60-day public comment period. No comments were received. The purpose of this notice is to notify the public that FEMA will submit the information collection abstracted below to the Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance.

Collection of Information

Title: Application for Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

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

OMB Number: 1660–0004.

FEMA Forms: FEMA Form FF–206–FY–22–160 (formerly 086–0–30), Application for Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Abstract: The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) provides flood insurance to the communities that apply for participation and make a commitment to protect against future flood damages. The application form and supporting documentation will enable FEMA to continue to rapidly process new community applications and to thereby more quickly provide flood insurance protection to the residents in communities.

Affected Public: State, local or Tribal government.

Number of Respondents: 22,660.

Number of Responses: 90,460.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 271,440.

Estimated Total Annual Respondent Cost: $25,813,944.

Estimated Respondents' Operation and Maintenance Costs: $0.

Estimated Respondents' Capital and Start-Up Costs: $0.

Estimated Total Annual Cost to the Federal Government: $110,446.

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; 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.

Millicent Brown Wilson,

Records Management Branch Chief, Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.