2015-23256. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35).

Agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Title: NOAA Restoration Center Program Progress Report and Administrative Progress Report.

OMB Control Number: 0648-0472.

Form Number(s): None.

Type of Request: Regular (revision and extension of a currently approved information collection)

Number of Respondents: 130.

Average Hours per Response: Program progress report: semi-annual, 6 hours; annual, 9.75 hours; administrative progress report: semi-annual, 2.75 hours; annual, 5.5 hours.

Burden Hours: 1,824.

Needs and Uses: This request is for revision and extension of a currently approved information collection.

The NOAA Restoration Center (NOAA RC) provides technical and financial assistance to identify, develop, implement, and evaluate community-driven habitat restoration projects. Awards are made as grants or cooperative agreements under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006, 16 U.S.C. 1891a and the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.

The NOAA RC requires specific information on habitat restoration projects that we fund, as part of routine progress reporting. Recipients of NOAA RC funds submit information such as project location, restoration techniques used, species benefited, acres restored, stream miles opened to access for diadromous fish, volunteer participation, and other parameters.

The required information enables NOAA to track, evaluate and report on coastal and marine habitat restoration and demonstrate accountability for federal funds. This information is used to populate a database of NOAA RC-funded habitat restoration. The database, with its robust querying capabilities, is instrumental to provide accurate and timely responses to NOAA, Department of Commerce, Congressional and constituent inquiries. It also facilitates reporting by NOAA on the Government Performance and Results Act “acres restored” performance measure. Grant recipients are required by the NOAA Grants Management Division to submit periodic performance reports and a final report for each award; this collection stipulates the information to be provided in these reports.

Since the last extension of this collection approved by OMB, the database used to track and report on restoration projects has been updated and redesigned. The NOAA RC is revising and streamlining the progress report form to ensure it aligns with the updated database and collects only the information we need to effectively track, evaluate, and report on restoration projects completed with federal funds. The NOAA RC has also divided the information collected into two forms for simplicity. The Performance Report Form focuses on tracking project implementation, milestones, performance measures, monitoring, and expenditures. The Administrative Form only applies to recipients with an award that will implement multiple projects. It collects information on the administration of the award, the number of projects supported by the award, and award expenditures.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; state, local and tribal government.

Frequency: Semi-annual and annual.

Respondent's Obligation: Required to obtain or retain benefits.

This information collection request may be viewed at reginfo.gov. Follow the instructions to view Department of Commerce collections currently under review by OMB.

Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice to [e-mail] or fax to [phone].

Dated: September 11, 2015.

Sarah Brabson,

NOAA PRA Clearance Officer.