2020-20630. Agency Information Collection Activities; Did You Feel It? Earthquake Questionnaire

AGENCY:

U.S. Geological Survey, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of information collection; request for comment.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are proposing to renew an information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before November 17, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Send your comments on this information collection request (ICR) by mail to U.S. Geological Survey, Information Collections Officer, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 159, Reston, VA 20192; or by email to [e-mail]. Please reference OMB Control Number 1028-0048 in the subject line of your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request additional information about this ICR, contact David Wald by email at [e-mail], or by telephone at 303-273-8441.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we provide the general public and other Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on new, proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand our information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format.

We are soliciting comments on the proposed ICR that is described below. We are especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is the collection necessary to the proper functions of the USGS; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the USGS enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the USGS minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology.

Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request to OMB to approve this ICR. 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.

Abstract: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is required to collect, evaluate, publish and distribute information concerning earthquakes. Respondents have an opportunity to voluntarily supply information concerning the effects of shaking from an earthquake—on themselves, buildings, other man-made structures, and ground effects such as faulting or landslides. Respondents' observations are interpreted in terms of numbers that measure the strength of shaking, and the resulting numbers are displayed on maps that are viewable from USGS earthquake websites. Observations are submitted via the Felt Report questionnaire accessed from the USGS Did You Feel It? Earthquake web pages, and may be submitted via computer or mobile phone. Respondents are asked to provide information on the location to which the report pertains. The locations may, at the respondent's option, be given imprecisely (city-name or postal Zip Code) or precisely (street address, geographic coordinates, or current location determined by the user's mobile phone). Low resolution maps of shaking based on both precise and imprecise observations are published for all earthquakes for which observations are submitted. For earthquakes felt by many respondents, the observations that are associated with more precise locations are used in the preparation of higher resolution maps of earthquake shaking.

We will protect information from respondents considered proprietary under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) and implementing regulations (43 CFR part 2), and under regulations at 30 CFR 250.197, “Data and information to be made available to the public or for limited inspection.” Responses are voluntary. No questions of a “sensitive” nature are asked. We will release data collected on these forms only in formats that do not include proprietary information volunteered by respondents. This collection is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2021.

Title of Collection: Did You Feel It? Earthquake Questionnaire.

OMB Control Number: 1028-0048.

Form Number: None.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: General Public.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Respondents: 200,000.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 300,000.

Estimated Completion Time per Response: 3 minutes on average.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 15,000.

Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.

Frequency of Collection: On occasion, after an earthquake.

Total Estimated Annual Non-hour Burden Cost: $0.00.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The authority for this action is the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Jill McCarthy,

Geologic Hazards Science Center, Director.