2015-27993. Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments

AGENCY:

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of a revision of a currently approved information collection (1028-0095).

SUMMARY:

We (the U.S. Geological Survey) will ask the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approve the information collection (IC) described below. As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, and as part of our continuing efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, we invite the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on this IC. This collection is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2016.

DATES:

To ensure that your comments are considered, we must receive them on or before January 4, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments on this information collection to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive MS 807, Reston, VA 20192 (mail); [phone] (fax); or [e-mail] (email). Please reference `Information Collection 1028-0095, State Water Resources Research Institute Program Annual Application and Reporting' in all correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Earl Greene, Chief, Office of External Research, U.S. Geological Survey, 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228 (mail); 443-498-5505 (phone); [e-mail] (email). You may also find information about this ICR at www.reginfo.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

The Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (42 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), authorizes a research institute water resources or center in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. There are currently 54 such institutes, one in each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The institute in Guam is a regional institute serving Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Each of the 54 institutes submits an annual application for an allotment grant and provides an annual report on its activities under the grant. The State Water Resources Research Institute Program issues an annual call for applications from the institutes to support plans to promote research, training, information dissemination, and other activities meeting the needs of the States and Nation. The program also encourages regional cooperation among institutes in research into areas of water management, development, and conservation that have a regional or national character. The U.S. Geological Survey has been designated as the administrator of the provisions of the Act.

II. Data

OMB Control Number: 1028-0095.

Form Number: NA.

Title: State Water Resources Research Institute Program Annual Application and Reporting.

Type of Request: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Affected Public: The state water resources research institutes authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1983, as amended, and listed at http://water.usgs.gov/​wrri/​index.php.

Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory (necessary to obtain grants).

Frequency of Collection: Annually.

Estimated Total Number of Annual Responses: We expect to receive 54 applications and award 54 grants per year.

Estimated Time per Response: 160 hours. This includes 80 hours per applicant to prepare and submit the annual application; and 80 hours (total) per grantee to complete the annual reports.

Estimated Annual Burden Hours: 8,640.

Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping “Non-Hour Cost” Burden: There are no “non-hour cost” burdens associated with this IC.

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

III. Request for Comments

We are soliciting comments as to: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the agency to perform its duties, including whether the information is useful; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) how to minimize the burden on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Please note that the comments submitted in response to this notice are a matter of public record. Before including your personal mailing address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including your personally identifiable information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personally identifiable information from public view, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Earl A. Greene,

Chief, Office of External Research.